Welcome back!
Let’s continue with our discussion of the different ways you can get (and keep) motivated. Read on…
Finding Inspiration
If you have a short-term goal – like something that only takes a month or so – you probably don’t need to seek out inspiration. That’s because it’s pretty easy to maintain your enthusiasm and motivation for a short period of time.
But maybe you have a big goal, one that requires extra time and effort. You may find that as the weeks and months drag by, your enthusiasm fades. You start losing sight of why you’re even working on the goal. And after a while it may feel like you’ll never get there.
That’s when you need to seek out like-minded individuals and sources of inspiration. In some cases you may merely read about others to inspire your own journey. At other times you may want to meet with like-minded others to get support. Let me explain…
Seeking Inspiration
This is the easiest of the two inspirational methods. Basically, you learn as much as you can about others who’ve done what you want to do.
For example, if you’re interested in starting a successful online website, then read biographies and autobiographies about other successful internet entrepreneurs. You can find plenty of books at your library or at Amazon.com. You can also read more about them on various websites (including their own sites).
If some of your role models aren’t exactly famous (at least not outside of their niche), then you can learn more about them by reading their blogs, following them on Twitter, befriending them on Facebook and so on. You may even get a chance to interact personally with them on forums and elsewhere.
Which brings us to our next method…
Meeting With Like-Minded Individuals
Sometimes you may be able to meet those who’re successfully doing what you want to do. For example, you might get a chance to talk to them on the phone, meet them at a niche seminar or take them out to lunch.
Indeed, this works particularly well with people who live in your neighborhood. Maybe there’s a successful business owner that you’d like to emulate. You may offer to take him or her out to lunch in exchange for getting to know the person better. You might even get the opportunity to “pick their brains” and/or interview them.
The above strategy works best if you’re approaching people who are already successful. But what about talking to people who have had some success, but they’re still striving for their own goals? The answer is yes… you should talk to these people too.
Indeed, some of the best support you’ll get in achieving your own goals is to form a “support group” with other like-minded individuals. Generally, this is referred to as a mastermind group. About once a week you can get together with your group (preferably in person, but a conference call will do). These meetings or calls will give each of you the opportunity to brainstorm with each other and support one another as you strive for your goals.
You can easily find like-minded individuals on relevant forums, Facebook groups and similar communities. For example, if you want to start an online business then you’d check out business and marketing forums. You can also find these people right in your own neighborhood by placing ads in your paper, hanging flyers, and approaching people personally to invite them into your mastermind group.
But one note: Spend some time getting to know people before you invite them. You want to be sure your group members are just as goal-oriented, ambitious and positive as you are. In other words, you don’t want any naysayers in your group!
That’s it for this time. Next time you’re going to learn how to recognize and avoid those who want to bring you down, so stay tuned!