Jim Carrey - Motivational Speech

In 2014 Jim Carrey presented a motivational speech at a colleges commencement, which was quite inspiring to watch. One of the main points that stood out to me is that he believes that we should make our decisions in the moment rather looking at the possible failure in the future. He said that one of the main lessons he learned from his father is that " you can fail at what you don't want so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love". This really stood out to me because Jim Carrey unlike his father followed his dream of becoming an actor because it was what he loved to do. That instead of taking a safe job he risked his entire life savings on his dream job. This is what I consider true motivation because he did not let anything get in the way of his dream and look how successful he is today. Now I am not saying that this will work out the same for everyone but how else would you know unless you step outside your comfort zone and strive for what you truly love in life. Overall I found this speech very inspiring and it defiantly grasped the true meaning of life dedication and meaning.

What do you guys think is going for your dreams the key to success?

Motivational Quote

For todays post I am going to analyze a motivational quote that really caught my attention. The quote looks at the different steps of motivation and asks the reader what step have you achieved today. Personally I find this very inspiring as we can all admit to going through these steps when we are trying to complete a difficult task. I think it outlines the many steps you take in order to complete a task starting with the overwhelming denial that you cant complete anything and ending with the realization that you did and it wasn't even that difficult. The best example I can relate this too is school work. I know personally right know I have a lot of work to finish within the next few weeks which means I will have to coach myself through each of these steps. At the beginning when I look at all the due dates and that needs to be done my brain automatically shuts off and says I can't and will not do this. Then I realize that if I wish to succeed and carry on with my schooling I have to attempt these projects. I realize then that I want to succeed so therefore I look at how all of these assignments need to be done and look at the instructions. I then take a deep breathe and try to complete as much as I can taking it day by day. After hours of work I finish the project and realize hey I did it and it wasn't that bad. Personally I like these steps a lot as they hold true to many actions an individual does subconsciously. In the end it is the self motivation that gets you through each of these steps in order to achieve the goal and say "Yes I Did It"!

Employee Motivation

Hey Everyone,

The question I am going to attempt to answer is whether motivating employees with money actually makes a significant difference. It is a common practice for many businesses to use bonuses, raises and any form of extra cash to get employees to perform more. I was able to find an interesting article by Nadia Goodman that had plenty of information on the correlation between money and workers motivation. Goodman believed that using money to motivate was a poor idea and that there are a lot better ways to approach the situation. There are three main reasons why she is against money motivation; sense of autonomy, individualized awards and ends vs. means. I am going to focus on the first point which essentially is that employees tend to loose their sense of autonomy when a money reward is given, they tend to feel controlled. Goodman stated "instead offer your employees reasonable freedom, listen to them give them opportunity to pursue and achieve their goals" (Goodman, 2012). Personally my take on this is that if you give your employees more freedom they will be more motivated to be creative and impress you. Where as if you are just giving them a cash bonus they may feel like you are controlling their work and the outcome will be of less quality. It is clear that money can be a good motivator in some situations but companies should look at the situation first and decide whether it would be a good motivator in that specific situation.

 Overall I found Goodman's ideas quite interesting and I am curious what everyone else thinks about her other points are they viable ideas?

Citations:
Goodman, N. (2012, November 26). Inside Employee Motivation: Does Money Really Make a Difference? Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225041

Hierarchy of Needs

When it comes to motivation there is one theory that always stands out and that is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. His theory has five stages an individual must go through in order to reach self actualization. These stages include; physiological (food/water), safety (home), love and belonging and finally self esteem. Maslow believed that once you have gone successful through all these stages you have self actualized. The definition of self actualization is " the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for the individual to become actualized in what he potentially is". This relates well to motivation since most individuals are motivated to reach the best of their abilities or their peak. As an example someone who works for a corporation obviously wants to move up within the company and reach the highest position possible. However before they achieve such position they must secure all the stages below. By this I mean is that the individual must secure a source of food, a safe home, a good support system and an overall respect for themselves before they can achieve there highest potential. Personally I think this theory best describes the idea of motivation because many people are motivated to achieve their fullest potential or their true happiness. That an individual will feel self actualized once they have achieved all goals in life and feel that there lifestyle is making a difference in the world. In order to achieve this status however the individual must continually motivate themselves and set resources aside in order to achieve all the stages below. Even though this is a lengthy process I believe this is the best representation of personal success and overall motivation stages. Each of use is motivated by needs. Our basic needs are inborn having evolved over years and Maslow's hierarchy of needs helps explain how these needs motivate us all. In conclusion everyone goes thorough the stages at there own pace but in order to go from stage to stage there has to be motivation.

The Assumpt Strategy

Hi Everyone,

       In this post I am going to be talking about Andy Cohen who is a successful business motivational speaker who has helped thousands of people worldwide. The most successful method he has created is the Assumpt Strategy. This strategy teaches people how to properly use assumptions so that they will benefit the company in the future. He teaches people to take negative issues and assumptions and turn them into profit for the company. For example if the CEO of a company always has the assumption that "tasks can't be done" or "we don't have enough money" the company will never succeed. Cohen's goal is to turn these negative assumptions break them and turn them into new opportunities. This is done through the process of assumpt making which is when the individual learns how to properly interpret an assumption and make a solution to the problem that pertains to them. The Cohen Company has many trained professionals with  industry experience in marketing and finance. 

    Personally I agree with the method Cohen is using, as I believe that a positive attitude will always help you succeed further. That instead of always anticipating negative things to happen to your company to take more risks and have a positive outlook. I agree with the whole idea of breaking the barriers and exploring more business opportunities instead of just closing the doors. For example if as a business owner you always believe that tasks can't be done and you tend to give up on projects easily you will never succeed. If you were to "break the barriers" and interact with other companies and get their advice or partnership on a project you are more likely to have success. By this I mean is that if you do not have the resources to fully finish the project partner up with another company and have them help cover the other expenses. Even though you may be splitting the profit it is a lot better than giving up and making no profit at all. Overall I enjoyed looking at Andy Cohen's perspective since I strongly believe that business is a game of risks and that in order to succeed you need to come out of your comfort zone. 

Below is a general description of Andy Cohens Organization:

The general question I am leaving everyone with is;

- Do you think the assumpt strategy is a successful business model?

What Motivates Us To Work Money Or Meaning?

Hi Everyone,

       For my first post I researched more about what truly motivates someone to complete a project is it money or is there a much deeper reason? I came across an interesting Ted Talk by Dan Ariely who is a psychology professor at Duke University. The purpose of his study was to determine whether it was the money value that motivated a person to complete the task or the purpose of the individual task itself. He conducted an experiment where he had participants build Lego figures for a set price that successively lowered with each figure they made. He then split the participants into two groups. The first group had their finished figures put under the table and were told that these figures would be broken down later and given to someone else to build. The second group however had their work dissembled right in front of them as they build the figures one by one. The results were that group one built more figures than group two and were overall more productive. This clearly demonstrates that individuals are more motivated to complete a task if they know the task has an intended purpose and will benefit or impact someone in the future. Group one therefore had more motivation because they could see the finished product and knew that their product would be passed on to someone else to enjoy. Where as those in group two they felt a sense of disapproval as they could not understand why there hard work was being taken apart. Even though both groups were offered the same money value increments for their figures it came down to making them for a future purpose because why would you waste your time making it, for it to later get destroyed.

    In my opinion I found this study quite interesting as I always believed it was money that motivated people to complete a task. Since watching this video it has broadened my understanding of motivation as being more about happiness and taking pride in your finished project. I can relate this to a real life situation such as tasks you may complete in the workplace. Let's say your boss asks you to create a proposal for an upcoming project within the company. You then spend weeks and weeks working to perfect this presentation to please your boss and impress all those working around. The interesting part is that you worked all those long nights because you understand that there is a greater purpose at the end. By this I mean that by creating this presentation not only do you feel good about your success but it can also benefit the success of your boss or even the company in general. Overall what I take from this is that motivation is not strictly about money rather you feeling pride in your work and knowing the time you spent my benefit others as well.

I know this is a lot of information to process but I want to leave with one question:

In your personal opinion what motivates us to work money or self meaning?