The 4 Motivating Qualities of Life & Literature tell us Personal Values

Ever figure what motivates people?  It's easy--and it works with everyone you know (including loved ones)--and it's just as valid in literature. This is another example of why reading literature makes a difference: it teaches us values and ethics about people's choices, behaviors, and cause-and-effect:

Love, Money, Power, or Fear.  

Three of them are constants in our life (Primary), and one is not important (Secondary).  The trick is to know which are yours, and see how you match each other (in relationships), or just being aware of your personal "hot buttons." (For reference: I realize now that I'm definitely about Power (or Empowerment of myself and Others. I'm about Love: helping/sharing/giving to others to express my values and support them as a Global Family. And I'm surprised--but accept--that I have certain Fear issues of Abandonment and Security because I've had so much upheaval in my life, and a lot of it was from not understanding my own thinking processes with ADD and a learning disorder that I am still working to overcome.) Money? It's a game to me: an illusion. As the CEO said in "Margin Call", it's just paper with numbers and images on it so that we don't have to kill each other to get something to eat.

They each have a positive and negative reinforcement as motivators in our lives, depending on which ones are Primaries.  Again, the rule is that three of four are Primaries:  these are the factors which motivate and inspire each of us, and the remaining one (Secondary) are not of consideration nor consequence when it comes to decision-making processes.  Our relationships that succeed or fail, whether personal or professional, can depend heavily on how well matched we are with a Significant Other who mirrors back a similar Primary.

 Love as a Positive Primary brings someone a warm feeling of appreciation for living things, human or otherwise; they are very attuned to the flow of energy that sustains all that exists.  Some of these people are healers or work with support systems that enhance or encourage people, animals, plants, or other creatures to be maintained or thrive.  Love as a Positive Primary can be very spiritual; it is a natural part of this type to be affectionate and seek out others who enjoy receiving and giving this energy.

As a Negative Primary, these people can be overcome by jealousy and possessiveness.  They may be envious of others who receive or give affection or displays of love.  Some people who use Love as a Negative Primary force do not let other people find fulfillment in romantic situations:  a parent or partner who deliberately uses control of Love is such a person.

Money as a Positive Primary can be seen through people who are resourceful, inventive, generous, and philanthropic; they are willing to share with others who are in need.  Possessions and property are not theirs exclusively; they are aware of being supportive and encouraging in motivating others to reach their goals or just keep trying and not quit.  Professor Muhammad Yunus and his efforts to provide micro-loans to women who needed financial assistance to break the cycle of poverty is one example.  This is more than just giving to charities too:  this is realizing that Manifestation is a gift that everyone can create and use.  

Something  as simple as the "pay it forward" method of giving to someone who needs assistance and then letting them extend the same opportunity to someone else in need would be such a method.  The Native American tradition of potlatch is an example:  The potlatch is a festival or ceremony  practiced among Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. At these gatherings a family or hereditary leader hosts guests in their family's house and holds a feast for their guests. The main purpose of the potlatch is the re-distribution and reciprocity of wealth.

Different events take place during a potlatch, like either singing and dances, sometimes with masks or regalia, such as Chilkat blankets, the barter of wealth through gifts, such as dried foods, sugar, flour, or other material things, and sometimes money. For many potlatches, spiritual ceremonies take place for different occasions. This is either through material wealth such as foods and goods or non-material things such as songs and dances. 

As a Negative Primary, Money can be a crippling need for wealth at the cost of others' lives:  slavery is one example.  Greed, miserliness, and the abuse of others at any price is another.  The monetary system in general (not barter) has many examples of how financial means can become an abusive method of controlling people.

Power as a Positive Primary brings out the best in creative visualization and faith in one's values if they are used to help and assist others and life in general.  This is the realm of believing in one's goals, as well as helping others to reach theirs.  It is more than physical strength; this is spiritual strength and empowerment, and the purpose of having a dream to pursue.  Some people go into various methods of Life Coaching, including sports, in order to help others fulfill their destinies.  The late college basketball coach, John Wooden of UCLA, is a great example.  Jaime Escalante, the high school math teacher who encouraged his students to break free of the poverty mentality of their East Los Angeles upbringing and go on to college, is another.  

As a Negative Primary, Power can certainly be seen as a control factor.  The use and abuse of Love, Money, and Fear to frighten and weaken others can be seen throughout the history of Mankind through the works of literature and other means of expressing and recording the stories of people and their efforts.  Domination, tyranny, and competitiveness that overwhelms others at the price of their freedom (again, slavery and conquest being two examples) finds justification in the eyes and minds of people who believe that "Might Makes Right."

Fear as a Positive Primary is often misunderstood as a weakness, but it has a proper place.  Caution, security, and deliberate, proper planning are excellent ways of being sure and confident of one's plans or position in life.  Such people are often slow to respond, but are determined and successful.  I would place investor Warren Buffet here because of the rules he follows regarding his strategies about money:  don't lose it, and don't take unnecessary risks.

As a Negative Primary, Fear is used by people who are afraid; the word "afraid" itself often appears in their language.  They can be intimidated easily and reduced to positions of self-doubt and worry.  I consider such people to "drive with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake"; they often are hesitant to take control of opportunities for themselves, and can be overwhelmed by emotional factors and insecurities.  Death as a topic and the fear of the unknown after death is another part of a Fear-based Negative Primary; it has been used for centuries as a means of controlling people's values and resources. Rejection and struggles with society can also be a Fear-factor. I realize after 65 years of life that I'm on the autism spectrum as a high-functioning adult; yet I still struggle to overcome matters when dealing with the public-at-large and in personal encounters.

I personally respond to Love and Power--and to my dismay, Fear. A lifetime of loss has left a mark on me.  I know I'm someone who has sought Love throughout my life; it's brought me many broken hearts and much growth.  I also have issues with Power; I realize that my inferiority complex as a child was the result of being too smart and unable to find a comfortable place with my family's position (they were very motivated by Power and Money).  I never related well to Money; it's a false entity to me, and one that has been used for centuries to control and manipulate people. I can be very brave, but Fear still sounds like a plucked bowstring in my soul that leaves a note I feel with anguish. Such is Life, even though I am grateful for the challenges I've faced because it's brought me Wisdom.