Motivation: Be Your Best.

Let me ask you some questions: What motivates you each day to get out of bed? What motivates you to want the best for yourself and your family? What drives you to make improvements in your life?

I was fortunate enough to recently visit a resort that caters for the high net worth. I observed many highly successful individuals, owners of large businesses and people who had reached the pinnacle of life. One thing struck me quite quickly: they were all in excellent shape. Their families were also physically fit. In the gym, I found them all working out. Some were even running in the hot morning sun before heading to lift weights.

I began to wonder, how is it possible that the majority of successful people usually look slim? What is it in their mindset that keeps them healthy? Why don't they indulge more at the morning buffet or drink copious amounts of alcohol at the all-inclusive bar? This question became an obsession for me, and then it hit me!

We all have expectations of ourselves. We see ourselves as the product and a tool to navigate the world. Each day we look in the mirror, and our bodies represent how we feel about the role we play and our standards. If we feel insignificant, our self-expectations tend to be lower, we tend to move slower, and we want less for ourselves to be better.

However, if we are motivated and perceive ourselves as playing a key role, our expectations and sense of significance rise, and our standards grow accordingly. This is an emotion, and like all emotions, it can be superficially created.

By asking yourself the following questions, we can quickly evaluate how we see ourselves and alter our mindset. “What expectations do I have for myself?”, “What standards do I want to set for my life, and should I want more for me and my body?”, “Should I be setting higher standards?”, “Am I inspired to be the best I can be at all times?”, “Do I like who I am? Do I deserve to treat myself with more significance?”

Altering your mindset gives you the greatest opportunity to see yourself as more significant. By doing so, you will want a better life for yourself and those around you. This can motivate you to work harder, search for more opportunities, and find more resources to learn and better yourself, all giving you a higher standard and a clearer path to being the best you can be.

Being fit and healthy allows you to perform with more energy. The more energy you have, the more you can do without tiring before eventually coming to a stop too early. The rich are not slim and healthy because they are rich; they are often rich because they have given themselves more opportunities to be active when it is most important to do so. For them, being fit and healthy is a part of who they are, an ingredient without which the result of their success and positive self image would not be possible.

The super-rich tend to have higher standards. This doesn't necessarily mean they are rude or condescending to others; it simply means they, in the majority, value themselves and work hard to be the best they can be at all times. This naturally leads them to view their bodies not just as vessels for living but as symbols of the high expectations they hold for themselves.

Delving deeper, I began to investigate whether it was a peer group issue. Does the society you grow up in influence your sense of significance and expectations? Sometimes, yes, it does. In an earlier newsletter, I covered Perception is Projection. If a parent projects a healthy image and healthy way of life, the child will naturally perceive that as a habit and follow accordingly.

However, I found that many individuals who had reached the pinnacle of success, both financially and physically, started with nothing. In fact, several examples I found began their lives in orphanages. For example, take Leonardo Del Vecchio, who founded the company Luxottica in 1961. Who is he? I hear you ask…..Leonardo Del Vecchio was born on 22 May 1935 in Milan. His father was a street vendor of vegetables who died before his birth, and his mother already had four other children; he grew up in an orphanage. By the time of his death in 2022, Luxottica was the world's largest producer and retailer of glasses and frames, with 77,734 employees and over 8,000 stores. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at US$24.1 billion, the second richest person in Italy, and 54th in the world.

This realisation underscores the importance of self-perception and the standards we set for ourselves. The “I’m not giving up” and “I’m going to win and be the best I can be” mindset motivates individuals to the top. The perseverance to build a company, not overnight but over seven decades, while remaining fit and at the very top of his game, teaches us that we can learn from individuals such as Leonardo Del Vecchio. Look him up.

The discipline and mindset that drive the super-rich to maintain their health and fitness are cultivated through a belief in their own significance, determination, desire, and a commitment to their own high standards, regardless of their starting point in life.

We all operate on eight key beliefs and feelings:

1. We must be inspired.

2. We must see ourselves as having a high standard.

3. We must push our boundaries.

4. We need to contribute to the world around us.

5. We must have a desire to grow and seek more for ourselves.

6. We must see ourselves as significant within our world.

7. We must be fulfilled and push ourselves to move, not rest.

8. We must respect ourselves.

So, What's Your Motivation?

In life, we often slip into a state of complacency. Society nudges us toward conformity, urging us to blend in rather than stand out. We wake up with good intentions each day, but soon our natural personality, values, and habits take over. We order our Starbucks coffee on the way to the office, spread the butter a bit too thick on our toast in the mornings, and drive the same route to work.

It's tempting to settle into a routine, work our designated hours, meet our financial obligations, and lead a life of relative comfort. Many of us will pass away with a mix of regrets and a sense of contentment, believing we've done enough and can leave something behind for the next generation. But is that really true?

Identifying Your Motivation

We all have different reasons for our motivation. It could be a desire to outperform a parent or compete with a sibling. Maybe our motivation is money and a life of riches, or perhaps it’s the pursuit of a trophy or a discovery. We often say we should aim for something or begin today to work towards our goals, but many of us—an overwhelming majority—will say it but never do it. Over the next year, I will cover goals within my newsletters and how to create and work on them daily, but for now, let’s focus on motivation.

We must find within ourselves the drive to beat the ordinary and want the very best every second. Only by seeing ourselves as individuals and understanding that we only have ourselves to better, will we discover that if we are not working towards our goals, we are working away from them.

Why Seek Motivation?

Do you ever feel there is more within you? Do you get emotional watching events like the Wimbledon Final or the Olympics, when the winner lifts the trophy or hugs their family after a victory? These moments, achieved by strangers, ignite a part of us that recognises the extraordinary in people, and the desire to feel success and achievement ourselves becomes overwhelming. We feel this because deep inside, we know we too can achieve the extraordinary. We know that if we put in more effort than ever before, we have the potential to become someone we've never been. As Thomas Jefferson said, “If you want something you've never had, you must do something you've never done.”

Pushing Beyond Comfort

What drives us to strive for success despite the looming specter of failure, especially when conforming to the status quo seems to offer security? Why bother with self-discipline to excel when merely scraping by seems sufficient? True fulfilment lies beyond the boundaries of comfort. Although the reasoning is personal to each of us, we must push ourselves to reach our fullest potential, break free from the shackles of mediocrity, and set our sights on ambitious, challenging objectives. We owe it to ourselves to be all we can.

Effort and Determination

A standard, run-of-the-mill effort in our world gives you nothing. Hard work and determination, staying late and putting in a few more hours, might buy you a holiday with the kids once a year and a nice home. It’s the determination to want the best for yourself, and nothing less, that will truly push you forward. Ironically, the financial difference between a lazy worker who doesn’t care much about their job and a hard worker who puts in the hours is not great. After tax, the hard worker may have a little more cash for a few nice rewards, but the difference between a hard worker and someone who never gives up and pushes into the extraordinary at all times is substantial. A little more effort and care gives you a lot, but a lifetime of focus and relentlessness brings phenomenal rewards.

Breaking the Cycle

It’s time to break free from complacency and ignite the fire within ourselves to strive for more. Without that inner drive, we'll never taste the sweet fruits of freedom, happiness, and self-fulfillment that come from realising our fullest potential. Let go of the fear of failure and embrace the motivation to soar beyond the ordinary. Dare to set audacious goals, cultivate a robust work ethic, and foster self-discipline. In doing so, we unlock the doors to our true potential and pave the way for extraordinary achievements.

Embrace Your Uniqueness

Don't allow societal expectations and the lure of comfort to stifle your dreams. Embrace your uniqueness, challenge the limitations imposed upon you, and relentlessly pursue greatness. It's only by stepping outside our comfort zones and confronting our fears that we can truly thrive and experience the profound satisfaction and success we crave.

Compete with Yourself

Remember, you compete with no one but yourself. If you push each and every day to be the best you can in all areas of your life and always with a sense of urgency and a passion for doing more than the norm, you will begin to reach the extraordinary. The rewards are far beyond your imagination. Go for it!

I am available for one-on-one sessions and business seminars. dan@dangodding.com