Fear is a powerful motivator — for the short run. You can only go so long being scared out of your mind and keep doing good work. Like being chased by a bear, eventually you will wear out and be consumed by what you’re running from. You’ll run out of steam. Break down. One thing that has motivated me consistently over the years is pride. Pride in where I work. Pride in the work that I sign my name to. Pride in the community I serve (yes, I serve my community because I honestly want Mississippi to get better.). Pride is a long-term motivator.
I remember when I took the job at The Clarion-Ledger. My wife and I pulled up to the apartment complex we would eventually move into and I noticed a Clarion-Ledger paper box. I thought to myself, “That’s MY paper box.” I’d walk into the building and look around and think, “This is MY paper.” That drove me for many years. It made me drive all over Mississippi and speak when others were home with their families. It made me draw seven cartoons a week (even on holidays and vacations) when most cartoons drew five a week. It propelled me to two Pulitzer Finalist finishes.
Today I’m driven in pride in my work. And pride in this community. November changed many things for me — but it will never change those two things. Pride is what motivates me to plow forward when I don’t want to budge. It’s my secret source of motivation.