I want to talk about your motivations for running your business, for getting up in the morning, for keeping on going. Because running a business can be tricky. It can be hard at times, and the more we understand what motivates us and keeps us going, what aspires us to be successful to grow our businesses, the more we can tap into that kind of secret magic and keep going.

So the reason I'm thinking about this is yesterday somebody asked me what motivates me, what motivates me in my business? The first thing that I thought of was money. So I said, "Well, money motivates me in my business because obviously I need money. I don't want to be poor anymore. I like holidays, I like clothes." So I thought, "Well, money's the thing that motivates me in my business." That's the short answer.

But then I thought, hang on a minute, if money really was a motivator for me, would I work for a arms dealer, for example, or for political party that I didn't agree with, if they gave me loads of money? And I realized that the answer to that was no. So while money is one of the things that motivates me and probably motivates you in running your business, it's not the sole reason we get up in the morning.

I started to think about, well what else motivates me and us and you to run our businesses. And I was thinking about things like fame. Is it because we want to get on a platform and share our message with the world? Is it because we want to help others? Is it because we like to see others succeed or we create beautiful products that make people happy? Or services that move people along?

Is it that we're driven by results? Are you motivated when good things happen, when you can see that you're succeeding. And if you're results driven, then creating those goals. So you know when you've made those results, it's going to be super important for you. Are you motivated by deadlines? Are deadlines the thing that keep you going forward? And if you're motivated by deadlines, then get your calendar out and start filling it full of deadlines. If that's the thing that gets you up in the morning and gets you doing stuff, then think about deadlines.

Are you motivated by your family? Do you want to provide a good life for them? Well, what does that look like? How do you prove to your family that you're doing a good job? If the motivation is family, how do you intrinsically bring that into your business?

If your motivation is going on lots of holidays, then set up a savings plan. If I want to go to New York in a year and a half, if I save up 41 pounds a month, I will have enough money for the flight and spending money in a year and a half. 41 pounds a month isn't a lot. So that's going to motivate me to put that there so I can go to New York again.

Are you motivated by recognition or praise? If you are, and maybe there's something that might've come up when you were employed, for example. When we're employed, we're constantly having meetings with our manager who can tell us if we're doing good and moving us along. So if you're motivated by recognition and praise, then make sure you ask people for those all important reviews. I mean they're important anyway, but if that's a motivator for you, then make sure that that's built into your customer journey and your strategy because that's the thing that is going to keep you going.

The better you can understand the triggers that will push you forward, the more you're able to integrate them into your every working day, so that you understand what motivates you and then you create a business around being able to fit those into your business.

Did you see my blog about what the last ten years have taught me? Check it out here and let me know your thoughts - I’d love to hear from you.