JOIN USThere was once a dog who boasted to his canine friends that he could run faster than anyone. One day he chased a rabbit and failed to catch it. His friends ridiculed him. “All right,” said the dog, “I did not make good on my boast. But remember, the rabbit was running for his life and I was only running for my dinner.” What the dog was trying to accentuate is that his motive in running after the rabbit was not as compelling as that of the rabbit in running for his life.
This clearly underscores the fact that potentials can be reached to the fullest when fed by a gripping motive.
Motivation is nothing but a reason for action. It is thus fundamental in getting any action started. It becomes the key to an engaging life. It is an essential element that separates the enthusiasts from the indifferent.
He who can jump out of his bed daily with an indomitable spirit and undying enthusiasm is the one who amply feeds his mind with plenty of motivation. Conversely, he who lingers in his bed lethargically, shutting off to the fullness of life and of the opportunities of a brand new day, is the one without any motivation to life.
The vast majority of people fail miserably in finding sufficient motivation and settle down to an empty life of drudgery. Yet, if motivation can be pumped into living, it can transform drudgery into adventure and emptiness into abundance.
Subsequently, when driven by an earnest motivation scaling any height is made possible. The classical account of Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes is often cited to emphasise the need for a motivation in the pursuit of any endeavour.
According to the story, when Cortes landed at Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico in the 16th century, one of the first things he did was to burn his ships.
His goal was to conquer this new land by pushing west to the Pacific; by burning his ships he eliminated the possibility that his men would lose heart and sail back to Spain. The presence of the ships gave Cortes’ forces an alternative if they lost the fight that lay ahead; burning the ships gave the men a powerful motive to win. The sailors thereby turned into soldiers. They saw victory as the only means of survival. Driven by this motivation, they marched ahead to defeat their foes.
Motivation has been a driving force that has accompanied the movers and shakers of history.
From something as fundamental as restoring freedom to the oppressed, to something as superfluous as finding a new way to enjoy music out of our pockets, Mahatma Gandhi and Steve Jobs alike found the motivation to accomplish the impossible.