Here's another school of thought too...

what drives us?...good points Dien..something
to explore...I look at someone like Oprah
Winfrey and what drove her at a certain point
in her life was to "beat the odds": a "darker
woman of color" in the tv industry was not
suppose to do what she did....people are driven
to success for many different reasons. Could
it be many people who do not have drive may
not feel "a level of insecurity"?(for lack of
a better statement or word)...

I'm thinking of people who start businesses later
in life because of some "tragedy"...like the
woman who started the non-profit "Mothers against
Drunk Driving" only after a child was killed...

We hope it doesn't take a tragedy to get motivated
but your comments certainly raise an important
issue to consider...

What drives you? What motivates you? Do you have
a service or business can help people? Do you
want to help people? Do you have a personal
goal which is strong enough to propel you into
action?

Hi Gordon, Jack, Sandy, and everyone....

> Thanks, this is an interesting thread!

> I recently purchased a new book here in
> Australia, called "Secrets of the Super
> Rich" by Dr. Michael Gilding. I'm not
> sure if this book is available outside of
> Australia. Dr. Gilding is a Professor at the
> School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at
> Swinburne University, here in Melbourne,
> Australia (where I live). He specializes in
> researching business-people and
> entrepreneurs.

> This book summarizes the results of dozens
> of interviews he's had with billionaires and
> multi-multi-millionaires in Australia. Some
> of those he interviews are mentioned by
> their real names, others by pseudonyms
> (depending on their wishes).

> A common theme comes up again and again....
> Many of these super-entrepreneurs are driven
> to make money by feelings of insecurity .

> This ties together the reason for high
> business success among many groups....

> For example, here is a quote from the
> book.... [p. 60]:

> One of the people I interviewed - I will
> call him Jared Cohen - reflects on the
> effect of the Holocaust on his father.
> Wealth accumulation, he remarks, "goes
> back to basic insecurity - the insecurity of
> the individual, the insecurity based on the
> background". Insecurity is "an
> unbelievable driver for performance".
> Dr. Gilding finds that many self-made
> "super-wealthy" entrepreneurs have
> some period of difficulty in their childhood
> which gives them a feeling of insecurity
> they must overcome. There are experiences
> like the Holocaust, a father's death,
> bankruptcy, and other things. These
> entrepreneurs are driven to build wealth
> because of their fear of returning to those
> times of great hardship.

> This idea rings true to me.... It helps to
> explain why there are so many very
> successful Jewish entrepreneurs (due to the
> experience of the Holocaust). It also helps
> to explain why so many new immigrants in
> general become successful business-people
> (since they feel insecure about their future
> in their new land).

> I thought some here would find this
> interesting.... You can
> "experiment" with this. I've been
> "experimenting" with it myself,
> emphasizing in my mind the need for greater
> financial security, and thinking of the
> dreadful consequences if I don't attain it -
> with positive results so far. It certainly
> makes me work harder, and take more chances!
> Life is "less comfortable" when
> you do this (it's "harder" to
> relax and do nothing!), but it's an
> interesting "experiment"....

> - Dien Rice

Hi Sandy,

I think Oprah Winfrey fits the pattern....

She came from a background of insecurity and hardship (poverty). I'm sure her race also made her feel that the odds were against her, which would add to the feelings of insecurity in her industry which she probably had....

I think in these kind of circumstances, people can generally have two reactions.... They can have a feeling of resignation, that "it's no use", and they give up.... The other reaction is they work harder than everyone else does to succeed.

I'm sure in Oprah's case, she worked harder than probably anyone else to achieve the success she's had. How she transformed a routine talk show her very uplifting and inspirational TV show is quite remarkable - I have no doubt she put a lot of effort into creating that transformation!

From what I know of her, Oprah seems to fit the pattern.... She had some great hardship in her childhood, and probably her hard work towards success is driven by a need to find "security" from the danger of returning to those times of hardship.

Anyhow, that's a possible theory!

Not every highly successful entrepreneur fits this pattern, but according to Dr. Gilding's study, it seems that quite a lot of them do....

Interesting, isn't it?

Another thing Dr. Gilding found is that many of the entrepreneurs he interviewed were hesitant about talking about their times of hardship and insecurity in their childhoods.... Instead, it was something he happened to "stumble" upon. This could by why this has often been overlooked.

- Dien

Some great perspectives.

Another prime example of the "insecurity motivator" is one of the richest men in Hong Kong. In brief - he went to work during his teens to support his family after his father passed away. Despite limited schooling and resources he is now one of the richest men in the world (Ranks amongst top 30 of Forbes World's Richest List) and one of the few true business legends in Hong Kong and Asia. (Feel free to email me if you want to know who I'm talking about.)

Another perspective on this is given by Michael Ross in his Success Report. I enjoyed it and it certainly gave me something to think about. Highlighting a very different driver of performance, it may be of help to those interested in getting that edge to help them achieve more.

To your success,
Brian

> Hi Sandy,

> I think Oprah Winfrey fits the pattern....

> She came from a background of insecurity and
> hardship (poverty). I'm sure her race also
> made her feel that the odds were against
> her, which would add to the feelings of
> insecurity in her industry which she
> probably had....

> I think in these kind of circumstances,
> people can generally have two reactions....
> They can have a feeling of resignation, that
> "it's no use", and they give
> up.... The other reaction is they work
> harder than everyone else does to succeed.

> I'm sure in Oprah's case, she worked harder
> than probably anyone else to achieve the
> success she's had. How she transformed a
> routine talk show her very uplifting and
> inspirational TV show is quite remarkable -
> I have no doubt she put a lot of effort into
> creating that transformation!

> From what I know of her, Oprah seems to fit
> the pattern.... She had some great hardship
> in her childhood, and probably her hard work
> towards success is driven by a need to find
> "security" from the danger of
> returning to those times of hardship.

> Anyhow, that's a possible theory!

> Not every highly successful entrepreneur
> fits this pattern, but according to Dr.
> Gilding's study, it seems that quite a lot
> of them do....

> Interesting, isn't it?

> Another thing Dr. Gilding found is that many
> of the entrepreneurs he interviewed were
> hesitant about talking about their times of
> hardship and insecurity in their
> childhoods.... Instead, it was something he
> happened to "stumble" upon. This
> could by why this has often been overlooked.

> - Dien