Self-motivation. Just what is it? Do I need it? I am already motivated. I don’t need it. Does this sound familiar? Probably. In fact, I think it’s the main reason why so many people just throw in the towel and stop their pursuit of a making a living online. Let me explain. It’s the lack of motivation that causes this. In other words, you need self-motivation to achieve success. Sure, starting out online you no doubt had so much firepower that nothing could stop you. That happens to be real common. However, as the days and weeks go by and no money is in the proverbial coffer, your desire and self-motivation begin to wane. That also happens to be real common. This is where self-motivation comes in to play.

Just what is self-motivation and how do you keep it once you have it? The Merriam-Webster Unabridged Encyclopedia defines motivation this way: “Factors within a human being or animal that arouse and direct goal-oriented behavior.” Notice something here? The key word is “goal”, as in “goal-oriented behavior.” Now, we’re getting to what you really need to get, and keep, motivated. That is, goals. To some, the word “goal” means work and discipline, as it should. After all, to reach any worthwhile goal, it will take discipline and hard work to get there.

I think it’s great that you have energy to burn and you can’t wait to get your business off the ground. The desire is burning brightly inside you and your eyes are wide open with excitement! That’s fantastic. The point here is to keep those fires burning brightly in the form of setting and reaching goal after goal. Friend, the key to self- motivation is to always set your “bar” higher and higher. You reach one goal, and you set another, with each new one a little more challenging than the last. That’s self-motivation at its best.

When it comes to your business, this habit of setting goals will assure you that you won’t be stagnating and finding yourself without any sense of direction for your business. Another important by product of goal setting is that you will find yourself doing more than you normally would to achieve your goals, because you’ve programmed yourself to achieve success! This is the discipline I referred to earlier.

Goal setting can take many forms. You can write them down. You can tell a trusted person to keep track of your progress. You can tell your friends about your goals. Most importantly, you must have them somewhere else but inside your mind. Preferably, they should be in written form. Keep them close by so you can refer to them whenever you feel yourself getting off track a little. Having them in front of you will trigger the same inspiration you felt when you first recorded them. This will help keep you motivated when times get a little tough.