Focus on Intrinsic Motives to Succeed - Good Things Will Flow From Your Heart

The first principle of Influence: Intrinsic Motives are more important than extrinsic motivators. Extrinsic motivators are the ones we derive "value" from outside of our lives. They include financial rewards, fame, recognition, job security, etc. The Intrinsic Motive is what drives us to achieve our goals in life.


A second principle is Focusing on Intrinsic Motives keeps us grounded in reality. It keeps us focused on what we can do, rather than what someone else wants or may have said to us. It reminds us to be strong and to take action even when other people are telling us we can't. Focusing on intrinsic motivation gets us to work with our personal strengths, talents, capabilities and resources. This approach has been shown to reduce feelings of loneliness and despair, as well as improve our relationships with others.

When you choose to make a decision, examine your intrinsic motivational factors first. Once you've identified your reasons for making that decision, then you can evaluate external circumstances that may affect your decision making process. External circumstances could include the advice of others, competition, financial need, public opinion, environmental considerations, legal issues and so on. Each of these external factors may have varying effects on your decision making process. As you examine your intrinsic motivators and their external influences, you'll gradually realize that your decisions will depend largely on your intrinsic motivators. So by looking at your intrinsic motivators first, you'll avoid making bad decisions because of "marketing" or "emotion".

The third principle is Focusing on Intrinsic Motives keeps you grounded in reality. It keeps you grounded in the hard facts about yourself and the world. When your self-esteem, self-respect and self-confidence are low, your decisions will be based upon other people's opinions and judgments about you. Focusing on your inner passions inspires you to value yourself.

If there are things in your life that are causing you unhappiness, you can choose to focus on your inner passions to make changes that improve your life. Changing something that's causing you pain will make a huge difference in how you see yourself and the world. Just knowing that you're doing the right thing will fill you with joy and positive energy.

Another example is in sports. One of the greatest competitors in history is Wayne Gretzky. Even his competitive spirit was questioned while he was growing up. But his ability to win made him who he is today. And when he began winning, other people started taking notice.

It takes vision and a strong belief in oneself to be a competitor. But it's also true that, if you're not willing to put the effort in to focus on inner strengths, your natural competition will take over. You might try your hardest and be the best player or team member out there, but if you don't believe in your own abilities, it won't matter.

Intrinsic motives are what make the good things happen in your life. Without them, you'll always be working at the base of the pyramid looking for some unseen prize to grab. The real prize is discovering the good that lies within you. It's up to each of us to find ways to keep that prize within us. That's what it's all about.

In life, the only thing that's constant is change. Even in sports. What works for one doesn't always work for another. You have to adapt and change along with the times.

But if you can focus on intrinsic motives from the inside out, you'll discover a tremendous advantage. You'll live a much more enjoyable life because you're constantly motivated by the intrinsic motives of your heart. In life, as we continually grow, we realize that we have to evolve. It's part of what makes life worth living.


If you want to achieve your goals, you must focus on intrinsic motives that will give you the good that you want. Without them, you will never be able to get what you want out of life. So, just let go of the idea that you can't win because other people will always be playing the good game.