Successful people spend a large part of their time engaging in activities that simultaneously provide meaning and are at the core of their strengths. They are driven from a deep level of internal passion – which motivates them to work while others are playing.  In other words, truly successful people have Mojo. The only person who can define meaning and build motivation for you is you.

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My favorite “Mojo” definition comes from Marshall Goldsmith, business thinker extraordinaire. He says Mojo is “that positive spirit toward what we are doing now that starts from the inside and radiates outside.”

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The reason I so relate is that our mojo is our inward driver – our source of motivation.  It’s a deep feeling of optimism about us and about our life.  It creates an internal feeling of confidence that radiates to the outside, impacting our work and all those around us.  It causes other people to want to be around us. It causes us to commit ourselves to causes, to create, to persevere.

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You will never find an employer who will “motivate you.” That is a total fantasy. At best, a great boss or cause can support and help magnify your own intrinsic motivation.  At worst, a terrible boss or job can destroy your motivation.  But the only party that can produce motivation is you.