What drives you to do your best and grow?

I was thinking a little bit about this and realized that it might be enlightening to read about what drives us to be better at what we do. What is it that makes you get out of bed in the morning, why do you strive to move forward in your career? Is it just money, or is there more?

I'll start:
Doing a little self analysis here I think that what drives me to do better is the idea of becoming successful. I have been noticing more and more that "success" is much like the word "happiness". What I mean is that it's temporary. To myself, I look at my next goal (whether it be a different job, or a certification) and think "once I get there, I will be successful". Well what I've seen continually happen is once I get there, I think "well, that wasn't as hard as I thought..." I think i keep going at it thinking that I'll one day run into a brick wall and realize I can't overcome it.

So far in my career I have run into quite a few brick walls and climbed over them much to my surprise. I wonder when I will find the end of my capabilities? I have no clue what that means but I do know that one small step after another leads to a long distance when given time.

I wake up in the morning and roll out of bed because I don't know how much farther I can push myself. I get up and go to battle because I need to know what I can conquer, where does my path end? When will I finally have to sit back and realize "this is it. This is the peak of my accomplishments"?

Maybe one day I'll realize that I've gotten to the top of my game... but we shall see.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

networker050184

First and foremost money. If I didn't need money I'd be out wandering in the woods somewhere or just traveling around bum style. Since I have to make money I might as well do what I enjoy. Got to take care of the family and give the kids a good life. That all costs money, and lots of it.

Second, I'm a very competitive person so I always strive to be the best at what I do. I don't settle for second place. I'm the kind of person that won't even let my kids beat me in a game of hop scotch. This leads me to furthering my knowledge and moving up in my career.

pert

networker050184 wrote: »

First and foremost money. If I didn't need money I'd be out wandering in the woods somewhere or just traveling around bum style. Since I have to make money I might as well do what I enjoy. Got to take care of the family and give the kids a good life. That all costs money, and lots of it.

Second, I'm a very competitive person so I always strive to be the best at what I do. I don't settle for second place. I'm the kind of person that won't even let my kids beat me in a game of hop scotch. This leads me to furthering my knowledge and moving up in my career.

I'd reply to the OP, but you already wrote my post for me. Kudos.

krjay

Money. Followed closely by the fact I enjoy learning new things. I would be bored into a depression if I was an automotive line worker, or a tier 1 lifer for example. Those types of people either lack motivation or enjoy consistency and the same old routine. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, but it's not for me.

dave330i

Money. Much of life's stress is due to lack of money.

--chris--

networker050184 wrote: »

First and foremost money. If I didn't need money I'd be out wandering in the woods somewhere or just traveling around bum style. Since I have to make money I might as well do what I enjoy. Got to take care of the family and give the kids a good life. That all costs money, and lots of it.

Second, I'm a very competitive person so I always strive to be the best at what I do. I don't settle for second place. I'm the kind of person that won't even let my kids beat me in a game of hop scotch. This leads me to furthering my knowledge and moving up in my career.

90% of this is me:

Too competitive to lose or fall behind, gotta have money to live might as well have fun doing it.

Tied with those motivators is making my family proud, and showing my son what working hard means.

LarryDaMan

When I stop to think about life, really it is depressing. Many people insist that they like what they do, but yet if money were not a factor, they would do something else...

Serial killer Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi) from the movie Con-Air might have put it best:
"What if I told you insane was working fifty hours a week in some office for fifty years at the end of which they tell you to piss off; ending up in some retirement village hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time? Wouldn't you consider that to be insane?"

QHalo

It is possible to enjoy more than one thing though right?

To the OP, I get drive and motivation by attending events where I get to interact with my peers and see what they are doing or where they are in their careers. I just went to the Chicago VMUG yesterday, and talking with people about what they're doing and so forth is a real motivation to do better. Some of them can knock you down a few notches. Call it competitive nature or something else, but that's big for me.

N2IT

Mark another down for money. If I had several millions I would retire immediately.

ptilsen

Money is nice but even it is only secondary. Seeing the output of my work is a big motivation. Learning more to have better output is hugely motivating on its own, as well. I wouldn't do my current job if I had lots of money, but I wouldn't quit working and just screw around for the next 60 or 80 years, either. I'd have to accomplish something. More money would just let me be pickier about what, exactly, it is that I accomplish.

pramin

$$$$ and I like to learn new things.

Also I feel parts of my job are FUN and too boot I get paid fairly well for what I do.

Dieg0M

lol did you read my blog?
Last blog is entitled "What drives you?"

dave330i

LarryDaMan wrote: »

Many people insist that they like what they do, but yet if money were not a factor, they would do something else...

The work I do is relatively easy for me most of the time and I get compensated well for it, so I would keep doing it even if I was financially independent.

BGraves

Personally I love to learn so I found IT was a naturally enjoyable field. I also like to help people, do behind the scenes work to contribute to the success of an organization/team. I'm not much of a competitive person with anyone other than myself and seeing how far I can go. (Probably because I grew up in the middle of nowhere Kansas on a farm and want to see where I could end up)
Money is fine motivation as long as it pays the bills but would trade $ for being able to learn something new.

LarryDaMan

dave330i wrote: »

The work I do is relatively easy for me most of the time and I get compensated well for it, so I would keep doing it even if I was financially independent.

Respectfully, I have to call bullshit. You would still work in your same relatively easy job for 40-60 hours a week if you didn't need money? Wow. If you hit the Powerball tonight, you're still doing what you do?

I am jealous of your job-lust. I think about travelling, luxuries, taking care of family, charity, enjoying life, sleeping in, making it rain...etc., but I don't think about security audits and assessments. My job is fine, pays very well, but I do it because I am getting paid.

Akaricloud

It seems I may have a few additional motivation factors that others here haven't expressed yet. Of course money is always important, but to me that really isn't very motivating anymore and has literally become a number in my bank account that I just don't need to worry about. My real motivation comes from a few different areas.

First, I really do enjoy the challenge of it all and how mentally stimulating my current and past jobs have been. Without work I feel like I have very little that's truly very mentally stimulating. The opportunity to constantly grow, make old challenges become easy and move on to once impossible tasks is my largest motivator. It provides a huge sense of accomplishment that I've yet to be able to find outside my my career.

Second, because of how different of a lifestyle I live, I feel the constant need to show that I'm a fully functional person that contributes to society in a positive way. The further I advance my career and the more income I make, the more I feel others around me see my success. This not only serves to motivate them but also sheds a more positive light on my lifestyle and community.

N2IT

I'd go hiking all over the world and visit almost every place known to man. You can keep the servers and software I'll hit the trails or lack there of.

dave330i

LarryDaMan wrote: »

Respectfully, I have to call bullshit. You would still work in your same relatively easy job for 40-60 hours a week if you didn't need money? Wow. If you hit the Powerball tonight, you're still doing what you do?

I am jealous of your job-lust. I think about travelling, luxuries, taking care of family, charity, enjoying life, sleeping in, making it rain...etc., but I don't think about security audits and assessments. My job is fine, pays very well, but I do it because I am getting paid.

I love designing and building stuff. It doesn't matter if it's a military vehicle, fiber transceiver, plastic models or virtual platform/private cloud. It's all the same to me. I don't see a reason to quit doing something I enjoy. Basically my compensation + doing what I enjoy > my desire to do something else.

Why do you think hedge fund managers keep working when they're worth billions? I suspect it's because they love what they're doing and the compensation is pretty good.

ptilsen

I'm with Dave. I'd go to different areas of IT (hence not doing my current job), but I wouldn't quit working.

LarryDaMan

dave330i wrote: »

Why do you think hedge fund managers keep working when they're worth billions? I suspect it's because they love what they're doing and the compensation is pretty good.

I also suspect it is attraction to the power and influence with a smidgen of greed thrown in, but point taken. It is great that you love your job so much.

networker050184

dave330i wrote: »

Why do you think hedge fund managers keep working when they're worth billions? I suspect it's because they love what they're doing and the compensation is pretty good.

I think that is apples to oranges. Hedge fun managers aren't exactly 9-5 IT workers...

I get what you are saying though, I enjoy what I do as well and would still have an interest in technology, but I can be honest with myself and say that when that alarm goes off Monday morning and I know I don't have to go in if I don't want to I'm probably not going to.

f0rgiv3n

Dieg0M wrote: »

lol did you read my blog?
Last blog is entitled "What drives you?"

No but that's a hilarious coincidence LOL

JoJoCal19

My motivation is my end goal, and that is working for myself in real estate, and financial freedom for my family. Working in IT, although a path I chose, is a means to my end goal. Once I've hit my family annual income goals and can divert the money to my goals, then I will start pushing towards that.

Anonymouse

If I don't have a drive to grow then there's no point for me to be in IT. That's the reason I got into it because I was afraid of taking up a career where I did the same thing every day for the rest of my life. Oh yeah getting more money is cool too.

shodown

I never entered things to be in the pack, I did to be as best as I could. When I joined the navy and I use to tell people I wanted to be the MCPON(highest enlisted position) it rubbed people the wrong way, but someone has to do it. I like to WIN or learn as much as possible in loss. The money is only a way to keep score. I live a pretty cheap life anyway.

jibbajabba

networker050184 wrote: »

money..

That .. When I was young I just wanted to know everything, learn everything and be the best. Now I just want cash and retire

Having said that - you won't get money easily in IT unless you ACTUALLY know stuff - so there .. part of being in IT is keeping up with the technology .. money is the reward..

Also I used to work towards "appreciation" - even just verbal one. Nowadays IT is all about blame - so appreciation is the lack of complaints

Zorodzai

jibbajabba wrote: »

Nowadays IT is all about blame - so appreciation is the lack of complaints

That, right there, is so so TRUE