It happened in the most unexpected of places.

A dim sum restaurant. A late Sunday morning. Prawn dumpling halfway between my plate and my face.

My partner and I were talking about our careers, as we often do. Our conversation drifted to understanding yourself and how that influences Big Career Decisions (or should).

I don’t know if it was the mood lighting in the banquet hall or if I’d just had a great night’s sleep, but for some reason I had an epiphany. I suddenly realized I’d never thought deeply about motivation before.

Yes, I’d thought very carefully about how I wanted to feel, and how to build a life that suits my personality type. But motivation? I’d never been quite able to articulate it.

Suddenly, I had the exact words. And I realized I could them both to better understand myself, and to grow my business.

The dumpling was delicious, by the way.

A really important question

What motivates you? I mean really, truly, deep down.

What are the Big Factors that drive you to do all that you do, in work and in life?

And most importantly, how does your motivation relate to your business, and how can you make it part of the message you share with the world?

Okay, that was three questions.

Here’s what motivates me:

1. Connection.

Simple human connection. I’m driven to understand and to be understood. This plays into my passion for clear and effective communication, my love of teaching, and my preference for intimate one-on-one time over big groups. I love helping my clients use language to genuinely connect with their clients.

2. Self-expression.

Through art or other forms of creation. This is a sort of second-layer benefit to the work I do with my clients. I honestly believe people need to express themselves in one way or another to feel whole. Dancing to Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know alone in your bedroom does count!

3.Suffering.

Both alleviating it when I can, and trying to understand it (an impossible task). Also, working out the anxiety I feel about it through my own art. Of the three, this is not something I focus on in my communications, but it is good to know about myself.

So what motivates you?

Think about what motivates you, both in general, and in relation to your business (ideally they are one and the same). Try brainstorming by hand, on a piece of paper. Once you’ve figured it out, try to work it into your communications.

It could be a small tweak in a line of copy or a new way to describe yourself to a really interested person at a networking event.

Or maybe you’ll want to rethink your key messaging altogether.

I’d love to hear what motivates you! Go on, leave a comment!