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Author:
Beth Tabak

"One of the strongest characteristics of genius is the power of lighting its own fire." John W. Foster
If that's the case we each have the ability to manifest the genius within. Motivation seems to have many of us playing red light-green light. We're on, then off. Check out the following steps to keep the fire burning.
1- Be in tune to what lights your fire~ Dr Carol Dweck*, who received her PhD in psychology from Yale, and is currently on staff at Stanford University has studied motivation and offered the following, "… when you sift through the literature on creative genius, the researchers agree that motivation is perhaps the number one component in the realization of genius. Many of our most illustrious geniuses in every field were people who were considered ordinary as children, and then just caught fire around their topic and achieved amazing things that we know about today—from Darwin, to Coleridge, to Cézanne. All of these people were not necessarily extraordinary children." What provides the emotional charge that makes it easy to take action? List the topics, ideals, information, music, activities, causes, and passions that get you wound up? This is part of who you are, different from others, that deserves to manifest and be shared.
2- Get your daily dose~ Fill yourself up with the stuff that keeps your flame lit. Don't think about what you "should" do. Do what makes you feel great! Incorporate joy into your schedule daily. First, you will feel more energized, more complete, and in flow. Secondly, you stand apart from others. So if you hate building your business by cold calling, don't do it. What do you enjoy? If you are uncomfortable networking, shifting your focus to helping others may make a big difference if that’s what you value. Filling your mind with exciting information, listening to uplifting music, or connecting with someone who inspires you may be just the daily habit to keep you whistling while you work.
3- Take responsibility to motivate yourself~ As motivational speaker Zig Ziglar would hear complaints about motivation wearing off he would sometimes respond saying, "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing-that's why we recommend it daily." Too often we are looking for someone or something to provide motivation when it's really up to us to keep that spark ignited.
What makes you jump out of bed in the morning? What inspires you into action daily so that the genius in you is manifested fully? Ponder that. Starting Now!
* The interview with Dr. Carol Dweck, PhD, can be read at http://www.iub.edu/~intell/dweck_interview.shtml here .
Copyright 2006, Beth A. Tabak, All rights reserved.

About The Author

Beth Tabak of www.StartingNowCoaching.com is a Business & Life Coach, speaker, columnist, & owner of Starting Now. She coaches big thinkers to move beyond limits, stand out in the crowd, and experience the vastness of their capabilities. Stop by to see all that’s available to you and say “hello”.

| Article Keywords: Motivation

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Motivation... How to Tune In Your Brain and Feel Motivated in Minutes Want to know how to run your brain and be more motivated? Let me tell you a true story... One day when I was in school, many years ago, the school principal wandered into our class room, sat down and started to talk. He talked and talked and there was nothing we could do to stop him seeing as how he was in charge! For once he actually said something that interested me and I never forgot what he said. Not because he was so original but because he was the first person I heard saying it. That day he spoke about the untapped potential of the human mind and how we are all capable of so much more than we realize. And how once you learn how to use more of this vast intelligence you can become much more successful. This distinction has a special significance when it comes to motivating yourself. Because on those days when you are not motivated the solution to your problems may seem elusive. Even though you are capable of handling the situations you find yourself in. If you could approach each day with an attitude of demanding more from yourself than anyone else ever would - you would be shocked at what you can achieve. You would be using more of your potential and making great progress. Silly tasks you have to perform then become stepping stones to something far grander and problems become opportunities for you to grow and impress not only yourself but everyone else around you. The challenge for you right now comes down to getting started. Once your engine is running the momentum will keep you going but what do you do if you feel stuck and unable to begin? You need to learn how to run your brain! All of that vast potential is not being used because you do not know how to activate it. When you discover how easy it is to become motivated...