How can you stay energized in the face of so many obstacles? Why do some people look at life from a positive point of view all the time? What is the formula for success?

The prime ingredient in any success story is motivation. Motivation is the driving force to keep going, when the going gets tough. In order for you to stay motivated about anything, you must choose something you have a passion for. This will help you to stay inspired in good, or bad, economic times.

So before you consider motivation, do some self-analysis and realize your passion. This must be something you would love to do every day, and dont consider it to be work, because you enjoy it so much.

How many of us have known an artist or musician that pursued his, or her, dream. Some make money, and some dont, but all put a lot of work into their passion. They do this willingly, because their work inspired them. It wasnt the money that kept them going. The life of most artists, or musicians, is one of economic struggle, even in the best of economic times.

Once you have found your passion, make sure it is something that will help others in some way. This allows you to feel positive about your work and find solutions for peoples problems, which leads to the first factor needed to stay motivated, all the time.

The first factor is gratification in your work. Without it, why should any of us want to keep working at a goal every day? So, you must have a deep feeling of satisfaction from your work.

The second factor is recognition. Everyone wants to be recognized and be proud of their accomplishments. Look at how a child glows after getting an award and receiving praise from his, or her, parents. Recognition makes us all feel worthy.

The third factor is staying positive in the face of negativity. You cant close your eyes and ears to negative input or a doubting Thomas. However, you can use negative energy as fuel for your own cause. Always look at the glass as half full, as compared to half empty.

How is this possible? Use the doubts of others as an incentive to prove them wrong. I call this negative motivation. Teenagers often do this with parents: Mom or Dad says it wont work, so the teenager works twice as hard to prove his, or her, parents wrong. Adults can borrow on this method and learn from rebellious teenagers.

The fourth factor is complete health in mind, body, and spirit. You need friends in high places to stay motivated and succeed, so why not take time to pray? I never heard anyone tell me they felt bad about praying, but I have heard many people say they dont pray enough.

You have to allow for down time; even the toughest of us need a break now and then. If you must work hard, due to an impending deadline, remember Benjamin Franklins words, Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Take the time to sleep, exercise, go on vacation, play with your kids, show love toward those who love you, and live life as well as you can. If you follow this formula, you will be motivated and success will surely follow.