March 14th, 2010 by rob white
I was watching a special on television about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson ( a couple of basketball legends). It said that they competed with one another with the right feelings – knowing that each motivated the other to try harder.
Though they played on separate teams, Larry and Magic did not consider one another enemies, but rather, they saw one another as competition that raised the bar a little higher and a little higher again, as the basketball season progressed. When one of them had a great game, the other was soon to have a great game.
I applied that to my life. Who can I use as a measure to see if I am putting in the extra effort to achieve my aspirations in life? My new aspiration is being a successful author. There are great authors that inspire me because I notice how the quality of their writing improves with each book they write. Mind Adventure (my rewrite of my first book 180) is fresh and improved because I have set the bar higher by using Wayne Dyer as my measuring stick.
In what domain of your life might you use someone as your motivator? Who might you use as your measuring stick; who motivates you to seek excellence? Who might inspire you to improve on your work or your behavior?
I used to do this when I played football in High School. I was running back and I had an “arch rival” at another school. I don’t think I have anything like that with my personal goals now – that’s why I’m reading these. I guess Im kind of coasting while I figure out what I really want to do.
I have my enemy/friend … someone who motivates me to try harder because he is always trying to show me up. I guess he is really my friend if I look at it the way this blog is pointing.
I imagine that’s how it was for Picasso and Georges Braque when they pioneered Cubism… There’s endless examples. Paul Mcartney and John Lennon pushed each other — neither would have been as great without that competitive spark. I keep an eye on my contemporaries and support them, and I try to out do them. Being competitive is a good thing.
Wow can I ever feel the difference when I feel right. Yes, it does generate right action. I felt real right yesterday and decided to work on the leaky roof that has been causing my wife and I problems for years. I found the hole! It’s fixed.
C’mon boys… you guys are so Macho… ugh
I also baked a cake and did the dishes, Carol Anne
I belong to the national speakers association, and I love comparing myself to the best speakers so I can improve my own speeches.
I have a Limo service that I am trying to grow and bring to the next level. But the competition from the bigger, older firms just seems overwhelming. What do I do if Im just a scrappy rookie trying to compete with All-stars?
The first thing to do, Rus, is to see yourself as a ‘bright new player’ in the limo game; drop the ‘scrappy rookie’ metaphor. New ideas will come to you when you see yourself as the ‘bright new player’ with bright ideas!
Ahha. Good place to start. Thanks
I use my mom as my motivator – she offers me great advice and is always there for me.
I love magic Johnson. He’s one of my heroes. He never quits.
I love Larry Bird, Tyrone – he never quites either! Both are great men, on and off the basketball court – you could say they know how to keep their eye on the ball.
My sister is such a wonderful gift to me; she is always motivating me to take bigger chances and challenge my abilities.
When I play tennis I feel that ‘right feeling’ that makes me feel like a winner. I am now trying to carry it over to my work environment.
I love the competitive interaction between me and my brother. He inspires me to do better in math because math is so easy to him, and I motivated him to take French class because he says foreign languages intimidate him.
This is just like the law of attraction. If you feel good, you do and receive more good things. Cheers!
Thanks for adding a new thought, Lance …. the law of attraction (which is always in action) indeed is a law that we must work with if we intend our lives to progress as dream it will.
What better way to see if I am improving than to compare my grades to my classmates – they motivate me to try harder.
for me i get motivation when i hear about an inspiring story or when i watch an inspiring movie. Sometimes friends have the same effect too, thanks Rob
Thanks for the tip, Farouk …. clearly you are on the right track to success and happiness. Why depend on the stories of others, alone when you ,too, have so many inspiring stories to share. They will not only boost the attitudes of those who listen to you – they will boost your attitude into another dimension, too.
Inspiring thoughts are a great way to help us break through to the unlimited side of us. I think you’ve said that, right rob?
I loved Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid … they both fed off each others to become better train robbers. It was a funny movie.
When I compare my running time to olympic runners time, it discourages (not encourages)me.
Perhaps you are setting your aspirations a tad high with that comparison, Lawrence. Bring the bar down a bit (chunk your goal down) so that you can achieve your dream, one notch at a time.
I will never forget how my swimming coach would pit me against my best friend in practice, but in a way that made the competition fun. Yes it did help me become a better swimmer.
Isn’t it great to watch too great athletes on the basketball court competing with each other. We watch two swans do that in a dancing style at the lake. It inspires me.
I am right now in the middle of competition with my fellow colleagues at work. I love how it motivates me to sell more.
I got Magic Johnson’s autograph – he’s a real easy gy to talk to. It is a great model of success.
I asked myself, “Who can I use to motivate me to try harder?” Wow, ask and we do receive. My supervisor came into my office and offered me a challenging new project. She said she would work with me. This is exciting.
I love working with my boss. he always pushes me farther and helps me succeed.
Karen mentioned that her mother is her motivator. My mother is my motivator. She is always inspiring me to do more.
I know that competition is the best motivation for me. In blogging I look up to bigger bloggers who I admire and I try to create content that can compete with theirs.
), a few of my friends are great motivators of positivity and upbeat attitude. I can continue with these examples but this comment will definitely be too long then.
In life I look up to people I admire. My mom is one of my biggest motivators (I know, I am not the first one to say that
I love your bright spirit and optimistic attitude, Anastasiya. I challenge others to compete with you and maintain that uplifting spirit daily. Soon, the planet would be bright with psychic sunshine. thanks.
I love golf, and I love watching golf on television. So many of the pros are my heroes – they motivate me to try harder even though I don’t know them personally.
I love golf, too, Larry. I also watch the pros on TV and it motivates me to play a better game.
Martha Stewart is my hero. I am in cooking school, and I want to be famous like her.
The three stooges are my heroes. The three of them motivated one another to be funnier and funnier as the years went on. I’m a stand up comic, and I get a lot of my material from watching old films of the stooges.
That is pretty funny, Wiilie. I never thought of the 3 stooges as heroes.
I have created an alter ego who competes with me and sets the bar higher. It is me competing with me that inspires me to try harder. Try it. It works.
I like that concept, Ned. You challenge yourself to raise the bar higher and it motivates you. Self-dependency … good one!
A great author that inspired me was Jim Rohn. He was a great modern day philosopher and motivational speaker.
tI have a friendly competition with my brother (we are Twins.) The lates is to see who will close on a Condo first. It is an unspoken competition but it really keeps us on our toes. I’ve surpassed most of my college buddies professionaly because of the relationship I have with him. Thanks Bro!
My uncle Ned is my inspiration. He is 71 and still plays softball. When I play on his team (in springtime) I feel really pumped about life; he is so energized all of the time.
My new aspiration is to stop smoking. I can’t find a hero to motivate me because all of my friends are too busy smoking their brains out.
In the physical domain of my life I can use a motivator. I am gaining weight and getting lazy. I need someone to inspire me to go to the health club and exercise. Two friends began doing it with me and they quit, and I quit soon thereafter.
I use my family as an outer measure to see if I am improving myself. At dinner we talk about what we did that day and if it was effective action to take.
When I feel right it is easy to act right. When I feel wrong I have to think twice to act right.