***Day 1***

Melissa, who is the receptionist and small business expert, says that motivation for her “self-satisfaction.” Hmmm, yea, well, I agree with that. But for me, it didn’t make me want to run to the computer. I’ve just started my next novel and although I have self-satisfaction for completing the previous five, it didn’t move me.

So I kept looking. I spoke to the court clerk, Liz, and she smiled and leaned back into her chair. Her blue eyes took on a sparkle and she looked around her small office, then leaned forward as if her statement held the secret and finally told me. “I’m motivated by my daughter, Chelsee. She’s the reason that I’m here.”

I nodded, made my notes thinking of my own children, the four sons I have spent the last 19 years raising, who are four reasons that I work a day job, but not a motivation to write. So, I kept looking and found my friend Jennifer, the police dispatcher, and asked her.

“Well, to keep me coming in here day after day is my family.” Once again, the children and the family are motivators to come to work, but it wasn’t what I was looking for to urge me to write.

So, I kept on asking the question and found Sgt. Barlow and I asked him. “Well, why do you want to know?” he asked in suspicion.

I smiled. “Always the cop, Greg! I just want to know what motivates you to do what you love.”

He nodded and sat in the hallway chair quiet for a moment then looked up at me. “Well, let’s think about this. I love being a cop so that to me is my motivation. I look forward to coming to work each day, and miss it when I’m not here. Helping people to solve their problems and encouraging others to become motivated helps them to find fulfillment and satisfaction within their lives. That’s what motivates me, the opportunity to help.”

I nodded and mulled over his prophetic words. But, in writing, the process is not immediate and although it does help me keep my sanity, it was not exactly what I was looking for, so I kept on.

I found our personnel director, Jill, and asked her to describe what motivates her. Her response was, “Drive to be a better person in life, a better employee in work and to be the best that I can achieve whether personal or business with the ultimate goal of success.”

“Wow!” I believe was my response for her articulated off-the-cuff answer, but again, no help.

Our chief detective approached me and thought he could provide some sort of wisdom on my quest, so sitting with him in my office, I watched as he thought over my question. He smiled. “Being a police officer is motivation in itself. Solving a case which seemed impossible challenges me to find all the pieces and to offer justice to those who may not have it.”

Again, wonderful words, and in a way applies to writing, scenes as pieces and the completion may take a year or several, just like a case. Well, certainly food for thought, but I needed more. So I continued. Surely within our city of 16,000 people, I could find the answer to this question.

On my way to lunch, I ran into Detective Mike who is on our drug task force. “I would love to say that motivation stems from a childhood surrounded by drugs, but I rarely think about that. What motivates me is winning. In the drug task force, you’re playing a game of who can beat the other to the finish and it’s usually me. They don’t know that they are playing the game and I will see them in court. Putting them behind bars and hopefully saving a child is my motivation.”

Although I liked what he had to say, it still didn’t fit what I was looking for, so when I met with my friend Carrie, who is our technical writer and PR person, for lunch, I threw out the question. She laughed at my question at first and then realizing I was serious, thought for a moment, then answered. “As far as what motivates me, I guess it would be to perform a job aggressively and efficiently and knowing that I’m helping someone by doing the best possible job, personal or business, that I possibly can.”

That’s Carrie, my friend who would give you the shirt of her back if she thought you needed it. However, I kept looking for the answers; surely someone would have the right response and sudden warmth would wash over me like the ending to one of my stories in which tears run unknowingly down my cheeks. That’s the type of answer I want, how do I become motivated.

So, I kept looking. After a business meeting with the city planner, who is my boss, I threw the question out to him. And, as always, his response was intriguing and thought provoking (he may read this, kissing up doesn’t hurt), “To be on the right side of the road with unlimited potential for change.”

Hmmm. “Thanks Bobby, don’t know if that is exactly what I am searching for, but it certainly gives me food for thought.”

I continued on my quest. I turned to the codes and zoning assistant, Amber, and asked this petite, cute 18-year-old girl what she thought. “Well, I think making a difference in my community and leaving a mark that you know that I’ve been here.”

I smiled at her, loving her statement for someone so young. Does it apply to me? Maybe, maybe not, but I was certainly going in the right direction. So, I continued and discussed this with a very successful 71-year-old man, Harold, who I’ve come to admire and respect during the years that I have known him.

His response is one which provided a small vision into a man whom I only knew through business. “My childhood,” he began, “in the projects gave me the desire to become a success in life. Although I am not a self-made man or what I would consider to be one, because there were many people who helped me along the way, but, with each success, I was motivated to continue to do more. At 71 years old, I still feel the urge and excitement of knowing that I can go further, move with honesty and integrity. That I will always be thought of as a good man.” Harold’s words were a perfect ending to my quest for the day.