Thoughts on Motivation

24/6/2011

photo by carbonated on Flickr

Duke Ellington the famous Jazz Composer, Band Leader and Pianist was asked in an interview how he had managed to keep the same dedicated players of such a high standard and level of commitment in his band for so long. His reply after some time for thought was : “Well, I find paying them helps”.

I’ve been thinking over what has come into our “community” in the last few weeks, especially from you Walter - Thank you and it’s inspired the following thought :-

“What is it that enables you to get the best out of yourself? What is that enables you to get the best out of others?”

Duke Ellington, jokingly put it simply down to money. But how do you create motivation in yourself and others? Do you have any ideas?

If you need some help – have a look at this website www.TED.com and particularly the contribution of Dan Pink. It inspired me to reflect...

Enjoy your thoughts... and the Video... if you feel you need it. It’ll be interesting for us all to see your reactions.

Thank you.

Regards,

Chris Fogg.

4 Comments

Raj link

26/6/2011 10:56:09 pm

Hi Chris,

It's a topic that often crosses my mind.

One of the most powerful, and often negative, sources of motivation is of course fear, perhaps related to one's job, the need for societal status and acceptance, or, in the extreme, for one's life. In all cases, it's that evolutionary instinct for self preservation. We've all heard stories of ordinary people motivated to do extraordinary things when confronted with a seemingly insurmountable challenge possibly causing harm or death. The movie 127 Hours about Aron Ralston, a climber who has to cut off his own arm to get out of a canyon, is a good example of this. But I tend to think this type of motivation is temporary at best.

I agree with much of what Dan Pink says in his presentation. Most of us want to be part of something larger than ourselves. It gives us meaning, a compass, a guiding light. We feel fulfilled when we can give something to others and make contribution to society at large. We feel energized when we find something new to learn and even better when we can put that new knowledge to good use. These are the factors that govern both professional and personal motivation…but for the long-term. Community and cooperation, as equals.

The whole idea of Smile (shameless self promotion) is based on principals of the shared good. We strive to use our communications know-how and experience for the benefit of others and to do so responsibly, keeping in mind the greater needs of our fellow human beings. In a sense we are a small cooperative working in a democratic structure with equal rights and say in how the organization functions. It's our hope that this will continue to motivate us for many years and inspire others to the same cause.

Raj

Walter

3/7/2011 09:12:13 am

Hi Chris,
It's hard to say what is it that enables you to get the best out of yourself or what is that enables you to get the best out of others, but I can say that your body is created to survive the environment. He survives... adapting, ie finding a solution to the problem that the environment poses. Are you under the sun? you tan. Do you you have tight shoes? you get calluses. These are crude manifestations of adaptation.
If you're placed for 6 months in the middle of Turkhmenistan, you learn from kicking the local language, that is, new names for objects, new ways of lining up these names, new ways of thinking. If you do not, do not talk, if you do not communicate, you succumb. This is a powerful manifestation of adaptation, isn't it? Adaptation is the key to the survival of your body, it is not marginal.
Therefore, what allows you to get what you want is your brain. You need to provide the goads to your brain, but right goads because it still learn something from what you give him. If you provide the goads technically wrong, excessive or too poor, your brain will learn the same, but the wrong things.
I guess that applies to all an example of how being is easily corrupted and how is difficult to get the best from himself and from others: "Lord of the Flies - William Golding".

Thanks for your goads!

Best regards,

Walter

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