One comes to believe whatever one repeats to oneself sufficiently often, whether the statement be true of false.  It comes to be dominating thought in one's mind.

Robert Collier

Extrinsic motivation is when a person is motivated to do something based on external factors, which come in the form of rewards.

The offer of money is a particularly common extrinsic motivator. This is opposed to the concept behind intrinsic motivation where a person is moved to do something in order to help others or simply to make himself or herself happy.

Sometimes extrinsic motivation can be of the positive kind while other times it can be negative. Positive extrinsic motivation can come by way of incentives, money, discounts, etc.

For example many airlines offer discounts as well as air miles and bonuses to convince customers to fly with them instead of their competition.

Many workplaces offer promotions, cash incentives or trips as a form of positive extrinsic motivation in a tangible way. Other forms of extrinsic motivation that are commonly found at offices are intangible forms such as public commendations or praise for a job well done.

When students are offered the chance for a fun class trip or a pizza party for the class that sells the most chocolate bars for the school, this is a form of positive extrinsic motivation. 

Extrinsic motivation has its negative side as well. Negative extrinsic motivation can also be used to push people into doing something.

Negative motivation often takes the form of threats, blackmail, bribery or pressure in one form or another. Extrinsic motivation, whether it is positive or negative is usually very effective and easy but also it can take a cruel or crude form.

When someone is threatened with physical harm or their loved ones are threatened with physical harm by an unsavoury individual, negative extrinsic motivation will get the aggressor what they want but by way of fear and intimidation.

It is important to note that extrinsic motivation focuses an individual's attention on the reward they will receive in the end as opposed to the action or the "doing" aspect.

In most cases what happens is that if the reward is taken away from the person they will then stop doing the action. The same is true with regards to negative extrinsic motivation- a person is motivated by avoiding pain, embarrassment, disappointment by others, public humiliation etc. 

This however can work well if a person is engaged in a behavior that another person wants them to stop doing. First give the person an extrinsic reward for doing said behaviour and then take away the reward.

With no reward in sight the person is very likely to stop doing the unwanted activity and the problem will be solved.

Extrinsic motivation is very much a part of many workplaces. Tangible rewards such as promotions, money, newer office equipment or a bigger, brighter office are very common, as are tangible rewards that have to do with being "dressed down" by a superior or being punished in one form or another (such as a demotion or being made to take leave without pay).

Intangible rewards work as extrinsic motivation, which include praise for one's accomplishments and/or a public acknowledgement of work that was well handled or well done.

Intrinsic motivation does not work as well in the working world because the number one reason people work is to make money to pay their mortgage or rent and all other bills, feed their families and build a life.

As well not every person chooses a job based on how much a given field of work means to him or her.

Many people simply take jobs as a means to an end or look at things such as how close in vicinity the job is to their home, the hours, the rate of pay, etc. 

Charles Williams is a writer for http://www.lsft.org which is an excellent place to find Motivation and Self Improvment links, For more information go to: http://www.lsft.org

If you are an employer, you are most likely well aware of the adverse effect on the bottom line that employee turnover can have.

After all, you have spent a lot of money finding the employee, interviewing her or him, training the new member of the staff, and all of this money is lost when the employee decides to find work elsewhere. 

Granted, sometimes this decision cannot be helped, especially when the job and the employee are not a good fit, or if the needs of the company or of the employee suddenly change.  Yet many a time this kind of employee turnover can be prevented with a bit of planning and foresight.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect a worker experiences is the lack of opportunity to take on leadership as an employee.

The pride of seeing a job well done does not only rest with management or the business’ owner, but it also is experienced by the individual worker who wants to see that her or his contribution to the job matters.

Such leadership – especially when initiated by the employee – is often viewed suspiciously by the immediate supervisor who might be worrying about her or his job security. 

Additionally, those supervisors who have never learned to properly delegate tasks will keep qualified workers from exercising leadership as an employee, simply relegating them to do but a small aspect of the work, without having the ultimate satisfaction of being an acknowledged part of the success story of the business.

Thus, if you wish to retain your employees – and ultimately to preserve your bottom line – it is wise to work with your employees to enable those who express talent, interest, and initiative to indeed take on the reigns of leadership while still remaining in their position within the management structure of your business.

While there are several methods of identifying such employees, perhaps the easiest are the employee talent questionnaire which seeks to identify the likes and dislikes of the individual employee with respect to the different aspects of the job she or he is currently performing.

The downfall of this exercise is the fact that some employees might be fearful to answer truthfully.  A better method may be the questionnaire that only asks one or two questions, namely “what – if anything – would you like to see different about your position” and “what – if anything – would you like to improve about your position.” 

Answers to these questions will permit the employee to be forthcoming and even take on leadership by sharing innovative ideas, which in turn may greatly benefit the company. As an employer, you can see just how beneficial it is to give the reigns of leadership to an employee!

Charles Williams is a writer for http://www.lsft.org which is an excellent place to find Motivation and Self Improvment links, For more information go to: http://www.lsft.org

What do Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen, Anthony Robbins, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Ben Franklin have in common?

They all leverage the power of the mastermind team.

The mastermind works on the concept that two (or more) heads are better than one. When you gather a group of like-minded people and focus on one particular problem, a funny thing happens.

Not only do you get intelligent feedback on blind spots you may not have noticed. But a truly phenomenal thing also happens with a mastermind group - the psychic aspect.

"The human mind is a form of energy, a part of it being spiritual in nature. When the minds of two people are coordinated in a SPIRIT OF HARMONY, the spiritual units of energy of each mind form an affinity, which constitutes the 'psychic' phase of the Master Mind."

Excerpted from Think and Grow Rich

See, when a group is united in the same purpose, the number of ideas in the room balloon off of other people's ideas. I witnessed this personally last month at a networking meeting lead by Jim Bunch of Six Figure Practice.

In groups of 6-8 we brainstormed how to raise $10,000 in three days. The ideas were mind boggling. As we got more and more excited, our ideas became more and more bold. One group said they weren't stopping at $10,000. They wanted to raise $1,000,000!

So how do you harness this kind of power for yourself? Masterminds are rather subjective in that you must do what works for YOU and your lifestyle ultimately.

I have been in my mastermind for a year now and I couldn't be happier. My business has hit an all-time high. And I credit the habit of masterminding with the lion's share of my success. Here are some of the qualities that work for us.

l Keep the number small. My group is 4 people but we could comfortably increase to as many as 6.

l Meet regularly. We meet by phone once a week to go over successes and challenges. Plus we put one person on the hot seat for special focus. Then we also meet in person for an all day retreat a minimum of 3-4 times a year.

l Don't make anybody wrong. There is no such thing as a bad idea. As soon as you begin attacking the creativity of the mastermind, the ideas will shrivel up. Keep the brainstorm going and you'll be astounded at the new levels of insight you reach.

l Treat each meeting as if you paid $100,000 a year to be a member. A mastermind meeting isn't a coffee klatch. The only way it can truly be effective is if everyone takes it seriously and shows up ready to focus.

l Hold one another accountable. Got a goal? When do you expect to have that done by? Your mastermind team wants to know. There is great power in verbalizing your intention.

Make a wish list of people you would like to be in your mastermind. Write out the qualities you would like to see in the ideal candidates. Be specific.

A word of caution - be very picky about whom you choose to make this commitment with. You will likely be together for a long time. Make it a goal for 2007 to be a part of a mastermind team.

Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero, President of Red Hot Communications, Inc. is among a handful of the most highly sought after copywriters in the industry. Having studied with the leading gurus like Dan Kennedy, John Carlton, and Gary Halbert, Lorrie’s passion is teaching both entrepreneurs and copywriters how to master their own marketing through powerful copy.  Learn more at http://www.redhotcopy.com.
 
For more information on Anthony Robbins visit http://www.lsft.org

Success is finding a career you love and  adore, and becoming really good at it.

- Warren Buffet

Abundance is not something we acquire.  It is something we tune into.

Wayne Dyer

Experience yourself as the miracle you are. Thank yourself for being so amazing. What is possible for you if you choose to be conscious, aware and mindful?

Open your mind and see what is possible for you.

We think about 60,000 thoughts a day. There are 100 billion galaxies, each with, on the average, 100 billion stars; our brain has 100 billion cells.

Our earth is at least 4.6 billion years old. The universe is at least 15 billion years old. There are about 10 billion trillion planets.

We live on the edge of a distant spiral arm of 40 billion stars known as the Milky Way.

Our genes are millions of years old; some are billions of years old. A single cell in the human body is doing about six trillion things per second, and it chooses to know what every other cell is doing at the same time.

Every cell in the body contains the same master DNA library of genes as every other cell of the body.

Every one of our 100 trillion cells contains the complete instructions on how to make every part of us. We are a miracle.

We are perfection.

How funny that we would trust the small voice inside that says we are not enough. We are perfection. When you think about all this, how can you not surrender yourself to the creative heart/mind/soul/being who orchestrates the universe?

Every cell supports each other, and is nourished by every other cell. The cell is in flow, and the flow is the essence of life. Our cells are more conscious than we are. They know how to support, to be a team. They can depend on each other. They work together in service to the whole.

The truth is, all creation is one body, one person, one being, whose cells are connected to one another within a medium called consciousness.

We are predisposed to great genius and riches in spite of our small egos telling us we are something other than who we truly are.

CHOOSE WEALTH. Marianne Williamson is credited with saying, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure… We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?  Actually who are you not to be?"

Wake up your life.

An unaware life - a sluggish, dimmed life is not big enough to hold you anymore.  It's time to wake up. Simply BE. And observe your way of being with everyone - see what is mirrored back. Look at the positive and negative. If you desire love, give love. Really give love. Observe, watch what happens when you are really Being Love.

If you are tired of being a victim - simply accept responsibility for everything in your life and watch the stories naturally changing. The seemingly negative stories and lessons always seem to lead to liberation, peace, true freedom if you are aware, and awake - joy will be there as a reminder. Change your programming. Don't obey your programming anymore. Unless it's the program called Awareness. Joy. Bliss. Awake. Forgiving.

What makes you feel insecure?  Money, health, love, education… what is it? Are you insecure because you don't feel like you have enough money? Or, that you are not loved? Or, that you never finished college so you feel inadequate? None of that is true. Not even for a nanosecond. Nothing outside of yourself makes you feel anything. Nothing outside of you makes you insecure.

What makes you feel less is all in your head, in your programming.

Change your mind and you will experience everything differently. Yet nothing has changed - except you. You don't buy into your story anymore. Otherwise why would one person with little money in the bank feel fully secure and taken care of and another could have a million and feel insecure. The difference is their programming.

You can't change your insecurity by doing anything outside of you. No amount of money, no face-lift, no new car, no new relationship will create the long-term results you are looking for.

Insecurity is taught.

Realize, fully that insecure people taught this insecurity to you when you were very young and impressionable.  You bought into their reactions, behavior, and panic when the outside world didn't conform to a certain pattern. You learned to express emotional turmoil or hid it and it was called insecurity. It may have played itself out as defensive, closed, hidden, fearful or panic. You learned to react big time. You learned not to like or accept being insecure - so you became withdrawn or fought others making them wrong and making sure you came out as the "right" one.

You did or do everything in your power to change the outside world mistakenly thinking you'll be more secure that way - sure, more money, bigger, faster car, nicer house… you become an approval suck, desperate for someone's attention and approval to make you feel better about you. Anything it takes to make the insecure feelings go away.

Offer yourself relief right now.

Understand that doing these things doesn't make the insecurity go away. It solves nothing. The answer is only within.

Envision the same circumstances that hurt you and now imagine it as a neutral event. It's not personal. It just is what it is. See the gift in now.

Before it was a mistake, now it's a lesson. Before it was someone doing something to you, now you own your power.

You don't need to hold others in such a rigid pattern that they can't breathe and be themselves - flawed, scared, doing their best, spontaneous, sometimes unkind, unaware, not mindful, or not perfect. And that's OK, it's more than OK - it is what it is.

So relax, and accept that it's great to be authentic moment by moment. Be a transformer from negative to positive - in love with no pre-defined rules.

Now you've birthed a new belief.

Learn how YOU can achieve your Dream Lifestyle with the tools at Success University

Do you give your employees the type of leadership in the workplace that they come to expect? What is it that you think they do expect from you as the boss?

It is hard to give everyone something that they can take with them, unless you know what you are doing.

Working is a part of life and we all have to do it. Everyone has a boss, but it is what that boss does that leads them to success.

What is the key to being the best boss you can be? What is the key to making sure that everyone has the right leadership?

The first thing is the right attitude. If you go into a bad situation without the knowledge and the know how, then it will not work.

You have to believe in your people and your company. You have to love what you do, in order to guide and teach everyone else. You have to take steps to make everyone see that even something bad can be turned around with the right leadership.

That is what being a boss is all about. It is not about yelling and throwing fits, but about working with your people and showing them what to do. Your knowledge of the company and what your company does is a plus. You teach them the right ways to do things.

You make everyone follow those rules and make sure that those who don’t are punished. You be there friend, as well as their boss.

It helps to be open and honest with your people. If you do this they will be more comfortable coming to you with the problems and be able to help you fit them.

When you are working with any group of people it is all about team work.

If you have those that are not working with the team, then it hurts everyone, including your company.

This is why leadership in the workplace is most important and with it you can all join together to get the job done together as a team. You will also have many happy employees and customers.

Working doesn’t have to something you dread everyday, it needs to be something that you love.

You will find that those that have the right leadership will have little problems with their company. Not saying it will cure everything, it just makes it easier and better to do the work.

Everyone place of business has problems and their ups and downs, but with the right leadership they can overcome those issues quicker. How is your leadership in your workplace? Do you have the qualities to become the best leader and guide those around you?

For more information on Anthony Robbins visit http://www.lsft.org

"The only true security in life comes from knowing that every single day you are improving yourself in some way."
 - Anthony Robbins

Enjoy this awesome video from Brian Tracy  "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure"