In Zig Ziglar’s book, See You at the Top, he states that “desire is the mother of motivation“. I really can connect to this concept. Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything to get it?
I know you have. We all have. When that kind of drive or desire sets in no one has to tell you what to do. My son is a professional musician. He started playing the saxophone when he was in the sixth grade. He was motivated to do so due to a fifth grade “music” experience. They took all the fifth graders over to the middle school one evening and each student was encouraged to try each instrument to see which one they connected with the best.
Jordan liked them all but the saxophone peaked his interest the most. I can tell you honestly, that he was so motivated to play this instrument that I never remember reminding him to practice. I didn’t have to. His desire to play was the mother of his motivation to pick up that saxophone every day.
That motivation continued through middle school and beyond. Jordan wound up attending the Eastman School of Music on scholarship and today he plays (all the wind instruments) professionally all over the country.
His upcoming tour runs October-May and he is playing for the show “Anything Goes”. Check the schedule he may be coming to your city and if you let me know you are going I’ll be sure you get to meet the band!
This topic of motivation is so relevant today. There are so many distractions or options for things to do or want that I think it’s hard for people to stay focused. When I talk with business owners they all seem to have a common challenge of keeping their staff motivated.
I really believe that finding out what your employees desire can be a real key to understanding how to keep them motivated. I also think that you need to know what motivates you to lead the team or if you desire the leadership role at all?
If desire is the mother of motivation then I think we have to really understand why the people who work on our teams work with us. What do they want? If the answer is, “just a paycheck”…then ask the next question. Why? What do you want to spend that paycheck on? It’s not the paycheck…it’s what the paycheck gets them. That’s where their desire lies.
Get connected to what they are connected to and you’ll know how to motivate and inspire them. Listen, if Zig Ziglar says it’s so then I believe it is!
