If we don’t understand how language creates meaning, influencing behavior is an exercise in futility. Most of us would like to believe that we lead straightforward lives. We get out of bed, we eat breakfast, and go about the business of the day. If we ask someone to pass the salt, we are reliably passed the salt, and we don’t think about it anymore, whether we’re training for the national team or we’re a weekend warrior who thought about exercising a couple of times last mont

This is Part 4 of a series of posts examining the first principles of motivation and how they apply to our mission at VitalSpark.   I’m not sure anyone has ever tried to answer this question, and it is a book-length discussion if we are to treat it seriously.  However, for our purposes, I think the best answer might be Jesus Christ or Muhamed, who both inspired billions to live their lives according to a particular worldview, posthumously no less.  In more recent times, John

If you take a moment to ask, literally everyone has an opinion about motivation.

There’s an argument to be made that marketing is in fact motivation, tarted up and served without the good intentions that would lead a more intentional life.  Why can’t we just run advertisements to work out and solve all of our metabolic challenges?  If it worked, we’d reduce the cost of healthcare by half for the USA, and save ourselves an easy two trillion dollars. 

It sounds like a truism, baldly stated:  motivation is everything for everything.  Of course it is. Without motivation, no one would get out of bed in the morning, let alone show up for a workout or learn a new skill.  The fact that motivation is everything for everything isn’t news.   What is remarkable is just how deeply misunderstood motivation remains. 

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working at the forefront of technology, helping industry-leading companies like Microsoft...

In just the past week, two of my favorite podcasters posted episodes about motivation.  Dr. Peter Attia posted an  interview  with...