How to Get & Stay Motivated [Personal Stuff Included]

 
I haven't done a personal 'swish' 
message in some time, at least not
like this one. 
 
But before I get into that, I want
to get into this. 
 
First, I hope your week was a great 
one. 
 
Here's what's interesting...
 
I used to not even use the word 
'Hope', as my friend Mike Dillard
wrote in his book Magnetic Sponsoring, 
as he says, "hope is the cry of the undecided". 
 
But see, I can't have decided for you
whether or not you would have a great 
week - only you can do that for yourself.  
 
Hopefully, it was more than just hoping 
on your part! lol 
 
Hopefully it was a commitment by you
to make it a great weekend. 
 
See, using the word 'hope' is ok, as 
long as what you are hoping for, you
have no control over.  
 
But anything you DO have control over, 
there must not be 'hoping' involved. 
 
Notice I didn't say, 'should', but that you 
MUST. 
 
This is because way too many use the 
word, 'should', when they should use
the word, 'must'. 
 
Like I 'must' do this, and I must do that. 
 
That's right, the lesser the commitment, 
the more I find them 'shoulding' all over
themselves! 
 
Nothing too fancy in my thoughts here. 
 
I always want you to have a great...
whatever it is you are doing, or being, 
or having...
 
Ok, enough said on this issues ';-) 
 
A good friend of mine, Bill Mayer, 
used to say, "it's not about having a 
positive mental attitude - but having
a positive mental expectation." 
 
When you expect it to be, so shall it
become - when you make it that way. 
 
 
You are in full control of the outcome. 
 
You are. 
 
And when you do well, you get the credit. 
 
 
So powerful. 
 
 
Ok, enough of the mumbo jumbo! 
 
 
Let's get into this. 
 
 
It's a beautiful Monday morning as 
I'm sitting down to write this to you
and right before I was about to hit 
the gym to workout and rehab my knee,
I got this serious urge to get this message
down on my laptop. 
 
 
Now of course, I'm typing a mile
a minute and my thoughts are
flowing through me like a raging 
river, not just because I want you
to really understand what I'm about
to share with you, but also because
I have a fat burner inside my body 
that's just screaming to get out. lol! 
 
 
Seriously though, I've had a bunch 
of thoughts on the this topic for a 
long time. 
 
 Here's the back story: 
 
 
A few weeks ago, a guy I met
at my great friend Andrew Cass' Cash 
Control Academy down in Miami, said, 
"Aaron, you are one of my favorite 
motivational speakers in our industry." 
 
 
And as flattered and appreciative as I 
am when I hear that, I pulled this man
aside and asked him what he felt when
I spoke. 
 
He said, "you make me want to go out
and be more successful". 
 
 
And I said, "that's great. And I truly appreciate
that.  Thank you." 
 
 
However, I then asked, "how can I motivate 
you?  I might inspire you, but you, YOU 
must motivate yourself." 
 
 
Because just like spray paint on rust, motivation 
eventually wears off. 
 
And what you have left over afterwards, 
is your...
 
Commitment. 
 
 
Plain and simple. 
 
 
It's your Commitment that is going to carry 
you to success. 
 
 
Now I may inspire you, and if that's the case 
- great! 
 
Let's both go out and start doing some pushups
to the Rocky theme. Man, that movie still inspires
me! 
 
But perhaps my story of being broke, busted
and disgusted with myself and my life
- and picking myself up off the pity couch, 
where I'd sometimes hunt for change buried
deep within the cushions just so that I could
eat that day,  and then drawing a line in the sand 
and vowing to myself that I'd NEVER go back
to near homelessness a few times - makes you 
want to do the same thing. 
 
That's right. 
 
DRAW the line my friend. 
 
Isn't it time already? 
 
 
And if that's the case, that's great. 
 
But let's be perfectly clear here. 
 
As far as I'm concerned, there is ONLY
one type of 'motivation'. 
 
 
And that is, SELF Motivation. 
 
 
Because if you cannot influence yourSELF
to get up, dress up and show up...
 
 
Nobody is going to ever going to join in 
and be a supporting cast in your performance. 
 
No matter what it is. 
 
No matter what your goals and dreams are. 
 
If you are not chasing them by doing the 
work day in and day out and staying focused
and committed and showing up daily with 
that fire in your eyes and in your heart, nobody
is buying you. 
 
 
 
So, back to the age old question. 
 
 
You have HUGE dreams. 
 
 
How do you get and stay motivated? 
 
 
Well, it's simple. 
 
 
You've got to want something to change. 
 
 
To be better than it is. 
 
 
Now sure, you can be content. 
 
And happy. 
 
And able to live well where ever you are right now. 
 
Emotionally. 
 
Spiritually. 
 
Financially. 
 
Heck if you are reading this right now, you are
more wealthy than almost 98% of the rest of 
the world. 
 
Billions of people don't even have a computer, 
let alone modern conditions to work in. 
 
Hell, millions don't even have fresh clean
drinking water. 
 
So be sure not to take for granted that although
you might not like where you're at right now
financially - it is NOT a life threatening condition
you are dealing with. 
 
 
However, if you want to make a lot of money
so that you can become the changes that you 
want to make in the world, YOUR world, 
then you've got to be so sick and tired of not
being able to do the things you want in life, 
that you are willing to do whatever it takes
to get what you want. 
 
 
And you've got to want it badly enough, 
that you are willing to push past the pain
of doing NEW things, that will make your
situation considerably better. 
 
 
 
Whether it's changing your habits. 
 
 
Learning new skills. 
 
 
Budgeting your time better. 
 
 
Talking yourself INTO doing certain
things. 
 
Talking yourself OUT of doing
certain things. 
 
 
Taking more responsibility for yourself
and your life and your business. 
 
 
Being fully accountable for yourself
and your thoughts and your actions. 
 
 
So, here's where you might begin: 
 
 
You can start by telling yourself a DIFFERENT
story than you've always told yourself
and others about why things aren't 
the way you want them. 
 
 
There's a TON that I could say on
this subject - and believe me, stick
around me long enough and I assure
you - you will hear it all. 
 
 
Because that's part of my own life's
purpose - to raise people and their
awareness about how to take their
own lives to a place where they've
always wanted to go. 
 
 
Now, just to be clear on how powerful
your thoughts are, here's a great illustration 
of what happened for me this morning
right before I sat down to write this for you. 
 
 
It's a perfect example of how conditioning
and programming play a large part in our
ways of being, and how we carry with us
from a very early age, what we are taught
to think about ourselves and how we show
up in life. 
 
 
After 2 weeks of Spring Break, playing, 
having fun, sleeping in, eating out, doing
a ton of activities, and just being a kid, 
mine & Sophia's 4 year old son, Legend, 
did NOT want to get up for pre-school 
this morning. 
 
 
He put up a lot of resistance, saying
he was sick & tired and then talking about
how he missed his stuffed monkey last
night when he slept... 
 
 
Basically saying whatever he could just 
so that he could stay home and not have
to go to school. 
 
 
Well, I began caving in for a few minutes, 
even considering just taking it easy with
him today, when it dawned on me very
quickly...
 
 
This is NOT what I want for Legend.
 
And NOT what I want for me.  
 
 
Not that I don't have compassion for him
when he's really sick or really not feeling
well, which has happened a few times since
he began pre-school this year...
 
 
But this was not the case this morning. 
 
 
Not only do I want more for him, but, also...
 
 
I want more for me, as a parent. 
 
 
To teach him that even though it'd be easier 
NOT to do what was planned...
 
 
...this actually makes life harder. 
 
 
Read that again. 
 
 
"NOT doing what was planned, and allowing
him to make excuses for not getting up and
doing what he was supposed to do, would 
actually make his life harder." 
 
 
But Aaron, he's only 4 years old. 
 
 
That's right. And at 4 years old, even younger, 
is where it all begins. 
 
 
Because if we condition ourselves to allow
our "desire for comfort", to take over our
"desire for success"...
 
Or, our desire to complete a task...
 
Or keep a commitment...
 
Or keep our word...
 
 
We get comfortable buying our own 
excuses and it will only take ONE to 
rob us of being our best and living
a life of excellence. 
 
Because habits are developed very
quickly, especially when our conscious
mind sees the power of cause and effect. 
 
If you are a parent, you know what I mean. 
 
If you are not a parent, here's what you must
know. 
 
Your body does what your mind tells it to. 
 
Same with kids. 
 
Sure, they put up some resistance sometimes, 
but the key is to start 'em young! 
 
 
And because I want more for Legend, 
than for him to begin buying his own excuses,
and for him to think that I do too...
 
 
Despite the whining & complaining
and the pouting and then crying, I walked
with him downstairs, poured a bowl of 
cereal with him, made a protein shake with
him and we sat and talked about what his 
day was going to be. 
 
We did this together. 
 
 
And sure enough, Legend ate, got dressed
(with some guidance from Sophia) and made 
it to school - just about on time. 
 
 
After it was all said & done, Sophia & I
discussed the entire situation. 
 
 
And part of why I did what I did, had to 
do with something I didn't want. 
 
 
What I told her was, "I didn't want Legend 
to get used to making excuses, or being lazy, 
or thinking that he could just make up stuff
just to get out of completing a responsibility." 
 
 
And I used the words, "I don't want". 
 
 
And my awesome wife reminded me 
about my own language and how I framed
the entire situation. 
 
I realized that I was operating from a
fear of perceived pain. 
 
For myself, as a parent to see that I raised
an excuse maker. 
 
And for Legend, that he'd develop poor
habits at only 4 years old. 
 
So, I re-framed the entire situation and
spoke out loud why I lead Legend the
way I did. 
 
I said, and I say again, "I influence Legend
to get out of bed, go downstairs, eat breakfast, 
and get dressed for school, not because I think
that public school is the BEST education he
could get, but it teaches him structure, and 
discipline and self control and awareness." 
 
 
So how can YOU get & stay motivated? 
 
 
Well, start by being focussed more on what 
you do WANT, than what you don't want. 
 
 
I was reminded of this myself that morning, 
- which is why I'm sharing this with you 
right now. 
 
 
Yes, you either move away from pain, 
or towards pleasure...
 
But instead of talking about what you 
don't want...(the pain). 
 
Start talking more about what you DO want. 
 
And what you are DOING to make it happen. 
 
 
It's like this. 
 
 
When your Dreams are bigger than your
Problems - and you take consistent & persistent
action... 
 
You WIN. 
 
 
It's called being an "Overcomer". 
 
 
And it's how you must operate on a daily basis
in order to achieve success. 
 
 
And it's how you get motivated & stay motivated. 
 
 
Be clear on what you want. 
 
 
Be clear on what it will take to achieve it. 
 
 
Be clear on the actions you must take today, 
to move you closer to your goals. 
 
 
Because at the end of the day, the ONLY person
responsible for your success - is YOU. 
 
 
But I can assure you of this... 
 
 
When YOU are fully committed, and playing
to win... and focusing on what's possible...
 
And talking about it with others who support you...
 
 
You will bring and attract and create a level
of energy that people LOVE to be around. 
 
 
Plain & simple. 
 
 
Nothing more, nothing less. 
 
 
Get & stay motivated. 
 
That's my share for today. 
 
 
Make it a great week. 
 
 
And I'll be in touch again soon. 
 
 
Aaron 'off to the gym now' Rashkin

Aaron Rashkin is a Home Based Business Specialist 
who went from making only $25K per year to making 
$25K per month working from home with his wife Sophia. 

For Aaron's Tips, Tricks & Strategies, subscribe to his
'To the Top' Newsletter at his personal website, http://AaronRashkin.com