Individual empowerment

I read an article in the paper this morning about a village in sudan that had turned itself around. the area had become a desert due to mismangaement of natural resources, and of course, the ongoing civil war.
Somehow, someone in that remote village, got the motivation to DO something about about the situation. He mobilized the villagers to build an earthen dam and collect water for irrigating the fields. The effort has paid off.
What I am curious about is: where does this motivation come from? It is not the endorphin rush, because that comes after you perform an act, and you feel the pleasure. Ther has got to be some chemical in the neurons that triggers off thethought. I'll call it the 'interest-chemical'.
Has any neuro-scientist identified this chemical, I wonder. Is there a separate chemical for every thought?
In the Islamic system, it is called 'Taufeeq'.
Once that chemical is produced in someone's brain, there's no stopping him. We have seen it again and again.