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How You Can Achieve Self-Motivation and Why It Is the Key to Success

January 7, 2017 By Andrew Margison 17 Comments

Everyone has dreams. However, only a few realise them. The question is why? The fact is that self-motivation allows us to control our own success. And there are key principles that enable us to be self-motivated.

How We Can Achieve Self-Motivation and Why It Is the Key to Success

Table of Contents

  • Does hard work really pay off?
  • It starts with a dream
  • Make a solid plan
  • Feed off others
  • Last word
    • Andrew Margison
    • Latest posts by Andrew Margison (see all)

Does hard work really pay off?

Some argue that entrepreneurs are born, not made. They say true entrepreneurs learn faster and have greater intuition than those who are not born that way. Such people also have a natural talent for business.

On the other hand, there are those who argue that natural talent is irrelevant. Researchers Ericsson, Krampe, and Tech-Romer believe that success is purely built on purposeful, thoughtful, and intense effort.

There is a study by David Hambrick and Elizabeth Meinz called “Limits on the Predictive Power of Domain-Specific Experience and Knowledge in Skilled Performance.” I believe this study hits the spot.

On the graph below, the vertical axis shows performance. The higher up on the axis, the better you perform. The horizontal axis shows your intelligence. The further to the right, the more intelligent you are. The red line indicates people who work hard, while the blue line indicates people who don’t put in the necessary effort.

Talent vs. Hard Work

The takeaways from this study are:

  • Hard work beats talent when the talented don’t work hard.
  • If the intelligent and unintelligent both work hard, there is not much difference in performance.
  • In a career where only the best performers succeed, such as the Olympics, you need to have a lot of talent. However, in careers (such as business), talent is not as important.

Either way you look at it, hard work puts you right up there with the top performers. So while many people take the view that being successful is all about talent, they are often using this perspective as a defence mechanism to justify their mediocre level of success.

If you study successful people, it is clear that talent only plays a small role. Check out this great video of Will Smith talking about talent and hard work:

To me, it is an exciting prospect that someone with average intelligence can achieve a level of success similar to the smartest individuals. Hard work is the variable we can control. If you can motivate yourself to work hard, you can achieve great success. The question is, how do you stay motivated?

It starts with a dream

If you ask children what their dream lives look like, they will often express their hopes with passion and conviction. As you grow older, people often see their dream lives as fantasies that will never come true. The difference is that adults have the experience to know how tough reality can be. So they often put their dreams in the back of their minds.

Successful people, however, actively visualise their dreams. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a great advocate of having a vision. Have a look at this video of Arnold talking about the importance of having a goal:

Conor McGregor, an extremely successful UFC fighter, has recently been in the news because he is the first person ever to simultaneously win two titles in two weight divisions. It would be easy to think that a fighter’s thought process has no relevance to running a business, but you would be wrong.

Successful people from all different backgrounds share the principle of visualisation. Conor epitomises the power of visualisation in this video:

Dreaming about and visualising what you want allows you to see and feel what it would be like to achieve real success. Not only is visualising your goals a fantastic source of motivation but doing so also gives you purpose and direction in your life. Donald Trump is someone else who advises people to dream big.

If your vision is not compelling enough, you’ll never find the motivation to pursue it. If you’re keen to start a business in order to achieve your dream, I recommend you read my article, “The real truth behind finding a viable business idea.”

Make a solid plan

A vision might motivate you, but a plan maps out how you will get to your end goal. As Gary Vaynerchuk says, people love the feeling of being motivated, but few people do anything with that feeling. Having a plan ensures that your motivation is not short-lived. It gives you a clear direction to channel your energy.

When I first founded my business (www.zzaponline.com), my vision was to make ZZap the most valued cash-handling brand. I then wrote out a plan. Then I took the most successful company in our sector and analysed what made it the best. I ended up with a list of points such as great photography, professional website, unique products, excellent online presence, etc. These became my goals for my company.

I then examined how successful companies achieved these goals. For example, they achieved a good online presence through paid search, remarketing, and SEO. So those became my short-term goals. Finally, by searching the internet, reading books, and reaching out to any contacts I knew in the industry, I researched how I could accomplish my short-term goals.

Once I had made my plan, I was extremely motivated. I had a vision and I knew how to get there. All that was left was hard work. To know that hard work is the only thing between you and your dream is enlightening. You can believe with conviction that it is possible to achieve your vision. That is a powerful feeling.

Feed off others

“We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn

We are all influenced by others. People can influence you either positively or negatively. If you spend enough time with successful people, they will start to rub off on you.

Spending time with the right people is perhaps one of the most effective and easiest ways to motivate yourself. If all your friends are motivated, passionate, and hungry for success, your conversations and activities are going to gravitate toward those qualities. This is peer pressure done right!

The hard part is finding and keeping those special individuals in your social circle. For example, spending time with Alan Sugar on a regular basis might not be feasible.

Earlier generations had less opportunities to learn from the best in their fields. But with the internet, we now have access to countless videos and blogs from successful business leaders.

Watching a video might not be the same as spending time with an individual. But if you watch the videos often enough, you will be amazed at how the attitudes of those in them can still start to shape yours. Some YouTube channelers, such as Evan Carmichael, specialise in finding advice from successful people.

Some channels are purely geared toward motivation. And some hugely successful entrepreneurs, such as Gary Vaynerchuk, even record their whole day on camera! You can watch Gary Vaynerchuk every day here:

The internet has made it possible to literally wake up and go to bed watching and listening to the great business minds. This ability has never been possible before. Make use of it. Feed off the energy of influencers each and every day. Doing so is a hugely underrated tactic that will help the next generation of business leaders.

Last word

There are many things that trigger motivation in an individual. Visualise your dream, know what it takes to get there, and learn from the best people in your field. These tactics build a foundation for exceptional work ethic.

Some people are born with natural talent, but most of us are not. Hard work bridges that gap. You are in full control. You determine your own success.

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Andrew Margison

I am the founder and director of ZZap Ltd (www.zzaponline.com). From an early age I have had a burning passion to run my own business. At the age of 9, I started my first car washing business. At 11 I started my own gardening business, and at 14 I sold confectionary from my school locker. I have always loved entrepreneurism. I believe work ethic is the foundation to being successful. If you truly want something badly enough, you can achieve it.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy YouTube channel

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Filed Under: Small Business Advice Tagged With: self-motivation, small business tips, work ethic

Comments

  1. Priya Singh says

    January 2, 2019 at 6:10 am

    Really this article expire us….sometimes we need these types article for inspiration us. Self motivation is necessary for all human.

    Reply
  2. Matt says

    May 23, 2018 at 1:00 am

    Great article!
    Your readers might like to check out books by Eckhart Tolle.
    He says great things to help motivate us!!!
    Matt would love you to read ..Conor Mcgregor’s suit brand is the ultimate in “F#CK YOU” fashion!!!My Profile

    Reply
  3. Atul Khanna says

    January 18, 2017 at 11:50 pm

    Thanks for the blog….really interesting and motivating….to achieve our dreams and passion……and how we can grow our business at different platforms….with better links and communication with others…and also motivating more people

    Reply
  4. sherya dutt says

    January 12, 2017 at 3:43 am

    Thanks for the wonderful and motivational article…. Me started a website with loyalty, sincerity and hard work on daily basis and i got success today..

    Reply
  5. George says

    January 11, 2017 at 11:03 pm

    Great post! Once you’ve set a vision for yourself or your business it is also important that you track the progress of your work and celebrate it.
    George would love you to read ..One Half’s Offshoring Accounting ServicesMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Manoj says

    January 11, 2017 at 7:30 am

    Dreams become true with your hard work and dedication. Self motivation is very essential to raise confidence and your hidden talents.

    Thanks a lot for your motivational tips. Clever writing !
    Manoj would love you to read ..The 40+Best Cloud Storage ServicesMy Profile

    Reply
  7. Jees K Denny says

    January 10, 2017 at 3:22 am

    Try to keep distance from negative minded peoples even with friends. They will not push you to the right track but the successful and positive minded peoples do. Plan, do, do hardly for that. Thanx for the very informative post.

    Reply
  8. deepan says

    January 10, 2017 at 12:58 am

    This article is very useful to everyone. I will try this tips to achieve better. keep it up

    Reply
  9. Ryan says

    January 9, 2017 at 1:21 pm

    Great compilation of videos and tips. It’s all within our heads what we accomplish, which is just an amazing thought in itself. What do they again, 80% of success is just showing up? We mostly stand in our own ways I think. Thanks for putting this together, bookmarked.

    Reply
  10. Zaffar says

    January 9, 2017 at 5:52 am

    What a motivational post I must say!! Self motivation is doubt the biggest factor in success. I believe that nothing is impossible you just need to set your goals and start working on them without fear of failure. The more you fail more you have better chances to succeed.

    Reply
    • Andrew Margison says

      January 9, 2017 at 10:04 am

      Hi Sangeeta ,

      Thank you for comment. I agree with you. Good luck with your ventures!

      For more articles check out my blog.

      http://zzaponline.co.uk/blog/

      Thanks,
      Andrew

      Reply
  11. sangeeta says

    January 9, 2017 at 3:43 am

    This is amazing Post and also very motivated. I listened various motivational videos but this one is very unique and helpful.
    Thanks for sharing with us.

    Reply
    • Andrew Margison says

      January 9, 2017 at 3:45 am

      Hi Sangeeta ,

      Thank you for comment, i’m glad you found the article motivating. Hopefully I will be able to do another follow-up post in the near future.

      For more articles check out my blog.

      http://zzaponline.co.uk/blog/

      Thanks,
      Andrew

      Reply
  12. Vatsal Gupta says

    January 8, 2017 at 10:36 am

    Hey Andrew
    That’s really an amazing post.
    You have fulfilled two of my motives.
    Firstly, that i should be working hard and
    Secondly, how to write an amazing post with videos.
    The examples of Arnold, Conan and Will Smith are really amazing.
    Thanks, keep on writing amazing stuff

    Reply
    • Andrew Margison says

      January 9, 2017 at 3:43 am

      Hi Vatsal,

      Thanks a lot for the comment, glad you liked the post!

      For more articles check out my blog.

      http://zzaponline.co.uk/blog/

      Thanks,
      Andrew

      Reply
  13. junaid shahid says

    January 8, 2017 at 2:14 am

    Hi Andrew!
    This is really very motivated post, yeah I’m agreed self motivation is the first step to success and self confidence to achieve any goal.
    junaid shahid would love you to read ..6 Strategies for Launching The Successful BlogMy Profile

    Reply
    • Andrew Margison says

      January 9, 2017 at 10:06 am

      Hi Junaid,

      Thanks for your comment it is appreciated.

      For more articles check out my blog.

      http://zzaponline.co.uk/blog/

      Thanks,
      Andrew

      Reply

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