What drives or motivates you? Are you self-driven, by your need to fulfill your inner-desires, and to help society? Are you driven by your own inner-demons and your own inner-angels (intrinsic motivation), or are you driven by the hope of hope of attaining more money, more power, more influence, and more followers (extrinsic motivation)?
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We are driven by both
To be honest, I don’t think anyone is purely driven by one or another. It is a mix, combination of both.
As social beings, we are extrinsically motivated. We either want “rewards” from others and society via money, recognition, or social status.
Yet, deep down, in our DNA— I do genuinely feel that we have an inner-drive and inner-desire to achieve something purely for ourselves (intrinsic motivation).
Intrinsic motivation
I can’t tell you what you’re driven by, but I can tell you what drives me:
- A hunger for knowledge, wisdom, information and to empower myself
- To avoid boredom, depression, and a sense of purposeless in life
- The joy of making art: the joy of making pictures, the joy of making music, the joy of writing, the joy of conversation, the joy of teaching, the joy of sharing, and the joy of remixing and creating new ideas. The joy of doing something for the sake of itself — to achieve that “flow” state (the feeling of being “in the zone”).
- The desire to make myself as strong, confident, and powerful as possible — in order to help empower others.
- To have a zest for living, for life, to uncover the “mysteries of the universe”, and to jump out of bed every morning with enthusiasm to “play” like a child.
Extrinsic motivation
My extrinsic motivation can be categorized into a desire for money, power, and influence:
- Money to buy coffee, support Cindy, pay rent, buy meat, and to travel.
- Power to live life according to my own rules, and not having society strong-arm me into doing shit I don’t want to do.
- Influence: to help inspire, motivate, and affect the minds and hearts of others.
What drives you?
So friend, I don’t want to say that there is any “right” or “wrong” motivations in life. We are all driven by both intrinsic (inner drive) and extrinsic (drive from society).
If I really think about it though— as a true artist, you should be more driven by the intrinsic motivation than the external.
Intrinsic motivation: the desire to achieve something great for yourself, and for society. Mostly driven by the desire to succeed, to accomplish your personal maximum, and to become great.
Extrinsic motivation: the desire to impress others (who you don’t really care about). I think extrinsic motivation is mostly driven by fear. We seek to impress others because fear of being ridiculed and made fun of. Fear of going bankrupt or broke.
Another way to ask yourself the question:
Am I driven by the desire to make, create, and do dope shit (intrinsic motivation)? Or am I driven by the fear of failure, or being chastised/punished by society? (extrinsic motivation).
Humans are great
I think it is dumb that modern psychologists say that were only driven by fear, and driven by a “carrot and stick” system of rewards. No. As human beings, we are far more advanced than rabbits and cows. We are great — we seek grandeur, valor, and virtue for the sake of it.
Also, we are visual artists — we create visual art for the sake of empowering ourselves and society at large. We do it for the love. We got our “soul in the fame” (in the words of Nassim Taleb). We want to do something great, take higher risks, for the sake of being more grand.
Ask yourself the hard questions
So friend, what do you want from life? Are you willing to take those risks? For whom are you making risks in life for — to only benefit yourself? Or to help others in modern society, and perhaps future generations?
BE STRONG,
ERIC
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Photography Entrepreneurship 101
PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOKS
Take control of your own photographic destiny:
New Photography Entrepreneurship Articles
- Photography SEO and Blogging: How to Become Number One on Google
- Why You Must Become Your Own Publisher
- Now is the Best Time to Be a Photographer
- PRODUCERISM
- What Is The Value of a Picture?
- Your Photographic Labor is Not Free
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS 101
- Chapter 1. How to Make a Photography Blog
- Chapter 2. How to Price Yourself
- Chapter 3. How to Find Your Market
- Chapter 4. Why Teach Workshops?
- Chapter 5. How to Build Trust
- Chapter 6. How to Market Yourself
- Chapter 7: Why Should Someone Attend Your Workshop?
KEYS TO SUCCESS
- Why You Must Be a “Personality” in Order to Succeed
- THRIVE OR DIE.
- Impatience is a Virtue
- Create Your Own Category
- HOW TO DREAM BIG.
- Will Not or Cannot?
- Why Not?
- How to Think BIG
- How to Stay Ahead of the Curve
- How to Invest in Yourself
- The Two Camera Rule
- MEANINGFUL DIFFERENTIATION
- Advice For College Students
- How to Thrive in Uncertain Times
- CANNIBALIZE YOURSELF.
- DO AND GROW RICH
- Does Fear of Punishment Hold You Back?
- HOW TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS
- How to Innovate
- How to Build Your Own Empire
- YOU ARE ENTITLED TO HARD WORK.
- PICK YOURSELF.
- OWN YOUR PLATFORM
- 10 KEYS TO SUCCESS
Table of Contents
Learn how to make a living from your passion:
- Preface. BRAVE NEW WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY
- Chapter 1. How to Create Value
- Chapter 2. ZEN CAPITALISM
- Chapter 3. Scarcity
- Chapter 4. How to Brand Yourself
- Chapter 5. How to Build a True Following
- Chapter 6. The Blueprint to Success in Photography
- Chapter 7. HOW TO BE BOLD
- Chapter 8. How to Sell Out
- Chapter 9. GO AGAINST THE GRAIN
- Chapter 10. EXTREME ABUNDANCE
- Chapter 11. Photography Experience Economy
- Chapter 12. Why You Should Make Money for Your Photography
- Chapter 13. How to Become a Famous Photographer
Photography Business 101
How to Make Money with Photography
- How to Charge More Money in Your Photography
- Why You Should Not Pursue Photography as Career
- Can Photography Make You Rich?
- How I Earn $200,000+ a Year From Photography
- How to earn $10,000 a month as a photographer
- Why you must be an expensive photographer
Photography Marketing 101
- Why Have More Followers?
- Why You Should Do Photography Work For Free
- How I Became an Internet Famous Photographer
- Photography Blogging Ideas
- Why You Should Promote Your Own Name
- How to Build a Following
- How to Stand Out as a Photographer.
- HOW TO GO VIRAL AS A PHOTOGRAPHER.
- How to Master Marketing
- How to Sell Yourself
How to Hustle.
- Entrepreneurial Advice to My 18 Year Old Self
- How to Become Insanely Productive.
- 5 Lessons From Hesiod on Hustling
Entrepreneurial Principles
- It is Better to Beg For Forgiveness Than Ask For Permission
- The Free Way to Become Rich
- JUST DO IT.
- 7 Steps: How to Make a Living From Your Passion
- How to Do What You Love for a Living
- How to Create an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
- How to Fail Big
- How to Invest in Yourself
- How to Be Bold in Photography and Life
- Mission: Cover Your Rent and Food
- 1,000 True Fans
- The “10x Principle”: The Only Difference Between “Success” and “Failure”
- Make More Value Not Money
- We Live in a Photo Utopia
How to be a Full-time Photographer
- How to Make a Living From Photography
- The 3 Principles of Making Money With Photography
- Advice for Aspiring Full-Time Photographers
- Don’t Go Into Debt For Your Photography
- How to Brand Yourself as a Photographer
- Trust: The Most Important Thing You Need to Succeed as a Photographer
Photography Blogging
- How to become rich from photography blogging
- How to Make a Living with Blogging
- 50 Blogging Tips For Beginners
- How to Start Your Own Photography Blog
- A Photographer’s Guide to SEO, Blogging, and Social Media
How to Teach Photography
- How to Become a Photography Teacher
- How to Teach a Street Photography Class
- Why I Teach Street Photography Workshops
Social Media
- Why I Deleted My Instagram
- The Social Media Blackbook for Photographers
- Why Do You Need More Likes or Followers?
- Instagram is Going to Be the Next Facebook
- Don’t Trust “Free” Photography Social Networks
How to Save Money
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