Why You Lack Motivation as an Entrepreneur

Missing some motivation?

This is a deep and common topic for entrepreneurs, and below you are going to find the answers. I want everyone who reads my posts to be successful, and I hope this article provides you with an avenue to discover the motivation you feel you were missing.

You lack a greater purpose

Know why you want to be an entrepreneur

If money is your motivator you’d best make sure that your lust for financial prowess is really what gets you out of bed every day. If your bank account isn’t what makes you tick, honestly, then you have some thinking to do. What drives you? Is is status? Recognition or philanthropy? You need a reason to continue that starts to become your sole purpose in life. If you elect to continue on your entrepreneurial journey without your motivator, times will get hard eventually, and you will break when they do.

Know how big you want to be

This is a quantification of the previous point. You now know what you want, so the question is, how much? The paths to becoming a billionaire are fewer, and more torturous than generating a six-figure income. Know what level you aspire to, and hold yourself accountable to stick to the level of work you must put in to achieve your goals. If you truly aspire to great wealth, be ready to make the sacrifices you know are necessary to get there.

Make a plan (Really)

If you have told yourself you will be rich, and you have told your friends and family you will be rich, you have taken the first step. Declared your intentions, but unless you prove it you have also taken the first step to fooling yourself. Have you thought about how you are going to make money? Have you written it down? Make sure your plan is in writing to remind yourself that what life you need to have for yourself in 5, 10, or 15 years from now. Whether or not you manage to achieve your goals in that time exactly is of little consequence, your goals will likely change with clearer understanding of your work. Having a direction to head in is the important idea to have documented.

Motivation is a reckless driver

Motivation is a garbage long term motivator…

Seems like it doesn’t make sense at first right? But then how many times have you gotten out of bed in the morning and wasted half or all of your day not completing the tasks you needed to only to say, “I’ll get it done when I get the motivation.” That motivation may come. In a week. Or a month. The most successful people in the world don’t work hard once a week, when they get motivation. They work hard every day, and often every waking hour. You have to have the strength of character to do the things that you said were important to you even when they become hard, even when you don’t want to do them, even when others do not want you to do them. You need to have discipline.

Why discipline is better

Discipline allows you to do things that you do not want to do simply because you know you must do them. If you feel like you cannot complete the tasks you have set for yourself, more often than not that is a choice. You have chosen to give in to wasting your day on tasks that simply will not matter to you come the next day. Make your to-do list when you are in a clear headspace, and then act on your to-do list with intention every. single. day. This is not to say that you should never have leisurely days, but if you have neglected something that you know must be done, and you have elected not to do it for a weak reason, then you are at risk of relapsing back into an undisciplined lifestyle that will not get you where you want to be in life.

You need to focus on your health

Bad health will drain your effectiveness

Making poor food, exercise, and hygiene decisions will cost you greatly in the long run. One of the biggest regrets I hear time and time again from people reaching the middle and later stages of life is almost always that they should have taken better care of themselves when they were younger. What is the point of having your riches if you’re going to die by the age of 50 or 60 because of your health decisions. It may be attractive to eat out to save time to work more or take a break, but think of it this way: If by doing so you make yourself rich 5 years faster, but you lose 10 years of your life is that truly a high ROI decision. Thinking you can neglect your health for financial gain without future regret is just as naïve as believing a get rich quick scheme. You are going to wither away at some point, but better to make it at 100 rather than 50.

You already know health is important

You KNOW it’s important. I refuse to believe that anyone that is capable of reading this article does not know that their health is extremely important. But if you are a part of the group that tells themselves health can wait, you are lying to yourself. I had a period of time in college where I neglected my health as well, so I get it, but it made me feel worse about myself in the long run. Now that I am taking the time to upkeep my body I feel much better about my decisions in the long run. I know that if any of you out there feel bad about how you don’t take care of yourself, you will feel better if you just do it. Let this be your wake up call. Just take the time everyday, and you will see it pay off.

Ditch instant gratification

Nothing worthwhile comes quickly

Unless you are incredible lucky, you aren’t going to win the lottery or discover you have inherited your long lost aunts inheritance. No, if you’d like to be somebody someday you have to earn it. It’s easy to see others success on social media and think if you just started doing what they do you can have it all. Starting is great! but it is just the first step, and frankly the easiest. Everyone always says “Starting is the hard part,” but I beg to differ. Starting a new project gives you a dopamine hit because you feel good about yourself for doing something that matters. However, at the start you cannot see how difficult it is going to be to continue that activity and to stay undistracted in your effort for months or even years.

Learn to enjoy the process

As consumers in the 21st century we have become increasingly addicted to having things faster and faster. How many times have you been frustrated because a video wouldn’t load within a few seconds? How many times have you gotten upset at another driver for driving one or two mph less than you would like? These events have little impact on our lives, and yet our patience grows thinner every year. Make no mistake, making something great is going to take patience, and a lot more of it than most people have. Be the person who endures. Be the person who out waits the competition, and therefore reaps the rewards in the end.

In conclusion

If you feel like you are missing motivation, you are probably looking in the wrong place. The activities that we have discussed are not achievable in short bursts:

1. Purpose
2. Discipline
3. Health

These things take a consistent amount of effort over a long time horizon. You have to stop lying to yourself about whether you will make up for being lazy tomorrow or not, and be consistent. I am trying to build this community around these premises, and you can always reach out to me through the site for help. I will make regular posts to keep people thinking about their beliefs. If you have any thoughts on this subject, I encourage you to share them in the comment section.