What Motivates You?

As the new year is almost upon us, my family and friends bring up the ubiquitous New Year’s Resolutions as a good topic for conversation. After listening to some resolutions, it got me to thinking that these are a good proxy for what motivates people. Really, think about it, what motivates you?

The popular How to Make Wealth article by Paul Graham is a timely one in that it talks about startups and entrepreneurship, as well as clarifying that wealth is more about assets, which is different from money. I bring this up because a good number of people say they are motivated by money, but I don’t believe that’s usually the case. We’ve all heard the studies and articles that say money, as a motivation for employees, is lower priority when compared to things like purpose and recognition.

My question for the new year is this: what motivates you and how are you incorporating that into 2010?