We can never truly guarantee success, but we can significantly increase our chances if we have good alignment between our Aspiration, Inspiration and Motivation.
If we can create this perfect storm; position ourselves in the eye of the hurricane; then we will be in prime position to achieve our objective.
Aspirations: these are our dreams, the things that we long to achieve. Our aspirations create powerful emotions and are deeply embedded within us, they are aligned with our values, and the very core of who we are.
If the goal we are seeking is aligned with our aspirations, this will give us a very strong desire to see it achieved.
2 Years ago I was asked to run a marathon relay, this was just a 10k run. I agreed to do it, because I thought it was a good thing, but deep down inside I didn’t have the desire to run. I looked to practice, but I found it difficult to find the time to train, and when I did train I realized how unfit I was.
Eventually, I found a replacement for myself and gave up, as I didn’t believe in it. It wasn’t one of my Aspirations.
Inspiration: Inspiration is what gives us belief that we will be successful: it may be someone who has already achieved what we have achieved; it maybe someone who believes in us, us shows us that we could be successful; or it may just be the thought of achieving something, imaging our selves scoring the winning goal. This is what gives us a vision of being successful.
When we have just Aspiration alone, without the Inspiration, this means that we have the desire to do something but we lack the belief.
I want to be a movie star, but I don’t believe I have any acting ability and that I lack stage presence.
This is not a recipe for success; it’s the ingredients for failure.
Motivation: in it’s base form motivation is simply the encouragement we need to start, and then continue onwards towards our goal. It can come both from within and externally. We can motivate ourselves through seeing the progress we make towards our goal; others can motivate us through their recognition and encouragement to keep going. We can also be motivated by seeing friends succeed and wanting to imitate their success.
When we have Aspiration and Inspiration, but lack Motivation, we have both the desire and the vision of how we can be successful, but we lack the encouragement.
This lack of encouragement means we may lack the catalyst to start our journey, or we may lack the encouragement to keep going when things get tough, which they always do when our goals are ambitious enough.
This lack of motivation may cause us to stop short, even though the end maybe in sight or just around the corner.
When we have all three Aspiration, Inspiration and Motivation all aligned, and they working in harmony, then we have the desire, the vision and the encouragement that we need.
Armed with these three weapons we have put ourselves in a great position to succeed, we have created the perfect storm.
Just recently I completed my first ever Marathon, this was 18 months after giving up on trying to run 10km.
How did I do it?
My Aspiration was to help friends suffering from Cancer by raising money for charity, through running a Marathon.
My inspiration was the many friends who were going through chemo therapy: it was tough, but they had no choice; and I knew if they could do that, then I could run through the pain of running for 26 mile.
I was also inspired by Fauja Singh the 100 year old man who was still running Marathons, and if a 100 year old man could do it then why not me.
My Motivation came from friends who encouraged me to do it; the friends who decided to run with me; and the many well wishers who cheered as we ran the race.
With this Aspiration, Inspiration and Motivation I went in 6 months from not being able to run 1.5km to successfully completing 42km.
I had created the Perfect Storm, I had the drive to get out of bed each morning to train, I could see myself successfully crossing the finishing line and raising the money for charity, and I had the support of friends who cheered me on, every step of the way. With this there was nothing that was going to stop me from succeeding.
Look at what you want to achieve and ask how can you create your perfect storm.
Gordon Tredgold
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