Motivational Intelligence
The future fuel we need for human progress and flourishing
Ten years ago, it would have been science fiction having AI composing symphonies, generating art, crafting writing or creating beautiful software. We thought human creativity and intelligence were solely our domain. We were wrong.
Being just smart was a competitive advantage, now with artificial intelligence accelerating and the advent of super-intelligence, we face a new frontier. If machines can learn faster, think quicker, and create more efficiently than we can, what's left for us? Today's young people are growing up as AI natives, in search of entirely new possibilities for what it means to be human.
For now, the most compelling answer I've found to help us navigate the search for these new possibilities is something I call Motivational Intelligence.
Motivational Intelligence is the ability to understand, harness, and drive behind meaningful action. In other words it's your ability to get yourself and others to get shit done. It encompasses self-awareness, goal-setting, resilience, and the capacity to align one's actions with deeper values and purpose. Unlike IQ, which measures cognitive abilities, or EQ, which focuses on emotional understanding and management, Motivational Intelligence deals with the 'why' behind human actions and the ability to maintain drive over time.
We're going to witness the largest re-skilling revolution in history. Billions of people will have to learn to leverage the silicon PhDs in their pockets. For some, this is an exciting prospect; for others, terrifying. I'd argue it's essential to stay relevant. Society is in for a steep learning curve.
When AI can outperform us in many cognitive tasks, our unique edge lies in our ability to care deeply, to find meaning in our pursuits, find amazing people to do those pursuits with and to push ourselves not because we have to, but because we're driven by something greater than external rewards or fears.
To illustrate the rapid pace of AI integration and why Motivational Intelligence is becoming so crucial. It's easy to think that programs will be able to automate most of our tasks, and yet I still chiseled away at this essay.
Here's a log of where I inserted AI into my workflow while writing this essay:
- Transcribed handwritten notes using ChatGPT
- Dictated thoughts while walking, transcribed with Superwhisper
- Brainstormed with a Mindjoy tutor
- Proof read and edited drafts with Claude
- Sought feedback from knowledgeable friends
- Rebuilt my website using v0.dev and Cursor AI
- Migrated blogs from Medium to Ghost with a ChatGPT-generated script
I find it astonishing how much I accomplished in just a couple of days, tasks that would have previously taken weeks or months. Despite daily active learning and building with AI, I sometimes still feel behind. The way we use our devices is changing dramatically. Our interactions have become conversational, phygital, and playful. I find myself wanting to work on more challenging problems, explore societal questions, and play with philosophical ideas more. I'm noticing the way I learn and do changing as am I noticing what motivates me is changing rapidly almost as my response to my daily life becoming saturated with AI.
While I'm still a novice exploring my new technical capabilities in this AI-powered world, I'm fascinated by how my software engineer friends are responding to their rapidly evolving roles. It's intriguing to observe my developer friends compute their changing roles increasingly shaped by AI. Even more intriguing is the younger generation's approach. I've come to see both my software engineer friends and these tech-savvy kids as our canaries in the artificial coal mine. They're not just sounding the alarm as AI advances; they're showing us how to respond through open mindsets and active learning.
The desire to learn is scarce, typically a programme triggered by a need for adaptation or the pleasure of finding things out. One of our biggest existential risks is loosing our motivation or desire to learn and adapt.
Understanding that motivation isn't purely innate or just discipline or grit, it's helpful to think of it as a skill that can be learned, practiced, and refined. Just as we train our bodies and minds, we need to train our ability to find and sustain motivation. Motivational Intelligence develops through an iterative process. Each cycle deepens your understanding of what drives you and how to effectively harness that motivation. As you repeatedly engage with this process, you become more adept at:
- Setting more meaningful and achievable goals
- Taking more effective actions aligned with your values
- Reflecting more insightfully on your experiences
- Synthesising lessons learned more efficiently
Over time, this cyclical approach helps you build a more nuanced and personalized understanding of your motivations. It allows you to adapt your strategies, overcome obstacles more effectively, and maintain long-term motivation even in the face of challenges.
Self-Determination Theory tells us that we're all driven by three core needs:
1. Autonomy (the need to feel in control)
2. Competence (the need to feel capable)
3. Relatedness (the need to feel connected to others)
Without these, motivation dries up. You could have all the time in the world, but if you don't feel ownership over what you're doing, or if you feel like you're floundering, or totally disconnected, good luck staying motivated. It's why even with AI doing so much, we still need spaces that help us build these needs, where we feel engaged in something bigger than ourselves. That’s why thinking about motivational intelligence as a skill to develop is very important.
A mental model I like to think of is building our "motivational lattice" as AI puts expertise at everyone's disposal with just one voice command, Motivational Intelligence is about understanding what fuels action. It's useful to think of building a "motivational lattice" composed of various "clean fuel" and "dirty fuel" bonds - a concept borrowed from David Spinks.
Both can drive action, but they have different effects on our long-term motivation and well-being. Dirty fuel burns out fast and leaves a residue, a sense of emptiness even after you've achieved your goal. Clean fuel, on the other hand, is renewable. It grows stronger the more you use it. Both are incredibly useful, being self-aware and knowing when to use which or how to construct your lattice is incredibly powerful for driving meaningful action.
Clean fuel represents intrinsic motivators that provide sustainable drive. It's renewable and grows stronger the more you use it. Examples include curiosity, love of the process, desire to serve others, and sense of purpose. Dirty fuel, on the other hand, consists of extrinsic motivators that may lead to burnout. It burns out fast and leaves a residue, a sense of emptiness even after you've achieved your goal. Examples include fear of failure, need for external validation, and anxiety-driven productivity.
Elon Musk is probably the best example I can think of who exemplifies Motivational Intelligence in action. Is he the smartest person in every room he walks into? Probably one of them. But it's not genius alone that makes him brilliant. I'd argue he's probably one of the most motivated humans in history.
In January 2018, Tesla's board unveiled an unprecedented compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk that was entirely performance-based, with no guaranteed salary. The plan set 12 challenging milestones, focused on Tesla's market capitalisation and operational targets. Each milestone achieved would earn Musk stock options equivalent to 1% of Tesla's outstanding shares, with a potential total payout of up to $55 billion over ten years if all goals were met. To qualify for these rewards, Musk had to remain as either CEO or executive chairman and chief product officer, ensuring his continued involvement in Tesla's leadership.
The milestones included both market cap targets and operational goals. The first market cap milestone was set at $100 billion, followed by increments of $50 billion, up to $650 billion. Musk's personal wealth directly was directly tied to Tesla's long-term performance and shareholder value, creating a powerful incentive for him to drive the company's success.
By 2021, Musk had achieved all 12 performance tranches of this ambitious plan, as Tesla's market cap soared past $1 trillion. This resulted in one of the largest payouts in corporate history, and a win win for Musk's interests and Tesla's shareholders. When traditional incentives no longer worked, he gamed himself. A neat trick indeed.
I find it useful to think of building your motivational lattice which is made up of a variety of clean fuel and dirty fuel bonds.
As you evolve your motivational lattice, you may find that some of the composition of your lattice changes. Connections between different motivational factors change. What once was driven by fear of failure might transform into a genuine love of the process. External validation might become less important as you develop a stronger sense of purpose.
Musk's transition from primarily financial motivations to a deep, almost existential sense of purpose exemplifies Motivational Intelligence:
- PayPal era: Initially driven by financial success (potentially "dirty fuel")
- SpaceX founding: Motivated by the dream of making humanity multi-planetary
- Tesla: Desire to develop sustainable energy adoption and ambition
- Neuralink: Inspired by the goal of enhancing human cognitive capabilities and fear of humans becoming obsolete in a world of AGI's
The key is to keep refining this motivation loop until you find something deeper—meaning, purpose, and eventually for some a calling. Something you love so much that the motivation becomes intrinsic, as natural as breathing.
When machines can outthink us, outwork us, and even out-create us in many ways, our motivation becomes our most valuable asset. It how we keep our humanism in the face of ever-advancing technology. It's what will drive us to keep learning, creating, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible. If you're pondering our place in the world like myself, my software engineer friends and kids, just start playing.
Use AI and other tools to augment your abilities and explore the possibilities and limitation, but never forget that it's your will, your motivation, that truly drives progress. The future of our civilisation, our understanding of the universe, belongs not to the smartest, but to the most motivated.
And if you don't want take advice from me, here's some from one of the most motivated guys I know (of) 😉.
If you want to listen to this essay check our the NotebookLM podcast version of it 🎧