Comments on: The Leonidas Paradox: or, why motivational speeches don’t actually work

By: joelsnape

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 21:10:35 +0000

In reply to Sean.

Hey Sean, thanks for commenting. If that Eric Thomas speech works for you: great! I hope it keeps working, and you achieve whatever you’re looking for. And I think you might be right: motivational videos might not be for me, because I think that, in the long run, habits and systems trump motivation. Sorry if you don’t agree. And yes, I do exercise: that’s kind of what a lot of my other posts are about…

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By: Sean

Wed, 05 Oct 2016 12:00:19 +0000

I heard that Eric Thomas speech a couple of years ago. That particular phrase “When you want to succeed, as bad as you want to breathe.. then you’ll be successful” has been stuck in my head ever since, not that I use it everyday, but when I’m struggling to go the extra KM or do that extra rep my god that quote helps me. I hate to assume, but do you not exercise? I can’t imagine how anyone who does exercise can’t understand this quote. Sure, we’ll get all logical and scientific and say no that’s not possible to want to be successful as bad as you want to breathe. That’s not what the quote is meant for though!
It’s setting a bar for how bad you want something, and it’s always better to set the bar to high and fall short than set it too short and hit it. Obviously it isn’t for every aspect of life I know… But when you’re jogging 10KM, in preparation for a marathon and you’re going into the 8th or 9th KM and you’re struggling to breathe and your starting to slow.. rationalising how it’d be ok to stop and walk the rest of the way and you’d do it tomorrow or the next day that is when things are put in perspective. I would say that quote in my head over and over until I reach my goal, it would make me breathe harder and push harder… and if you can’t understand that, or use it… then motivational videos aren’t for you.
They aren’t something to live by, they’re to pump you up to get you started.. or when you’re nearly finishing to give you that extra push not carry you the whole way or change your life.
There is no paradox here, you get pumped up but you still need to rely on your own will power, habits and character to be successful. Stop being so critical 🙂

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By: Lessons from 2015 – 2 – Break things down into bite-size chunks. – Photosmudger

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 19:34:25 +0000

[…] chunks. I’ve read several books that have hammered on about this, as well as dozens of blog posts, and it’s something the business coach I worked with in the summer was very keen on. The theory […]

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By: BigHaty (@bighaty)

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 15:51:19 +0000

Just finished The Power of Habit recently, motivation is a habit. it’s a “muscle” that can be trained. There’s no such thing as “willpower”. Just people who do and people who don’t.

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By: Camilla

Thu, 29 Aug 2013 15:47:29 +0000

Yeah a good phrase to reference. I agree 100%. I don’t think it even takes motivation to ask sometimes. It’s the advice that leads onto motivation. Sorta pushes you forward. That’s why before I run any half marathon or compete in my local netball tournament i’ll get the advice I need from my Learncliki adviser. Or my mum, ha!

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By: Debbe

Fri, 23 Aug 2013 12:30:13 +0000

Absolutely! I like my phrases hanging around, to remind me of what I want, but action makes me feel really good. Breaking the big picture down, into manageable steps, means I’m on the path. There is that study Malcom Gladwell talks about that you need 10,000 hours doing something to become an expert/really good. That means 1 hour plus 1 hour plus..Thanks for reminding me!

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By: keenan

Fri, 09 Aug 2013 00:16:17 +0000

Hm..interesting
To me the speech is about prioritization rather than motivation. You aren’t going to work as hard to make something work until you put that goal on the top of your list. It doesn’t have to be the only thing on your list, nor does it necessarily need to be #1. If it’s up there, it’s important to you, and you will naturally put in effort. As long as this effort lasts, it will lead to many different innovations, or “tiny things”

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