In this political season, much is being made about our federal budget deficit. Yet, in my coaching practice, I'm finding the greatest deficit facing the American people is a motivational deficit. I hear this all the time from my clients. A salesperson will tell me that she can't get motivated to call on prospects. A writer will tell me that he can't get motivated to finish his book. A mother will tell me that she can't seem to get her kids motivated to do better in school. A businessperson will tell me that he can't motivate his employees to work harder. And the list goes on and on.

This probably explains why the self-help industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. We are all looking for a way to motivate ourselves and others to do the things that would give the greatest meaning to our lives. In doing so, we've created mantras, affirmations, visualizations, self-hypnosis techniques, and you name it. Yet, the real solution to our motivational deficit isn't nearly so complicated. In fact, it's simple enough that a child could understand it. I know this to be true because it was recently illustrated for me by a child - my son.

For years now, my wife and I have been trying to "motivate" our son to take off a few unneeded pounds and we've failed time and time again. Yet, last week, my son lost eight pounds in a single week. How was he able to get motivated to do in a week what we haven't been able to get him to do for years? The answer is that he was motivated by the right reason. He needed to lose the weight in order to play football so that's exactly what he did.

At first, this seemed incredible to me. After all, my wife and I have explained to him over and over the long-term effects of being overweight. We've tried to convince him that by developing healthy habits today, he would increase his chances for a happier and healthier tomorrow. Yet, these sound reasons were completely ineffective in motivating him to take action to lose weight. In the end, what worked was the threat of not being able to play football.

Now, when you think about it, this seems kind of silly. After all, in the long run, what would it really matter if he missed a football game? Is a youth football game really that important? To my son, the answer was "Yes!" And as a result, he was motivated to do whatever it took to make the weight.

What's important to you? And be honest with yourself. You don't have to be filled with noble intentions. In fact, even a bad reason for achieving success is better than no reason. For example, as a young man, I was incredibly driven to succeed in order to prove my critics wrong. I wanted to show my high school guidance counselor and all of the other naysayers that I was worthy. As a result, I poured 100% effort into achieving financial success and sure enough, I was a multimillionaire before the age of 30.

Was this the best reason to achieve financial success? Of course not. But it was effective for that stage of my development. Now, that I'm older (and hopefully, wiser), I'm driven by a different desire - the desire to help others achieve their dreams and leave a legacy that my children can be proud of. And in my quest to achieve this "higher calling," I've drawn on the resources I acquired during those early years.

Therefore, don't worry if your current motives for success aren't particularly noble. You don't have to want to make a fortune so you can cure cancer or end world hunger. It's perfectly acceptable if you just want to have a nice car or live in a mansion. Hopefully, over time, your motives will change but for now, focus on what will motivate you to take action today. There will be plenty of time to worry about how to best spend the money once you make it. The key is to first discover a compelling enough reason to do just that.

Remember, the key to all motivation is finding your true reason for accomplishing the goal. Trust me; the rest will take care of itself.