Have you ever tried to get yourself motivated to get some work done, only to find yourself spinning your wheels? Sometimes one day of unproductive spirals into multiple days of feeling listless, lethargic, and even bored – despite the fact that there are about 50 important items on your to-do list.

It’s one thing to have drive and ambition, it’s another thing altogether to actually roll up your sleeves and get to work. It’s easy to feel motivated and driven when you’re planning and dreaming, but staying driven and motivated when you’re doing the actual work needed to make your dreams a reality can be difficult.

It’s about incremental improvement in your daily work process and mental habits so that you feel motivated and productive throughout the day. It’s about recognizing your own biological limitations and optimizing your sleep habits, eating, and general health.

But sometimes, it’s simply about pushing through tough work even when you’re just not feeling it – it’s what athletes would call “playing through the pain”. It’s about digging deep, and finding that little spark inside that will push you through the day.

1. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth
2. “If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” – Benjamin Franklin
3. “I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson
4. “I have learned that real angels don’t have gossamer white robes and Cherubic skin, they have calloused hands and the smell of the days’ sweat.” – Richard Evans
5. “Greatness is sifted through the grind, therefore don’t despise the hard work now for sure it will be worth it in the end.” – Sanjo Jendayi
6. “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” – Colin Powell
7. “My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.” – Indira Gandhi
8. “Happiness is the real sense of fulfilment that comes from hard work.” – Joseph Barbara
9. “Hard work keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit.” – Helena Rubinstein
10. “No great achiever – even those who made it seem easy – ever succeeded without hard work.” – Jonathan Sacks

Olatorera Consultancy Limited provides business development services to high net-worth individuals and companies looking to grow, enter or do business in Africa.