Knowing and doing are as different as night and day. The gap between knowing and doing is where great men and women are made or lost. Most of us know what we have to do to achieve our dreams, but we have a hundred and one reasons not to act on our knowledge. We don't have enough money, we don't have enough time, we don't have the skills, we don't have the materials, we don't have the patience, we don't have the courage, and on and on into eternity.
The reality is that with all of the energy we use to think up and justify those excuses, we could be half way to achieving our goal. If only we had the motivation to get started on the "doing". That is where the first section of this book comes into play. The place we have to start practicing motivational skills is with ourselves. Once we can motivate ourselves, we can motivate anyone.
Now is the time to put all of your excuses to rest and start on the road to your dream. No matter what your excuse, you will find something in the passages that follow to counteract it. When you find the message that motivates you, write it down and carry it with you. When you find your excuses threatening your dream, take out your message and take heart in the knowledge that you can achieve your goal if you truly set your mind to it!
The book 1001 Ways to Motivate Yourself and Others is divided into two sections, inspiration and application. Below are just a few sample ideas from the first chapter - Motivating Yourself.
Inspiration
- Failure is like driving down a dead end and turning around to find a better route.
- Winners don't have time to place blame, they're too busy getting ready for the next battle.
- It's better to try something great and fail than to do nothing and succeed at it.
- As long as you know where you are headed there is no need to justify it to others.
- Everything ever accomplished in history was born of human thought and ingenuity.
- Don't let who you are stunt who you want to be.
- Conceive and believe to achieve.
Application
- Find satisfaction in your daily life. Don't wait for your big break to come.
- Make a list of your 20 favorite things to do. How long has it been since you have done each? Neglecting your personal happiness is a powerful de-motivator.
- Be prepared - your opportunity may come at any moment.
- Surround yourself with positive, enthusiastic people.
- Create non-work situations, like sports and hobbies, where you can enjoy yourself and succeed.
- Do your best at every stage of the game.
- State your goals in the concrete instead of the intangible. Instead of saying "I want to be a rock star" quantify what it means to you to be a rock star like winning a grammy, getting a cover story in "Rolling Stone" or having a number one hit record.
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