The basic principles of success according to W. Clement Stone, businessman, philanthropist, and self-help book author are:
Inspiration to action—self-motivation.
Know-how.
Activity knowledge.
Before we get started, make sure you've followed the advice in the preface and have already scheduled the following:
Day 13: A full-day team meeting (offsite if possible)
Days 18 and 25: Two half-day meetings
In my late teenage years, I was exposed to inspirational speakers and motivational seminars. At that time, I had a thirst to learn all I could about success, motivation, and myself. That thirst remained with me all my life and has rewarded me with a life of realized dreams; dreams that I did not believe to be possible at first.
It all starts with a dream.
Let's pretend you have a magic wand. If there was one thing in life that you would like to be, do, or have, as if nothing were impossible, there are no limitations, barriers, or reasons not to have it, what would that one thing be?
Take a few moments and reflect on it being accomplished. See it, hear it, feel it.
Now, what if you had a team that could see, hear, and feel those same sensations?
What would their motivation, or performance, be like?
Have you ever wondered what motivation is all about?
Why is motivation so important? Where does it come from—is it temporary or permanent?
Why and how do people react to the carrot and stick approach?
Why are some people always motivated and others not?
And can you, as a team leader, really motivate your team or not?
In this chapter you will learn to look inward using exercises that will help you to:
Identify your personal and professional dreams and desires, the foundation to internal and permanent motivation
Identify what motivates and demotivates you, along with positive and negative messages that have motivated you in the past
Identify your values, strengths, and weaknesses
Conduct a personal evaluation of yourself in eight key areas of your life
Identify your limiting beliefs, and replace them with the opposite belief
Improve your attitude
Identify and overcome your fears and accept failure as a learning opportunity
Once you understand what motivation is all about, you will need to complete some exercises to understand yourself first. Once you experience self-motivation and understand yourself better, you will be able to apply the same techniques with your team, based on experience. It is important that you take the time to complete each exercise as it appears, before moving on.