I was once posed a question - What motivates you in life? ... Much in line with the bookish guidance that I had received, I yammed on for a bit about how badly I wanted to become a management consultant and so problem identification, analysis and solving was my motivation in life. 

I ran this answer by a person I do not wish to name here. I am sure he will be reminded of this incident when he reads my post. My friend, he had said then, "Would you wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweat or maybe not sleep at all because you could not identify a particular problem that plagues this world?" My answer was obviously in the negative. He chuckled at my answer and told me to think about it , a bit harder this time.

Its been a year since we had that discussion and I have still been unable to lay a finger on that ONE factor. I have kept asking myself - What is it that gives me an addictive high?, So much that I do not flinch to put in that extra-extra....extra bit of effort to get that high again and again?

What is it that gives YOU a high? You might answer marijuana/vodka but thats not what we are looking for here! Think about it -- what is it that gives you THAT addictive kick? There might be many factors(success parameters) and thats perfectly normal. After a point in time, in your life, the same traditional success parameters (as i call them) fail to motivate you, fail to give you that high. What do you do then? Do you stop chasing excellence?

This is probably why it is necessary today to manufacture highs in whatever you do. Today, its just not enough to have a goal and dream about it - its imperative to fantasize about your goal. Create that elusive picture of that peak which you are about to conquer and try to see that picture when you reach it. There might be times when the pictures won't match on the face of it but then the inherent/inconspicuous similarities between the two pictures are what might give you a high. 

In his post, You rock, Godin mentions something similar. You rock only for about 5 minutes everyday but that does not mean you stop chasing excellence for the rest of the 23H:55M. You might encounter a traditional success parameter for those 5M but for the rest of the 23H:55M you might have to manufacture a high to keep yourself motivated. You might have to invent a 'Motifactor'

They say its a short term strategy to fit in; The long term strategy is to stand out. Traditional parameters of success elude candidates who stand out during their journey towards their goal. The push, the propulsion comes through manufactured motifactors. I am still trying to lay a finger on my motifactors in the light of whatever I just mentioned herein.

While i grapple to answer that question (the aforementioned one) myself, i pose it again to you - What is/are your motifactors? Think about it - only a bit harder this time.