How are you all doing?
Happy New Year!
Is it easy to keep yourself motivated?
It’s very difficult isn’t it? How do
you keep people motivated? How do you keep yourself motivated? Before
you talk about how you can affect others, how do you keep your self
motivated? First of all you have to have some kind of purpose in life.
Right?
And you have to have some kind of belief
in yourself that you can achieve what I am seeking out to achieve because
the purpose that I seek has a certain value to me. It is such that, one way
or the other, I have to see the end of that course that I’ve chosen for
myself because I believe in myself. And it’s important to me that it
happens, that I achieve that in my lifetime.
So, having said that, how do you keep
yourself motivated? Sometimes you will face the ups and downs of life. It’s
very difficult. It’s impossible to think that it’s just going to be a smooth
ride all the way through, that you’re going to sail through without any kind
of problem whatsoever reaching your end. There will always be obstacles.
Why? Just because you think that you can do it doesn’t mean that you
understand the process, because you will face the process for the first
time. And you will face the challenge of growth after growth and all the
variables that happen.
Then you will learn as you travel through
the journey that you have chosen for yourself. All the challenges that you
will face one way or the other, you will somehow remedy. Whether you have
some guide book from someone that has prior experience that was capable of
assisting you or helping you in the proper manner in which you can ease that
ride, ease that wave that can sometimes be overwhelming because it seems
like a tidal wave at times but those are the steep hills and valleys that
you have to cross.
But every step of the way is a learning
process and you have to first accept that challenge because that is
inevitable. You will not have all the answers as you move forward. I know
that you don’t want to stagnate. I know that you want to move forward.
Moving forward in itself is difficult because the nature of growth itself is
so challenging. Just facing a new (thing / experience) is so challenging
that it is difficult to keep yourself motivated. Just that in itself.
So, having said that, that’s your
individual challenge. That’s what you have to face, everyone, what ever
goals that you have. I don’t know… There are a lot of young people here --
you go to school because you want to learn something -- a trade or what. You
will face challenges just in learning, but going to school is just the
preparation stage. After you come out of school that’s when everything
begins in terms of work because you have to weave it into society. You can’t
just be at an experimental stage as in a laboratory setting. It has to be
real. How do you connect something that you have understood basically in
theory and practiced in a laboratory setting to a more tangible reality that
actually affects the social fiber or society in general?
You have to first answer that question;
how can I keep myself motivated? What do I need? What do you look for when
you’re looking for motivation? The simple point: If you look at society in
general they use two things, a reward system and a sacrificial system. If
you’re the central figure and you see a very talented person, you can’t
really use the reward system because we don’t have so much money, so you
take them out to dinner or whatever. What you have to do is that you
literally have to do it with your physical effort. Do it with what you have.
"I’ll sleep less than that guy; I’ll work harder than that guy. I’ll do what
ever it takes to provide more creativity, more productivity. I’ll do
something, something by sacrificing myself to motivate that guy, to inspire
that guy, to hold him." If you do this you can hold that person for a while
as long as you keep on doing that stuff that he can recognize. That’s the
only way.
When you try to reach something, what you
have to do is you have to sacrifice more. Let’s say you’re on equal terms
with another person in terms of what you have physically so you say "I’ll
take less and I’ll give that guy more than I have." That sacrificial act
alone, a very simple sacrificial act, becomes a point of an inspiration to
the recipient. And that is a motivating factor.
To keep people motivated you either reward
them, like, by giving them money or you inspire them by your sacrifice. The
business world is becoming more specialized and you need a specific target
to begin with and based on that you have to be purpose driven. Stop making
noise and start getting name recognition and based on that your product is
getting known out there. You start making money and you have to spread that
wealth around and take care of the guys that are specialists by giving them
a lot of financial incentives to keep them motivated, to hold them in
dedication to the job. Otherwise they will go to your competitor who is
offering a greater financial incentive.
Either you do it (motivate) with stuff
(money) or you do it with the stuff here (your sacrifice). The stuff that
comes from here (sacrifice) is more long term. Trust me. You remember that
longer. The other one (money) is a short cut and it still works, but you
have to keep it coming. They’re always looking "where is my bonus and that
kind of stuff. How come it’s not as big as last year? What’s going on?" That
kind of stuff…
That sacrificial stuff still works, and
since you don’t live that long, if you just keep it up for several decades
you can establish something. Pretty much that’s how it’s done. If you’re
trying to change the world, what is the better model? What would be the
better way to motivate people?
Sometimes you consider your self a
Crusader right? To me a crusader is a person who forces himself to be an
optimist. Otherwise you see the glass half empty. That sucks. You think "I
don’t think we’re going to make it." You’ve got the wrong attitude for the
job. You have to look at things differently than other people would, and you
have to do that on your own.
It would be nice if you always had people
that you can depend on, that would encourage you and each other. But
sometimes you might be alone. What if you got locked up somewhere? What if
you have no where to go, no one to rely on or depend on to kind of (pat you
on) your shoulder and find solace. You have to try and find something that
you can (use to) motivate (yourself) on your own. That is the key. For me,
motivating ones self is the most important thing. How do you do it? How do
you motivate yourself?
Like I said, it’s up to you to like being
a crusader. For that you have to look at things a little bit differently.
Then you can find value in it. It doesn’t take much, just a thought
sometimes, that’s all it takes. You don’t need to ask somebody’s permission;
you don’t need someone else’s validation if you can find through that just a
small thought alone that you can give to yourself that even for the moment
that you see that light, that you see that little moment of Okay.
It doesn’t matter if it’s just a jolt, or
like a caffeine high. It doesn’t matter if it is just a little jolt if you
can find usage for it. That’s something because that’s all it takes to make
something great. That’s how you started. You were just an invisible little
tadpole (in the womb) and became you.
Life begins not just from humongous things
that come in the size of a King Kong or something. The beginning can be very
small too. It’s easy to see something that’s big. You get more something I
guess, confidence maybe if it comes in a humongous size. It’s not always
like that.
If you are always ready for that kind of
moment when you are alone and find that small thought, with just that little
thing. Because that kind of moment will happen more than the moment when you
feel just tremendously confidant because and for what ever reason it is so
obvious to see.
You can find it in all sorts of different
things. It depends on personality types too. Some things that little girls
might find fancy, I have no idea where they’re coming from. It happens in
that way. If you can value those moments for that reason then it’s just like
the crusader. It’s in your head.
Just because you formulize something and
someone gives you a badge and goes through the ritual of knighting you or
whatever. That might represent some symbolism, but the person that becomes
that starts with that kind of thinking.
Obvious we’re trying to do this not
because of glory and stuff. If it comes so be it. There are a lot of people
who do things because of winning awards and accolades, but there are people
who do it because they want to do it.
People want things for all sorts of
different reasons, but we must find that means well for what you want to be,
what you have chosen to be. Because, in the end, that’s how you will be
judged by God. That is the most important judgment in my mind. Anything
else, oh so what. Judge me as much as you want because that is not the final
judgment. I can tell myself that I practice being judged. Judge me more! But
that’s not the judgment that I’m looking for. It doesn’t matter to me.
So if you have something that you want to
achieve because you have chosen a life of faith then make sure that you get
good at motivating other people. I know that you don’t have a lot of money
so what else can you do then? The other (leading by sacrificial example).
Those things can happen after 2012 because
it’s going to start all over again from the bottom up. It’s a tall order to
find a nation by that time. If it doesn’t ... I know that’s going to happen.
But it’s a different time. We’re going to do it the right way the twenty
first century way, doing twenty first century ecumenical work. There is a
way to do it. We won’t have to knock on doors. We’ll already be in the
living room. (through multimedia)
There is a lot of talent necessary to keep
that movement working, moving forward 24/7/365. (24 hours a day, 7 day a
week 365 day a year) If they can do it, we can do it too. I’ll try to do my
best to support the way it is. At the same time we have to prepare for the
next phase.
It’s difficult to find the way. We have
problems fundraising, witnessing and maintaining. Five years? Are you
kidding me? I know Father needs ... In my mind it will take about ten
generations, but he’s going to do what he’s going to do. Okay, my hat is off
to you old man!
What can I do? Father will do what he has
to do. By that time he will be 92. Maybe he will postpone it eight more
years until He is 100 years old. We will keep on going right. It’s
crazy, but in five years I will be fifty years old. And you guys will be
WHAT??? (laughter)
Another year.
God Bless you this year!
