The results are in from our latest YoungEntrepreneur.com poll! This time we asked you “How Do You Stay Motivated?” and you responded with some great answers.

The top seven results are:

#1) Read Inspirational Material

“Read blogs like TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb and get myself excited over others success. I would tell myself “I can be like that person too and I want to be like him/her” Read books like “The Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki, “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne.”

“I will read a couple of my favorite paragraphs from “Think and Grow Rich”, a couple of my favorite scenes from “The Secret” and review my goal cards. This usually gives me a spurt of energy and much needed boosts during more challenging days.”

“Read about success stories in my field in business trade magazines etc.”

“Reading forums like this and seeing that people really can be successful using internet marketing”

#2) Passion / Strength From Within

“I think what keeps me motivated is the strength from within, knowing you are doing what you really are passionate about. I do connect with other blogs but in the end I just write what I feel is very inspirational to me without worrying what others think.”

“Many of the motivational ideas you listed are very good, but the primary motivator is passion…passion to the point of obsession. If you start a business you are obsessed about, motivation is never an issue. By obsession, I mean you want to do something so strongly, you cannot resist it—you are powerless to do anything else. Think Thomas Edison, Madame Curie, Jobs and Wozniak, Mark Johnson, and a host of others. With this type of passion, you do not need motivational tricks to keep you going. You will keep moving forward regardless of external conditions. If you start a business without passion, without feeling obsessed by your business idea, you will likely fail in today’s business environment.”

“I am always motivated because i LOVE my job.”

#3) Picture The Future

“Picture my future if I continue to work for someone for the next 10~20 years. I will NOT have the freedom to decide when I wake up, when I go to lunch, when I get off work, when I get a vacation, how much money I make, where I live. Most importantly, I do NOT get to decide how big my computer monitor is. ook at my current financial situation and tell myself “this is not the way I want to live my life for the next 10~20 years””

“When I sit in front of my computer for brainstorming sessions, each page on Word starts with the date, focus, and a picture of something I want to work for…house, car, boat, trip, etc.”

“Visualize the end results”

#4) Review Your Vision / Goals

“I stay motivated in a couple of ways. Reviewing my vision, revising my business plan and setting new goals always gives me the push that I need to continue on my journey as an entrepreneur.”

“What keeps me inspired is that I see the reaching. I know what I’m shooting for, and I know that I’m going to have to take certain steps to get there. I visualize myself as already having achieved my goal(s). And I know that when I do reach my goals, that is by no means the end. I’ll just go for even higher goals.”

#5) Listen to Inspirational Material

“Listen to podcasts about starting a startup. I’m a loyal listener to Andrew Warner’s Mixergy interviews. He does great interview with people who have already been through the trenches. Andrew does a good job at controlling the pace of the interview and tries to get as much information as possible for the listeners. Check it out at blog.mixergy.com”

“I turn off the news, listen to inspiring music and record insights into my voice recorder. This allows my thoughts to start flowing. It makes it easier to see the millions of things that went right today in the world.”

#6) Surround Yourself With Positive / Accomplished People

“Surrounding myself with positive people or consulting my fiancee also helps a lot when I doubt myself.”

“I surround myself with people who are more successful them me. I make sure to network with people who have done what I want to do. I may never reach their level of success but it helps to see that it is possible.”

#7) Look For Small Measures Of Success

“When in the early stages of starting a business, I keep myself motivated by looking for other measures of success other than profits (ie: hits on a website, learning something new, etc…).”

“Like some of the other guys mentioned, I use small incremental targets.. and I take care to give myself a mental pat on the back. When I first started out a few years ago I didn’t do this… used to shoot for the horizon and chastize myself for not making it. This made it very hard to stay focussed and motivated in the long term… I often felt like I was bipolar… flitting from one home run attempt to the next, without a lot of real progress. I’ve learned that it is far better to be balanced and positive, then to push for extreme and unlikely outcomes (although less exciting)”

Rounding out the rest of the motivation strategies are:
A Sense Of Responsibility

“To put it very simply, the responsibility I have to my company and the employees who depend on me for my leadership. I absolutely have to believe that today will be a better day.”

Get Perspective

“Getting other perspectives on how to develop my ideas also helps as well. Recently, my wife helped me pull together some of my coaching programs. I was resistant at first, but in the end, the process totally energized me.”

Thinking About The Unlimited Possibility

“The unlimited possibility of it all is what keeps me going. Nothing gets me more excited than watching an idea I’ve had have an effect on the business. The first time I made $20 from a website I was totally hooked. If I can make $20 I can make $200 then $2000 and on and on.”

Have “Motivational Days”

“I’ll actually have a “motivational” day every couple weeks. I’ll stop by the local Porsche dealer, watch some of my favorite motivational movies (Boiler Room), Buy a new suit or power tie, etc.”

Think About Successful Entrepreneurs

“I think about those successful entrepreneurs who have obtained enormous successes just by going out and doing it. They are proof that anything is possible as long as you believe in it.”

Family
“My kids keep me motivated, and the thought of one day being able to make money on my own without a gosh danginit boss telling me what to do and when to do it and how to do it”

Working On And Not In A Business

“Good list, one other thing that helps are days dedicated to working on, not in, the business… where you actually get somewhere. In two words… “efficient productivity” gets me fired up… a good cycle really.”

Meditation

“Living a good life and being healthy will make it far easier to stay focussed and motivated. Meditation is a fantastic way to keep your mind focussed! Find a meditation technique that you like and then do it!”

Think About Your Daily Needs

“Always thinking of daily needs will be the best motivation.”

Financial Instability

“Experiencing the struggle of financial instability growing up is the most motivating factor in my life. When you come from relative poverty and are able to educate yourself and work hard while maintaining honesty and integrity, then along with the gains of success come the drive to further increase your potential exponentially.”

Thank you everyone for the great feedback! We’ll continue with a brand new Entrepreneur Poll next week!

Evan Carmichael