Staying Motivated

When one is involved in a small, one man shop business as I am, staying motivated can sometimes be a challenge. It is easy to remain motivated when you are pushing (and spending) to get things up and running, but its hard to stay on track when you either don't see immediate results, or returns are much better than anticipated and you start to relax and take things for granted. I tend to fall in both traps with my little photography thing, of course the former a lot more than the latter. For that reason I am always searching for motivational tips, articles, talks, etc so that I can keep pushing forward.
I went to a motivational talk, or rather motivational production, a few weeks ago wit a whole lot of big shot speakers; Zig Ziggler, Ruddy Giuliani, Larry King, Colin Powell and some others. It was an all day affair with literally thousands in attendance. Some of the speakers were quite good, others just spat out the obvious. Then again sometimes its the obvious that we need to understand without ignoring it just because it is "the obvious". What did I take away from it? Here is some of what sank into my porous cavity.....
a) The farmer always wants the land next door to his. Once he is able to buy it, he again wants the land next door to him. It never ends. At some point you have to stop and conclude that you have enough "land" to work with.
b) To say you will "try" at something means you are quite content with failing, and you probably will.
c) Don't be afraid to fail, it can be your biggest motivator. Only CNAs settle for average. (Committed Non Achievers). They are the mediocre around us.
d) Before you go to bed at night think back on your day and honestly ask yourself, "How can I make tomorrow better or worse than today?" Write down your answer(s) and put it somewhere that you will see it first thing in the morning.
Want to know what really made that day for me? One of the presenters, I think it was Zig, stated that legal immigrants are six times more likely to become independently wealthy than the average American. Of course seeking wealth is not simply about excess cash at your disposal, it is really the about building a better and more secure future for your children and their children to come. It is really about their quality of life, not yours.
There is hope for me yet.