The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win

by Jeff Haden

“All it really takes is a desire to keep on doing it. Finding a passion comes from sticking with it, and that is easy when you work hard to keep getting better. And before long, you realize you’ve gotten passionate about the passion.” Kirk’s point about passion is important. It’s easy, and extremely tempting when you’re rationalizing your own lack of success, to assume successful people have some intangible quality—ideas, talent, drive, skills, creativity, etc.—that you don’t have. In fact that’s rarely true. Talent typically reveals itself only in hindsight. Success is never assured. It looks inevitable only after it is achieved. Sure, other people may have skills you don’t have—at least not yet—but you have skills other people don’t have. You don’t need a gift. You just need yourself and a willingness to put in a tremendous amount of hard work, effort, and perseverance, because that is where talent comes from.