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    “For some people, I guess, it might be hard to stay sharp once you’ve reached the pinnacle. Not for me, though. It was never enough. I always wanted to be better, wanted more. I can’t really explain it, other than that I loved the game but had a very short memory. That fueled me until the day I hung up my sneakers.”

    Kobe Bryant, Mamba Mentality (Page 125)

      “From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best. I never needed any external forces to motivate me.”

      Kobe Bryant, Mamba Mentality (Page 22)

        “Very few people know how the bottom feels, but I do.  It’s like quicksand.  It grabs you, sucks you under, and won’t let go.  When life is like that it’s easy to drift and continue to make the same comfortable choices that are killing you, over and over again.  But the truth is we all make habitual, self-limiting choices.  It’s as natural as a sunset and as fundamental as gravity.  It’s how our brains are wired, which is why motivation is crap.  Even the best pep talk or self-help hack is nothing but a temporary fix.  It won’t rewire your brain.  It won’t amplify your voice or uplift your life.  Motivation changes exactly nobody.  The bad hand that was my life was mine, and mine alone to fix.” ~ David Goggins, Can’t Hurt Me

          “The greatest threat to success is not failure but boredom.  We get bored with habits because they stop delighting us.  The outcome becomes expected.  And as our habits become ordinary, we start derailing our progress to seek novelty.  Perhaps this is why we get caught up in a never-ending cycle, jumping from one workout to the next, one diet to the next, one business idea to the next.  As soon as we experience the slightest dip in motivation, we begin seeking a new strategy—even if the old one was still working.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

            “Conventional wisdom holds that motivation is the key to habit change.  Maybe if you really wanted it, you’d actually do it.  But the truth is, our real motivation is to be lazy and do what is convenient.  Energy is precious, and the brain is wired to conserve it whenever possible.  It is human nature to follow the Law of Least Effort, which states that when deciding between two similar options, people will naturally gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of work.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

              “Nothing sustains motivation better than belonging to the tribe.  It transforms a personal quest into a shared one.  Previously, you were on your own.  Your identity was singular.  You are a reader.  You are a musician.  You are an athlete.  When you join a book club or a band or a cycling group, your identity becomes linked to those around you.  Growth and change is no longer an individual pursuit.  We are readers.  We are musicians.  We are cyclists.  The shared identity begins to reinforce your personal identity.  This is why remaining part of a group after achieving a goal is crucial to maintaining your habits.  It’s friendship and community that embed a new identity and help behaviors last over the long run.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

                “Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity.  It is not always obvious when and where to take action.  Some people spend their entire lives waiting for the time to be right to make an improvement.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

                  “The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity.  It’s one thing to say I’m the type of person who wants this.  It’s something very different to say I’m the type of person who is this.  The more pride you have in a particular aspect of your identity, the more motivated you will be to maintain the habits associated with it.  If you’re proud of how your hair looks, you’ll develop all sorts of habits to care for and maintain it.  If you’re proud of the size of your biceps, you’ll make sure you never skip an upper-body workout.  If you’re proud of the scarves you knit, you’ll be more likely to spend hours knitting each week.  Once your pride gets involved, you’ll fight tooth and nail to maintain your habits.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

                    “Drive is fueled by desire, belief, and expectation that we can achieve something extraordinary through our efforts.  It feeds on discipline in that it becomes stronger as we commit ourselves at deeper levels to our pursuits.” ~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal

                      “I’ve never believed that one should wait until one is inspired because I think that the pleasures of not writing are so great that if you ever start indulging them you will never write again.” ~ John Updike, via Daily Rituals

                        “The closer one gets to being motivated by altruism, the more fearless one becomes in the face of even extremely anxiety-provoking circumstances.” ~ Dalai Lama, The Art of Happiness

                          “Motivation is so important.  In fact all human action can be seen in terms of movement, and the mover behind all actions is one’s motivation.  If you develop a pure and sincere motivation, if you are motivated by a wish to help on the basis of kindness, compassion, and respect, then you can carry on any kind of work, in any field, and function more effectively with less fear or worry, not being afraid of what others think or whether you ultimately will be successful in reaching your goal.  Even if you fail to achieve your goal, you can feel good about having made the effort.  But with a bad motivation, people can praise you or you can achieve goals, but you still will not be happy.” ~ Dalai Lama, The Art of Happiness

                            “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.  Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” ~ Patanjali, Indian Philosopher

                              “When we’re plagued with self-doubt or a lack of motivation, we can breathe in the inspiration of others. Seek out the passion that other people have for their work, the compassion they bring for other people, the goodness in their hearts that inspires them to do their work. We don’t have to copy what they’re doing, but instead be inspired by their spirit.” ~ Leo Babauta, Zen Habits

                                “Our work can be motivated by obligation, by hunger for the external rewards of accomplishment, or by strongly reinforced ideas about who we should be in this lifetime.  But none of these motivations has the authentic energy required for mastery of a profession.”

                                Stephen Cope, The Great Work Of Your Life