Every morning when you wake up and crack your eyes open for the first time that day, you’re presented with a choice.
Do you keep your eyes open? Or do you close them and return to the unconscious warmth of your bed?
The question behind the question is what truly motivates you.
Some mornings you jump out of bed, alive with energy, and excited for the day ahead. Other mornings you roll over, bury your head back in your pillow, and ask the dream fairies to press play again.
If you’re a business professional, you know that lethargy can be lethal. Feeling unmotivated can lead to getting fired, according to one report.
How do you remain motivated?
To answer this question, I dug into personal statements of some familiar names, mostly billionaires. I wanted to hear direct quotes in the first-person, not just what other people think.
Here’s what I found.
10 motivations of the most successful business leaders today
- “My goal is to simplify complexity. I just want to build stuff that really simplifies our base human interaction.” Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, CEO of Square source
- “I don’t want to be liked, I want to be respected.” Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba source
- “They gave me some sense of the direction I wanted my life to go.” Barack Obama, former President of the United States, in a speech to the American Achievement Foundation, talking about how he was inspired by the anger of three speakers towards the injustice of the Apartheid.
- “My definition of success? The more you’re actively and practically engaged, the more successful you will be.” Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group source
- “I stay motivated by working on things I really care about.” Sheryl Sandberg, COO at Facebook source
- “I have realized about myself that I’m very motivated by people counting on me.” Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon source
- “I enjoy the world of business and the process of problem-solving … I don’t just want to make money. I want to add value and feel as though I am making a contribution to the world around me … I get bored quickly … I’d rather be making movies than making the little plastic things that go on the end of your shoelaces.” Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn source
- “I am doing what I love the most in life. I always advise students, as much as possible, to try to find the job that they would have if they were independently rich. And I found that job, and to me it’s absolutely fascinating. I work with people I love, I get to paint my own painting at the office and there’s no better job in the world.” Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway source
- “The question I ask myself like almost every day is, ‘Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?’ … Unless I feel like I’m working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I’m not going to feel good about how I’m spending my time.” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO at Facebook source
- “My principal motivation is supporting my family, which is not a bad reason for getting up in the morning. That’s always been my motivation – to take care of the people who rely on me.” Tony Parsons, British Journalist source
Find your motivation with these two questions
Whether it’s solving a complex problem, providing for your family, or working with people you love, here are two questions that will help you find your unique motivation:
- What do you want your future to be? (Based on the Expectancy theory.)
- What causes you to have restless dissatisfaction? (From the Harvard Business Review.)
Answer these, and your eyes will pop open every morning with a passion for seizing the day. Well, maybe a couple rounds of coffee will help, too. Nevertheless, find your purpose and you’ll find your perseverance.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.