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?
Disclosure: The book links… yep, affiliate links to Amazon. Those proceeds will go toward the copy of Drive that I’m donating to my son’s school.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this entry and I love the question about motivation. But loving it and finding the answers are not the same thing, right?
I recently did a survey to find what motivates folks on a specific board in which they were serving. Their biggest response was the opportunity to give back to the community. When asked why they enjoyed participating, the biggest response was that it gave them a feeling of accomplishment.
Those are good motivations–making the world a better place and feeling good about yourself in the process.
It is important for all of us to remember what motivates us, but as entrepreneurs in particular need to take it a step further to see what motivates our audiences. That may be the difference between making a buck!
Laura Wooten´s last blog ..The Relentless Networker and Coopertion.
@Laura – SO TRUE! Thank you for adding that vital point.
Love it, Laura Lou. Can’t wait to hear about where you’re headed. Thanks for the heads up on the TED talk.
Aye yie yie Laurie! I’ve gotten this message on the “why” about 40 gazillion times in 24 hours. I thought I knew, and I am being challenged to go deeper.
Thanks for this. And here’s to your “Why.” (And your crush. )
Dani Webb´s last blog ..I Did It!
Love how you call it the Soul’s Dance Floor. Now THAT is THE place to be…..
May you be amused. Enchanted. Enlightened. Energized. I’m sure I’ll hear your “Weee-hah” all the way from the west coast.
In a way, it’s like becoming like a little kid again, oh, and one with all this adult experience we’ve accumulated (plus that left brain marinade you mention.) You inspire me to keep surfing the beaches of the Right Brain! Now does Pink do cabana service? I wanna know! –Maura
Laurie – that is why you are such a great coach – you get your “coachee” to focus on the purpose and meaning of what they want to do. You can work hard when you care about something and listening to your gut helps.
@Martha – I’m definitely headed for more exciting territory. Wanna ride shotgun?
@Dani – Hearing it again and again, eh?
@Maura – Cabana service! Bwah-ha-ha! I almost blew hot tea on my keyboard when I read that.
@Sue – Thanks so much! Focus is a big theme of this year for me. But I’m only willing to focus on things that really light me up.
Laurie Foley´s last blog ..Cue the Marvin Gaye: Dan, Drive and the Dance
Laurie, since it is all about me, I must reveal to you that I no longer have affection for Dan Pink. He used my favorite, and I thought, very own original lawyer joke in his TED Talk. (“Don’t hold it against me; law school was a youthful indiscretion.”) My joke has become useless to me. It is Dan Pink’s joke now.
My only consolation is that while the line always got me laughs, it was ineffective in persuading people not to “hold it against me”! LOL! Very little empathy for my misspent youth!
Okay, Laurie, now that Kay’s out of the picture, it’s just you and me. I’m sure we can come to some sort of timeshare aarrangement on being Dan’s biggest fan. We’re different time zones and all. It could be quite amicable – no ankle-biting or anything…
Seriously though, what a great post. I was also inspired by Dan to go deeper on the purpose-focus. And what particularly interested me was the little attention he gave to the idea of “finding the tasks you love doing” which so many of us Renaissance souls find so hard. I found it interesting and inspiring that the factors that he gave his attention to: autonomy, mastery and purpose, are all very much within our control and stuff that we can “make up” in whatever work/ tasks we’re doing.
Looking forward to seeing more of the dance of your soul this year
Freedom and purpose definitely drive me. As an entrepreneur I’m looking to make a difference, no only in my life, but in others. Hoping my training and experience can help others in some way.
Great post! I will be checking out Dan’s book because of your recommendation.
Heather Villa´s last blog ..Pay it forward for big payback
@Kay – I have NO DOUBT that you will have a new line soon!
@Cath – Thanks!! I resisted the urge to mention ankle-biting again in the post… GREAT point that these motivation factors are not JUST about about our “big work.” We can apply them across the board. Now how would I autonomously, purposefully and masterfully clean off the mess on my desk?…
@Heather – Hope you enjoy the book, too – let me know! I loved your promises post on your blog:
http://hireheathervilla.com/2009/12/31/10-promises-for-2010/
Laurie Foley´s last blog ..Cue the Marvin Gaye: Dan, Drive and the Dance