Episode description

Hey brick stackers, Amy here.

Last time we talked about resolutions (which are easy). Now let's talk about motivation (which is hard).

Realtalk: How many times have you started a project with a burst of motivation and dream and then it just… fizzled out? Not with a bang, but with a whimper?

(Or dreamt about it and planned it, but never started it?)

Believe me, I'm not wielding the Scepter of Snooty Judgment here. I used to be a total creative flake. My Someday Maybe file was so thick it could have served as furniture. I started everything and finished nothing.

I sure felt motivated… but it didn't last.

I dreamt about riches and acclaim… but they weren't enough to get me off my ass. Much less keep me there.

My life was littered with undone projects and frankly, it felt like shit.

Obviously in 2008, this all changed — I designed, co-developed and shipped my first app (after literally years of telling myself "I should build a SaaS"). Then followed a technical book. Then workshops. Then conf calls. Then this class. Then conferences. And another book.

What made the difference? The right motivation.

The right motivation is a fire under your ass, not a Happy Place you retreat to in your mind when things are hard.

The right motivation is enduring, meaningful, and personal — and often times, painful.

Here's what the right motivation is not:

• fantasies of acclaim
• fantasies of riches and luxury
• fantasies of retiring early to a Mojito Island

They're fun, but actually destructive to your ability to keep going.

Why? Why can't these shiny Lamborghini Goals keep you going?

What will?

Listen to the latest episode of Stacking the Bricks to find out!

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