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

by Jeff Haden

Or in language the rest of us understand, when we say “I can’t,” we give ourselves a way out. “I could, sure, but this time I’m choosing not to. You know, because I can’t. Wait. Hmm. I probably shouldn’t, but you know, maybe just this one time . . .” Which of the following sound more powerful and affirmational? “I can’t skip my workout today” or “I don’t miss workouts”? “I can’t give you a discount” or “We don’t discount our products”? “I can’t make time for that, so sorry” or “I don’t have a single open slot in my calendar”? “I can’t” sounds tissue-paper thin because it’s a decision based on external reasons or causes. “I don’t” sounds like a brick wall because

YOU COME ACROSS AS MORE CONFIDENT. Take “We don’t offer discounts.” Maybe you really don’t want to offer discounts because your margins will suffer and competing on price is a slippery slope you can’t afford. Instead of saying, weakly and apologetically, “I’m sorry, but we can’t drop our prices any lower,” say firmly and with conviction, “We don’t offer discounts.” And then either remain silent and wait for a response or shift the conversation to what you are willing to do: provide a quicker turnaround or extend payment terms or break a large order down into smaller shipments. Use “I don’t” to ensure that what must be nonnegotiable remains nonnegotiable . . . and then shift to terms you are willing to negotiate.

A quote often attributed to Jim Rohn goes, There are two types of pain you will go through in life: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

with whom you are in those relationships don’t feel good about you), and aren’t making enough money, then you have no business taking on any goal that does not make one of those areas of your life better. It’s impossible to feel fulfilled and happy if you aren’t taking care of your basic needs.

Then look at what is required to achieve that goal. What you need to do may not be what you want to do, and that’s okay. Let everyone else take an unrealistic approach and then wonder why they aren’t achieving more. Be “unrealistic” when you set a goal, and then be realistic about how you will achieve that goal. Then your goal will become realistic, because you have a plan in place that will allow you to achieve that goal. Dream as big as you like. Then make sure your plan matches your dream. So now let’s get started!

Let’s say you have a major task that will take you eleven or twelve hours to complete. Here are the steps to get everything done in one day. Step 1: Let everyone know you won’t be available.

Step 2: Decide how long you will work.

Don’t create a plan based on “I’ll work as long as I can” or “I’ll work as long as I feel productive.” Set a concrete target. Commit to working for twelve hours, or however long a time frame you choose.

Why? For one thing, an EPD isn’t about how you feel. An EPD is about getting things done, not wimping out because you get bored or tired. Two, the longer the time frame you ...

When I worked in a factory, we typically worked eight-hour shifts. The hours before lunchtime dragged, and the last couple of hours of each day always felt like death. But when we worked twelve-hour shifts, the morning hours somehow seemed to fly by. Something about knowing you’ll be working for a long time allows you to stop checking the clock; it’s as if you naturally find your Zen (wo...

Step 3: Totally commit to how long you de...

Step 4: Start your EPD at an unusual time.

Step 5: Delay and space out your rewards.

Step 7: Take productive breaks, not relaxation breaks.

Step 9: Don’t stop until you’re done—even if finishing takes longer than expected.

HOW TO HAVE YOUR MOST PRODUCTIVE WEEK EVER

Step 1: Every Sunday, map out your week. Every Sunday evening Jim sits down with his list of important objectives for the month and year. Those goals inform the upcoming week and help keep him on track. While long-range goals may not be urgent, they are important, and if you aren’t careful, the important can easily be pushed aside by the urgent. Then he looks at his calendar for the week. He knows what times are blocked out by meetings, etc. Then he looks at what he wants to accomplish and slots those tasks into his to-do list. The key is to create structure and discipline for your week. Otherwise you’ll let things happen to you instead of making things happen. Otherwise you’ll let “urgent” push aside what is truly important.

Step 2: Actively block out task time.

You already schedule meetings and appointments. Go a step further and block out time to complete specific tasks. Slot...

love David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology, but success isn’t based on getting things done. Success is based on getting important things done.

Step 3: Follow a realistic to-do list. Once upon a time Jim created to-do lists, but he didn’t assign time to each task. What happened? He always had more items on his to-do list than he could accomplish, and that turned his to-do list into a wish list. If you have six hours of meetings scheduled today and eight hours of tasks on your to-do list, those tasks won’t get done. Assigning realistic time frames forces you to prioritize. Assigning realistic time frames also helps you stay focused. When you know a task should take only thirty minutes, you’ll be more aggressive in weeding out and ignoring distractions.

Step 4: Default to thirty-minu...

Step 5: Stop multitasking.

Step 6: Obsess about leveraging “edge” time. Probably like you, Jim’s biggest downtimes during the workday come when he drives to work, when he drives home, and when he’s in airports. He focuses extremely hard on how to productively use that time. He almost always schedules calls for his drive to work. It’s easy: He takes the kids to school and drops them off at a specific time; then he can do a call from eight to eight thirty. He typically doesn’t schedule calls for the drive home so he can use that time to return calls he missed during the day, especially to people who are on the West Coast. At the airport he uses Pocket, a browser plug-in that downloads articles. Loading ten articles ahead of time ensures that he has plenty to read—plenty he wants to read—while he’s waiting in the security line. Look at your day. Identify the downtimes. Then schedule productive things you can do during that time. Call it “edge time”—because using it well can create a major productivity edge.

Step 7: Track your time. Once you start tracking your time, you’ll be amazed by how much time you spend doing stuff that isn’t productive. (You don’t have to get hyperspecific. The info you log can be a summary of activities, not a minute-to-minute diary.) Tracking time was an eye-opening experience for Jim—and one that has really helped him focus.

Step 8: Be thoughtful about lunch.

Step 9: Protect your family time.

Step 10: Start every day right.

doing can be just as effective as what you start doing differently. Want to get more done than the average person? Stop thinking the way the average person does.

Plus, the moment you make an excuse for doing less is the moment you stop the virtuous cycle of motivation in its tracks. Without achievement, there is no motivation. There are just excuses.

Seemingly every successful person has faced tremendous criticism and rejection. Stephen King’s first book was rejected by thirty different publishers. Soichiro Honda flunked his interview with Toyota and decided to make scooters. Lucille Ball was told by acting teachers to try another profession. If you’re trying to do something different—if you’re trying to be different—other people will think you’re odd. That’s okay. Do what you want to do. That’s the only way to achieve what you want to achieve.

Step 3: Stop letting fear hold you back.

To succeed, you don’t have to be braver than other people; you just need to find the strength to keep moving forward. Fear is paralyzing, but action creates confidence and self-assurance.

Step 4: Stop waiting for inspiration.

Most people wait for an idea. Most people think creativity happens. They expect a divine muse to someday show them a new way, a new approach, or a new concept. And they wait and wait and wait. Occasionally, great ideas do just come to us. Mostly, though, creativity is the result of effort: toiling, striving, refining, testing, and experimenting. The work itself results in inspiration. Don’t wait fo...

Step 6: Stop stopping. Successful people finish—unless there’s a very, very good reason not to finish, which, of course, there almost never is.

Successful people are successful because they do things differently from other people.

See? Obvious. But also true. To achieve differently you must act differently.

Everyone says they go the extra mile. Almost no one actually goes there, though. And when someone does actually go there, they usually think, “Wait. No one else is here. Why am I doing this?” And they leave, never to return. That’s why the extra mile is such a lonely place. That’s also why the extra mile is a place filled with opportunities.

Every time you do something, think of one extra thing you can do—especially if other people aren’t doing that one thing.

Inspiration

Execution

Detail

“The third piece of success in a creative field is detail,” he explains. “Obsessive detail.”

Step 1: Eliminate as many choices as possible. We all have a finite store of mental energy for exercising self-control. Some of us have less, some have more . . . but we all eventually run out of willpower steam. That’s why the more choices we need to make during the day, the harder each one is on our brain—and the more we start to look for shortcuts. (If you like, call this the “Oh, screw it” syndrome.) Then we get impulsive. Then we get reckless. Then we make decisions

Step 2: Make decisions tonight so you won’t need to make them tomorrow.

The key is to take as many decisions off the board as you can the night before, because that will allow you to conserve tomorrow’s mental energy

for making the decisions that really matter. The goal is to make certain actions automatic rather than decisions because decisions require willpower. The power of routine not only will make you more efficient but will also make it a lot easier for you to make important decisions.

Step 3: Do the hardest things you need to do first.

Step 5: Create reminders of your long-term goals.