Nobody can motivate himself in a positive direction by continually using negative words.
People will do more to avoid pain than they will do to gain pleasure.
When someone sets out to be controversial or provocative or shocking as an end in itself, I don't think that's a noble goal.
Rather than setting yourself a New Year's resolution, why not simply pick a reason for hating yourself for the next 365 days? Takes less time, and it's easier to stick to.
[Candidates are] more motivated by the fear of losing than the joy of winning.
Silence is not what democracy needs. Right now we have an election where, even the supporters of Hillary Clinton, the majority don't support Hillary; they just oppose Donald Trump. And the majority of Donald Trump supporters don't support him; they just oppose Hillary.
There's sometimes a weird benefit to having an alcoholic, violent father. He really motivated me in that I never wanted to be anything like him.
I've always been motivated more by negative comments than by positive ones. I know what I do well. Tell me what I don't do well.
Rewards and punishments, to speak frankly, are the desk of the soul, that is, a means of enslaving a child's spirit, and better suited to provoke than to prevent deformities.
A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it's better than no inspiration at all.
How do you motivate a human being to do things against his own nature? There's two things: love and fear. And to me, love wins every time.
I hate to lose more than I like to win.
When you set a time and you hit that time, you are kind of satisfied. I never want to have that type of feeling.
Trying to motivate yourself with fear is like screaming at a child, “Do something, dammit!” You’ll either freeze up or act in counterproducti ve ways. Fear widens the knowing-doing gap. Don’t use it.
I always used the media - if people were having a go I could use it as motivation to prove them wrong.
Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.
If somebody tells me to work or exercise, I go the other way. I'll come up with an excuse.
It's a fact of life that positive reasons don't always get people to vote. You need some negative reasons.
The best way to motivate me is to tell me I can't do something.
Most people vote against somebody, rather than for somebody.
I hardly ever write when I'm just feeling great.
If you start doing things because you hate others and want to screw them over, the end result is bad.
There are sadistic scientists who hurry to hunt down errors instead of establishing the truth.
I know there's a lot of guys who would love to see me fail. Well, good. Let 'em. I'm glad.
Like a lot of people, I've got a self-loathing streak that's alive and well. It acts as a de facto engine when I'm working, but it also has its extraordinary pitfalls, too.
