Hi…

It’s time for the answer to this week’s quiz…

Judging by the response, I’d say most didn’t have time to comment, which is a bit in keeping with the quiz and could be good or bad news depending on how you look at it.

Now, for the answer…

Or at least let’s head in that direction…

The answer to the question I posed (“What’s the key intrinsic reason why we do what we do instead of what we know we should do in support of our goals?”) also has a lot to do with why we do something vs. why we don’t.

Ask yourself why you do something to inch closer to a goal.

Maybe you want something. Maybe it’s material. Perhaps it’s a state. Maybe you desire it so badly you can taste it. Or maybe you don’t.

That’s a clue.

Here’s another one…

All across town, crowds of customers lined up hoping to get their hands on the new iPhone 3GS.

Which reminds me of a chilly night back in college. It was the first time I’d ever camped out to get concert tickets. Darn cold actually. But we were a big group of friends, we came prepared, we had a tent, food, beverages-you know how it is in college-and we stuck it out together… because it was worth it.

But you want to know the big reason why? Because my girlfriend wanted tickets.

Same with the iPhone fans. See, even though some stores wouldn’t open till 10 AM, Apple devotees were willing to get in line at the crack of dawn.

… Because they wanted to be one of the first to have the latest and greatest. Or maybe their reason why is because they wanted to get it as a gift for someone else.

Okay, so back to my example of the two random people who both have a goal of losing the same amount of weight.

One goes to the gym three times a week. And through persistent action and consistent effort, ultimately loses the weight. The other complains about not having enough time and remains overweight.

Here’s the reason why the second person doesn’t pull the trigger on losing weight…

Their bugaboo is “motivation.” Motivation, that combination of feeling, decision, and commitment.

That is the answer to the quiz: motivation.

Things get done in this world because we are motivated to do them. (Write that down and stick it to your wall.) And things don’t get done when we don’t have enough motivation.

There, the cat’s out of the bag.

It’s not glamorous.

Nevertheless, it’s the most critical driver for personal and business success.

Not getting the results you want? Check your motivation.

It’s not voodoo.

Setting and expecting to achieve goals without having the right motivation, IS relying on voodoo.

Because if you are not motivated enough, it is highly unlikely you’re going to do what’s necessary to achieve your goal.

I’ve lost count of how many goals of mine have fallen off the radar because I wasn’t motivated enough. I’m probably better off too for it too.

I’m guessing you can relate to this, can’t you, that to take action you need to be motivated? Even if it’s just to get the silly thing done?

My fingers are getting tired, so let me think how do I say this best again… Things are worthwhile when we have worthwhile goals.

And when things are worth doing, you’re motivated to do them.

The flip side of this is, you’re not really going to do something if you don’t think it’s worthwhile…

…In other words, you are not going to go after your goals if you’re not motivated …if you don’t have a BIG ENOUGH REASON WHY.

Okay, I’ve rambled on enough.

Now, about the prize, even though you didn’t offer the answer, I’m feeling compelled to give TWO prizes.

One for the answer that at least is on the right wavelength… which gives us a taste of the effects of fear.

And the other for shedding some light on the workings of our mind.

So, the winners:

Carolyn, the second response.

And Zana, the first response.

Both of you get access to my Personal Renaissance group coaching and mentoring program. You’ll be contacted assuming you left your correct email address in your profile when you posted your comment.

Again, you get credit for giving this some thought and taking action.

Everyone else who read about the quiz and MISSED giving a response, I wonder if you can answer next time.

Well, that’s it for today.

We’ll have to do another quiz here soon.

Ciao!

Taylor

P.S. If you are a doer, want to be a doer, want to lead a truly extraordinary life, to enhance and enrich your lifestyle, to influence the world and leave a legacy, join me for your Personal Renaissance.

A long time ago, before I was able to really get it and was clueless about the meaning of life, a mentor of mine said:

“Taylor…we all get the same amount of time!”

No matter how simple and profound this statement is, at the time, his words didn’t sink in.

But as the years went by, I’d hear those words a few more times. Returning like a refrain, I’d slowly appreciate this song.

See, there’s a thing with people who live their dreams, people who lead extraordinary lives. These folks have mastered the simple truth about time–that we all get the same amount of time.

…And they know something else too…

That it’s what you do with your time that gets you different results from everyone else.

That how you spend your time determines your future.

Now if you’re like me, that probably sounds elementary. But on some level it’s hard to disagree, right?

It’s time to get this out in the open… People who live a richer, more fulfilling life in every sense of the word, realize it’s not about needing more time. Let’s face it… We all have all the time we’re ever going to get. So the secret is in how you use that time, how you leverage time.

When someone has an issue with time, often we’ll talk about their relationship with time.

Not surprisingly, they’ll tell me they don’t have enough time to do this that or the other. I mean really, ask a random person at the grocery store… it’s rare to find anyone who has time to do anything. Or is it?

They like money, but they don’t have time to get organized to make more money.

They say they wish they were in better shape, but they don’t have time to eat healthier or to take better care of themselves physically or emotionally.

They dream of better relationships, but they don’t have time to create strong, long-lasting bonds.

They describe in detail what they hate about their current job, but they don’t have time to think of a more rewarding line of work or to design a career they can be passionate about.

Sometimes we talk about how things take effort. But mostly it’s about how things take time.

In a way, it’s funny. Because if you ask them to journal how they spend their time, they make some amazing discoveries.

When someone first told me about journaling, I couldn’t help but think of a large, worn-in, leather-bound journal. Like an artist’s sketchbook or something. But the fact is you can journal on a small pad you keep in your back pocket or purse, on your computer, iphone, or whatever way makes you most comfortable. And when you make it a habit to keep a journal of how you spend your time, you too will see patterns in what you do with your time–those precious hours, days, months and years of your life.

And so when on the one hand they say “I’m so busy… I don’t have time…” and then on the other hand they see right there in black and white what it is they’re actually busy doing, it’s quite eye-opening, and at times down-right shocking.

For example, just imagine their surprise when they realize how many hours they spend watching television…

A.C. Nielsen Co. reported the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (in reality, the TV is on more than that, an average of 6 hours, 47 minutes each day)

Why not try some simple math…

4 hours a day is 28 hours a week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year. 60 days of nonstop TV a year.

In a 65-year life, someone watching this much TV will have spent 9 years glued to the tube–more time today considering people are living longer. Tell me if that’s not alarming. Maybe it’s a wake up call.

Now, depending on what kind of television they watch, there may be some educational value to it. You know …if they’re watching things like the History Channel or the Discovery Channel.

And that’s just picking a classic example, people watching television hours and hours a day, wasting their gifts and lives in front of the television.

Listen, I used to be busy too. In fact, I still am quite often. At times you might have even seen me wearing “busyness” (is that a word?) almost as if it were a badge of honor.

Yes, I used to enjoy being busy.  The busier I was, the better I felt.

But that was a superficial feeling of fulfillment.

At a much deeper level, truth be told, I was far from satisfied with the things that were keeping me busy.

So there I was “busy”…

You know, there’s a thing about being busy…

When you are busy, you can get nowhere real fast.

Busy, busy, busy, at work. Or busy, busy, busy at home with the kids. Busy, maybe feeling like you’re a hamster on the hamster wheel. Busy getting tired, burning out.

Busy like our dogs running around in circles, chasing their tails.

That’s when along the road, another mentor taught this dog a new trick… Anyway, let me stay focused here…

What do you say let’s do a quickie quiz?

I’m giving away a prize, naturally.

And to make it relevant to the subject at hand, how about access to my Personal Renaissance group coaching and mentoring program to the first right answer?

Sound good?

Okay. Here’s the quiz:

You know people have goals. Spoken personal goals, the ones they’ll openly and easily share. And unspoken ones-goals maybe they would rather keep to themselves or don’t typically realize they have.

You probably even know a person or two who’s told you they have this or that goal. And yet in the same breath they also will painfully share that they don’t have time to work toward their goal because of how busy they are doing one thing or another.

You also know we all get the same amount of time. So if you take 2 random people who both have a goal of losing the same amount of weight and one of them gets to the gym 3 times a week and the other doesn’t, it isn’t because the first has more time.

So here’s the Big Question for today’s quiz:

What is it that makes someone who has a goal, clear or hazy, spoken or unspoken, as it may be, engage in logic-defying acts, squandering precious time when instead they could be taking action in support of their goals?

Why the self sabotage?

What is at the root of our self defeating behaviors?

Is it procrastination, fear …or something deeper?

What’s the key intrinsic reason why we do what we do instead of what we know we should do in support of our goals?

Toss your hat into the ring.

Well?

There IS a single answer.

Do you know what it is?

Be the first to nail it in the comments section, and you win entry into my coaching program, “Personal Renaissance.”

Okay… go.

Answer (and winner announced) Wednesday afternoon.

Good luck.

Ciao!

Taylor