Core Motivations

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Feedback for Mark Wilson. Taken on July 2, 2015 Page 1
FEEDBACK SUMMARY
Prepared for Mark Wilson
July 2, 2015

INTRODUCTION
The Core Motivations Indicator™ (CMI™) is a tool that helps provide insight into the motivations
that underlie a person's actions. Your feedback, based on the responses you provided in the
survey, follows.
We know that the subject of motivation can be confusing. To start with, motivations are named in
different ways - what some may call a motivation others may call a need, want, desire, passion, or
value. Every person also has multiple motivations, which may shift in importance depending on
time of day, situation, role, mood, etc. Complicating things further, the most visible part of our
lives, behavior, doesn't directly reveal motivation - what one person does for one reason, another
person may do for an entirely different reason. Sometimes, the reason a person acts is hidden,
even from the actor. And, importantly, motivations are ultimately based in emotion, which people
may assume is too subjective or random to be clearly described.
Fortunately, with the right tools, the discussion of motivation can be simplified. Although we are
each governed by a unique mixture of motivations and express them in an endless variety of ways,
the motivations themselves are few in number, shared by all people, and therefore relatively easy
to understand.
The CMI™ creates a system for shared understanding and discussion of this foundational aspect of
human experience. Using responses to a series of carefully crafted statements, the CMI™ identifies
and ranks a person's motivations. It provides a visual summary of the respondent's motivations so
that their relative influence can be easily seen, then articulates how the respondent's primary
motivation may influence choices and behavior in life and relationships.
We hope your feedback will help you see some of the "why" behind the "how" of your life and
relationships. As noted above, motivations are labeled in many different ways, so when reviewing
your feedback, it will be helpful to listen for the meaning behind the specific words. Not all of the
descriptions will apply to you precisely, but the concepts and patterns will.
Thank you, and we welcome any comments or questions you may have!
The CMI™ Development Team

YOUR RESULTS
You ranked highest on the ADVENTURE motivation. Below is a graphic
representation of how you ranked on all nine motivations.
Low Neutral High Rank
GREATER
MEANING
3
GENEROSITY 5
TOGETHERNESS 7
INNER CALM 9
ADVENTURE 1
GROWTH 2
INFLUENCE 4
IDENTITY 6
PHYSICALITY 8

Your Primary Motivation
is ADVENTURE
SUMMARY
Your answers indicate that ADVENTURE is a strong motivation - you like the heightened sensations
created when you can move beyond familiar boundaries.
SOURCE OF THE MOTIVATION
The ADVENTURE motivation moves people to explore new situations. This helps individuals and
groups prepare for and adapt to change by learning about alternate circumstances and potential
choices before they're needed.
OVERVIEW
People with a strong ADVENTURE motivation are intrigued by the unfamiliar. They are fascinated
by newness and likely to indulge their curiosity more readily than others do.
ADVENTURE-motivated people seek intensity of feeling as they break new ground, experiment, and
probe new frontiers. They often admire intellectual or geographical explorers and inventors, and
are drawn to stories about conquering new territory or boundaries.
Although ADVENTURE is often glamorized, it is important to note that the motivation is often
pursued in quiet or private ways - by intellectually exploring exotic or radical ideas, for example, or
taking risks within personal relationships.
ADVENTURE-motivated individuals may be as afraid of stagnation as others are of the unfamiliar
and unknown, and care more that a new possibility is interesting or exciting than if it is proven.
Although both the ADVENTURE and GROWTH motivations share an interest in going beyond
boundaries, the ADVENTURE motivation focuses on the moment and puts a high value on intensity
of feeling, while the GROWTH motivation is more purposeful and desires permanent change.
HOW THIS MOTIVATION LINKS TO ACTIONS
ADVENTURE-motivated people tend to be both action-oriented and excitement-driven. They:
often get physically, mentally or emotionally restless and wander or exploreq
resist imposed limits created by authority, precedent, or physical limitationsq

are often excited by business or academic innovation or want to push purely personal, internalq
boundaries (e.g., new beliefs, exotic ideas, personal fantasies.)
often use experimentation or invention as problem-solving strategiesq
are easily bored - and therefore in touch with many ways to fulfill their need for newnessq
let go of old bonds and precedent more readily than others, and typically have less troubleq
with transitions
resist pursuits that seem mundane or have little emotional impactq
are sometimes pure thrill seekers who put themselves in situations of intense emotion orq
danger (in the extreme, to enjoy the thrill of "cheating death")
may be revolutionaries who set their minds outside old restraintsq
may feed their hunger for newness by switching their attention frequently from one subject toq
another
may have difficulty acting in situations where newness isn't available or needed (for example,q
when repetition is essential)
may not act unless they feel challenged by a boundary, and may have trouble maintaining aq
plan
HOW THIS MOTIVATION INFLUENCES RELATIONSHIPS
Some ADVENTURE-motivated people think of relationships as a source of companionship during
adventures. For others, relationships are a place to take risks or find boundaries to push. For still
others, relationships are subordinate to their desire for new experiences. ADVENTURE-motivated
people may:
encounter resistance when their fascination with newness is seen as threateningq
have trouble understanding safety-seekers and be impatient with themq
be perceived as unreliable, if others sense that the relationship is valued less than the need forq
ADVENTURE
RELATED IDEAS
Exploration, wanderlust, sometimes curiosity, boundary-pushing, risk-taking, danger-seeking

Your Secondary Motivation
is GROWTH
SECONDARY MOTIVATION
Your responses indicate that GROWTH is your secondary motivation - the way you pursue your
primary motivation is shaped by the fact that you like to feel that you are getting better over time.
Every person has multiple motivations. Overall, a person's primary motivation guides his or her
choices and behavior most often and most deeply, but secondary motivations are also influential.
Very importantly, secondary motivations shape personality. Two individuals with the same primary
motivation will be similar in many ways but not identical. The differences between them can often
be explained by looking at their secondary motivations.
Secondary motivations "color" the way individuals act on their primary motivations. A personq
with a primary motivation of GREATER MEANING has a nearly infinite number of ways of acting
on that motivation. If she also has a secondary motivation of GROWTH, however, she is more
likely to act on her GREATER MEANING motivation in ways that give her a sense of spiritual
progress. If her secondary motivation is INNER CALM, she will still focus on spirituality, but is
likely to do so in a way that is oriented toward finding or creating peacefulness.
A person may also express primary and secondary motivations in different roles. Someone whoq
is primarily ADVENTURE-oriented and secondarily GENEROSITY-oriented for example, may
pursue employment that offers constant change and exploration but approach relationships
with a significant caregiving emphasis.
Finally, when a person's primary motivation is fully satisfied, a secondary motivation will oftenq
come to the fore and guide behavior - for example, after a rich day of learning, a person who is
primarily GROWTH-oriented may want to indulge his or her secondary motivation of
TOGETHERNESS by doing something with family or friends that is reassuring and familiar
rather than developmental.
WAYS YOUR SECONDARY MOTIVATION MAY BE EXPRESSED
Whether it is coloring the way a primary motivation is expressed or temporarily standing in for it,
the GROWTH motivation frequently leads people to:
move beyond their current boundaries to experience a sense of progressq
use learning as a way to solve problemsq
see boundaries as challenges and enjoy outgrowing themq
avoid stagnation, complacency and too much "sameness"q
seek people with special insight or knowledgeq

keep relationships interesting by introducing new ideas, habits and experiencesq
assume that others share their motivation, and be disappointed if others aren't motivated toq
grow
be more comfortable than most with changeq
REINFORCING, CONTRASTING AND COMPLEMENTARY MOTIVATIONS
The motivations of the Core Motivations Indicator™ are loosely organized on a spectrum, based on
how people navigate the natural tension between individuality and belonging. The Connection-
Seeking motivations are grouped at one end, and tend to make people see themselves as similar to
others in the groups and relationships they're a part of. The Self-Defining motivations are at the
other end of the spectrum, and tend to make people see themselves in contrast to the groups and
relationships they're a part of. While no combination of primary and secondary motivations is
better than another, noting the relationship between a person's two strongest motivations can be
useful.
When a person's primary and secondary motivations are near the same end of the spectrum,q
they are reinforcing. The two motivations have a similarity that is likely to make the
individual's personality and choices seem consistent, and the two motivations may amplify
certain mindsets and behaviors, turning them into either great strengths or great weaknesses.
When a person's primary and secondary motivations are at different ends of the spectrum,q
they are contrasting. Contrasting motivations have a fundamental difference that may
sometimes make a person seem unpredictable to others (depending on which motivation holds
sway at different times) and may help create a complex internal life, or one with conflicts that
must be resolved.
When a person has one motivation that is in the middle of the spectrum and one that is at anq
end of the spectrum, the motivations are complementary. Such a combination creates a
balance of reinforcing and contrasting influences.
Your two most important motivations, GROWTH and ADVENTURE, are reinforcing. Both motivations
are in the experience-centered part of the spectrum, and tend to amplify each other to create a
mindset that is confident, optimistic and undaunted by boundaries. This combination of motivations
may be expressed in either positive ways (for example, lifelong learning and curiosity) or negative
ways (habitual dissatisfaction or an inability to settle down).

APPLYING YOUR CMI™ RESULTS
Your CMI™ feedback report identifies your primary and secondary motivations, tells you how they may
influence your choices and actions, and introduces ideas about how your two strongest motivations work
together to create certain aspects of personality.
The following exercise will help you put the insights gained from your CMI™ feedback into practice. It will
require some thought, introspection, and imagination, but isn't meant to result in a specific detailed plan
of action - it's meant, instead, to familiarize you with a way of thinking about motivations that allows you
to adapt, improvise, and reframe situations so that you and others have better outcomes.
A few things to remember as you work through the exercises:
The purpose isn't to change your motivations. The purpose is to become more aware of the influenceq
of motivations in your life, so that your choices and actions are more rewarding and meaningful. No
motivation is inherently good or bad, but all motivations can have both healthy and unhealthy
expressions. The best things happen when the right motivation informs the right action in the right
way at the right moment.
You can't change what motivates others. You can, however, better understand what makes othersq
think and act the way they do, so that you can live and work together more constructively.
Be careful when trying to know the motives behind another's actions' people have a great capacityq
for empathy and intuition is essential to understanding others, but flawed assumptions about other's
motivations are often insulting or hurtful. Don't assume anyone acts for the same reasons you do,
and always be ready to revise your thinking as you learn more about them.
1. Using your feedback report as a starting place, identify and write down several positive
ways that your primary and secondary motivations function in your overall life.
Do your primary and secondary motivations function in your life in any negative ways? (For
example, do you ever over-invest because of a strong motivation? Or take a motivation into a
situation where it doesn't really help?) If so, write them down.

2. For each "area of life" below, make a mark along the line for how generally satisfied you
are:
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Very dissatisfied ------------------------ An equal mix ------------------------ Very satisfied
WORK/SCHOOL
Very dissatisfied ------------------------ An equal mix ------------------------ Very satisfied
3. Provide a few specific examples of how your primary and secondary motivations have
influence in each of the above areas of life.
Some questions, if you need help getting started:
Which motivation most shapes your choices and actions in each area?q
Are your motivations the same in both areas? Different? Overlapping?q
How do your motivations move you forward in each area? (Does your primary motivation give youq
focus? Do your primary and secondary motivations give you a broad set of interests? Etc.)
Are there any ways your motivations hold you back? (For example, do you have contrastingq
motivations that sometimes make you act in contradictory ways? Do you overdo certain things,
because a motivation is especially strong, or because two motivations reinforce each other? Do you
pursue any motivations in negative ways? Etc.)
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

WORK/SCHOOL
4. Write down a NEW GOAL for either your personal life OR your work/school life.
5. Explore how MOTIVATIONS can help you achieve your new goal.
This will require more thought than the preceding exercises, so don't try to be too thorough. The purpose
is just to gain insight that will shape your planning and actions later. Some questions, if you need help
getting started:
How will your primary motivation help you succeed?q
How will your secondary motivation help you succeed?q
Will either motivation ever limit your progress? If so, what can you do to make use of the motivationq
in a more constructive way?
Will your primary and secondary motivations provide enough "drive" to sustain you until you achieveq
your goal? Will you need to replenish or renew them? If so, how will you do it?
Do you feel like you're lacking a necessary motivation of some kind? (A full list of the nine CMI™q
Motivations is below.) If so, where will you get the drive to achieve your goal? Find it in yourself?
Lean on someone else?

Your goal may be directly related to one or more relationships, but even if it isn't, other people are likely
to be involved in helping you achieve your goal. An understanding of their motivations can be helpful.
Some "starter thoughts":
Who might help or hinder you in achieving your goal?q
What kinds of help might you need from others?q
How will you get them to participate or to care about helping you? (What are their motivations? Youq
can use the list below to try to identify each person's motivation.)
How can understanding others' motivations reduce misunderstanding, conflict or competition thatq
might interfere with achieving your goal?
THE NINE CORE MOTIVATIONS™
9 GREATER MEANING: A desire to be connected to things that are beyond human comprehension
8 GENEROSITY: Wanting to help, share with, provide for, and/or give to others
7 TOGETHERNESS: The desire for friendship, love and/or connection to other people
6 INNER CALM: An emphasis on maintaining a peaceful internal equilibrium
5 ADVENTURE: Longing for the heightened sensations created by moving beyond familiar boundaries
4 GROWTH: The desire to improve over time
3 INFLUENCE: Wanting to shape things and/or people in one's world
2 IDENTITY: A special emphasis on the pursuit of individuality and uniqueness
1 PHYSICALITY: An attraction to aspects and sensations of the body

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