Staying motivated

I found this post on The Occupational Adventure that links through to this article on the CEO Refresher, detailing 6 ways to stay motivated:

1. Get motivated every day.
2. Have a vision for your life.
3. Fuel your passion.
4. Work hard enough to get results.
5. Put good materials into your mind.
6. Ride the momentum when it comes.

Ok, here's my number 7, which I honestly think should probably be number 1:

Do what you love and are passionate about.

It's very easy to stay motivated if you love what you are doing; you want to get up and go to work every day.  Unfortunately, many people find themselves in a position where doing what they love is put at odds to making a lot of money.  I was told a long time ago that if you do what you love, the money will follow -- it has worked out that way for me.

In the words of J. Keating from The Dead Poets Society:

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute.  We read and write poetry because we’re members of the human race.  And the human race is filled with passion.  Medicine, law, business, engineering . . . these are all noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life.  But poetry, beauty, romance, love . . . these are what we stay alive for.”

They should teach rule number 1 in every business school in the country.