100 Ways to Motivate Yourself
Author: Steve Chandler
Publisher: Career Press
Reviewer: Goke Ilesanmi
One potent psychological tool for massive accomplishments and peak performance in life is self-motivation also called “internal motivation”. That is, ability to act on your own without being told or forced. It is one of the trademarks of great achievers. We need a large dose of the pills of self-motivation to achieve our set goals and God’s plans for our lives. That is why I want us to X-ray this text christened “100 Ways to Motivate Yourself” this week.
It is written by Steve Chandler, a sales trainer and keynote speaker. Chandler says in his experience as a teacher, consultant and writer, he has gathered 100 ways of thinking that lead directly to self-motivation. He stresses that this book is therefore a book of ideas.
Chandler asserts that his sole criterion in assembling these ideas is their usefulness.He says he has drawn on the feedback received from his corporate and public seminar students to know which ideas make lasting impressions on people and which do not, and the ones that do are those contained in this book.Chandler stresses that the choices you make for your thinking either motivate you or not. He adds that although clear visualisation of a goal is a good first step, action is required to live the life you desire.
As regards structure, this book contains 100 concepts in a run-on format, based on the identified 100 ways. The first Way is tagged “Get on your deathbed”. According to Chandler here, “Pretending you aren’t going to die is detrimental to your enjoyment of life… In fact, being able to vividly image our last hours on our deathbed creates a paradoxical sensation: the feeling of being born all over again – the first step to fearless self-motivation.”
In Ways two to 20, this author says you should stay hungry; tell yourself a true lie; keep your eyes on the prize; learn to sweat in peace; simplify your life; look for the lost gold; push all your own buttons; build a track record; welcome the unexpected; find your master key; and put your library on wheels. Additionally, Chandler advises that you should definitely plan your work; bounce your thoughts; light your lazy dynamite; choose the happy few; learn to play a role; sit quietly to achieve your dreams; use your brain chemicals; and leave high school forever.
According to him in Way 21 entitled “Learn to lose your cool”, “You can create a self that doesn’t care that much about what people think. You can motivate yourself by leaving the painful self-consciousness of high school behind. Because our tendency is to go so far in the timid, non-assertive direction, it might be a profitable over-correction to adopt these internal commands: Look bad. Take a risk. Lose face. Be yourself. Share yourself with someone. Be human. Leave your comfort zone. Get honest. Experience the fear. Do it anyway.”
Ways 22 to 40 border on the need for you to kill your television; break out of your soul cage; run your own plays; find your inner Einsten; run towards your fear; create the way you relate; try interactive listening; embrace your will power; perform your little rituals; find a place to come from; and be your own disciple. Chandler equally submits that you should turn into a word processor; programme your biocomputer; open your presence; be a good detective; make a relation-shift; learn how to come from behind; and come to your soul purpose.
Way 41 is about getting on the right side. According to this consultant here, “Today my fascination is not so much with the right side of the bed as it is with the right of the head – or to be more precise, the right of the brain.” He adds that self-motivation gets more and more exciting as the left brain gets better and better at telling the right brain what to do.
In Ways 42 to 60, concepts such as allowing your whole brain to play; getting your stars out; making everything up; putting on your game face; discovering active relaxation; making today a masterpiece; enjoying all your problems; reminding your mind; getting down and small; and advertising your mind are examined. Chandler also discusses the concepts of thinking outside the box; continuous thinking; putting on a good debate; making trouble work for you; storming your own brain; continuous change of your voice; embracing the new frontier; upgrading your old habits; and painting your masterpiece today.
Way 61 is entitled “Swim laps underwater”. According to Chandler, “Sometimes, all you need is the air that you breathe to motivate yourself. Going for a run or a walk or simply deep breathing gives the brain the fuel it feeds on to be newly refreshed and creative.”
In Ways 62 to 80, he examines concepts such as bringing on a good coach; trying to sell your home; getting your soul to talk; promising the moon; making somebody’s day; playing the circle game; getting up a game; turning your mother down; facing the sun; and travelling deep inside. Chandler also X-rays concepts of going to war; using the five per cent solution; doing something badly; learning visioneering; lightening things up; serving and growing rich; making a list of your life; setting a specific goal; and changing yourself first.
According to him in Way 81 based on pinning your life down, “Before any adventure, take time to plan. Design your own plan of attack…Let life respond to you. If you’re making all the first moves, you’ll be surprised at how often you can pin life down.”
Ways 82 to 100 are based on taking “No”for a question; taking the road to somewhere; going on the news fast; replacing worry with action; running with the thinkers; putting more enjoyment in; continuous walking; reading more mysteries; thinking your way up; and exploiting your weakness. The concepts of trying to become the problem; enlarging your objective; giving yourself flying lessons; holding your vision accountable; building your power base; connecting truth to beauty; reading yourself a story; laughing for no reason; and walking with love and death are also discussed.
Conceptually, Chandler deserves applause for the multiplicity of quality ideas in this book. Stylistically, the book scores a pass mark. Through simplicity of presentation, creativity of language as well as reflective and suggestive illustrations, Chandler is able to articulate his motivational message. He also employs classical/literary allusions to reinforce his concepts and radiate concrete conviction.
However, the run-on structure of the book can be improved upon by grouping these 100 ways into different conceptual parts, to avoid possible boredom.What’s more, some duplicating concepts e.g. ways 47 and 60 need to be harmonised for compactness.
Generally, this text is a masterpiece. It is a book that anyone that wants to succeed must read.
GOKE ILESANMI (FIIM, FIMC, CMC), CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Professional Public Speaker, Career Mgt Coach and Certified Mgt Consultant. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.
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