What’s my motivation?

You might remember this commercial.  I know I do.

Three actors trying to seem like tough guys turn out to be the exact opposite.

I love that final question: What’s my motivation?

I’ve been thinking a lot about motivation recently.

Like most sports fans I was amazed by the season that Michael Vick had for the Philadelphia Eagles.  Though his playoff run is over, he will likely finish second in the MVP race and he single handedly decided hundreds of thousands of fantasy football leagues.  How does a guy who was in prison just a couple years ago get back to the top of his sport so quickly?

Motivation and talent.

He is extremely talented and exceptionally motivated.

His natural talent is unquestioned; I want to focus on his motivation.  Think about what most NFL players are playing for.  Most of these guys are millionaires who are playing to add an extra story to their house or to buy a new one or to set up their families for generations.

Michael Vick is playing to pay people back.  Various websites claim that Vick owes anywhere from 10-50 million dollars.  That is a boatload of money.

So every time he drops back to pass he thinking about avoiding not only 300 pound lineman but also about gigantic debts that have to be paid.  He’s not thinking about buying a vacation home in Barbados.

This season he threw for 3,018 yards and 26 touchdowns.  He ran for 676 yards and 9 more touchdowns.  It’s the kind of season you have on Madden.

It’s what happens when incredible motivation meets unbelievable talent.

Obviously, not all of us can be NFL quarterbacks.  But we all have skills and talents that we bring to the table.  I’m going to look at this a little bit deeper in another post, but what is your motivation?

How are you motivating your talents and skills?

This is a critical question to ask.  Because when incredible motivation meets unbelievable talents, amazing things happen.

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