Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The Motivation Myth summary
Jeff Haden
How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win
20 mins
Table of Contents
The Motivation Myth
summarized in 7 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 7
Small victories fuel motivation.
A few months after taking up cycling as a hobby, the author participated in his first major Gran Fondo cycling event. The 100-mile route covered dirt and gravel roads and included 11,000 feet of climbing. The trail was the most difficult task the author had set out to accomplish. But, thanks to his grueling training regime, he successfully reached the finish line.
For weeks after the event, the author felt more confident than usual. The effort and determination he’d put into his training had paid off, and the memory of finishing the race gave him a sense of pride. Sure, he had more work to do before reaching his goal of becoming the best cyclist he could be. But he felt motivated to keep improving for the next event. So what does this tell us?
The key message here is: Small victories fuel motivation.
To put it another way, after achieving his first cycling milestone, the author learned an important lesson: the key to staying motivated is to regularly enjoy small successes.
Small successes are motivating. Enjoying them can lead to a happy cycle of more success and more motivation. By savoring small victories, you can feel accomplished every day. That’s because you’ll no longer be focused on the gap between where you are and where you want to be. In fact, as long as you achieve what you set out to do each day, you’ll feel like a winner.
But first things first: to reap the benefits of small successes, you have to get started. And for most people, the first step in any process turns out to be the hardest one.
For example, even though the author is passionate about cycling, there are some days when it’s the last thing he wants to do. It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy it. It’s just that he has to get through the first few miles of stiff legs and cold air before riding his bike becomes fun. As soon as the endorphins kick in, his mood improves.
He feels proud of his ability to excel at the sport and of his ability to continue improving. So, to get out of the house each morning, he’s taught himself to enjoy these successes and remember how great he’ll feel once the wheels start to turn.
Want to see all full key ideas from The Motivation Myth?
Key ideas in The Motivation Myth
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is The Motivation Myth about?
The Motivation Myth (2018) debunks the idea that you need motivation for success. Drawing on the author’s own experiences and examples from high achievers across a range of fields, it shows you how to cultivate a process to reach your goals and enjoy fulfillment along the way.
Best quote from The Motivation Myth
Success is inevitable only in hindsight.
—Jeff Haden
Who should read The Motivation Myth?
- Managers, parents, and students who feel unmotivated
- Entrepreneurs who want to start a business
- Anyone interested in picking up a new sport
Categories with The Motivation Myth
Books like The Motivation Myth
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked
Start growing with Blinkist now
26 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers