Motivation Techniques

Update for 8/9/14: 

It can be overwhelming to deal with the many aspects that come from building a writing career. Here are some of the ways I deal with overwhelm. 

If you need some motivation to improve your skills and reach the 10,000 hours of work that will make you an expert, read this post on the Cohen Caveat. 

What do you do when your friends and family don't support your dreams? Have you tried translating what they're really saying?

Learn the importance of trying new things and how even a small change can change your life for the better. 

Want to learn the Self Publishing Secrets of the Ages? Click the link. 

When I left college, I knew that I wanted writing to be a part of my life. One of my biggest worries was that my motivation techniques wouldn't be up to snuff if I didn't have a professor asking me to do a story as an assignment. But I figured, "Once I'm in the big city the creative juices will just flow from me."

And then I didn't do any writing for nearly two years.

It's not that I didn't want to. I did! I thought of ideas for stories and scripts all the time. I figured that perhaps since I didn't have the motivation to do these tasks, it wasn't meant to be.

In a last ditch effort before I completely gave up on my creative writing, I stumbled upon some personal development literature. Whenever I thought about motivation techniques, I always had envisioned Tony Robbins and Stuart Smalley. And when I talk about personal development those are the two people that are usually brought up.

But there are a lot of smart people out there who have figured out some ways to make those motivational roadblocks seem much less daunting.

Over the next few months, I will be sharing articles based on my experiences with "getting fired up." I also recommend you take a look at the Personal Time Management section for related topics of self-improvement. 

It's not easy getting started on a project when you haven't had success in the past. This article on the Law of Attraction can help you get started by thinking of the end result. And here is another article related to the Law, about some of my visualization goals. Check out this page if you'd like to read some books on visualization and manifesting.

Sometimes life can just seem like it's full of weighty decisions that never really let you make the choices you want to. If you want to live the life you want to, try this article on for size. 

I have begun a several part series on the topic of daily motivation. Here is an overview of the series,and here is an article of how to add productivity to your morning (Part 1), and Part 2. And for some help with the afternoon, click here.

One of the best ways to get motivated is to stimulate your brain. Author Mike McGuire has some great products on his Writers' Stimulus website. Check them out!

When you return home from work, it is easy to plop down on the couch and zonk out. To prevent you from doing that, here are some tips on your evening. If you're feeling burned out, read this article onhow to deal with burnout. If you need some motivation immediately, here are some last second motivation tips. If you're having a hard time getting your to-do list clear, try doing last things first for a change.

Keeping yourself motivated can be extremely stressful. One way to help yourself and to help others is to use The Power of Good. 

Some people say fake it till you make it. I say, become extraordinary at one thing, and you will be inclined to be extraordinary at everything. Click here to get in the zone.

Another way to get motivated is to sign up for a course, such as Creative Writing Now’s free online writing courses. Author and teacher Nancy Strauss has extensive experience with these classes in person and online and I highly recommend her.

While motivation if often tough to come by, sometimes as in the case of my recent play Chekhov Kegstand, it can be the path of least resistance.

One of the foremost leaders on goals and due dates, Brian Tracy has taught me a lot about how taking extra time with a goal is not the end of the world. If you'd like to keep your productivity going indefinitely read about the goal beyond the goal. If you are having a tough time getting your top goal accomplished, try diversifying your goals.

If you have yet to find your question answered, perhaps you could try asking it here where all of you readers have an opportunity to have your own problems solved.

If you find that you're having trouble with the tedious tasks of a blog, here are some motivation techniques on working on your blog. Try out this strange solution for dealing with the crippling problem of procrastination. Another important tactic is to change your attitude, here's a suggestion from Earl Nightingale.

Some think that failure is not an option, but I think you can learn a lot more from failing sometimes than you can from success. Here's another article on the positive aspects of failing forward. Here are some self improvement ideas that can help you to change your life for the better. If you aren't sure about the kind of person you are, read this article on how to be yourself. If a lack of writing motivationis your problem, check out this article on the subject. If money is your thing, here are some tips on your financial motivation. Read this article on rainy day writing for staying productive when the weather outside is frightful. If you are having difficulty with what the government is doing and you think it's affecting you too much, read about the importance of personal responsibility.

If a lack of happiness is your motivational issue, check out these articles focusing on quotes about happiness, a happiness quote list, quotes on happiness, famous quotes about happiness and otherhappiness quotations. Here is my answer to the question how to find true happiness. If you'd like to truly be happy with a job you love, here are my thoughts on career change motivation. Read more about one of my new books, that I enjoy calling the book on happiness. Here is my definition of happiness. Here's an article comparing happiness and pleasure proving that immediate gratification certainly won't give you long-term fulfillment. In addition to happiness, believing in yourself is extremely important to productivity. If you can learn to trust yourself, you'll be miles ahead of writers who are more negative. If you tend to throw yourself a pity party when things go wrong, take a look at these ways to cancel it.

If you find that you're having trouble with your inspiration, look at these 10 ways to find inspiration. 


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