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“Motivation alone is not enough.If you have an idiot and you motivate him,now you have a motivated idiot.” – Jim Rohn

I haven’t been doing as well as I had hoped I would studying for the GMAT. I find myself extremely rusty at math and english and it is definitely showing. I realize it just takes a little bit of practice and that’s not the hard part, the hard part is the motivation to do so. From all of my fellow classmates who have thought about doing the GMAT, many have not for the same reason I procrastinated for so long, a lack of motivation. We all make good money, there’s no deadlines, there’s no added incentive, no bonus, no nothing. We went through the school thing and it was hell on earth, and now we’ve been out in the workforce a mere 2.5 years, let us enjoy the freedom of now. And that is totally understandable, but what if you wanted more challenge? To take on bigger, harder, newer things? How do you motivate yourself to do that?

Motivation is a powerful tool to get you started on something. Ask yourself the question, “Where is my leverage?”. If you are overweight and you don’t wish to be anymore, that’s your leverage. If you are alone and wish to find a loving partner, that’s your leverage. If you are intelligent but work for a knucklehead boss, that’s your leverage. Use the leverage. When I first started rock climbing, I excelled pretty quickly. It was only on my second or third time climbing that I tackled a 5.10a, no easy task for beginners. I felt that climbing practice was enough to get better, and so that’s what I did. But my partner was busting his butt off in the gym and soon found himself surpassing me on the wall. Ah yes, my leverage right there, nothing like healthy competition. That was enough motivation for me to wake up a half hour earlier every morning to workout. Its about finding the leverage to give you the motivation to become your best self.

If you’ve got great ideas, use them. Don’t let them fade away because there’s a lack of motivation to start. Most people have no trouble starting things, its finishing that’s the problem. Do you know anybody like that? Great starters, poor finishers. Maybe you can relate to it yourself. Not sure what type of leverage you can use? Perhaps you need to sit down and write out some of your goals and aspirations. Or, you could watch the movie “Revolutionary Road”, the new movie by Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. I can tell you one thing about the movie, after I watched it I had enough leverage to tell me to never be like that in my life. Although I already knew it, it was a nice reminder

Sometimes it takes a swift kick in the pants or a role model to find motivation. Maybe you were inspired by some great piece of art, or a friend who is currently doing really well for themselves. Whatever it is, use it to your advantage and get the ball rolling. You’ll find that once you have the ball rolling you’ll have a good momentum to carry forward with your actions. Sometimes you won’t see the fruits of your labour for many years. Sometimes you may never see it. But that definitely shouldn’t deter you from trying. How can you help others motivate themselves? Encourage them and support them to find the things that they wish to do. I get sad when I hear people slink away from their dreams because they have “too many responsibilities” now. Sadly, I know far too many people in that position and I wish I didn’t. Of course, we don’t believe those lies for a second. We know better

Happy Chinese New Year. They did a short interview with me today at The City Bee about the Chinese New Years and some of the customs involved. They changed the interview quite a bit, and took out a lot more which is really unfortunate. It almost feels like half of that interview wasn’t me, and it was edited down for reasons unknown to me. I didn’t even write a single word in that section about the Ox (like I would know Obama is an ox), so I am going to have to bring that up to the editors as that is not something I would want in the future, to have words put into my mouth or have my words misconstrued. Other than that though, they have been writing some awesome stuff over there, so I hope you guys are checking it out as there are updates everyday (except Saturday, who wants to be shackled to a computer on Saturday, right?).

I went home very last minute this weekend. I was planning on going rock climbing but my partner got sick so I didn’t have any reason to stick around. I’m glad because it was really good going home to Mom and Dad and spending New Years with them. It helped break up the monotony of dredging through the GMAT studying. I’ve been keeping a good balance and taking lots of breaks from it, which I find has helped me stay focused. I’ve learned that going fifth gear for 4 hours straight is not the best way to go about it, and that mixing things up has been a great way to keep things fresh. I’ve been working out twice a day doing a lot of pushups and chin ups and situps lately. Once in the morning to get the juices flowing, and sometime at night just whenever I feel like it, to give the brain a break while I exercise the body. I’ve also been going through all of my pictures and starring them in Picasa and geotagging them in Google Earth. Its a nice refreshment from everything else I am doing. I’ve also been scribbling feverishly in my notebooks and in Evernote for anything that pops in my head, so I don’t have to think about it while I concentrate on the things in front of me. Also, I’ve organized all of my movies using Windows Media Center and its really awesome plugins, and now I have them excellently cataloged. I also went through all of my contacts and updated their phone numbers, email addresses, birthdays and the like through Outlook. I’ve been listening to a lot of Classical music (almost exclusively) and I find it very soothing. I’ve retagged all of my music and have it cataloged as well. I’ve been haxoring my computer and its running the way I want it now, too. Just nerd things, here and there, that I have been neglecting for years, but have helped keep things organized in my system and have helped me maintain a balance. If I’m not doing any of that, then I’m either working (work work, online work, house work, etc.) or reading or writing. I also try to watch movies whenever I can, and lately have watched a number of documentaries. I watched one called Man on Wire. It was really cool. Its about this tight rope walker who had a vision to walk across the twin towers in the 70s. True story, too. It was like a real life Ocean’s 11. Really cool, movie. At the end of the movie they are asking him why he did it and he replies something to the effect of, “There is no why.” which I thought was brilliant.

One of my best buddies is down from NYC this week, so I’m looking forward to hanging out with him. As busy as I am, and I’m sure as busy as you all are, it is really important to maintain a healthy balance in life. Sure, there are stretches of time when you have to be full on crazy mode (like if you are in a super intensive program, such as Engineering) but its much much healthier to maintain balance. Its not slacking if you are enjoying what you are doing. And don’t feel guilty if somebody tells you you should be doing something else with your time (its YOUR time). That always drives me crazy when somebody tells me I should be doing this or that, as if they know what’s right for me. You can have goals, but you must not forget that you should be enjoying the journey, not the end result. Maintain a balanced lifestyle to do just that.

“It’s impossible, that’s sure. So let’s start working.” – Philippe Petit, tightrope walker

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Possibly the most badass quote of all time. Courage is being absolutely terrified of something and facing it head on. Its not about being fearless. Its about being so scared you are close to peeing your pants, and going through with it anyways. Its about living the life that you envision. Without courage, nothing is possible. With courage, everything is. Courage is not reserved for firefighters and soliders and police officers. Courage is a requirement for all humans wanting to truly live their life.

Courage can be learned. It is not something you either have or do not have. I suggest reading the excellent book, Feel the Fear . . . and Do It Anyway (r), an extraordinary book on the subject of courage. Pushing past your comfort zone is a great way to build courage. If you are afraid of heights, go skydiving. If you are afraid to speak in public, sign up for toastmasters. If you hate people, talk to them. If you are terrified of snakes, get one as a pet. When you build up courage in one area of your life, it automagically helps build up courage in other areas of your life.

Many people fear what others think of them. The fear of not being accepted is probably one of the most powerful fears that exist. That prevents them from doing the things they truly wish to do. For example, going to the gym for an overweight person can be a very very scary thing. But they cannot change their situation if they are worried about how others will perceive them in the gym. They must push past that mental limitation and build up the courage to try. As courage builds up, you’ll find that the fear was all in your head. Its a fantastic feeling, courage, and the greatest thing about is it will always be gratifying, because you did something you didn’t think you could do and it terrified you. Do something everyday that scares you. I like it.