I have always tried to understand how I can properly apply motivation to my attempts at achieving my goals. Then I learned that unless I understand what motivation is really about, I would never achieve the kind of motivation that spurs me on.
What I learned was that motivation has four core elements, and in fact motivation is a result of success. Previously I had tended to believe that success was a result of motivation.
Undersanding and identifying the four elements of motivation has helped me use my motivation properly.