The Internet is full of advice on how to "boost your motivation to become successful". Most are plain wrong and sometimes harmful.

Especially the drive to look for something external to a person to keep motivation up I find short-sighted and ineffective.

It's the other way around. Motivation is a product of previous success

Would you have the motivation to do a conference presentation again after your first try was a total disaster, despite all the effort you put into preparations? Me neither.

The first concert

The great eye-opener for me was when I learned what the first violin concert looks like in the Suzuki Method.

The whole family is sitting in the living room, all dressed elegantly. The 4-years old girl enters the room holding violin in her left hand and a bow in the right. The child bows down, and everybody gives big applause.

It's quiet again, and the concert begins.

The child puts violing on the shoulder and rising the bow, showing the proper posture. The bow touches strings, but without making any sound.

Then comes the unexpected.

The girl lowers the bow and the violin, and bows down. Then it leaves the "stage" with great applause from the audience.

That's it.

For the rest of her life, she will have a great association with giving concerts and would love to do it again and again.

Thinking that you first need to "find the motivation" or need some external motivator to take an action, will make you always struggle. As the result, it will bring you failure instead of success.

Instead of looking for motivation, look for the smallest and easiest action you can take and succeed.

Success will naturally bring motivation to try again and put the bar higher.

Whenever you're trying to learn something new, build a habit, or achieve a business goal, follow these steps to stay motivated and love the journey.

Tip #1: Plan the smallest action. The tiniest and most atomic you can think of. Want to give a 45min conference talk? What about giving a 5min talk in front of your team first? Or maybe start with 3min talk in front of your best friend. If that's too big to succeed, that's ok, start with being active during meetings, e.g. asking questions.

Tip #2: Celebrate the success. No matter how small the step was, take time to celebrate it, and feel proud of yourself. Repeat the action to feel comfortable with it, celebrating every time.

Tip #3: Put the bar a little bit higher. Then set a new challenge. Again, it has to be a small challenge that takes you closer to your goal. Maybe now it's time to give a 5min team talk?

When starting, aim for micro-steps, short in duration but repeated with high frequency. Then over time, you will be able to lower the frequency and increase the duration and step size.

People who "look for motivation" are always dependent on somebody else, and need constant "motivational charging".

Being motivated by your own successes is an unlimited fuel you have in your hands.