I’m a firm believer that we can’t motivate people to take action or make changes in their life, behavior or attitude. But we can inspire them to change by sharing stories and examples of others that faced similar challenges and explain how they overcame the challenges or changes in their life. Each year, thousands of people attend a seminar with a ‘motivational speaker’ and if the speaker is good, most people will be pumped up and enthused for a week, maybe even four weeks. But with time, the ‘sunburn’ effect begins to wear off and most people return to the habits they’ve embraced for many years. There are however, many ways to keep the fire burning and the enthusiasm and activity levels high.
Read or listen to something uplifting or inspirational every day, for at least 20 minutes. This is an ideal boost to begin your day. When I share this suggestion at many of my seminars, some people tell me how much they would love to read or listen to something for twenty minutes, but they are too busy every day. These are the same people who will watch the morning news for an hour before work and three hours of mindless TV when they get home in the evening. Again, we can’t motivate people to do anything. That desire has to come from within. For the twenty percent of you who are inspired and want to stay inspired for years to come, find inspirational speakers you like and listen to them while you get ready for work, as you travel to work or during a lunch break or whenever you can create the time to listen. If you really want it to happen, you’ll find a way. When you find a strong WHY, you’ll find a HOW.
Many years ago, I was a sales rep in the financial services industry and drove the six New England states to meet with clients as well as prospects. I listened to cassette tapes by Brian Tracy, Og Mandino, Zig Ziglar, Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale and others like these wonderful guys. I never listened to the radio because it was like bubble-gum for the ears and such a waste of time. Some days, I was in my car for four hours as I drove to western Massachusetts or Vermont, so my car was like a library on wheels. Many people exercise daily or several times each week to stay fit, get energized, reduce their stress, to feel better and more confident or maybe for their overall health.
Listening to these great speakers is exercise and a strength conditioner for your mind and it’s very inexpensive. You can find these programs by Googling the speakers you want to listen to. Amazon and http://www.audible.com are excellent resources for speakers to listen to. I download the audio book to my phone and listen to it in my car or at the gym. This is a daily habit that will help you stay inspired, feel more energized and help you accomplish more. It’s a daily boost of inspiration!