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Motivation

Everyone is driven by three things:

Achievement

the desire to compete against increasingly challenging goals

Affiliation

the desire to be liked/loved

Power

expressed in one of two ways:

• Personalized (the desire for influence and respect for yourself)
• Socialized (the desire to empower others; to offer them influence and respect.

If people have the opportunity to achieve, affiliate, and influence, they’ll be motivated and engaged. Even without a clear vision of the future. So instead of worrying about what life is going to be like tomorrow, focus on these three things today. Answer these three questions:

1. Are you working on something meaningful and challenging—something for which you have about a 50 percent chance of succeeding?
2. Are you relating to other people at work or socially—people you like and to whom you feel close?
3. Do you feel recognized for the work you are doing—paid or unpaid? Can you influence decisions and outcomes?

If the answer is yes in each case, great. You’ll be motivated. Wherever it’s not, create those opportunities immediately.

Bregman, P. (2011). 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (pp. 91-92). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Connections

Drive is a different framework. Achievement above lines up loosely with Mastery, though they are slightly different things. I can see how Power and Autonomy are somewhat related under the umbrella of self-destiny. Affiliation seems unique to this model, Purpose unique to the Drive model.