Stay Passionate, Focused and Achieve Your Goals
A beginner’s guide, from personal experience.
Up until a few years ago, I was working a job I didn’t love, and I was constantly itching to do something more with my life, but never found the motivation to do so.
There’s one simple way to solve this. I won’t delve too deeply into the nitty-gritty, but it surmises to one concise point that one of the most beloved brands in the world knows all to well: Just do it! (here’s another great article which covers this).
Taking that first leap is the hardest part, but there is still a lot of hard work to go. You need to stay passionate about what you’re doing, and you can’t lose focus of the end goal. I don’t have a magical answer on how to achieve this, but what I can do is offer you friendly advice on what my own experiences have taught me.
1. Take breaks.
That’s right; take a break. The human mind isn’t built to concentrate intently for periods of more than one hour at a time. The best piece of advice I can give you is to take a break; a real break.
Take a walk to the shops. Take the dog for a quick stroll around the block. Take 10 minutes to just lie down and relax. Give your parents a call (they’ll enjoy it). Talk about the weather with a colleague. Make a hot drink and don’t drink it at your desk. Drink it outside, in bed, on the sofa.
Do something that will detach you from your current surroundings, so that your brain has a chance to regenerate and revitalize. Pushing yourself is not productive, and you will be creating second-rate solutions. So take 10 minutes away from your work. When you come back you will see the difference; trust me.
2. Find someone who inspires you.
We all have those people in life who we admire, and if you don’t; find someone! Whether it’s a successful entrepreneur, a supportive boss, a sports hero or a fictional character, make sure you have someone that you hold in high regard.
These people will (directly or indirectly) keep you motivated. Put them on a pedestal and constantly strive to one day meet them there.
3. Use the Internet, dammit!
We live in such a miraculous time, where we have access to any piece of information, whenever and wherever we need it. Use it. If you want to know how Richard Branson became so successful, Google it. If you want to know what makes Rafael Nadal so talented, watch his training sessions on YouTube. If you want to know what makes Apple products so special, read Steve Jobs’ biography.
OK so that last one wasn’t necessarily thanks to the Internet, but you get the point. Actively seek useful, relative, motivational information. If you’re interested in something, or someone, then get out there and learn about them!
4. Above all, do something you love!
Whatever it is you’re doing, make sure that you love doing it. Because you’re going to be doing it a lot, for a long period of time. No one became successful overnight — if they did, it didn’t feel half as good as someone who has worked hard for what they have.
Find what you love to do, and work your ass off.
There will be days where you lose passion for what you’re doing — and today may be one of those days — but make sure that deep down you know that what you’re doing is something that you care about. When you care about something, when you truly love something, that is when you create something worthwhile.
If you don’t love the solution you’re developing, then how do you expect anyone else to? Always create something for yourself; something you would love to use. Because if you love what you’ve created, then I guarantee you there are others out there who will love it as well.
