1. “What gets me up is my role as a parent, husband, my responsibilities at work and my role as a manager. I’m motivated every morning to achieve my team’s goal. This enables me to earn a living and support my family and our lifestyle choices. I also get up in the morning to set an example that life’s a bitch and you need to work at it otherwise life owes you nothing. You make life what it is…” —Michael Lapolla, 45
2. “Teaching my kids about routine and that they have to keep focused no matter what. Helping the kids with homework, doing house choirs, it’s all on me. There’s no choice really. Plus, I have to have things done properly otherwise with 3 kids it becomes overwhelming.” —Maria Michaels, 39
3. “Fundamentally, my most basic motivation is to do my best to achieve the happiness and well-being of my family, as individuals and as a family unit. That includes making myself available to my children and husband emotionally, financially and in the physical sense, whether that means supporting them by offering to take them driving, encouraging their friendships, listening to their complaints about their bad day, visiting my sick father in law in hospital, picking up more hours at work, or just giving a hug when required. As a mother and wife almost everything I do is motivated by their happiness. The reasons are twofold: I care about them and want to see them happy and successful…..and I don’t like conflict. On a more personal level, I’ve found in the last few years that more creative pursuits drive me to get up in the morning. The anticipation of beginning a book I’ve been wanting to read or sit at my sewing machine to create something that will bring someone else happiness, is a very powerful driving force. This leads into the next motivator….wanting to do my best at all times: ie. getting to the office on time, in a well-presented state, engaging with people in a pleasant and polite way, producing paperwork that I can be proud of. But not just in the work environment….I care about friends, especially girlfriends who have been in my life for a long time. Good, strong, trusting friendships are a great inspiration for when things are going badly.” —Georgina Michaels, 50
4. “As a naturally positive person, I’m motivated by what I strive to achieve every single day. My faith motivates me each morning and so do the people in my life that I’m grateful for.” —Donna Villani, 49
5. “What motivates me to get out of bed in the morning is exercise and sunshine. I particularly love this time of year and enjoy getting up for a walk with my dog or an Abfab exercise session that my daughter and I attend together. I feel so energized after either of those activities and that keeps me motivated to get up.” —Maree Kennedy, 46
6. “My life has found itself in somewhat of a transitional period. Where others my age may be in the peak of their careers, I have left mine to see what else is out there for me. So, my motivation in many ways changes based on how things are going. Some days it’s a struggle to get up not knowing where you fit in the scheme of the world. It can be difficult knowing you once had a defined professional role that gave you purpose as you were relied upon with a service to provide. Yet, there are days where my new business venture has given me a spring in my step, realising this could be the new me I was searching for. I’m motivated to be present and ready to attend to my families’ needs, and some days the motivation is to make the day better than the last. In saying this, I am blessed with what I have created in my life but there are days when I’m more motivated than others.” —Carl Marin, 39
7. “As a nurse, I love getting up in the morning knowing that I’m going into work to help others.” —Fiona Browne, 51
8. “Family and work motivate me to get up in the morning.” —Neven Attalla, 44
9. “What motivates me to get out of bed in the morning is usually the need to go do something whether it’s make breakfast/food or get ready for school or work. I’m only motivated to get up when I have something to do that day.” —Monica Attalla, 20 
