Are you building your foundation for success? Six Secrets to Motivating Yourself for Success
Are you creating your foundation of success? Are you motivated to take on challenges that others are not willing to do? The following is a story of someone who has achieved and achieved great success in their life and how you can too!
Once upon a time there was a young man who grew up in Crawford, Mississippi. His father worked as a mason building the foundations of the houses. Every day after school and during the summers, this young man helped his father build the foundation. It’s not the most glamorous job by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s an honest, grueling, low-paying job that puts food on the table and pays the bills. The father would start by throwing bricks towards the son in the area where they would build the foundation of a house. Under the sweltering Mississippi sun, his son caught brick after brick with her bare hands, day after day. While most other kids were enjoying their summers or working less strenuous jobs, this young man was motivated to work long and hard with his dad as he caught those bricks and built a foundation for success in more ways than one. sense.
You see, every time that young man caught bricks, he was not only strengthening his hands, but also building character and the foundation for success in his later years. With each brick he caught, he became even more determined to succeed in life. When he wasn’t helping his father and going to school, he pushed himself in soccer practice to be better than any other soccer player. You see, the young man’s name is Jerry Rice, and he became the most successful NFL All-Pro wide receiver of all time with the San Francisco 49ers. Some of you who are not soccer fans may know him as a contestant on the TV show “Dancing with the Stars.”
The following are the six success secrets used by Jerry Rice that can easily motivate you to achieve success in any aspect of your business, career, and life:
1. Get motivated to see opportunities in each challenge – Jerry might have seen the job of catching bricks as a chore that was a waste of time. But he saw the big picture and made the task more enjoyable by developing games from the activities. Many times in life, bricks are thrown at us and we complain and miss the opportunity that is presented to us. The person who can find solutions to the challenges he faces can write his own ticket to success. When you accept a challenge, you are preparing yourself for an opportunity in the future. You may not know when the opportunity presents itself, how it presents itself, or what the opportunity will be like, but it does present itself; and will you be ready? Accept your challenges to be prepared.
2. Motivate yourself to see that it is normal to experience some pain – While Jerry experienced the pain of catching bricks every day, this pain was actually building him to become a stronger person. Each brick fed Jerry’s inner desire to succeed. Think of a situation at work, in business, or in life that was painful. Pain from him can be an embarrassing moment, it can be a learning experience, and it can be a setback. How can you use this setback to motivate yourself to be more successful? We achieve success in our businesses, careers, and life when we develop the success tools of using our “pains” as a learning experience and springboard to success.
3. Get motivated to take on unpopular tasks – Catching bricks all day is not the most glamorous job in the world. Many times bricks are thrown at us in life and we avoid them like the plague. Volunteer to catch these bricks while others refuse. This will allow influential people to see your special skills and offer you opportunities for success. It’s what I always say, “It’s not what you know, it’s not who you know, it’s who knows what you know.” When you volunteer to catch those bricks, you let others know and see the special skills and talent you display.
4. Get motivated to take action – Just the simple fact of taking action will make you more successful than 98% of other people. Many times people are waiting for “the right moment” or “more resources”. Get motivated to take action where you are today and make appropriate corrections as needed.
5. Motivate yourself to go the extra mile – Jerry Rice’s personal off-season football workouts were legendary. He trained six days a week running five miles, as well as sprinting up the steepest mountains in his community. He didn’t need to do this grueling training, but he wanted to be in better physical shape than any other professional soccer player. He went the extra mile to be the best.
What are you doing to go the extra mile? Do you have a continuous learning program? Do you give yourself to make your employees better? Do you give your customers something extra to show their appreciation for your business? All of these are opportunities to set yourself above the rest and succeed in your business, career, and life.
6. Get motivated to create a masterpiece – Jerry Rice wanted to be the best professional wide receiver in football history and he did. He was motivated to pay the price to achieve that goal.
Are you motivated and ready to create a masterpiece? Do you have a vision of what your business, career, or life masterpiece looks, feels, or sounds like? Are you willing to maintain the quality effort, attitude and determination to create your masterpiece? What are you willing to give up to achieve your masterpiece? Until you’re ready to answer these questions, you can’t lay the foundation for your masterpiece.
After answering the questions above, do you think SMARTEST goals as your roadmap to success. If it’s not on paper, your goals don’t exist. Be motivated to create, write and act on your goals.
Follow these six secrets to success, and you too will be motivated to lay the foundation for your success.