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As young children, we have a great ability to learn and to see past setbacks.

As we begin to meet expectations created by our families, schools, and environment, the motivation of our early years shifts from our goals to pleasing others, and often our desire to learn suffers.

How can you motivate yourself?

With this exercise, try to 

• recognize your sense of discovery
• take responsibility for your learning
• accept the risks inherent in learning with confidence, competence, and autonomy
• recognize that "failure" is success:
  learning what doesn't work is on the same path
  as learning what does work
• celebrate your achievement in meeting your goals

There are seven pages or stages to this exercise:

1. Begin with  Definition
2. Intrinsic motivation
3. Extrinsic motivation
4. Project description
5. Mentoring
6. Progress
7. Conclusion/Evaluation

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits. The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation:
The boy asked, "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?"
The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn."
"Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now." replied boy.
The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn. The little boy found more perseverance and offered,
"Lady, I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of North Palm beach, Florida."
Again the woman answered in the negative. With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.
The store-owner, who was listening to all, this, walked over to the boy and said,
"Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and, would like to offer you a job."
The little boy replied, "No thanks, I was just checking my performance with the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady, I was talking to!"
Source: Plezer Blog

Posted by Jim Citrin on Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 12:00AM

"I was mentally weaker on the important points."

That's how tennis star Novak Djokovic summed up his loss to player Roger Federer, who overcame seven set points to win his 12th Grand Slam and become the first man in more than 80 years to capture four straight U.S. Open tennis titles.

Perhaps you're an investment professional confronting swirling equity and debt markets that are as daunting as the raucous nighttime crowds at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Or you might be a manager trying to keep your team together and your customers loyal as upstart competitors seem to appear out of nowhere.

Are you responding to the pressure like the cool, calm, and collected Federer, who delivers in the moment of truth? Or are you more like the talented but tortured Djokovic, whose emotions led him to tense up when it counted most?

Mental toughness is a learnable skill. With knowledge of how your mind and emotions work, deliberate practice in high-stakes situations, and focus and patience, you can develop this ability. When you do, you'll experience winning results and break through to a new level of performance and success.

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This article by Sam Horn offers some good advice for improving your ability to concentrate. The secret? FOCUS. As in...

F = Five More Rule

"...if you're in the middle of a task and tempted to give up -- just do FIVE MORE. Read FIVE MORE pages.  Finish FIVE MORE math problems.  Work FIVE MORE minutes."

O = One Think at a Time

"Instead of telling [your mind] NOT to worry about another, lesser priority (which will cause your mind to think about the very thing it's not supposed to think about!); assign it a single task with start-stop time parameters."

C = Conquer procrastination

"...ask yourself, "Do I have to do this?  Do I want it done so it's not on my mind?  Will it be any easier later?"  Answering those three questions can give you the incentive to mentally apply yourself now."

U = Use Your Hands as Blinkers

"Cup your hands around your eyes so you have "tunnel vision" and are looking solely at your priority project.  Placing your hands on the side of your face blocks out surroundings so they are literally "out of sight, out of mind." You are now in “telephoto focus” because you are looking at and thinking about only one thing."

S = See As If for the First or Last Time

"Next time your mind is a million miles away, simply look around you and really SEE your surroundings.  Study that exquisite flower in the vase. Get up close to the picture on the wall and marvel at the artist's craftsmanship.  Lean in and really look at a loved one you tend to take for granted.  This will "Velveteen Rabbit" your world and make it come alive before your very eyes."

Here's a transcript of an article in Business 2.0 where they asked 30 business visionaries, collectively worth over $70 billion, what single philosophy they swear by more than any other -- in business, life, or both. Here are the secrets of their success. They are a few golden nuggets in here.

Found this interesting article in "The Hindu" today. It speaks volumes about how great sportsmen work.

Goal-setting seems alien in a process focus. Every book I’ve read about goal-setting makes a point of eliciting your desires and focusing on that goal to the point of obsession. Since a process focus is, by definition, giving up your craving for results and viewing the process, doesn’t this mean you should give up setting goals?

Absolutely not. Goal-setting is still important in a process focus, although the reasons for using it change. Instead of setting goals so that you can have something better in the future, you set goals to give the process structure.

Structure is Critical for Process

The best metaphor I can use to describe the difference between a craving and process focus is to think of a game. The person who craves an end result desires to win at all costs, even if they hate playing. The person who focuses on process sees winning as an aspect that contributes to having fun.

Virtually all games have clear goals and structures. The few examples people could cite of games without goals or structure I wouldn’t call them games. The Sims and other games without structure tend to just be environments where people create there own rules and goals. Life could be seen as an environment where you need to make your own structure.

Having objectives and constraints in a game provides an opportunity for challenge, creativity or learning. Having goals in life provides a structure for an interesting process.

How to Set Goals for Process

Setting goals for process is a little trickier than setting goals from craving. The reason is because they work backwards. Craving assumes a goal and designs whatever process necessary to achieve it. Process assumes an interesting path and designs a goal to give it structure.

At first setting goals shouldn’t be difficult. I don’t expect anyone has the power to immediately turn off their cravings after reading just a few posts. So you’ll probably end up picking goals that you desire as you try to transition to focusing on the process.

If you continue with the philosophy of process, however, you reach a point where this simply won’t work. Believing that craving creates pain will make picking a goal based on desires difficult. Alternatively, I believe there are two criteria you can use to set goals:

• Goals that have an interesting process. (i.e. your passionate about working on them)
• Processes that will lead to more interesting processes. (e.g. you may find setting up a business boring, but running it could be interesting)

With the second method there is a limit to how far you can predict into the future, but it can be used as a basis for narrowing down which goals to pursue. Those that create the potential for more interesting processes.

Adding Constraints to Goals

In a craving mindset, you pick the easiest possible route to your goal. From a process viewpoint, that is boring. Instead you want to pick one that meets your level of challenge.

When I tell people my interests are in entrepreneurship, I often get a warning about how difficult it is. “My cousin/friend/brother-in-law owns a business, and it is a lot of work.” From a craving standpoint, this seems like a reasonable comment. If entrepreneurship is really that risky and difficult, why not just pursue a shorter path to satisfy your cravings?

But from a process standpoint that statement doesn’t make any sense to me. The only thing I crave is the challenge. If entrepreneurship were easy, why would I want to do it? The difficulty makes it an interesting pursuit.

The best constraints are external ones, since they are easier to enforce. Start by selecting goals that naturally create a challenging terrain. Don’t start climbing mountains before you’ve learned to walk, but once you have, don’t waste your time running over hills.

Finding Goals that Match You

Select goals that match your personality and challenge level. When I see infomercials for strategies to get rich quick, I laugh. Aside from the lack of integrity, the idea of “getting rich quick” seems like such a shallow goal to me. If it is both easy and made for everyone, why on earth would you bother doing it?

Instead pick goals that are both challenging and tailored to who you are. Don’t borrow society’s to-do list.

Soruce: Scott H Young

1. We say "yes"to others because we want to please them. But when eventually we can't continue, we let them down and we feel guilty. Both parties suffer. Recognize that a desire to please often prevents us from saying no.
   
2. Stick to your plan. If you have a written set of goals and strategies, this gives you a reason to stick to your course. ("Thanks, but I already have an investment plan, so you don't need to send me a newsletter about stocks." )
   
3. When someone persists, repeat your position, perhaps in a slightly different way. ("As I already said, our policy is to donate to charities that help children only." )
   
4. Make sure you understand exactly what is being asked of you before you respond. Perhaps the task is more time consuming than you thought. On the other hand, it may not take much effort at all.
   
5. Excel at just a few things, rather than being just average at many. Don't try to do everything.
   
6. You have a right to say no. Remember that others may take you for granted and even lose respect for you if you don't.
   
7. Be polite, but firm in saying no. You only build false hopes with wishy-washy responses. For instance, the phrase "I'll try to be there" in response to a party invitation is giving yourself an excuse to avoid a commitment. It doesn't do anyone any favours.
   
   
8. When a superior asks you to do a new urgent task;
   • Remind her that you are working on other projects that she has already identified as top priorities
     
   • Ask for help in deciding where the new task should fall on the list of priorities
     
   • Point out that you might be able to do everything, but not to the usual high standards that are expected.
     
9. Some experts recommend keeping your answer short. This way, you can say no without feeling the need for a lengthy justification. ("I'm sorry, I'm not available that night." ) On the other hand, others say that giving a longer answer with reasons reinforces your credibility. Let the situation decide.
   
10. Provide suggestions or alternatives to the person who is asking. ("I can't do that task today, but how about next week," or "How about asking John instead?" )
    
11. When in doubt, it's easier to say no now, then change your mind to a yes later, rather than the other way around.
    

When You Have to Say Yes

Sometimes, saying no is simply unavoidable. Here are some techniques to use:

• Tell the person you can agree to their request this time, but ask how the two of you might plan better for the next time.
  
• Tell them yes, but remind them they owe you one. For example, they might cover you for a shift next time you need time off.
  
• Tell them yes, but take control by saying you'll come back to them with a timetable. For instance, say, "I expect I'll be able to do that for you by the end of the week."
  
• Put a tough condition on your agreement. "If it would only take an hour, I'd be able to help, but I can't give you more than that."
  

Learn other interesting TIME SAVER TIPS here

"The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised."
George F. Will, The Leveling Wind

"It doesnt hurt to be optimistic. You can always cry later."
Lucimar Santos de Lima

There are certainly a lot of opinions about optimism and pessimism. Some people, like George Will, think that pessimism is the way to go. Yet, others like Truman and Santos de Lima, favor an optimistic outlook on life. People on both sides of the debate make good points. But who's right? Should you see the glass as half-full or half-empty? What does the science say?

The Benefits of Optimism

There are clear benefits to having an optimistic outlook on life. There are benefits to your everyday mood, to your personal health, and to your ability to cope with life's occasional setbacks.

• Optimists are Happier
• Optimists are Healthier
• Optimists are Better at Coping

The Psychological Benefits of Optimism

Other Interesting Articles

The Secret to Creativity
Read Old Books to Think Great Thoughts
7 Lesser Known Ways to Increase Productivity

I found this good website which talks about pursuing your passion. Most importantly how to find where your passion is. Do read it.

For years, I have been lecturing to CEOs, artists, photographers, filmmakers and other creative people on what it takes to be successful - successful at least at being who they can be, not necessarily who others think they should be. I've interviewed hundreds of successful artists, counseled hundreds of students and working professionals on their way up and a few on their way down. I've also looked at my own career, talents and motivations along the way, and come to the conclusion that there were eight keys to being successful. When I started there were five keys; in a few years, when I am wiser, then maybe I'll have 10 keys, but for now eight keys seem enough. Here they are in their order of importance.

#1: PASSION

Passion is that "demonic compulsiveness" that John Gardner talks about in his book, "On Becoming a Novelist." It's what fires any creative person, something that gets you angry, or something you love and want to share. It's ambition, a vision for your future, dim though it may be. That vision leads to setting goals, long-term goals (I want to be a photographer) and short-term goals, (what camera do I buy?). I ask everyone I interview, have you written down your goals? Most people have not. Have you? Do you know where you'd like to be in five years? I do. I have written it down, so that at year's end, or on some quiet evening, I can look at what I've written and reflect on where I've been, and where I'm going … how far along the path I've come and how far I've got to go. Often, I realize I've reached my goals and need to be dreaming about new horizons, new challenges and new goals. Write down your goals. They will tell you what to do for the short-term goals … what books to buy, skills to develop, workshops to take, exercises to do to get better.

#2: ABILITY TO ACCEPT A RISK

I do not know anyone who has succeeded who has not been able to assess and take a risk and then live with the consequence - success or failure. Risk avoidance is a sure way to remain mediocre; being safe does not promote personal growth. Failure or making a mistake is not a bad thing; it's proof you were exploring new ways to do something, and that's better than safe success. We learn from our mistakes, not our successes. Really creative people embrace risk. They can sustain a high level of ambiguity; they do not need to know where they are. They do not mind being lost, for they call it just taking the longer, more interesting way around.

#3: HIGH SELF-ESTEEM

You think well of yourself. You are not boastful or egotistical, but do have an honest understanding of your talents, handicaps and are working toward getting better.

#4: PERSISTENCE

You have just done this long enough. How long is long enough? Well, it will take 10 years. I have asked hundreds of accomplished photographers, writers, filmmakers, painters and musician how long it took before they felt they were able to speak from a source within. Ten years was been their unanimous answer.

If it takes 10 years, then how do you spend the time wisely? It will take at least two years to acquire 70 percent of the craft you will need to work in your medium. It will take another eight years to acquire the next 20 percent of your craft. At 90 percent, you will have mastered your craft, but there is that 10 percent that will take a lifetime to acquire. In the meantime, while working to master your craft (the technical skills and processes for working in your medium) you will also be learning and acquiring a personal vision, your ability to see, to observe, to create and discover things. This is difficult at first, but the older you get the wiser and more aware you become. Craft and vision are your tools for inner exploration.

Persistence takes discipline. Discipline is simply doing what you know you need to do, even though you don't feel like doing it. The first thing is knowing what to do. Most people do not know. You are reading this, so you are interested in finding out what to do. Make a list. Next, find the willpower to do what's on the list. This is the most difficult part of all the keys - finding the positive willpower to do what you know you need to do. We all wrestle with discipline for it does not come easily, not even for the most successful.

#5: BEING NICE TO WORK WITH

Why is being nice important? Because it will be other people who will help you acquire the craft, help you discover and develop your vision, give you a job, introduce you to opportunities. People want to help others, but only if they show a willingness to work, to contribute and are nice to have around. People want to have positive, enthusiastic people around, people who will solve problems, not create them.

#6: WHO YOU KNOW

If you are nice to work with, the next will follow. You need to know and be known by people who will help you, hire you, buy your work, and give you advice. Here is a list of people you need to know and be known by:

Good Teachers - People who know what you need to know and can teach it to you in a way that you learn it.

Coaches - People who know your limits and your potential and will help keep you close to your "edge" of learning and growing.

Peers - Your friends and classmates, people who are on the same rung of the ladder as you, who are striving as you are.

Masters - People who are successful in their careers who can look at your work, your process and your career and give you valuable feedback, feedback you will accept and follow.

Mentors - A master with whom you have established a working relationship, someone who is wiser, accomplished and will help you understand the limits and possibilities of your projects, your process and your creative life.

Your Clients - The people who will buy your work, give you assignments, hire you.

#7: MASTER YOUR CRAFT

Learn a craft, so you have a tool with which to earn a living. This tool can also be used to explore life - outwardly and spiritually inwardly - as you search your soul for the reasons of your existence.

#8: TALENT

Talent is the last thing you need. You have to have some of it, but you do not need a lot. Too much talent is often a handicap. Things come too easily and there is little incentive to push, to make use of the talent. I know highly talented musicians who refuse to perform in public, photographers who are so arrogant no one wants them around, filmmakers whose egos are so inflated they are a pain to deal with, and others who are so impatient at getting what they want, they never master anything and, therefore, never do succeed. I prefer to surround myself with positive, successful people, young people who are enthusiastic even though they have yet to find or develop what talent they may have.

A talent is the natural ability to do something extraordinary. We all can do a lot, but some people have been gifted with talents that go beyond what others can do. What are you talented at? Do you know?

Success is not a matter of being talented. Notice it is last on the list. A little bit of talent, combined with the other seven keys, will lead you to success. I know many people who are talented, but lack one or more of the other seven keys and they fail to succeed.

Do not blame your lack of success on your lack of talent. It will be your attitude that will determine your altitude, not your talent or lack thereof.

In peak performance we move toward the 'zone', which can be broken into twelve dimensions:

1. Flow
   • [golfer Bobby Jones:] I had to make no special effort to do anything. (p. 86, ITZ)
   • He is no longer wasting effort fighting and restraining himself; muscles are no longer fighting muscles. (Maslow, TPB, p. 105-6)
2. Creativity
   • We are not creatures, products of Space and Time. . . . We are all being newly born within Space and Time, second by second. (p. 300, Tarthang Tulku, TSK)
3. Accomplishment
   • The person in the peak-experiences usually feels himself to be at the peak of his powers, using all his capacities at the best and fullest. . . . He is at his best . . . . This is not only felt subjectively but can be seen by the observer. (pp. 105-6, TPB)
   • The more eager we are to make a diagnosis and a plan of action, the less helpful do we become. The more eager we are to cure, the longer it takes. (pp. 184, TPB)
4. Objective Space
   • [golfer Jack Fleck:] As I looked at the putt, the hole looked as big as a wash tub. (p. 38, In the Zone, Murphy)
   • Everything is made of emptiness and form is condensed emptiness. (Einstein)
5. Mental Space
   • He is more able to fuse with the world, with what was formerly not-self, e.g., the lovers come closer to forming a unit rather than two people, . . . the creator becomes one with his work being created, . . . the appreciator becomes the music . . . . (p. 105, TPB)
   • We completely transcend a self-centered orientation and become fully with everyone and everything else. Locations and attitudes, problems and confusions, no longer bind us. (p. 113-114, TSK)
6. Identity
   • [When judo is practiced properly,] You will become one with him. You and your opponent will no longer be two bodies separated physically from each other but a single entity . . . . (p. 32, ITZ)
   • [auto racer Jimmy Clark:] The car happens to be under me and I'm controlling it, but it's as much a part of me as I am of it. (p. 32, ITZ)
7. Locus of Knowing
   • We can develop a mode of 'seeing' which is not limited to a particular position or 'point of view' at all. (p. 27, TSK)
8. Content of Knowing
   • It is not simply a content of knowledge, for it involves no sense of a subject-object duality. (p. 219, TSK)
   • [Soccer player Pelé:] Intuitively, at any instant, he seemed to know the position of all the other players on the field, and to sense just what each man was going to do next. (p. 38, ITZ)
   • It is not a meaning....It is unlearned or nonlearned learnedness. (p. 253, TSK)
9. Well-being
   • [climber Rob Schultheis:] I felt . . . bliss, a joy beyond comprehension . . . a feeling that all ills were healed, everything was all right, always had been, really, and always would be. There was nothing wanting in all of creation. (p. 124, ITZ)
10. Need and Fulfillment
    • Fulfillment is available within all situations, thoughts, and emotions, whether convention labels them as 'positive' or 'negative'. (p. 271, TSK)
    • We participate in an uncontrived intimacy. We are also absolutely self-sufficient in a nonegoistic sense. We can draw nourishment and energy directly from our own being, directly from Space and Time. (p. 287, TSK)
11. Feeling of Time
    • [football player John Brodie:] Time seems to slow way down . . . . It seems as if I had all the time in the world . . . and yet I know the defensive line is coming at me just as fast as ever. (p. 42, ITZ)
    • [Tom Seaver:] As Rod Gaspar's front foot stretched out and touched home plate, in the fraction of a second before I leaped out of the dugout . . . my whole baseball life flashed in front of me . . . . (p. 47, ITZ)
    • There is a common experience in Tai Chi . . . . Awareness of the passage of time completely stops. (p. 47, ITZ)
    • Without confirming division, it [time] allows for the conceptual separation into past and present and future. (p. 162, DTS)
12. Feeling of Reality
    • [Charles Lindbergh:] All sense of substance leaves. There's no longer weight to my body, no longer hardness to the stick. The feeling of flesh is gone. (p. 116, ITZ)
    • [runner Ian Jackson:] My body seemed insubstantial like some ethereal vehicle of awareness. (p. 135, ITZ)

How can these ideas about peak experience be applied to the workplace?

Reference used

Hello Ezians! Make it a great day! http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/moneyhappy/37791 Good article! A must read for all!