Before an appointment last week I had something of a lightbulb moment…

…We often ask people, or you may get asked, ‘what motivates you?’ in an interview. I thought about how I personally would answer that question and what it was really asking me…?

Sure, the same old response popped into my head; money, nice car, holiday in the Algarve, golf membership…

Later on I found myself thinking about it over my coffee, in the car, and then mowing the lawn. If I understand better what motivates me then surely I will get the best out of myself; and that can only be a good thing. Furthermore, I wanted an answer that would differentiate me from the standard response, should I ever find myself on the other side of the interviewing table.

Now I am not going to pretend money doesn’t motivate me; as it naturally enables me to have a lifestyle I want and provide for people I love. But there is more to life than that, more about me as a person and who I want to be…

So…I started to think of who my heroes where…Who do I admire? Who do I try and emulate and aspire to be like? What have they achieved that inspires and motivates me to believe I can do the same? What attributes do I value in myself and others?

I thought of eleven and then arranged them in a football team in formation…(No I don’t have too much time on my hands!)

In Goal

Geoff Boycott – For making the most of his talent and for sheer determination & bloody mindedness.

Back Four  

Jean de Valette – Grand Master of the Hospitaller during the 1565 siege of Malta when 550 knights held out against 30,000 Ottoman Turks. For saving Europe from Muslim domination.

Margaret Thatcher – For saving Britain from a sad and slow decline.

Winston Churchill – For saving Britain & the world from Nazi domination.

Stuart Pearce – For taking and scoring that penalty.

Midfield

Hans Joachim Marseille – The best fighter pilot in the world ever.

Sir Richard Francis Burton – You need to read about him on Wikipedia to see why he was a great man!

Matt Le Tissier – Genius with a football and a one club man!

Steve McQueen – The coolest man ever to walk the planet.

Strikers

Harold Larwood – The best fast bowler ever and for refusing to apologise for bodyline.

Brian Clough – The best football manager ever & a fantastic striker.

So I admire determination, persistence, winning against the odds, talent, genius, loyalty, mavericks, anti-authority figures & never giving up for a start…

If I were to ask you who your Heroes are, what would you say?

Who do you admire? Who do you try and emulate and aspire to be like? What inspires and motivates you? It doesn’t have to be a whole person, it can be something they have achieved or accomplished.

It doesn’t have to be eleven people either, it can be as many or as few as you like!