Some time ago I went to the farewell party of a successful entrepreneur who built up a marketing consulting business over many years. It was interesting to learn how many awards he had achieved over the years for brilliant work and how he had always been able to attract blue-chip clients. But now that he’s in retirement, he has had to set new goals. He will be lecturing at universities, engaging with the media and communicating brand and marketing leadership and helping to nurture young brand leaders.
“Your personal motivations may not appear on this list but you need to examine them carefully so you are clear about what drives you.”
You may have been chasing a goal objective for some time now. It could be for years or shorter and now you find that you need to reflect and reassess where you are going. A psychologist who consulted with Olympic champions and successful entrepreneurs says that success in business is usually assessed in terms of economic performance such as income, profits and borrowing power. But he notes that as individual high achievers reach high levels in these measurable areas, they look for more challenging situations where money is not always the ultimate goal. They seek situations, he says, that offer greater stimulation to their ingenuity or entrepreneurial skills. The best measure, he says, is the satisfying sense that all your energies and skills are being tested.
Possibly the most fundamental pillar of successful people is having a sense of direction or, to put it another way, is being goal striving. A lot is being written about and talked about goal setting. But what is often overlooked is how vital it is to our very existence as humans. Without a clear sense of direction we can wonder aimlessly or get stuck in detours or cul-de-sacs where we become frustrated because we have a sense of not going anywhere. With a goal, which can be broken down into smaller steps, we have something to look forward to and which can motivate us to perform every day of our lives.
As one respected business consultant noted, the decision to start a business is possibly one of the most important and “far reaching commitments” you could make in a lifetime. It involves investment of personal effort, finances, sacrifices and risks, he says. The are no guarantees for success either but the rewards can be high.
So it’s important to be clear on your personal motives and they need to be strong so that you have the commitment and conviction to achieve or strive for success. This business consultant provides a list of important motivations for wanting to get into business including: to make money, enjoy a new experience, be independent, prove your capabilities, satisfy a need for change, exploit an opportunity, and even create jobs for family members.
Your personal motivations may not appear on this list but you need to examine them carefully so you are clear about what drives you. When you know your personal motivation, you increase your chances of succeeding.
