141Branden suggests that we get our creative thinking
going each morning by asking ourselves two questions:
- What’s good in my life? and 2) What is there still to
be done?
Most people don’t talk to themselves at all. They lis-
ten to the radio, watch TV, gossip, and fill up on the
words and thoughts of other people all day long. But it’s
impossible to indulge in that kind of activity and also
get motivated. Motivation is something you talk your-
self into.
65. Promise the moon
One frightening and effective way to motivate your-
self is to make an unreasonable promise—to go to some-
one you care about, either personally or professionally,
and promise them something really big, something that
will take all the effort and creativity you’ve got to make
happen.
When President John Kennedy promised that
America would put a man on the moon, the power of
that thrilling promise alone energized all of NASA for
the entire time it took to accomplish the amazing feat.
In his book about the Apollo 13 mission, Lost Moon, as-
tronaut Jim Lovell called Kennedy’s original promise
“outrageous.” But it showed how effective being outra-
geous could be.
In his book Passion, Profit, and Power, Marshall
Sylver recalls seeing a billboard in Las Vegas put up by
one of the casino owners who wanted to become a non-
smoker. The billboard read: “If You See Me Smoking in
the Next 90 Days, I’ll Pay You $100,000!” Can you see
the power in that promise?
A couple of years ago I promised my children that I
would send them to camp in Michigan. They had been
Promise the moon