Two Minute Truth: Are you MOTIVATED to succeed?

This morning, again, I woke up at 4:30 Am to work.   My kids and husband are home for the summer, so my work  hours are slightly irregular... bringing me back to my entrepreneurial roots of working while everyone else slept!  :-)  At 5:50, I got in my car and met my friend for a 6 AM jog.  I was TIRED, and felt "crappy".  But jog I went.  As I drove home just moments ago, I felt great... refreshed.... accomplished... and I was reminded of one of the top issues entrepreneurs deal with - which is the question of "HOW CAN I GET MOTIVATED TO DO X, Y, OR Z?" 

When an audience or an interviewer is asking me questions, I always hope this one comes up.  Because there is so much JUNK information out there about motivation.  As a speaker, I realize I am committing NSA heresy right now, but here is the absolute, rooted-in-reality, proven beyond a shadow of a doubt truth:

You don't need to be motivated to do ANYTHING!!

I am often not motivated to jog while the rest of the civilized world is sleeping.  I am often not motivated to get up and write copy or write my book.  I am often not motivated to lead a high-energy workshop....or apologize to my husband... or pay my bills... or visit a family member in the hospital... or cook dinner... or even interview with the press.  But, I do it anyway - and so can you.

Two quick thoughts before my "rant" is over:  First, what if we spent LESS time "trying to find motivation" and just DID THE THING we were trying to get motivated to do??  (WOW! Factor entrepreneurs KNOW to simply DO THE THING!)  Last, jogging never feels like a good idea while sitting on the couch.  Apologizing never feels good before you do it.  But these things - like MANY things in our business - feel GREAT afterwards... Because the TRUTH about motivation is that it often comes AFTER you have initiated ACTION.