I know from talking to people in business over the last few months that it’s getting harder to stay motivated at the moment because the rewards seem fewer and fewer where as the stresses seem greater and greater.

The real truth is though, that we have to stay motivated at the head of business because without motivation the desire to simply give up becomes very powerful. And that’s when it can all start to go very wrong.

Staying motivated is a bit of an art form. I try to do it everyday and most days I succeed. In my mind you have to follow three basic principles and also be able to lie to yourself once in a while and be prepared to believe it.

Below are my rules for motivation. Nothing original and in no particular order but filtered down to three.

Firstly, you have to love what you do, if you didn’t you would simply give up and if your team doesn’t see your enthusiasm then it certainly won’t filter down.

For some reason at some stage you chose your career path. This means at some stage you must have loved what you did so much you wanted to be at the forefront of it.

What you need to do is spend time trying to remember why you love doing what you do. OK the goal posts may have moved that’s true, but surely the essence of your sector is still there.

Marketing for example is tough at the moment. We are probably working with the smallest budgets we have ever worked with. And the reality is any budget is potentially more than the client can realistically spend.

Because at Impact the team has 100% passion for what we do, we are relishing working and producing some of the best work we have ever done in spite of this fact. We love what we do and are motivated to succeed for our clients because of it.

Secondly give up trying to blame someone else for the problems of the world.

Actually I did this one a long time ago. This world is a complicated place and its no one person, business or sectors fault that the planet is going through this crisis. It’s all too easy to slip into the blame game and then nothing gets done.

History tells us that the first part of the century is always the toughest so it’s here to stay for a while at least.

The sooner you give up blaming “them” the sooner you realise that you can actually do something about it. People who change things aren’t destined to do it. They simply believe that problems forced upon them are their duty to sort out and its up to them.

Thinking you can actually do something about it motivates you to do so.

Thirdly, I believe you should help others to become motivated. It’s like yawning. It can be infectious.

There’s nothing more soul destroying than listening to others who are unmotivated. So don’t.

If you know someone who’s struggling with motivation then spend some time with them exploring possibilities. It’s easier to think negative so help them think positive.

If you do this you may find there are now two of you and you’ve got a new source of support. That can work absolute magic because when you do have an off day those around you will feel compelled to return the favour.

Well is it really that simple? Actually, the reality is that it’s probably one of the hardest things to do so work hard at it.

Most people give up. Those that don’t are the ones who succeed.

Wayne Hall – create with impact.