Is motivation something that gets you excited for the moment and lets you down the next day, or can it endure for a long time?
I see the impact of motivation in people's lives every day. I get many letters and phone calls from people who say motivation has completely changed their lives. Yet other people say that motivation has had little impact on them.
A study at Stanford University has provided the reason for the variance. According to the study, only 5 percent of the people who buy into a concept are able to implement it; the other 95 percent don't have the resources to do so. Those few words created as much excitement in me as any single sentence ever has, because they made something crystal clear: The books and tapes are the resources! That's why I get so many more letters from people who say that my books and tapes have changed their lives than I get from people who say that my speech changed their lives.
The next time you see an author who presents a philosophy or concept that you believe can enrich your life, I encourage you to take the following steps:
Check out the author's credentials and see whether he or she can document the results you hear being touted.
If the evidence is solid, buy the book or tapes.
Books and tapes give you the resources you need to implement the concepts. When you take those steps, you make certain that the motivation you feel at the moment can survive the day and impact your future over the long haul. People who are concerned about their futures take the necessary steps today in the form of growing, learning, studying, and planning for their futures. This process generates enthusiasm and excitement about their futures, so they take the necessary action to ensure those futures. People who aren't concerned about their futures because they don't think they have futures are the ones who take no action. They drift along, singing the old Doris Day song, "Que Sera, Sera," and they drift into their declining years without any excitement or, in most cases, without any resources to enjoy even the basics of life without depending on others.
It's interesting to note that these two groups of people live at the same time, possibly in the same area, and may work in the same job or profession. It's not the absence of opportunity but the absence of motivation that is the problem for the second group. If you think you have no future, let me suggest that having a future is a matter of choice. If you continue to read books and start setting specific goals, you are doing something about your future. Your excitement (motivation) grows, and from that point on, you can develop the actions that dramatically enrich your future.
