What’s Your Primary Motivation?
The Hidden Cause of Success
and Failure
Written By:
Darshan Shanti
S ometime back, I was doing business in Chicago.
need to survive. In fact, it’s their primary motiva-
tion.
Everything was great except for the mosquitoes.
Practically no area of my body was sacred to those
That’s the point. You need to discover your pri-
little buggers. They were out for blood and they
mary motivation. In other words, what is it that
weren’t going to stop ‘til they got it.
makes you do what you do? Your primary motiva-
tion sponsors all the rest of your beliefs and your
That got me to thinking about why some people
actions and it runs your life. Your primary motiva-
are very successful and some others are not. It got
tion determines a great deal of what your life looks
me to thinking about what motivates people to
like and how much success you’re likely to achieve.
do what they do and don’t do. What drives some
It is the context with which you live your life. It
people to keep pushing in spite of every obstacle?
determines your attitude towards success, failure,
What gets people to change their life for the better?
how you perceive the world, what you do or don’t
What makes people quit, give up and make excus-
do, your choices of careers, partners... virtually ev-
es?
erything.
Then this question hit me.
It’s easy to discover. If when you’re thinking about
your goals and dreams for your life/business and
Why don’t we have the drive and the determination
your future terrifies you into non-action, you know
and the focus of a mosquito on the hunt? What’s a
your primary motivation is based in fear, safety,
mosquito got that we don’t have?
and security. On the other hand, if you’re excited
about it, chomping at the bit to get going and make
I believe the answer is survival. For example,
it happen, you know that you’re more motivated by
Mosquitoes:
risk and adventure.
1. Don’t give up.
2. They are focused, driven and determined.
3. Keep going forward in spite of the inherent
risks.
4. If at first they don’t succeed, they try, try
again. They are relentless.
5. Don’t get discouraged.
6. Don’t second guess themselves or question
their motives.
7. Don’t look at their past “failed” opportuni-
ties.
8.
Don’t hold back.
Now I realize that they do those things out of a
In general, people are more motivated by avoid-
ing pain than they are by gaining pleasure. After
all, it’s much easier (less painful) to swallow a pill
to get your blood sugar under control than it is to
eat right and exercise. At least that’s what people
think.
So, if your primary motivation is based in fear
and the avoidance of pain, then you will see your
future as too scary because you may fail or get hurt
or get rejected or earn disapproval.
Now, just by reading the past few sentences, you
already know your primary motivation. You know