How to get – and stay – motivated!

Motivation is a tricky thing – it’s often hard to find and even harder to hold on to. We all have that task we’ve been meaning to get to for a while, or that skill we’ve been meaning to practice, that goal we’ve identified but haven’t done anything about yet, and so on.

The number one thing to know about motivation is that it isn’t an action, it’s a habit. If you have to consciously remind yourself to stay motivated, chances are, you’ll lose that motivation at some point. Instead, if you cultivate it as a habit, your subconscious will remain motivated at all times. This secret is known by all the most successful people in the world – in fact, it is a huge contributor to their success.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top five books written by some of the most successful people around so that you can cultivate the habit of motivation.

Book 1: The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM!)

Your morning is the most important part of your day – have a bad one, and it’s easy to carry that bad energy with you throughout your day. On the flip side, if you have a good morning, you’ll be perked up and ready to face whatever challenge comes your way. That’s the basis of The Miracle Morning, written by Hal Elrod, a top-rated keynote speaker and host of the Achieve Your Goal podcast.

This book will teach you how to design a morning that will boost your energy and creativity, inspire you and help you be confident, lower your stress, and more! And if you’re not a morning person, it will help you learn how to wake up each morning feeling energized. Most importantly, it will turn “motivation” from an elusive concept to a concrete habit within 30 days.

Book 2: Eat That Frog! 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

Procrastination is the biggest obstacle in maintaining motivation – and it’s one that no one is a stranger to. Eat That Frog by renowned author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy tackles the issue of procrastination with a simple analogy: if you have to eat that frog (i.e. that task that you don’t want to do) anyway, might as well get it over with!

By helping you identify your goals and organize your time efficiently so that you can achieve those goals while eliminating redundant activities, he teaches you the best way to sidestep the evils of productivity and get your work done. Plus, he also has a proven method for you to motivate yourself. Following the steps in his book will help you easily turn motivation into a routine, and then, a habit.

Book 3: The 10x Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure

Why be average when you can be great? The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone, internationally renowned speaker and best-selling author, teaches you how to achieve success – but it certainly won’t be an easy task! You will have to take 10x more action, which requires 10x more effort and 10x more discipline. Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? However, once you get into the flow of things, it’s actually quite simple.

The problem most of us have is that we aren’t dreaming about the right things. When we don’t dream big, we tend to lose motivation as the idea of achieving our goal(s) just isn’t that tempting. In this book, Cardone will guide you to set higher standards for yourself, take action and thereby also take control of your life and prioritize success in your subconscious so that you will always be striving for it. In the process, you will realize that you have become 10x more motivated too!

Book #4: The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence With Everyday Courage

Written by bestselling author Mel Robbins, The 5 Second Rule is one of the most famous books on motivation out there. The TEDx talk about this book has over 18 million views and it was the top nonfiction book on Audible as well as the sixth most read book on Amazon in 2017.

One of the reasons we procrastinate and lose motivation is because we’re waiting for that moment “when it feels right”. This book shatters that disillusionment – because after all, that perfect moment rarely comes alone – and teaches you how to start working towards your goals from this very minute. It will teach you how to overcome anxiety, procrastination, and it will help you gain courage in the process. Most importantly, it focuses on how to make the 5-second rule, and thereby motivation, a habit.

Book #5: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Our innate human desire is to be in control of our lives, to explore the world around us, to encourage our creativity and to constantly try to improve ourselves. This is the premise of Drive, written by internationally renowned author Daniel H. Pink. This book will help you understand what motivates you, so that you can harness it to create a cycle of continuous motivation.

By showing you how to gain a sense of purpose and align your mindset so that motivation comes naturally, this book will help you gain direction in life and control it better so you can achieve your goals. It will also teach you how to inspire lasting motivation in others, whether your peers, employees, or even children.

Final notes

So, there you have it – five incredible books that will help you turn motivation into a habit so that you’ll always have it.

It’s often difficult to turn the teachings of books into concrete actions that you can practice in real life, which is where Mentorist comes in. This handy app has plenty of book summaries along with the step-by-step actions you can take to gain various skills. All these five books and plenty more are succinctly summarized in Mentorist, making it easy for you to apply these lessons to your life!