“Replacing Motivation Theory with Motivation Application!”

This interview was made possible by our friends at Guidant Financial:

The leader in alternative startup, franchise and small business financing.

 

Dr. Provitera is a management consultant that specializes in Motivational training. He runs a one-day seminar titled “Successful Management and Leadership” for executives, small business owners, and graduate students. He teaches organizational behavior at both the undergraduate and graduate level. In addition to Dr. Provitera’s academic and consulting credentials, he has fifteen years of Wall Street corporate experience at various investment banks. In his last position at Mizuho Financial Group, he was an Assistant Vice President of Fixed Income Operations where he managed fourteen people. Prior for that position, he was an executive at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.

In Dr. Provitera’s consulting capacity, he runs his own company called Motivational Leadership Training where he offers management and leadership training to mid-level managers and business owners.

Dr. Provitera is the author of ‘Mastering Self-Motivation’ a book that nicely markets itself to a targeted audience of aspiring, predominantly young, professionals who aspire to a personally fulfilling career. This concise book is contemporary and relevant as a popular self-help/motivational book.

The book Mastering Self-Motivation is concise, contemporary, and relevant as a popular self-help/motivational book. Positive organizational behavior has replaced the field of “positive thinking” à la Dale Carnegie, which is rife with clichés and Mastering Self-Motivation avoids them. The Mastering Self-Motivation Complimentary Workbook provides a roadmap for success that further engages the reader to reach personal excellence. Readers will feel energized, motivated, and inspired!

MO: What was the inspiration behind your book, ‘Mastering Self-Motivation’? What can the average reader expect to walk away with?

Michael: My own inspiration to write the book came from my many years of motivating both my students and seminar participants. Most readers will feel the momentum right from the start. My writing style engages the reader and gets them inspired to be more, do more, and accomplish more. The average reader will set themselves apart from their colleagues and competition by becoming more aware of their own potential. Once the reader determines how well they can motivate themselves there is a no-holds-barred attitude that encompasses their day-to- day activities. What the average reader will walk away with is realistic goals, game plans, and a personal mission and vision. The book is a roadmap for the reader’s success. The 40-page workbook that accompanies the book gets the average reader writing down their own personal mission, vision, strengths, weaknesses, and most importantly, their opportunities.

MO: What leaders are you inspired by?

Michael: My first college professor Dr. Gordon DiPaolo at the College of Staten Island, a branch of the City University of New York, inspired me as he helped me build my self-esteem and confidence. At the MBA level, Dr. Pierce, an adjunct professor at St. John’s University, helped me realize that higher education was something that was a good fit for what I wanted to do and how I can accomplish my goals. At the doctoral level, Dr. Joe Hair, who for many years, was a Professor at Louisiana State University, and now runs a DBA program at Kennesaw State University, inspired me to write articles and complete my dissertation. From my family, my Mother and Father always encouraged me to do my best and work hard. My Mother’s diligent organizational skills and my Father’s interpersonal skills created a solid foundation for my work today as a professor, author, and management consultant. As a young professional, I always listened to self-help gurus such as Wayne Dyer and Jim Rohn. This later began a foundation of motivational pursuits that eventually led me to my doctoral studies and motivataional research. For over two years, I have researched self-help literary scholars and academic scholars to find a happy medium that blends both self-help and academic literature on motivation.

MO: Can you talk about what strategies you’ve used to captivate both a domestic and international audience?

Michael: Basically, my real expertise is in designing a creative and innovative platform. I have the ability to create training platforms that engage people and keep them motivated not only during the training but for many years later as they take what they learn and use it in their business and personal life. Domestic audiences like a well structured but demanding training session while the international groups like specific objectives that they can use when they get back to their country. For instance, when I was running a seminar on strategic management, I had a participant that wanted me to show him what articles have been published by Harvard Business School that he can purchase, read, and use for further self-development. Other international participants needed specific advice on how to manage a family business, motivate people that may not have the opportunity for higher education, and most importantly, developing a motivational mindset that is contagious.

MO: What are some tips and techniques for mastering self-motivation?

Michael: A few tips and techniques for mastering self-motivation are:

Developing a motivational mindset

Avoiding motivational myths such as money is the only great motivator

Navigating personal and professional needs to trigger personal motivation

Learning to lead yourself

Mastering the secret to high levels of motivation and happiness

Developing your personal brand

Learning how to tap into your psychological capital

Creating a compelling personal vision

Learning to managing change and continuous improvement

Mastering personal excellence through life’s stages

Mastering Self-Motivation is about finding what you love and doing more of it. Whether you are working on professional or personal goals, by mastering self-motivation you will tap into your intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is where your innovativeness, creativeness, and challenge comes from.

MO: How can individuals find inspiration and motivation when they’re truly just feeling discouraged and disillusioned?

Michael: Discouragement and disillusionment are inherited mindsets that tend to drag us down as we progress through our life stages. The good news is that we can overcome this obstacle by realizing our potential and surrounding ourselves around positive people. By creating a motivational mindset, people can surpass the mundane job, career, or lifestyle—replacing it with a life worth living which is exciting and rewarding. Most discouragement and disillusionment comes from people that have negative self-talk. When people here themselves talking negative, they can stop it by saying STOP or CANCEL, and then thinking of how well they have done in the past and how well they will continue this trend in the future. Each one of us must realize that we are special and we have gifts and unique characteristics that can help many people. So the thing to do is not focus on the discouragement and disillusionment, and focus on the positive things that we have to contribute to the world. If a door closes, perhaps that is meant to be at the current time in your career or personal life. The key is to look for new doors opening and what is in store for your future and attempt to be as positive as possible while you find yourself discouraged or disillusioned. The key is to become more than a vessel transmitting the memes and genes of previous generations on to the next. With the opportunity that allows a person to succeed today, one can create a new legacy for his or her children by becoming more motivated. This way, a person can rise above their past legacies and lead others to do the same.

MO: What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you personally or professionally for 2012?

Michael: When I first set out to write my book, I wanted to reach as many people as possible to help motivate them. After having a great deal of success on my first book, I have been asked to write a second book that is geared to a more academic reader. In 2012, this will be my focus. In addition, I am continuing to expand my publicity and seminar and consulting platform. Since the world has become more digital, I have decided to create a digital version of both my book and complimentary workbook so that people can read my book while traveling or relaxing at the beach. The key for me in 2012 is to increase my web presence, expand on my publicity, and help millions of people become more motivated.