All my Facebook friends know that I have a huge brain-crush on Dan Pink.
Who wouldn’t?
First, he wrote one of my favorite books of all time, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
And now he’s written Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Forget what you ever knew about motivating your colleagues, your kids, OR yourself. Those old carrots and sticks: toss ‘em. Bribes: uh-uh. Competitions: you lose. There are even dangerous, possible side effects of short-term, external motivation (think: economic collapse). Fanning the flames of intrinsic motivation trumps the results of external motivation for strategic and creative work. You know, the kind most of us truly enjoy.
How do we ignite our inner drive? Turns out we have to dig a little deeper.
And for entrepreneurs this is where it gets interesting. Pink says that autonomy and mastery – freedom and deep practice – are essential. These qualities come with the entrepreneurial territory so I didn’t have to look very far to embrace them.
It’s the third factor that made my eyes dilate like getting a friend request on Facebook from the first guy I ever had a crush on.
That factor is purpose. We want to matter. We want our work to matter. Having a soulful reason for doing what we do is what connects us with our motivation. If you want to be a happy entrepreneur that jumps out of bed every morning, you have to go deep and know exactly why you’re doing what you’re doing.
So this is how I’m starting the new year. I’m digging into my core and claiming the reason, my Big Why, for this business.
I’m trying on different music inside to find the beat of my motivation’s theme song. I’m swaying and swinging my hips and rocking to a clearer and clearer groove.
I’ll reveal more about that in a later post… This one is dedicated to Dan. And his book that led me onto my soul’s dance floor.
P.S. If you haven’t seen Dan Pink’s TED talk on the surprising science of motivation, don’t miss it.
How do autonomy, mastery and purpose factor into your motivation? What theme song are you finding?
other blog entries from »
I totally get what you and Dan are saying – Yes Ma’am, you are right – it is purpose. Who wants to live a life without a connection to why God put us on this planet? Not this quirky old gal! It makes all the difference in the world. In fact, it can even heal you. After my mother died 25 years ago I went back to school so that I could work in hospice (we didn’t have it where I lived at the time). Something that was the most difficult life event I had experienced in my 35 years became a source of healing as I practiced hospice every day giving to others what I had not had available. God is the ultimate alchemist.
thanks, discoveritall – it changes everything, doesn’t it?
Laurie, it totally does and now as I counsel those who are grieving, there comes an appropriate time to introduce this principle – life is about living and sometimes to do that you have to reframe something asking God to allow you to see the ‘good stuff.’ Most people wouldn’t want the profession I have chosen but to me it is full of purpose and joy!
Never heard of these books or author. Wow, sounds very interesting. Gonna check them out.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
You’ve just affirmed my eccentric, wayward but always purposeful vocational path. You and Dan, come up and see me sometime! Thank you.