While our December issue each year focuses on the history of surveying, we must recognize that the present and future of the profession are equally important as we follow in the footsteps of our ancestors to carry on and advance their legacy. And while the integrity of one's profession is often enough to motivate one to act, some field workers and office administrators may need additional incentive to carry on and further this legacy. Without incentives, daily duties can become chores, and goals have less zeal as they seem unachievable.

So what motivates surveyors? What moves you? Humans work toward goals, and everyone can benefit from an incentive along the way. What's yours? What's your company's? Your state society's?

Whether your motivation is based on an individual or corporate level, or something even broader, you want to reach your goal-that's just human nature. You want to satisfy your client. You want to satisfy your client to impress your supervisor or the Big Boss. You want to meet your goals for personal satisfaction. You want your family to be proud, your colleagues to pat you on the back, your supervisor to pass along a raise, your status in personal and professional life to rise, your knowledge to increase, your interests to bloom. There's something that drives each one of us.

For professional and novice pilots, the ANSARI X PRIZE is the incentive. An incredible opportunity to win $10 million drove more than 20 teams from seven countries to compete in the race to launch the first private, reusable spaceship. On the anniversary of Sputnik, Oct. 4, 2004, Mojave Aerospace led by Burt Rutan and Paul Allen won the X PRIZE, instigating a competition of a new kind. Sure, the 10 mill helped. But the competition was about more than money. As the X PRIZE Foundation states on its website: "Some have asked, why does this matter? After all governments have been flying to space for 40 years. That's like asking why did the first Apple computer matter, after all the government had computers [for] decades. What matters, is that these are ships that you can own and ships that you can fly in."

We can draw an analogy from the X PRIZE competition to the surveying and geomatics professions. What matters is that you have goals that you can attain for the betterment of the profession. Industry manufacturers have caught on to this. Why do they continue to research, design, build and offer technological advancements for the industry? Incentive. More sales, better reputation, greater advances. This competition and incentive-based motivation occurs-on some level-in all of us. So, I ask again, what's your incentive?

Highlights in Surveying Project Contest

Maybe a Magellan Roadmate 800 from Thales Navigation would motivate you. You could win one. Enter POB's Second Annual Highlights in Surveying Project Contest today for your chance. The Magellan RoadMate 800 has the latest in turn-by-turn GPS guidance, automatic re-route calculations and a Smart Detour feature to ensure you will never lose your way, plus it includes a built-in MP3 player and photo viewer. Now that's an incentive!

Click to www.pobonline.com and enter to win!