The Inner Workings of Motivation, Optimism, and Leadership | AMA Vol. 17 w/ Dr. Michael Gervais

We're thrilled to bring you the 17th Volume of Finding Mastery’s Ask Me Anything (AMA) series. This edition dives deep into the essence of motivation, leadership, and the art of creating a positive work environment, all while emphasizing the crucial importance of self-understanding and authenticity.
Joining us - as always - is our insightful co-host, O'Neil Cespedes, ready to unravel another set of thought-provoking topics and questions…
In today's conversation, we explore:
- The inner workings of motivation
- How to foster environments of growth through competence, autonomy, and relationships.
- The nuanced art of leadership
- The power of optimism and how to train it in the face of adversity
- Navigating the delicate balance between image and individuality
- Facing your own fakeness without shame
And so much more…
Our hope is that this dialogue is more than just an exchange of ideas; that it can create some unlocks, inspiration, and guideposts for those looking to lead with integrity, embrace their true selves, and lean into a life of exploring potential and flourishing.
Chapters for ya!
00:00 Believing in the Future
03:41 Understanding Motivation
10:04 Leadership and Motivating Others
29:00 New Approaches to Motivation and Leadership
31:27 Finding Stability in the Rapids of Life
32:08 Psychology in Work
33:07 Knowing Yourself and Choosing the Right Environment
34:07 Trusting Your Intuition in Job Interviews
35:07 Navigating Cancel Culture
36:02 Being Authentically Yourself
37:00 Balancing Authenticity and Achieving Goals
38:27 Expressing Your Individuality
42:46 Turning Grounded Optimism into Action
44:53 Aligning Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors
55:03 Balancing Image and Individuality

[@mariuspop5565]

03:41 Understanding Motivation. Here are my notes:
Understanding motivation is complicated because it requires you to know a lot of factors about the individual.
Key elements and what to aim for:
DRIVERS:
- internal: you are a self starter
- external: you need to pushed or prompted by somebody else to do something
REWARDS:
- intrinsic: you get enjoyment from doing the activity itself (it's something aligned with your identity and values)
- extrinsic: you get enjoyment from others reaction to your activity (i.e. praise, money, awards)
IDEAL: you have all 4 elements covered at 10/10
GREAT: you have all 4 elements covered, but the balance is more towards internal & intrinsic
TRAP: balanced heavy in favor of external & extrinsic

[@devinhall5252]

I need a sweater like that

[@DJSTOEK]

❤❤

[@jimmyrfarris]

Some really good stuff here! On affirmations, I do think that repeating something positive to yourself, that may not currently be true at this very moment, can be helpful. If we look at the subconscious, it tends to believe whatever we tell it. Once it believes the narrative, it will create actions and behaviors to ensure that we are congruent with our self-belief. That's why we almost unanimously agree that negative self talk is harmful. So why wouldn't we believe that we can "talk" our subconscious into believing positive things about ourselves, and that it will then create actions and behaviors congruent with those beliefs as well? I'd love your thoughts on that Michael.