Category Archives: Motivation

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A Reason for Existing

I’m worried about Alice — the employee who once tried to understand my motivation for working. Yesterday, she commented on the importance of having a reason for existing outside of making money.

I almost spat out my coffee bursting with laughter! Let me repeat what she mentioned — a reason for existing OUTSIDE OF MAKING MONEY!

After I swallowed my coffee, with the captive audience of the middle manager between myself and Alice, I snapped back with my response:

“Well, that’s nice, maybe you should join the Peace Corps, and when you get tired of living in a wet tent, being sick all the time, and eating worms, you can come back to the real world and realize it’s all about making money.”

This is absolutely true, and I stand behind myself on this topic — tough to do unless I step outside myself!

Let me be very blunt and hardheaded for a moment, so I might convey to you what I cannot convey to Alice:

There is no reason for existing outside of making money. Money is our ultimate motivation, whether we realize it or not.

That shut her up! Alice is going to need some serious counseling if she keeps working here. She just doesn’t get it.

Ultimately,
W. Albert Jameson, IV

On the other hand…
Money is an incredibly powerful tool. But what do you want to do WITH it? Many wealthy men have spent decades gaining wealth, only to realize a massive fortune wasn’t enough to fulfill them.

Money is of no value compared to a life well lived.
-Andrew

What motivates you? Do you find joy in constructing, analyzing, engineering, creating, music, or giving? Comment about it!

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Margaritas on the Beach

Alice the underling asked me what I would do if there was no need for me to work. If I had millions of dollars and didn’t need to work and could do anything with my time, what would I do?

I’m glad she asked, and I’ve thought about this a ton — I would lounge on the beach and drink margaritas.

Apparently this was not the type of answer Alice was seeking. She thought carefully for a moment and asked the question differently. After I had my margaritas on the beach and rested for a few weeks or months, what would I enjoy doing even if I wasn’t paid for it?

Unphased, I answered — I would lounge on the beach and drink margaritas! There is no “after.”

That’s right! My bucket list consists of a single item. (Well, technically it’s two items: margaritas, and the beach.)

I’m still not sure what Alice was getting at, but I’ve already got this one figured out. Sipping margaritas on the beach really is my end goal. That is my entire motivation for getting up every morning and working my tail off and being an awesome boss. Is there any better answer than that?

Like my recent post, it makes me wonder what crap people use to motivate themselves. Whatever they use, it’s nothing compared to making a huge pile of money… so you can make an even bigger pile of money… so you can eventually waste away on a beach knocking back margaritas. Money is the first goal, and the penultimate — but ultimately, sun, sand, and salty mixed drinks win out overall.

One day Alice will figure it out.

Ultimately,
W. Albert Jameson, IV

On the other hand…
Analyze your existence. Think through your life’s current trajectory and see if you like where it will end. Your end goal might be very superficial, in which case you need to aim much higher. Contrarily, your end goal might be great, but you are not doing what is necessary to reach it.

Either way, adjust course and set your life on a great path that ends at a goal worth reaching.
-Andrew

Imagine you are on your deathbed. Of all the things you wanted to accomplish but never did, what one thing do you regret not doing the most? How can you work that goal into your activities today?

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Money as Motivation

I have an app on my phone which supplies my motivation by telling me three things: the amount of money I make every minute, the cumulative amount of money I have made today, and my current net worth.

That’s all I need to keep me going, even on the roughest of days. I mean, really — what motivation aside from money could anyone ever need?!

And success, of course. Right behind that are materialism and the envy of all my friends…

When I am bored or have trouble avoiding my employees, I take out my smartphone and just stare at the app. The ever-increasing amount of money I have made that day brings motivation and happiness to my heart for at least several seconds.

(Sometimes, those two fade so quickly I have to leave the app open for hours so I can continue being awesome.)

I’ve heard of people gathering motivation from various other topics, but I don’t understand it at all. People find fulfillment and satisfaction in the silliest of things that don’t matter at all in the grand scheme of things.

Useless Sources of Motivation

  • Family
  • Security
  • Helping Others
  • Religion
  • Meaning & Purpose

The items in the list above can’t be measured or quantified. They are silly when compared to money, success, and the desire to buy as much stuff as possible. They are intangible, insignificant things that will not provide enough motivation to keep me going — especially when I see the stupid things my underlings have just done!

Financially Motivated,
W. Albert Jameson, IV

On the other hand…
Money is often used to motivate and measure happiness, merely because it is so easy to quantify. However, it is temporal and the happiness gained from money is fleeting. It will never be enough to motivate you, nor will it ever satisfy you.

You have been built and designed with a purpose and a calling. Discovering what those are will lead you to motivation independent of bank account balances or investments.
-Andrew

What motivates you? What has failed to motivate you in the past?

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Millenials and Work

Youngsters these days are so entitled! They think that the world is meant for their enjoyment. They want to be social and find meaning in everything. Millenials have no respect for the sacrifice required to become a true workaholic.

My youngest workers are way too concerned about time off and not working every day of the week. And don’t even get me started on what they say about the need for purpose and meaningful work. Honestly, it disgusts me.

This company has amazing benefits which show how important employees really are. Still, some of the Millenials here are unrealistic idealists about benefits. Just try and tell me that these examples don’t frustrate you.

What Millenials Think about Working Here

  • Work day flexibility is very important.
  • Pay is important, but not that important, compared to social needs.
  • Paid time off should increase quicker than one extra day every five years.
  • They should work to live, not the other way around.
  • They need to experience meaning in work.

This list goes to show how little they “get it.” These things are narrow-minded and lack perspective, but the last two are what absolutely kills me. They should work to live, not live to work?! They need meaning?! I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

Work is the penultimate important thing of life — second only to money, of course! I still can’t wrap my head around how Millenials are entitled enough to expect to enjoy time off and relationships — not to mention work itself.

I don’t get you, Millenials. You might as well just continue to ignore the universally understood truth that the only purpose of life is to eat, drink, and be working.

Understandingly,
W. Albert Jameson, IV

On the other hand…
It is very possible Millenials will struggle with work ethic and entitlement, since they have grown up thinking work should be enjoyable and have some grand purpose. They need to be more farsighted and open to hard work. That said, they are on to something by prioritizing purpose and relationships over work for work’s sake.

Great leaders need to understand their followers’ generational perspectives and appeal to the motivations that drive those mindsets. Until leaders seek first to understand their perspective, influence is limited.
-Andrew