How do you increase motivation for business?
Sometimes, we all need a dose of business motivation to psyche us up and get us through the day. For some of us, this will mean a strong coffee, or listening to a great song, or a session at the gym. For others, perhaps a few words from someone we find inspiring will help turn that frown upside down and drive us forwards, headfirst into the challenges of the day.
We at Unlimited Success love to read, listen to and watch the words and the stories of the great entrepreneurs who made a difference to the way the world works. We also admire the sports stars, the great thinkers, the history-making scientists and those who decided to do things differently, making a success of thinking outside the box. These are the people that the most ambitious of us should be learning from, in order to emulate some of the greater aspects of their lives and behaviour and carve our own entrepreneurial paths.
These stars’ tenacity, enthusiasm and excitement for their life’s work can help get us through many a tough day, so here is our list of top motivational statements, and why they should matter to any entrepreneur struggling to find a reason to tackle that next challenge.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
-Thomas Alva Edison
Inventor and businessman Thomas Edison saw his fair share of challenges during his life, and famously made numerous missteps and botches. While he is rightly credited as being a thinker whose ideas surpassed many of his peers, his innovations also included talking dolls that broke almost immediately and “sounded ghastly”, and an electric pen that chuntered and boomed while writing with it and had to be maintained via messy chemical solutions in a jar.
Edison’s above quote demonstrates the man’s outlook, and gives us a glimpse into the soul of a man who refused to give up in the face of drawbacks. As an entrepreneur trying to find the right market and sometimes forge the right product, it will always be of benefit to take a leaf out of Edison’s book and see a lack of success as a step closer to triumph, rather than yet another failure.
“Choose a job that you like, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
- Confucius
The ancient Chinese politician and philosopher Confucius is known for his views on government and morality, but here we find him offering a piece of advice that we at Unlimited Success have been giving since our inception. By blending passion and profession, you can find a reason to continue and achieve even during those difficult days, because who wouldn’t want to progress in a field that inspires every fibre of your being?
Working hard in an industry that you find inspiring and exciting is one sure-fire way to remain enthused and keep on keeping on.
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
- Bill Gates
It’s never fun hearing back from customers who have been dissatisfied with your service or receiving negative reviews. They can be rude, obnoxious, and can even damage your brand – but as Microsoft mogul Bill Gates says, they are goldmines for deeper insights into the areas of your business that require attention.
It has been reported many times that customers are far more likely to leave a bad review than a positive one, so when they do, pay attention to what they are saying. Are they simply venting steam and complaining about something unavoidable that any business could have been guilty of? Or, are they giving you an observation that highlights a missing piece of your company, which you could work on and improve in order to enhance the entire makeup of your business?
“Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.”
- Timothy Ferris, author ofThe 4-Hour Work Week
There are few quotes that encapsulate the importance of just doing it with the conciseness of this one. Tim has made his success explaining how to do things in a more efficient manner and investing in a variety of different tech businesses, and this quote is a reminder of how essential it is to make a start on that project you have always meant to commence.
This advice is not only relevant to your business aims, but to your personal projects too, and compares the concept of “putting things off” to a disease that will ruin what chances you have of finding satisfaction and success; simply by believing that, you fail to make the time to commit to it.
The idea that you may never get to achieving what you would love to unless you start now is one of the greatest pieces of business motivation ever suggested.
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
- Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett is an investor and entrepreneur whose reputation blows 99% of the rest of the world’s magnates and tycoons out of the water. He is seen by many as an oracle or sage of finance and business, so his words carry a great deal of weight.
In this quote, Buffett refers to the fact that it is far easier to ruin a reputation than to build it. Much like the reviewers who are more likely to leave a negative review than a positive one, the way that people think of you is more likely to take critical damage due to poor behaviour management or a half-hearted service, than it is to be boosted by a job well done. Customers expect a job well done – they do not expect their money to be wasted.
It is essential to recognise that one poorly-treated customer, peer, or even ex-employee or contractor, could damage your business’s reputation in retaliation to their mistreatment than any satisfied customer can improve it. Your company’s reputation is all-important, and must be protected with almost religious fervour.
Bonus quote and final thoughts:
"Do, or do not. There is no try."
- Yoda, Jedi Master
While we cannot expect ourselves to live our lives with the perpetual determination of a Jedi all the time, take a leaf out of that green, wrinkly sensée’s book and recognise that it often only takes commitment to an idea to achieve what you set out to do. The idea of “trying” to do something suggests that you will do it if you find the time. The idea of “doing” it suggests that you will stop at nothing until the task is complete, and this kind of single-mindedness is a trait that anyone seeking to be a great entrepreneur should emulate.
With these quotes in mind, remember that ultimately, the only person who can motivate you is yourself. You can find business motivation in other people’s words and let them drive you forwards, or you can let your own moods rule you and lessen the likelihood of your own success.
Ultimately, it is up to you.
