What is motivation?
There is no universal definition of what motivation is, yet all of us intrinsically know what it is. If you speak to people on the street and ask them what they think motivation is, you'll likely get responses like "it's what drives you" or "it's what pushes you" or "it's what gives us the strength to get things done" or "it's your fire inside." All these are perfect definitions; however, my favorite definition is "a desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal."
Motivation is key:
Without motivation, your chances of achieving success are slim. Without motivation, you won't be able to conquer the many challenges that will confront you on your wealth creation journey. Motivation will give you the energy and drive to climb the mountain of financial freedom. It will pick you up when you get knocked down. It will lift you over the many barriers that you will encounter along the way. Motivation will give you that "never give up" attitude.
Two of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous quotes are "I'll be back" and "Hasta la vista, baby." It's easy to forget the man behind the movie persona. He won the Mr. Universe title four times; he's the only person to win Mr. Olympia seven times; he's one of Hollywood's biggest stars; he's a very successful property investor; and in 2003, he became the Governor of California. What makes a person excel like this? Well, in his own words, "...the last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens."
If you're lacking motivation, how do you get it? If you lose your motivation along the way, how do you get it back? Well, the good news is that motivation is a two-way street. Although you can lose motivation; you can also get it back.
Becoming and staying motivated:
We are all unique. What highly motivates one person won't necessarily have the same impact on another person. The steps listed below will help you become and stay motivated:
Step 1: Have a vision, mission and plan with clear goals - Your vision is your endpoint. It's your key reason for taking this journey. Knowing where your target is will help you be inspired and stay on the journey. Your mission statement is short-term, clear and focused. It's your "mission!" It's big enough to inspire and challenge you but small enough to be achievable in the short term. Your vision and mission form the grand design of your plan.
Your plan will show you the way and give you a timeline. It gives you direction. Your plan contains and prioritizes your goals so you don't get overwhelmed. Your plan and goals give you step-by-step, day-by-day focus with clear timeframes and deadlines.
Step 2: Small regular successes - small manageable daily goals, at least at the beginning, will ensure success and confidence. The higher your confidence, the higher your excitement and motivation for more success. Just like small trickling streams quickly turn into a gushing river, many small, quick successes quickly total up to a large success.
Step 3: Find motivation sources - each of us gets revved up and inspired by different things. For some of us, it's an action movie or a certain song; for others, it's going for a walk or to the gym. Find what gets you going, and make it a part of your daily routine.
Step 4: Keep learning - Educate yourself as much as you can about everything to do with you wealth goals. Knowledge gives you two essential things: confidence and a higher success rate. Both these feed your energy.
Step 5: Mix with like-minded people - People tend to be drawn to like-minded people with similar interests and passions. Your road to wealth will be a lot easier if you mix with like-minded, wealthy people who will guide, encourage and inspire you.
Step 6: Reward your success - Success is not all about work. The bigger the goal you meet, the better you should feel about it. One way to ensure you associate success with pleasure is to treat yourself when you achieve a goal. Enjoy a night off from work, take your family out for a nice meal or spend a weekend away-whatever works for you. Don't ever play down your successes. You don't need to brag about them to others, but do tell yourself how good you are.
Step 7: Patience - You must be realistic about your vision, mission and plan. Success won't happen overnight, but they will in time, with knowledge, planning, action and determination. Be patient. Challenge yourself, but don't kill yourself. You won't stay motivated if you're exhausted.
Step 9: Repeat, repeat, repeat - Repetition of good habits will engrain success into your subconscious and your personality. Have you ever noticed that winners tend to excel at whatever they do? That's because winning is a part of who they are. They weren't born winners. They learned to become winners. You can, too. Start by changing the way you do and think about things, and then continually repeat these winning thoughts and processes until it becomes a part of who you are.
There are plenty more ways to become and stay motivated. Take the time to understand what things work for you and apply them. Constantly look for new and interesting ways to motivate yourself as old methods can become boring over time.
The buck starts and stops with you
No one cares about your life more than you. No one has as much to gain or lose from your life choices. Only you can really motivate yourself. No one can give you that never-say-die tenacity to succeed, which can only happen if you take full responsibility for your life. Take responsibility for your past, where you are now and what you'll be. Don't blame other people or circumstances. The buck starts and stops with you!
Self Improvement 
