I was talking with my OBM Tiffany yesterday about the biz and planning for next year. We were talking in particular about new programs for 2011, and how much i’d been missing the creative process this fall. You see, since we launched the THRIVE Hiring System this past summer I haven’t worked on anything new – no new programs, no new books, and i’ve been feeling that “gap” if you will… like I was missing something but I wasn’t quite sure what.

And Tiffany says “of course, you are driven by solving problems and you haven’t had any problems to solve recently.”

It was like a light bulb went off in my head << PING >> she is totally right! (And yes, Tiffany has a gift for seeing things in others that they don’t always see in themselves… she’s awesome at that.)

I am totally driven and jazzed by solving problems… give me a “mess” and i’m thrilled, my mind goes instantly to how to fix it. That’s why math was my favorite subject in school. That’s why I loved being an OBM for so many years. That’s why I am thrilled when a coaching client brings me their “big pile of overwhelm” and I get to help them sort it out. That’s why I love business in general as there is always something new/next to figure out.

Reminds me of my recruiting days back in the corporate world – when we would interview candidates we would always classify them as “starters, maintainers or finishers”. I am a total starter with a good dose of finisher in there… give me something to figure out, create, prepare, systematize and once it’s all setup I want to pass it on to someone else to take care of from there (maintain). I’m also driven to finish stuff simply because I don’t like leaving things undone – I like to see an end result.

It’s funny – i’ve never considered myself a creative person in the traditional sense. I’m not a painter or musician or artist of any kind, although I did fancy myself quite the poet in my teen years (LOL! To pull out and read those old poems, eek!)  And yet I do love to create new stuff, I love to create new “solutions”, new programs, new systems to help people simplify and streamline their businesses. And it really does boil down to being driven to solve a problem… that really is one of my key motivators.

Gotta go find me a problem now, LOL.

What about you? What really drives you in your business?