Motivating your teen

One psychologist suggests that the way to motivate your teen is Tough Love. I would just caution that this is clearly in the case of an overly-protected and coddled teen. Related findings (such as in Po Bronson's books) find that praising actions rather than labels ("working hard" as opposed to "being smart") creates more successful personalities. But the article is about what to do when it's getting to be too late.