Eben Pagan reveals unconscious motivators that drive human behavior, teaching the difference between 'toward' and 'away from' motivation (with away being twice as powerful). He breaks down David McClelland's three core motivators - power, affiliation, and achievement - and shows how to use the 'six sermons' framework to persuade effectively.
Using Motivators To Persuade People
How to Use the Six Sermons Framework -- A systematic approach to address all six core human motivations in your persuasion
Real Status Is Earned Respect — Not Borrowed Symbols
Real status is about actually having other people admire and respect you, not wearing fancy brands or pretending to be famous
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Six Sermons — Toward and Away Across Power, Affiliation, Achievement
The six sermons framework addresses toward and away from motivations for power, affiliation, and achievement to speak to all people effectively
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Ignoring Away From Motivation Wastes Two-Thirds of Persuasion Power
Not using away from motivation wastes about two-thirds of your persuasion power and two-thirds of the power to help others get what they want
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Sell Fast Easy Results — Only What Actually Delivers
When selling, feature fast, easy, low cost, low risk results that genuinely work, but only promise what you can actually deliver
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Three Evolutionary Drives Behind Human Motivation
Behind power, affiliation, and achievement are three evolutionary drives: survival, sex, and social status
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How to Use the Six Sermons Framework -- A systematic approach to address all six core human motivations in your persuasion
McClelland Three Motivators Map to Three Brain Types
David McClelland's three core human motivators are power, affiliation, and achievement, which map to the conceptual, emotional, and physical brains respectively
Why Humans Fall for Magic Cures
Humans respond powerfully to magic cures because we're instant gratification oriented and poor at connecting present situations to past decisions
Six Sermons — Toward and Away Across Power, Affiliation, Achievement
The six sermons framework addresses toward and away from motivations for power, affiliation, and achievement to speak to all people effectively
Ignoring Away From Motivation Wastes Two-Thirds of Persuasion Power
Not using away from motivation wastes about two-thirds of your persuasion power and two-thirds of the power to help others get what they want
Sell Fast Easy Results — Only What Actually Delivers
When selling, feature fast, easy, low cost, low risk results that genuinely work, but only promise what you can actually deliver
Real Status Is Earned Respect — Not Borrowed Symbols
Real status is about actually having other people admire and respect you, not wearing fancy brands or pretending to be famous
Three Evolutionary Drives Behind Human Motivation
Behind power, affiliation, and achievement are three evolutionary drives: survival, sex, and social status
Away From Motivation Is Twice as Powerful as Toward
Away from motivation is approximately twice as powerful as toward motivation in driving human behavior
McClelland's Three Core Human Motivators Explained
David McClelland identified three core motivators: power (desire for control and influence), affiliation (need for love, approval, and social connection), and achievement (drive to accomplish goals and avoid failure). These map to the conceptual, emotional, and physical brains respectively.
Survival, Sex, and Status — The Evolutionary Trio
The three evolutionary drives are survival, sex (reproduction), and social status. These developed because every human ancestor had to survive to adulthood, find a mate, and navigate status hierarchies in groups of 100-150 people where position determined access to resources and protection.
Why Away-From Motivation Is Twice as Powerful
Away from motivation is approximately twice as powerful as toward motivation because humans are evolutionarily wired to avoid pain and threats more strongly than to pursue rewards. This comes from our survival instincts where avoiding danger was more critical than seeking pleasure.
Match Message to Motivational Profile
Identify whether someone is achievement, affiliation, or power oriented and whether they're toward or away from motivated. Then tailor your message accordingly - don't sell house benefits based on neighbor approval to achievement-oriented people who don't care what others think.
Six Sermons — Toward and Away Across Three Drives
The six sermons address toward and away from motivations for achievement, affiliation, and power. Tell people they'll get more achievements, love/approval, and power/control if they follow your advice, and they'll experience failure, rejection, and loss of power if they don't.
Why Humans Are Wired for Instant Gratification in Buying
Humans are instant gratification oriented because we evolved needing to find our next meal immediately after eating. We're poor at connecting current situations to past decisions, so we respond strongly to promises of fast, easy, low cost, low risk results.
Only Promise What Your Product Actually Delivers
Only sell things that really work. And if you're going to promise that your product helps someone get results fast or easy or low cost or low risk, if you're teaching something that gives a person instant gratification, make sure that it does.
Away-From Motivation — Twice the Power of Toward
away from motivation, in other words, moving away from the things that you don't wanna have happen, is something like twice as powerful as moving toward the thing that you want to have happen
Wasting Two Thirds of Your Persuasion Power
if you don't take advantage of all of the natural away from motivation that's present, you're wasting about two thirds of your persuasion power
Why Away-From Beats Toward in Persuasion
Why is away from motivation more powerful than toward motivation?
Three Evolutionary Drives Behind Human Motivation
What are the three evolutionary drives behind human motivation?
McClelland's Three Core Human Motivators
What are David McClelland's three core human motivators?
Why Internal Conflicts Become Habitual
How do you use motivators effectively when selling?
The Six Sermons for Persuasion
What are the six sermons for persuasion?
Why Magic Cures Work in Marketing
Why do magic cures work in marketing?
Concepts
Questions
Canonical Teachings
Eben reveals that avoiding pain is twice as powerful as pursuing pleasure, challenging the common preference for positive motivation only. This insight from cognitive science research shows most people waste two-thirds of their persuasion power by ignoring fear-based appeals.
Drawing from David McClelland's research, Eben explains how power, affiliation, and achievement map to our three brains. These fundamental drives shape all human behavior and provide a framework for understanding what really motivates people beneath surface-level desires.
Learned from mentor Wyatt Wood Small, this framework addresses toward and away from versions of all three motivators. Eben demonstrates how speaking to achievement, affiliation, and power in both directions creates compelling persuasion that resonates with everyone.
Behind the three motivators lie deeper evolutionary drives for survival, sex, and status. Understanding these primal forces explains why instant gratification appeals work and how to leverage them ethically while maintaining integrity in your promises.
Claim: “Using fear or stick motivation is wrong - only use positive carrot motivation”
Reframe: You must use both desire and fear, inspiration and dread, toward and away from motivation to be effective
Claim: “Status comes from wearing fancy brands or appearing famous”
Reframe: Real status is about actually having other people admire and respect you for genuine accomplishments
How To Design Follow Up Newsletters
Learn Eben Pagan's proven formula for follow-up newsletters that turn skeptical prospects into paying customers through strategic relationship building.
Communicating Your Products In The Real World
Discover why 'almost none' of what you say to customers gets through and the simple technique that instantly creates understanding.
Maximizing Lifetime Value Customer
The secret to turning one-time buyers into lifelong customers lies in understanding the psychology of control and giving customers stories worth telling.
Coaching Strategies
Business Frameworks
Common Mistakes
