Inspiration does not run short with the San Francisco 49ers this season.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh has come up with a new way to motivate his players.
He attached high school pictures of all his players with their recruiting rankings and placed them above the teammates lockers.
Teammates bantered in a friendly manner  about certain players’ photos that appeared in black and white or had lower rankings in high school.
“It’s just something that spices things up a little bit to break up the monotony of the day,” said 49ers chief executive Jed York, according to nbcsports.com.
Although Harbough hasn’t explained the reason why he did this for his players, they have their own ideas.
“Coach really wants us to tap into what we wanted to be at that time,” said 49ers safety Donte Whitner, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“When you look at this picture it’s like, ‘At this moment, what did I want to be?’ We all look at this and we understand what we wanted to be, and where we are now.”
This technique could be easily applied to students at De Anza College and elsewhere.
 Even though college students still have a lot to prove, it can stand as a reminder of what they have already proved and how far they have come.
Maybe it will remind them of what they wanted to be and they will be more motivated to go further like the 49ers players.
Harbaugh used another effective tactic: giving his players work shirts.
This was to remind them to be blue-collar in their habits, according to nbcsports.com.
Though Harbaugh’s techniques are definitely not main stream, he has come up with good ideas to motivate his players and make them play for each other, and not just themselves.
The photos were apparently a good motivational technique since the 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers 45-31 on Jan. 12.
They beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-24 on Jan. 20 to capture the NFC championship.
Now they are moving on to the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, marking the franchise’s first appearance in 18 years.
We can be inspired by this team that has come a long way and overcome adversity to be where they are now.