Motivation Monday

Would you hire yourself?

The answers to this question will hopefully reveal some things you can do to help make your dreams come true.

So here is the exercise: Imagine that you are the owner of a business and you need to hire someone. Think of what your ideal employee would be like. Write down the attributes and characteristics that come to mind.

When I decided to work at my art full time, I realized that in order to succeed I was going to have to give my business my all and my best. I took the time to do the exercise above. I wrote out a list of the attributes I would most want to have in an employee. My ideal employee would:

- be very enthusiastic about their work

- have a positive attitude

- be able to handle change, be adaptable

- have a high standard of personal ethics (honest, operate with integrity)

- be professional and would desire to do excellent work

- have a strong sense of responsibility

- have the ability to plan and manage time, money and resources toward the accomplishment of goals

- be a diligent, productive worker

- be willing to take on new challenges, to learn new skills if necessary

- have a "no problem" attitude, someone who would find a way to get things done

- be passionate about their work and their life

- be a giver, someone who would be concerned about adding value to the lives around them, co-workers and customers

- be interested in making my company a success. Their focus would not be limited to getting a paycheque.

Does your list look a bit like mine?

So how can you make this work for you? Simply ask yourself if you bring these attributes and characteristics to your own personal endeavours. When the going gets a bit rough, do you stay positive and are you open to change? When you need to learn new skills, do you whine and complain or do you roll up your sleeves and start learning? Can you say that you manage your time, money and resources well? Are you willing to work hard? Are you as passionate or enthusiastic as you need to be? Are you honestly giving your dreams your best and your all?

This exercise helped me define exactly who I wanted and needed myself to be in order to make my dreams come true. When I resist learning necessary skills (usually computer stuff), when I hesitate before tackling something completely new for me, or when I am not handling my time as well as I should, I think back to this list. I can readily see that at times like this I am not being my best employee. This knowledge empowers me to make the necessary changes in my attitude and my behaviour.

Remember that motivation is simply the reason for an action. Why not make the decision to be your own best employee the reason and motivation to make whatever changes you need to make?