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Five Questions to Ask Yourself to Motivate, Win, and Grow Your Business and Life!

1.  Do I have a You and I are going for the victory! attitude?

Here’s the challenge for more motivation, more winning, and more growth. Every time you talk, write, or have another form of interaction with a person, mentally place that person on your team. This will help get rid of contention and unnecessary negative feelings that hamper growth. Then, ask important questions and give input, advice, or feedback to enrich that person. This creates a foundation for a growth-oriented relationship.

You might wonder how you can put the competition on your team. Good question. Of course, you should not give proprietary information to the competition. But even athletes from two different teams train together during the off-season so they can learn from each other's experiences. When competing, they still go for the win. It’s a refreshing approach, and will help grow your network.

A fellow colleague told us a coworker collapsed in his office. We rushed in to find him barely able to stand. Two of us carried him to the car, drove to the nearest hospital, and admitted him to emergency. His lung collapsed, but today, he is living a vibrant life. This experience really honed in on the interdependence of people.

As a team, these people took a Spirit-Enhancing Action to generate Spirit-Enhancing Results. You can take this same approach and apply it to your nonlife threatening situations.  

2.  Do I have to have a business and life purpose before I move ahead with an endeavor?

Some people go into a job or an endeavor just to see if it’s for them. Why not explore and research to make a decision whether to pursue? You’ll save time and money. If you decide to pursue, go in with enthusiasm, set goals, and stay at full speed. By doing this, people will be genuinely attracted to you. The legendary Oscar Robertson succinctly wrote, “The biggest obstacle to your success is you.” 3.  Should I be emotional or logical?

Many individuals express emotion or logic separately. To have a more advantageous result, express them together, with emotion preceding logic. One without the other has a diluted meaning. Have you ever heard someone say, “My brain isn’t made for that stuff”? This is a self -defeating emotion. If you do this, ask yourself why the situation at hand seems difficult for you to comprehend. Each of us has weaknesses because of the lack of skill identification, learning, practicing, and implementing for a specific purpose. Once these are appropriately addressed to resonate with you, the weaknesses become new strengths.

I am right-handed. I had surgery to remove a bone spur on my right elbow and my arm was in a sling afterward . My initial thought was, "How am I going to shoot baskets before dinner?" Therefore, I decided I must put emotion and logic together. I identified the skills required to shoot the basketball with my left hand, learned the skills, practiced, and implemented. After a much shorter time than anticipated, my left hand became more coordinated and I was shooting baskets well left-handed.

This procedure can be applied to any area of your professional and personal life. Something I may find simple, you might find difficult and vice versa. But your mindset and your practice make all the difference!

4.  Should I create feedback/imagination in order to follow through on an idea?

Good deeds, good work, and good feelings don't seek you. Make highways with exits for them to reach you.

    Highways: Think, plan, think, do.
    Exits: Follow-through for feedback/imagination and results.

Now, make it a loop. It works wonderfully!

5. How do I rejuvenate, celebrate, or commemorate?

Just as activities are scheduled for children, adults must schedule activities for ourselves to rejuvenate and be grounded. Identify activities you feel rejuvenated by and do them to perform at a New Best Level. Try some of these:

• Rejuvenation

Hatha (slow-movement Yoga) once a week at 6 PM, then eat dinner. You'll feel fabulous during and afterward, and you'll have a more fun and productive day at work tomorrow.

Play with a child, take a brisk walk, go to a coffee shop and talk with others, play with the dog, call a friend.

Realize that the enjoyment of your free time is essential for you to perform at a New Best Level in business and life.

• Celebrate

Let someone know about your accomplishment, take a picture a day, and/or play while everyone else is working. It’s fun, and you deserve it!

• Commemorate

Firsts are a wonderful thing to commemorate. We all experience firsts daily because every day is new. Just look for your firsts and they will appear. It could be your first kiss, first meeting with a client, first division event, first presentation, first swish, first time dining with someone from a particular country, first time you heard a particular phrase, first introduction to a prospect, first tennis ace, first trip to another country, first foreign language, etc. Firsts keep life interesting and fun!

Raj Gavurla, president of LiiiVEN™, Inc., works with corporations, associations, and athletic teams that want motivation, more wins, and growth. Contact him at 404.918.7366, e-mail BeAHero@LiiiVEN.com, or visit www.LiiiVEN.com