How can I motivate myself to work hard?

From Quora

How can I motivate myself to work hard?

Nelson Wang, CEO of The Blink App - www.theblinkapp.com
Answer featured in Inc and 1 more.

When I was in 20 years old and studying at UCLA, I flunked an Economics class. I was devastated.  Guess what happened?  I bounced back.  I got an A when I retook the course.

When I was 22, I interviewed with 4 different managers at a Fortune 100 company and was ranked pretty much last in every interview.  I didn't get a single job offer.  I was frustrated.  Guess what happened?  I bounced back.  I have my dream job now.

When I was 25, I created 9 iPhone apps, all of which failed miserably.  I spent a ridiculous amount of time and money building them and felt really bummed.  Guess what happened?  Since then, I've built another 4 iPhone apps and all 4 of them hit the top 100 in the Business, Lifestyle and Entertainment section.

When I was 28, I found out my mentor and friend Erik, who was like a brother to me, passed away from cancer.  That was one of the toughest times in my life. Guess what happened?   I bounced back. Because that's what Erik would have wanted.

What I've noticed over the last 30 years of my life is that there is a recurring pattern to successfully motivating myself.  This pattern helped me get back on track, even during times that felt like rock bottom.  I've also asked numerous executives from Cisco, MTV, Bank of America, VMware, Box and Optimizely what their secrets to motivation are.  In addition to that, I've also read numerous books on motivation from authors like Tony Robbins to Daniel Pink (Author of "Drive").

I've put together a list of the 10 things successful people do to motivate themselves.

I've never shared this list - until now.  

Here are the top 10:

1.  Understand your why:

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."  - Mark Twain

Understand your purpose and it will fuel your drive. 

If I told you that it was your job to sort through a box of potatoes and to throw away the rotten ones, would you feel a strong sense of purpose?  Or would you feel like a cog in a machine?  Now – what if I told you that by sorting out the bad potatoes you were helping out the local food bank in supplying fresh food to needy families in the area – would that change your perspective and your sense of purpose in the work? 

Now that you understand the purpose of the work – does it potentially change your attitude or perhaps even your choice of work? 

I’m not here to dictate what purpose is. Everyone’s got a different definition based on their experiences in life and their own set of values.

But what I do want to ask you is:

What does purpose mean to you?

Find your why.  If you don't know what it is, create it.  That will motivate you to make a difference.

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