There are two great motivators, love and fear. Fear narrows us and holds us down. Love broadens us and lifts us up.

Which will you choose today?

Choose well.

Machiavelli, in his famous book The Prince, by the way, got it all wrong. He said that we're ruled by love or fear, and that love is too fickle, so we should motivate through fear. Fear is a Max-Minimizer: People motivated by fear figure out the least they can do in order to still avoid the feared consequence (not engaging in the very least or minimum they might do, but rather the maximal level the minimum has to rise to in order to avoid punishiment). They never do their best, or become their best. People motivated by love connect what they do to their deepest values and highest aspirations and, as a result, soar.

In another book, Machiavelli got it right, but it's a book no one reads, The Discourses. He said, "Mercenaries never make the best soldiers." Why? He doesn't explicitly spell it out. But by the context you can tell. What motivates mercenaries? Money. What motivates the very best soldiers? Love. Love of country, family, city, comrades, and even, traditionally, a love of honor.

But Machiavelli never fully understood what makes everyone, not just soldiers, their best. When we're motivated by love, we maximize our efforts to learn and grow and do well. We become more. And we accomplish what we never could have attained and sustained through fear.

So, as you can see, I recommend love. It may not be all you need, but it's the main thing, for sure.