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Motivation Isn’t Hard To Find

21st August 2015 / Adam Stewart

“I just can’t find any motivation” is NOT an excuse for poor performance. Motivation comes from within. You either make it or change what you’re doing.

How we’re motivated has evolved. The traditional techniques of carrots and sticks from ‘Motivation 2.0’ no longer work.

We now crave Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose – laid out in ‘Motivation 3.0’. These are the views of Daniel Pink, in his book – The Drive.

(Yes, this is the motivation TED Talk guy)

Drive explains how businesses need to catch up with science in terms of how to motivate people. Motivation is intrinsic and people will work when they are self-motivated. However the book only talks about the side of the employer – what about the employee or individual, how do they motivate themselves?

The phrase “I just can’t find the motivation” is probably most common at University, yet university doesn’t lack aspects that should push you:

Making your £9000 a year count
Knowing that a high grade will help you get a good graduate position
Knowing (from past experience) that you will only be annoyed if you leave an essay until the last minute

Yet, so many students will head to the bar before heading to the library, and you know what, with the above as motivators I’m not surprised people lack motivation. The above are either external influences or aren’t the final outcome. Not sure what I mean? Let me explain.

“I want to do well in my exams because I will get a good grade and therefore a good job.” True, good grades can help get a good job. But if you use this as your motivator, you won’t feel motivated. This is a line that you’ve been told, you haven’t decided it for yourself.

“I’m not going to leave this essay until the last minute like last time.” And then you do! Of course you do, you still get the work done and submit it. Why do you leave it until the last minute, causing frustration? Most likely because you believe you can complete the work to 60-70-80% of your ability and still do fine. If the final outcome (the grade) isn’t that important to you, then the build-up won’t be so important.

So how do you ‘find’ motivation?

You don’t. You make it.

Motivation is an intrinsic force that you must create. Understanding why you are doing something will help. This why must be decided by you, not told by someone else! For example, if you tell yourself to finish an essay by Friday so you can go away for the weekend, you’re probably going to finish it by Friday.

Ask yourself these questions:

1 – What is the final outcome from this work?

2 – How much do I care about this work?

3 – If I slack off, will there be consequences?

4 – What can I gain from doing the work?

The answers to these need to be decided by you and can be seemingly unrelated. For example, you could answer question 4 by saying “yes, I can gain a strong work habit that will help me in the future”, or answer question 3 by saying “I won’t have time to go to the bar”. By understanding the total impact of what you’re doing and your personal motives, you are more likely to get the motivation you need.

If after answering these questions you don’t feel motivated, then chances are you don’t care about what you’re doing. That’s fine, stop doing it.

Fun Risks

14th August 2015 / Adam Stewart

It is often said that if you want to progress, you need to step outside your comfort zone. This picture look familiar?

Often, this is true. You need to stretch yourself and face new challenges. But it doesn’t have to be to an extreme – risks can be fun!

Fun Risks

I define taking a fun risk as taking on a task or challenge that is exciting to you, however you may feel nervous or anxious about the possibility of it going wrong, even though in reality, the fear only exists in your head.

For example, for some people public speaking is a fun risk. In honesty they can’t do anything so badly that it shows them in a negative light, however they may feel an adrenaline rush.

A-level results

The reason I am writing this blog now is due to this week hosting A-level results day. This time, a year ago, I had just found out that I would be attending Lancaster. I found out LIVE ON THE RADIO!

https://soundcloud.com/graemeandsarah/adam-opens-his-a-level-results-with-graeme-sarah

As soon as the call started I was filled with nerves. What do I say if I fail?

In honesty, if I had failed it would have made no difference if I’d done it on the radio or not. I’d still tell people, I’d still have to look at other universities. The radio aspect didn’t amplify the risk in reality, only in my head, therefore it was also a safe risk!

The call was really fun and something unique to say I’ve done and it has built up my tolerance to risk taking.

Why take fun risks?

1 – They build up your tolerance to risk. Start out small and build up.

2 – They get you used to feeling the nerves and adrenaline and you may start to love it!

3 – If you fail, it doesn’t matter. These are safe risks, the fear only exists in your head and that is the fear you want to control.

4 – Something small can open up new opportunities. Take a fun risk to contact someone you admire and aspire to be like, they may help you!

5 – They’re fun!

Is Technology Invading Our Privacy?

7th August 2015 / Adam Stewart

This week I finished The Circle by Dave Eggers. In the book, The Circle is the world’s largest technology company, it has the best online services and the lead when it comes to hardware. It is viewed as the best place to work as you get access to exclusive technology and insights. However, early in the book you begin to wonder if it really is that great!

Whilst I listened to the audiobook, the story felt a little like a fantasy; the employees are being covered in wearable tech, the governments are entering ‘complete transparency’ meaning they have a live camera and microphone on them at all times. It all felt a little over the top.

However it didn’t take me long to see the overlap with today’s technology. Only a few days later my brother came home with a new smart wristband, talking with amazement about how it tracked everything from his sleep pattern; his heart rate and alerting him when he has a new follower on twitter.

‘Complete transparency’ isn’t so alien either. Millions of snapchat videos and periscope streams mean that we are more likely to be filmed when we either don’t realise or want to on a regular basis!

The uses and advancements of technology in the book were extremely concerning, so should we be concerned?

I say, not yet!

Advancements in technology are amazing and they do provide endless benefits. Whilst many can be sceptical or hold back, I try to embrace technology as much as I can and I think others should as it is only going to continue moving forward.

However, what is important is the need for privacy. I would love to know how I had slept the previous night or know my heart rate when working out, however I wouldn’t want that information to be accessible for all to see and know.

Unfortunately social media is making many people feel that they must share all details of their life, this is where we need to be concerned. The loss of privacy can only end badly.

Without the choice to have privacy when using technology, it soon heads towards a 1984 scenario …. and if you don’t know what I mean then 1984 must be next on your reading list!

How to Land a Blue Marlin

31st July 2015 / Adam Stewart

This week I was taught how to fish using Nando’s as bait…… no, I’m being serious!

Last week I attended the Chasing ED conference at Campus London. This was the first conference I had attended outside of university and it didn’t disappoint! Besides being in Google’s awesome office space for startups, I had a great day meeting new people from a variety of backgrounds.

Whilst all of the talks taught me something new, in this blog I want to focus on one in particular as it is a subject I am currently experimenting in!

“How to land a Blue Marlin” from StudentView founder, Raff McKenzie.

Why was he talking about this? Well, to encourage students to leave accommodation reviews on his site he needed to provide rewards that would actually interest university students – it’s harder than you think!

Currently he has partnerships with Uber and Spotify (to name just a few!) and was even able to provide one lucky student with enough Domino’s pizza to match their height!

So how did he do it? Well first he says you need to know who your Blue Marlin is. As he says “Your Marlin could be anyone that adds value to your business and they could fill a host of different roles and positions.” He explicitly explained how it is important to evaluate the current position you are in and see who can help most NOW.

Of course bagging an angle investor would be great, however an industry expert might be the best thing for you to get going.

What next? You need to catch them! This is where Nando’s comes in…..

So you’ve found your Marlin, you’re about to cast your line (send an email) but you want to make sure they are attracted to your line, you want to make sure they bite AND hold on! Raff was successful at this by using what he calls “The Nando’s Pitch – Hot and Cheeky!”

You need to stand out from the hundreds of emails they receive each day, make them remember and like you! Be different and add a bit of colour to their grey inbox. Of course it is important to remember who you are emailing and remember what you are emailing about. It always has to be relevant and appropriate, but where possible, do what you can to stand out!

What I have learnt

In my short time trying to catch Blue Marlin’s I have learnt one vital lesson – know what you want from them; that can’t be everything or anything!

Several times I have had responses from people saying they want to help, but asking how. From my perspective I think they can help in any way they want! However, by pin pointing exactly how they can help you, you allow them to actually know if they can – they will appreciate the clarity!

To continue with Raff’s comparison I will have to end by saying – cast your line, but when you do, know what you want to catch, how you will catch it and know what you will do once you’ve been successful!

TESTS – Do Them!

24th July 2015 / Adam Stewart

Assumptions can be dangerous. They are good to create, but not good to follow!

Assumptions aren’t fact, they are theories you’ve created and no matter how much you think you’re right, you can’t prove it…. Well not yet!

I’ve just finished reading The Lean Startup by Eric Ries.

This book it regarded as one of the best business and entrepreneurship books going and I cannot disagree one bit! It is by far one of the best books I have ever read and a must read for anyone even remotely interested in business.

The book is full of stories of large companies in their very early days. The start of dropbox and groupon to name a few. Hearing about their humble beginnings put into perspective the importance of aiming high – they start out no different to any other company.

Besides being drawn into to hear the stories he told, the book is full of great business advice. Two stood out for me:

1 – Know what you’re assuming

You may not realise it but most startups have at least one critical assumption that if proven wrong, means failure.

It is vital that teams take the time needed to identify the assumptions their product or service is making.

Let me give an example –

uber – a hugely successful startup makes a huge assumption that people are willing to get in a car with a person who isn’t even a proper taxi driver.

Airbnb – they assumed that people would be willing to let strangers stay in their house!

For both of these, if they were false, the product wouldn’t work!

Once these have been identified, they must be tested. You can’t assume they are either true or false. Imagine, before the success of Airbnb, if someone told you people wanted to let strangers stay in their house? You’d probably think it’s absurd.

However on the opposite, even if something seems trivial, if you can’t guarantee it, find out!

2 – Testing from day one!

I had always seen the value in testing products, you can hear from customers what is good and what isn’t. However I had always assumed this had to be an almost final product. Not the case!

In the book, countless stories of testing from day one are told. Testing small features, colour changes, ideas and theories. Not can be guessed and anything that can be measured should be.

You wouldn’t build something people don’t want, but unless you find out from those people, you can’t know what they do want!

My testing experience

After reading a chapter on testing, I decided to test some of my thoughts for my latest project.

I wanted to test some different features to see how people would react. I dumbed down the process but kept the user experience as similar to the real thing as possible. I set out guidelines, offered a reward and spread the word.

The uptake was a disaster! No one was interested in testing the features, even with a free gift on offer!

The first question people might ask is, “How did you publicise the testing, did you personally ask people to be involved?”

Well, I didn’t personally ask people, however I made sure they were aware of it. This was key as it actually helped me learn something else. How I packaged and sold the actual idea mattered! People weren’t buying the vision I was selling and so that needed to change. ‘Forcing’ people into the testing would have clouded that result.

In short; read The Lean Startup, know what you’re assuming and never stop testing!

#TheMoment – the speed of social media

17th July 2015 / Adam Stewart

Around 30% of the world’s population are active social media users. That equates to approximately 2.078 billion users!!

On average 500 million tweets are sent per day. The average shelf-life of a tweet is only 2.8 hours! With all this activity how can businesses be heard?!

Success on twitter is all about capturing #TheMoment

“Content marketing is a lot like trying to catch a wave – timing is everything. Too early, and nobody cares. Too Late, and someone else has caught it.” – David Schneider

#TheMoment is a book all about twitter moments and their power.

The book shows how businesses have been forced to alter how they control their brand image online. No longer do companies have time to thoroughly plan and verify their content. Sometimes you only have a window of a few minutes to capture the attention of your customers. If you have too many hurdles in place you will miss it every time!

Social media gives companies a platform to interact with their customers in real-time, reacting to what’s happening NOW.

One of the best moment captures came from Oreo Cookie during Superbowl XLVII. When the lights went out it took just five minutes for the page to tweet:

With just over 15k retweets, this is one of their best performing tweets to date, and it was created without long planning and verification!

Be seen

I currently run multiple social media pages and each and every day I am battling to get my content to stand out and be seen.

The first challenge is to get a user to stop and look at my post. Trying to not blend in is a priority! A good way to solve this is with pictures; they’re colourful, attract the eye and also take up more space!! Meaning it takes longer for the user to pass you, increasing the chances that they will look at your post!

But attracting the attention isn’t enough. What I find funny about social media users is how precious they are with their time. Users can spend hours online however with the amount that’s available online, time dedicated to each individual post is very small, if at all! So how can you actually get a user to part with just a few seconds of their time to read your post?

This is where language plays a part. The wording needs to be easy to read, informative, interesting and thought provoking – all in 140 characters. This is where some businesses blow the competition out of the water.

Improving the appeal of posts is a skill I am far from mastering but each day I’m learning new things, exploring new ideas and testing new theories.

How important are good grades?

10th July 2015 / Adam Stewart

Yesterday I received my final grade for my first year at university. I am very happy with the grade as it is what I had aimed for at the start of the year. I put in the work needed and it paid off. I feel like the work has been worth it to achieve this. However, did I really need to put in as much work as I did? I could have worked less and spent more time doing other things and still get the grade I needed to pass the year and continue into second year, after all; first year doesn’t count!

I know plenty of people who take this view and they are now progressing into second year just like me. Maybe they have been the clever ones to use as little effort and energy as was needed to pass. I can understand this approach completely. Although, for me, grades matter!

These are the three personal reasons why I aim for the highest grade I believe I can achieve, even if it isn’t needed:

1 – Proof that the work has paid off

Like most people, I find revision boring and dull. There are many other things I would rather be doing. So when I see that I achieved a high grade I know that the work was worth it and that I didn’t put the effort in to not get a reward.

A high grade is clear evidence that I worked well, without that evidence I would have to guess and hope.

2 – Habit

After a week off from any kind of work I struggle to get back into the swing of it. If I’ve spent a week being lazy, I will want to be lazy the next week. The good thing about this though, is that if I spend a week working really hard, I want to work hard the next week.

I recognise the danger that I face if I hold back from giving 100% and so I try to enforce positive habits. This is one of the reasons why I have worked hard this first year at university. If I had been lazy and done ‘just enough’ then I believe that in year two I would struggle to work hard as I’m not in the habit. Now I have spent the year working hard, I am confident that when needed next year, I will be able to work as hard as I like.

3 – Self-fulfilment

Often, exceeding the needed results doesn’t bring any extra external reward, however it brings a lot of internal pleasure for me.

My best example for this is with my A-level results. My offer to study at Lancaster was AAB. I had also applied to many other places, receiving higher offers from some. I had applied to Oxford, where I reached interview stage, but was then rejected.

When A-level results day came round and I found out that I had achieved A*AA, I remember lots of people asking me if I was annoyed that I had the grades to get into Oxford if I had received an offer. In short, no I wasn’t.

I was very excited to get into Lancaster, and the higher grades were a fantastic bonus. The feeling of knowing that my grades were good enough for all universities across the country was a brilliant one.

In summary, grades are very important to me. Not because they are needed to get to the next step, not because they show my ability in exams. But because they are proof to myself that I can achieve the goals I set.

The Missed Networking Opportunity

3rd July 2015 / Adam Stewart

The opinion or voice of others can be extremely valuable. Whether advice is needed or just for confirmation that you are doing the right things. Often people will reach out to those they respect, seeking a mentor. It is also common for people to connect with those they believe are in a similar position as themselves in order to exchange ideas or for confirmation that they are doing the right things. However few people will seek those who are less progressed as themselves; in the position you were in 5, 10, 15 years ago. This is a lost opportunity.

The three tiers for networking

People who live the life you want to live. They have achieved a goal you want to achieve. They may have more knowledge and/or experience. You want them as your mentor.

People who are equal with you. They work at a similar level, they have similar challenges to you and you can work together to move forward. You can both teach each other valuable lessons.

People with less knowledge and/or experience than you. They share similar ambitions however they are less able to make them a reality. Usually younger (although not always), they may view you as a mentor.

In my experiences all three levels are important and can provide huge benefits to your progression.

How can they help me?

For the lower tier the usual response would be to ponder how they can help you. If they have less knowledge and experience, surely they can’t teach you anything. This may be true, perhaps they can’t teach you anything directly, however you may be surprised as to how much they can help you teach yourself. What do I mean? Well here are the main benefits I’ve had from connections with these people:

1 – Action

I have recently become friends with an entrepreneur from my old college. He has less academic knowledge and potentially less ‘business knowledge’ – I say it like that as what I viewed as business knowledge is sometimes not even considered by him – and yet he is moving forward at a fast pace.

For myself at the moment I feel a strong requirement to understand the business theory behind the actions I must take and to strategically think through all steps. That means one important thing is missed out, action. Finding this person re-opened my eyes to the value of action and the value of jumping straight in and learning as you go.

2 – Questions

What do you do with a mentor; ask questions. So what do you think will happen if someone views you as a mentor? They will ask you questions.

I love speaking to someone with less technical knowledge than myself about a piece of work because when they ask questions to learn more, it tests my own knowledge. Often I may not have an answer and that shows me where my weak spots are.

It is important to understand that when I talk about networking with people who have less knowledge or experience than you, I’m not saying that the stupidest person you know will help you find your answers. Find people who are a similar path to you, just a few stages behind. As long as they have ambition, they are worth the time it takes to get to know them!

What My First Year At University Has Taught Me

26th June 2015 / Adam Stewart

This week marks the end of my first year at university, and I will admit I am sad that soon I will no longer be a first year! I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction into university life. I have chosen the above picture as it sums up the year nicely; I’ve met great people, in a great place, doing great things!

To say the time has gone quickly would be an understatement. It feels like it was only yesterday that I was moving in, however the number of incredible things that have happened in between are endless. I’m confident I have some memories that will stay with me forever, although admittedly some memories are a bit blurry 🙂 Nevertheless, first year at university is one I will never forget!

With the amount that’s happened I’ve decided to sit down and reflect on what first year has taught me – apart from how to cook, or how long it takes me to drink a pint. Whilst valuable skills, I have certainly not mastered either!

There are more hours in the day than you realise!

Ok, yes everyone has 24 hours in their day. But before I came to university I certainly hadn’t made the most of them all. This is probably first discovered by most students when they leave a project or essay until the last minute and a long night of working is needed.

The 9-4 ritual of schools before university got me into the habit of only wanting to work in these times. However I soon found that for me there isn’t much difference between 1pm and 9pm. If I don’t have any plans I can easily use that time productively. What I most like about this is the freedom it presents. If you’re happy to get you work done around 6-8pm when not much is happening, it opens up the whole day for other things!

Give it a go

The number of events, socials and talks happening each week are endless. It can be very easy to ignore the posters and facebook invites and carry on with your week as normal. However I started the year with an aim to attend as much as I could and engage. Whilst for some people they won’t leave their flat unless it’s for a lecture (for some, lectures aren’t even enough), I wanted to fill my days with extra events. This has only ever turned out well.

For me, most of these events ended up being business and enterprise based. This opened my eyes to a whole new path which I’ve followed without looking back. If I was to only give one piece of advice to someone just starting university it would be to go to events and give things a go, you might be surprised by how much you like it!

Everyone has something to offer

Once I had been introduced to entrepreneurship I wanted to get involved straight away, however I didn’t feel like I had anything to add to other people’s work, especially if they’re older and more experienced. Often I would think, ‘how can I help, I’m only a first year!’. Once I’d built up confidence to ask to be involved in events and projects and put my knowledge to the test, the responses I got usually went something like this, ‘I can’t believe you’re only a first year!’. That wasn’t because people thought I was too clever to be a first year, it was because most first years don’t get involved.

I soon found that I could contribute as equally as anyone else and that when it comes down to it, age doesn’t matter. Even if you do know less, it is your attitude that counts!

In short, your first year at university is a time to try anything and everything, meet amazing new people and discover more about who you are and who you want to be!

How conversation creates remarkable change

19th June 2015 / Adam Stewart

Last month I was able to attend my first TEDx event – TEDxLancasterU

When I first sat down to see that I had 14 talks and performances ahead of me I did start to think I was in for a long night. However, by the end I was pleading for more. A huge well done must go out to the organising team for getting together a fantastic line up.

All of the talks got me thinking and I would happily write a blog reflecting on each one. However if I did that I would be in for a long night! Instead I have decided to give my view on the talk that was most relevant to me. That talk was by Fraser Williams – How conversation creates remarkable change.

In his talk, Fraser shares the three tools he has used to turn an idea into action.

Ignore your emotion

Fraser shares his experiences in competing in Taekwondo, he talks about the nerves he had before competing in the European Championships. Having competed in large sporting competitions myself I know this feeling all too well. The voice in your head that thinks everything will go wrong, that doubts your ability and wants you to back out just to feel safe.

Fraser believes that this emotion needs to be ignored. Compete or commit anyway, despite that fear. Whilst I agree that it is not good to take this emotion seriously, I believe it can be countered rather than ignored. The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters explains how these emotions are the instincts of the ‘chimp’ inside your head. They won’t go away, but they can be trained. Therefore I’d say, understand the emotion, know when it will appear but also understand that you can pass it and instead feel excitement.

Fraser ended this part of the talk by modifying a quote from Winston Churchill, he said:

“Success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal. It is the courage to start that counts.”

When I first heard this I had very little to add, other than YES, YES, YES.

Embrace the sceptic

Our friendship groups hold all types of personalities; pessimists, optimists and those in-between. Fraser emphasises the importance of recognising these people and embracing them all, especially the pessimist as they are the ones who will point out the flaws which can then be turned into challenges and opportunities.

This is an extremely valuable tool and I’m glad to see it included in this talk. I completely agree that the sceptic needs to be embraced, however I feel like a warning message needs to put beside this tools – Be prepared to feel annoyed and believe that the person talking is wrong.

Sometimes you don’t have to embrace the sceptic for them to speak, they may be the person you least expect and so whenever you talk to anyone about an idea you must be prepared to hear some negatives. If you are caught off guard, chances are your defence mechanisms will kick in and you will disregard what is being said. I say, always be prepared to hear negative views and then embrace those – evaluate them, evaluate the source and then decide how to act.

Turn motivation into momentum

“Have one conversation and then have 100 more!”

When you get that initial rush of excitement and energy for your project, take action instantly. If you hold back, your enthusiasm will diminish, acting instantly will lead to quicker results and even more energy.

When talking about this tool, Fraser does an excellent job at including all types of people when discussing who you can talk to. I believe this is the most important part of this tool. Reach out to anyone and everyone, they may contribute in ways you couldn’t have predicted. Too often people hold back discussing their idea, believing people either won’t get it or won’t have anything worthwhile to add. This may be the case but often it will not. Don’t judge what a person will have to say until they have said it!

I will end this blog the same way Fraser ended his talk, by asking:

“What action can you take in the next five minutes on the idea that sits in the back of your head?”