#282 Out of Sight Out of Mind

External and internal motivation: you can’t have one and not the other.

I believe that everyone needs external inspiration and motivation to succeed in both the short term and long term.

When those external items that motivate you are out of sight, they are also out of mind.

The meaning behind my tattoos

The tattoos I have are intentionally on my forearm. Why? Because it’s important that I’m visibly able to see these every day.

My grandfather’s portrait tattoo

One of my tattoos is a portrait of my great grandfather who died in a coal mine explosion in 1935. My great grandfather was the first coal miner and weightlifter in four generations. It’s a great reminder of where everything started.

My trailer tattoo

I need to remember where I started. I need to remember how I felt in those moments growing up. I need to remind myself that Gregory’s will NEVER go back to that.

Abraham Lincoln

“To believe in the things you can see and touch is no belief at all; but to believe in the unseen is a triumph and a blessing.” – Abraham Lincoln

I’m the one who must believe in myself that I can do something. No one else. You can’t believe for me. I’ve had multiple things happen in my life where I was the only one that believed that they could happen.

Old School + Coal Miners Crest

I have a blue-collar work ethic to the core. That’s how I was brought up, and that’s the work ethic I bring every day.

I need to see them

If you put a picture of what you want to look like on your refrigerator, then, chances are you will think twice before eating something unhealthy.

If you rewatch inspirational videos that relate and resonate well with you, then, you’re more likely to stay on the right path. For example, I’ve watched You Owe You by Eric Thomas more times than I can count.

If you reread books that relate and resonate well with you, then, you’re going to internalize the message and get smarter. For example, I’ve revisited How to Raise Your Own Salary by Napoleon Hill & Andrew Carnegie at least 10 times throughout my life. It’s become a part of my internal blueprint.

I can’t allow myself to forget the ink on my forearms.

Falling in love with the process

The process is far from easy, but essential.

Falling in love with the daily, mundane tasks is going to build grit. It’s going to build consistency. It’s going to build the discipline you need to get where you want to go.

You start to fall in love with the process because the results become more predictable. You know what the inputs are going to yield you.

Out of sight, out of mind

If those sources of external motivation are out of sight, you don’t stand a chance because you’re not thinking about it as much. You’re going to miss more.

Keeping those external sources of motivation in front of you will allow you to draw on them whenever you need them.

Start making a list of what inspires and motivates you. It can be a picture of the house you want to live in, quotes, videos, whatever it is.