The Motivation Manifesto Part 1

            As a former history teacher I can’t help but think of our country’s forefathers, the Framers of our Constitution, and all they fearlessly sacrificed for freedom as I read Brendon Burchard’s Motivation Manifesto and his 9 Declarations to Claim Our Personal Power.

            These 9 Declarations that will help us claim personal power are: 1. Meet Life with Full Presence and Power. 2. Reclaim Our Agenda. 3. Defeat Our Demons. 4. Advance with Abandon. 5. Practice Joy and Gratitude. 6. Do Not Break Integrity. 7. Amplify Love. 8. Inspire Greatness. 9. Slow Time.

            In a manner that I think Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, and the rest of the gang would agree with, Brendon Burchard explains that the main motivation of humankind is to be free, to express our full selves, and to pursue our dreams without restriction to experience our own personal power or personal freedom. To secure these rights we must not consent to be controlled by fear, convention, tyranny, or even the will of the masses when they are wrong.

            Over time, millions have marched for our freedom, millions have fought, and millions have died. Millions have also thrived in the cause of freedom that we so freely take for granted today. I wonder how our forefathers would have felt about this if they could look into the future and see all of us today?

            Sadly, even though the United States and many other developed countries where democracy rules and freedom rings, not all of us are totally free. We want to be free, but too often we are ruled by conformity and fear. However, if we can get beyond conformity and fear, and move closer toward freedom and authenticity, we’ll find that we become more and more motivated and alive.

            “Fear rips us from Freedom,” says Brendon Burchard. It is the destroyer of greatness. We must set new bold Declarations to not be afraid of the extraordinary effort needed to be free. Stop being afraid. Unless we are in a real life or death situation, what do we really have to be afraid of in the first place? Fear is just a crutch for emotional weakness. The truth is that we are more often fleeing from ourselves than actual danger.

            If we really paused long enough to examine our fears, we’ll soon realize that there is always less to lose than to gain in making good decisions and taking action for ourselves. The next time we are afraid we need to ask ourselves if we are acting our not acting from a state of fear and aversion, or are we acting from a state of freedom and ascension. Yes, we can be afraid and still act in a way that helps us ascend; that is called courage and desire to be free. Our forefathers understood what I’m talking about here. I mean, let’s think about this for a moment: Aren’t we more than our tiny worries of inconvenience? Isn’t a better life worth some struggle?

            Still think you can’t do it? Still think the others who are doing it are just lucky?  Well, I have some breaking news for you… The motivated ones aren’t just lucky, they’re just choosing to use their minds in a more purposeful way. And that more purposeful way starts with them knowing their “Why” or their reason for acting even when they’re feeling discomfort or fear.

            Motivation for these so-called lucky people are fueled by ambition and expectancy. The “lucky ones” know that they will make their dreams come true over time because they trust their ability to learn, to work, to ask for help, and to persist. With these expectations their minds begin to form the beliefs and behaviors needed to make their ambitions a reality. 

Dan Blanchard is an award-winning author, speaker, educator; a parenting expert and a certified life-coach.

www.GranddaddysSecrets.com