A strong primary motivation will see you through to the finish...
Seems like a harmless question.
Simple to answer, at least at first…
But then, when you really start to think about it – you realize it’s a lot more complicated than you first thought.
There’s your students; I mean, you certainly care about them.
And then, there’s your family. You want to provide for and support them.
And also, there’s your style and your love for the martial arts. You teach because you enjoy sharing something you love.
But the fact remains…
None of that may be THE reason. Your primary motivation. The one that keeps you up late at night. The one that has you awake in the early hours of the morning, writing down ideas and planning ahead.
But, that’s the motivating factor that WILL see you through the tough times. The times when you just want to give up. The times when you are ready to throw in the towel.
It’s the factor that makes you go another day, when you feel like you’ll never realize it.
You need a primary motivation that is that strong. And if you don’t have one, well…
You’d better find one fast. Because being in business is rough. Oh sure, it has its rewards. But getting there is often a long and difficult road.
Call it a “burning desire”, your “inner fire”, your passion, your raison d’etre… whatever.
Just know that it’s important to find it, to kindle it, and to keep it strong.
Because it’s probably the one thing that will keep you going until you reach your goals.
It’s not often that I mix in religious messages with my business messages (although, in the martial arts world religious messages are as ubiquitous as wet in water – you just don’t realize it because it’s culturally based).
However, I think this blog post by Faith-Based Millionaire author Jay Peroni is a great message for anyone who is facing challenges as they pursue their business with passion and fervor.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did… the quote in the beginning (describing the deeds of Benaiah, one of King David’s three mighty men) reads like an action sequence from Gladiator.
I got this from Jim Labadie this morning. This is a perfect example of the dogged determination required to achieve massive success following your passion.
During all the times I tried and failed to open a successful school, I was called:
a “dreamer” (thank God above for that – I am, most assuredly, a world-class dreamer)
“a quitter” (ironic considering what I had to go through to own a school)
“direction-less” (another misnomer – I knew exactly what I wanted, I just hadn’t figured out how to get there yet)
that I’d “never make any money doing that” (my ex-girlfriend said that when she heard I’d packed up everything and moved to Austin to teach martial arts… yet, two short years later I was in profit and the proud owner of my first successful school)
“a mess” (because I refused to follow convention – I knew I had to follow my dream).
I guess that’s why stories like this one resonate with me so much.
There’s nothing wrong with failing forward, as Tony Robbins shares here with the story of Sylvester Stallone’s inspiring rise to fame and success.
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