Motivation 2: No Days Off

Becoming great at anything takes hard work and a lot of it.  People use the word great loosely these days, but it used to mean one of the best.  That is how I use the word.  Also, instead of saying "the best", I am going to say "one of the best", because the discussion of who is actually "the best" is an exhausting pointless conversation.  If you're at the top and in the discussion, you're great, and that's what I hope to be......great.  So let me change my opening sentence in order to eliminate any confusion.  To be one of the best takes hard work.

The reason most people never become one of the best is because they are not willing to put in the hard work.  No matter what you're trying to accomplish, it is more convenient to pay someone else who has done the hard work to be great.  I get it, people are busy.  When an individual gets home from work they want to relax, not go right back to work.  The key for me is to have constant motivation at home.

Every room I walk into has something that reminds me of why I want to achieve my goals.  I have notes in my work area to get me thinking about what I want to learn, and remind me to spend time researching.  Even spending a small amount of time every day keeps me moving in the right direction.

I also use checklists that force me to see all of the areas I want to work on with the goal of checking the final box (did you complete all of the tasks?).  No matter how tired or unmotivated I am, the desire to check that final box makes me work and get better.

After my family, the most important reminders that I have to be great, however, are the pictures and posters I have around the house.  I believe that it is important to find things that motivate you, and display them to serve as constant reminders.  I have the race cards of past races that I won money on to remind me of what it feels like to win.  Remembering those races inspires me to go win more.  I also have a framed picture of Bill Belichick in my office.  Bill Belichick is a football genius who has become the most successful head coach in NFL history.

There are many things that he does that have brought him to this level, and I believe can make me better as well.  Belichick started out as a scout breaking down film.  He is the best at understanding what his opponent does in a game in every situation.  I would like to be the best at reading a chart and understanding what a stock or currency will do.  Another reason is his adaptability.  Each game-plan is unique from game to game depending on what the best way to beat his opponent that week is.  This can also help me, since no two races are the same, and no two charts set up the same way.  I would like to be more adaptable and wager or trade based on each unique situation.  Also, he does not get set in a set of rules as to how you win a football game.  Most geniuses think out side the box, and Bill is no different.  He develops creative formations and game-plans while other coaches are predictable and "do what they do best".  As I research Belichick more, I may find even more reasons, but the last is because of his preparedness.  Once he breaks an opponent down and develops a game plan, he has his players practice his many creative formations until they are able to execute whenever called upon.  When he needs an adjustment, his players and coaches are prepared.

The important thing to take away from this is that you have to find things that motivate you to work every day.  Do whatever it takes to get yourself thinking about your goals so that you can keep moving forward.  Whether you use these methods or come up some of your own, you have to find ways to get motivated.  Do not put it off!

Motivation 1: The Expanding Brain

When faced with a problem, the first step toward solving it is to ask the right questions.  In order to solve the problem of why I set out to learn certain things and then fail, the first place I need to look is within.  This is something most people never do.  They look outward for the cause, which is why most people never solve them.  Who or what is holding me back?  Everyone has an excuse for failure.

When I ask myself exactly what it is I am doing to cause my failure, a couple of things come to mind right away.  The first problem is that I don't make time.  I need to devote time every day toward reaching my goals.  The second problem is the subject of this post, and that is that I am stuck in my ways.

Most people will learn about a subject from someone or something, and that is how you do it.  You hear people all the time argue a topic and site only one source.  In a book I'm reading called Super Brain, it suggests that it's possible to expand your brain.  The reason most adults (myself included) fail at learning new things is that they get tunnel vision.  They learned something, and that's how it's done.  There is one way to do something, and if it fails, they fail.  The trick, then, is to open your mind to new ideas about the same thing.  Learning something new and expanding on the old information you already knew, will allow you to see things differently.  If what you have been doing is failing, then the solution is not to give up because it is impossible, but to try learning a new way.

For a baby, every day is a new world to explore.  They don't get set in a fixed pattern, they are constantly exploring, which is why their development is so great at that time.  As adults, we get set in our routines and never explore new worlds, which is why we stop developing.  With this blog I plan on constantly exploring new ideas in the subjects that I once failed at.  I will enter this new learning with an opened mind, and allow the new information to expand on the old.  Exploring new worlds usually opens people's eyes and encourages them to keep exploring.  If your brain is continuously expanding, then you are continuously giving yourself new tools to be successful.

Break the Rules

When it comes to solving problems, you can follow the rules or you can break them.  I was taught from a young age to follow the rules, and look where it got me.  Don't get me wrong, I love my life and my family, but I can't help but think that I'm capable of so much more.  I'm not suggesting breaking the law, I just mean the rules that the "experts" have established for the most common things we do.  Go to school, get a safe job, get married, buy a house, have kids, save your money, and retire at age 60.  All these rules do is leave us with stressful, debt filled lives with no guarantees of anything at the end.  It seems like the people who get ahead are the ones who break those rules.

One of the most brilliant minds ever belonged to Albert Einstein.  What helped make him able to solve some of the most complex problems of an unknown universe was his ability to avoid habits, conditioning, and stuckness.  His approach was to learn everything about a problem and then surrender to unknown possibilities.  He had no emotion or preconceived notions.

This is one area where I have struggled in the past.  I have subscribed to a certain set of rules and tried to succeed only to end up no better than anybody else.  This is where breaking the rules will come in for me.  I plan on studying different subjects and the different philosophies and techniques within them, but instead of following a set of rules, treating each situation differently and using all of my knowledge.

Whether it's handicapping horse races, reading charts, or trading,  I need to remove all emotion and preconceived notions.  I need to surrender to unknown possibilities and consider all outcomes.  Every situation is different, and I will be adaptable.