8 Ways to Motivate Yourself

Motivation is one of the most crucial resources to attain a goal. If all the other resources like money, material etc are lying with you, and you lack motivation to execute that work, you will never achieve that goal. 

Right motivation give you a good start to achieve the said goal and build momentum to get going. Here are Eight Specific tips for starting out and achieving the goal: 

Start small
Every mission begins with a small step. It’s one of the most important tips in motivating yourself toward a goal. Don’t start out big! Start out with a ridiculously easy goal, and then grow from there. If you want to exercise, for example, you may be thinking that you have to do these intense workouts 5 days a week. No — instead, do small, tiny, baby steps. Just do 2 minutes of exercise. I know, that sounds wimpy. But it works. Commit to 2 minutes of exercise for one week. You may want to do more, but just stick to 2 minutes. It’s so easy, you can’t fail. Do it at the same time, every day. Just some crunches, 2 pushups, and some jogging in place. Once you’ve done 2 minutes a day for a week, increase it to 5, and stick with that for a week. In a month, you’ll be doing 15-20. Want to wake up early? Don’t think about waking at 5 a.m. Instead, think about waking 10 minutes earlier for a week. That’s all. Once you’ve done that, wake 10 minutes earlier than that. Baby steps.
One goal

Too many people start with too many goals at once, and try to do too much. And it saps energy and motivation. It’s probably the most common mistake that people make. You have to choose one goal, for now, and focus on it completely. I know, that’s hard. Still, I speak from experience. You can always do your other goals when you’ve accomplished your One Goal.

Examine your motivation. 

Know your reasons. Give them some thought … and write them down. If you have loved ones, and you are doing it for them, that is more powerful than just doing it for self-interest. Doing it for yourself is good too, but you should do it for something that you really want to happen, for really good reasons.

Really, really want it. 

It has to be something you’re passionate about, something you’re super excited about, something you want deeply. Make sure that your goal meets these criteria, or you won’t stick with it for long.

Commit publicly 

None of us likes to look bad in front of others. We will go the extra mile to do something we’ve said publicly. I couldn’t back down, and even though my motivation came and went, I stuck with it and completed it. Now, you don’t have to commit to your goal in your daily newspaper, but you can do it with friends and family and co-workers, and you can do it on your blog if you have one. And hold yourself accountable — don’t just commit once, but commit to giving progress updates to everyone every week or so.

Get excited

Well, it starts with inspiration from others but you have to take that excitement and build on it. I get excited about a goal. Once I’ve done that, it’s just a matter of carrying that energy forward and keeping it going.

Build anticipation 

This will sound hard, and many people will skip this tip. But it really works. It helped me quit smoking after many failed attempts. If you find inspiration and want to do a goal, don’t start right away. Many of us will get excited and want to start today. That’s a mistake. Set a date in the future — a week or two, or even a month — and make that your Start Date. Mark it on the calendar. Get excited about that date. Make it the most important date in your life. In the meantime, start writing out a plan. And do some of the steps below. Because by delaying your start, you are building anticipation, and increasing your focus and energy for your goal.

Print and paste your goal

Print out your goal in big words. Make your goal just a few words long, like a mantra and post it up on your wall or refrigerator. Post it at home and work. Put it on your computer desktop. You want to have big reminders about your goal, to keep your focus and keep your excitement going. 

C R Arun 

Pick up ten habits of successful entrepreneurs

I will not waste much of your time on introducing about the various traits of successful entrepreneurs but explore the nine habits of go-getters. You can pick them up and make a great startup.

1. Action-Oriented

Entrepreneurs are action oriented. They don’t sit back on any idea or passion. But they initiate immediate action. Failures don’t dishearten them because they are quite convinced about their idea. They make it happen. While it may take years and several missteps for their idea to become a reality, they are constantly working on how to do so, instead of worrying about their uncertain future or drawing up contingency plan after contingency plan.

Being action-oriented is also a trait that hosting startup because "being in a startup requires action, you have to work yourself to the bone day after day to succeed in this world."

2. Make People Happy

Entrepreneurs don't have ideas or launch a startup just to make millions of dollars or inflate their egos. They want to make people happy. They want to develop a product that the market wants and needs to make their lives more convenient. They want to make sure that their team members succeed.

3. Proactive

According to Chris Kemper, CEO of investment group Palmetto, “They keep their eyes and ears open for an opportunity to capitalize on,". Entrepreneurs are always looking for new ideas and concepts to improve upon. In other words, they're proactive. They are aware of a change and make it happen before they have to respond to it.

4. Stay Healthy

While we should all eat a balanced diet, exercise, and get enough sleep, entrepreneurs take this to a whole different level. This doesn't mean that they're hitting the gym for several hours a day; it just means that they're aware of how not being healthy can harm productivity. And, they make sure that they can squeeze in the time for moderate exercise daily.

5. Be Honest

One of the many approaches presented in startup is honesty. If an entrepreneur discovers that the market doesn't want the product or that he or she can't complete a deadline, it's better to be honest with team members, investors, and customers instead of lying to them. How can they trust a liar in the future?.

6. They Build Teams

Entrepreneurs build teams to help them expand their business. They realize that it's not a one-man show and that they have to surround themselves with talented, like-minded people to fill in the gaps. And they also realize that you can get your best ideas from team members.

7. Wake Up Early

Not everyone is a "morning person," but most entrepreneurs will tell you that waking up early gives them the opportunity to plan out their day, avoid distractions, send out emails, catch up on the news, exercise, or just relax and gather their thoughts. So far, this habit seems to be working for successful people .

8. Ask Lots of Questions

Whether it's self-reflection or asking their audience what they want, entrepreneurs ask a lot of questions. Asking the right questions can guide entrepreneurs into the direction that they want to follow.

9.  Punctual

Being punctual is the most important habit for entrepreneurs. When an entrepreneur is on time for a meeting, phone conference, or completing a deadline, it establishes trust and proves to partners, investors, and customers that this is someone they can deal with. Warren Buffet never get late.

****************

Leadership guide for startup entrepreneurs

If you are looking to become an entrepreneur and run a startup, you need to have be an effective leader. You should have basic understanding of leadership qualities and make them effective in running your startup.

As an entrepreneur, you are going to face different kind of tricky situations every now and then. In such situations, your leadership quality will be your asset. At times you will have to motivate your workforce to deliver results in tough deadlines, at times you will have to control over your resources, at times you will have to convince your subordinates, and in such situations, your leadership skills will guide you to success. You must have clear vision about your startup, its goal and objectives and your priorities. Any lack of vision or priority will be going to affect the success of your startup.

You must have the following skills that will establish your leadership and help your startup grow.

Skill #1 – The ability to develop a compelling vision

People don’t always get behind leaders, but they almost always respond to compelling, disruptive visions that have the power to transform common personal and business processes.

So if you don’t embody the stereotypical “leader” role – don’t worry.  You can still grow a startup based on the strength of your vision.  And if you do think of yourself as a good leader, it’s important to keep in mind that it isn’t necessarily you personally that people are responding to – it’s likely your ideas that keep your followers on your side.

Skill #2 – The ability to clearly recognize your company’s strengths and weaknesses

Good leaders, on the other hand, spend time carefully assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their leadership styles, the companies they manage and the teams they lead.  By knowing where the company and its resources are strongest, they’re able to plan strategic moves that capitalize on their unique combination of advantages.  And by being able to isolate weaknesses, they’re able to address deficiencies that would otherwise prevent the company from moving forward.

Skill #3 – The ability to “get the right people on the bus”

The smartest leaders recognize that they alone can’t solve all of the world’s problems (or even all of the issues confronting their singular startup companies).  That’s why they make it a priority to bring on team members that fill in their weaker areas.

Skill #4 – The ability to adapt based on feedback

In my opinion, one of the worst things you can do in business is to assume that you’re always right.  Real leaders know that input from employees, customers and other business contacts is always valuable – even if it isn’t always acted upon.  So if you aren’t currently encouraging and embracing this type of feedback in your startup, make it a priority to start doing so today.  You never know what ideas will come up if you’re simply open to them!

Skill #5 – The ability to execute

As your startup’s leader, it’s up to you to put the focus on execution when necessary.  Lastly, keep in mind that if you can’t execute, it doesn’t matter how strong your vision is, how good your team is or how open to feedback you are.  You have to be actively delivering your product or service for your company to be successful!

No matter what kind of leader you are or want to be, improving these particular skills will go a long way towards making your startup successful.

********************