Derek Thompson

When we lose confidence, when we lose motivation, what are we talking about?

Motivation, I think I misunderstood what motivation really is about.

I thought motivation is if I want this thing, then I'll do this behavior, right?

So if I want the benefit, I'll do the action.

That's kind of the classic economic view of how motivation works.

And why is motivation so important as a side note?

Because it turns out that's the greatest determinant of success.

That it's not intelligence per se has a factor.

It's not everything.

It's not necessarily even resources.

I mean, of course, has an effect, but that's not the defining trait.

It's not skills per se because skills can be learned.

It's persistence.

That's really what it is, is that successful people are losers.

What do I mean by that?

They lose more.

They lose more often.

If you talk to successful people, they'll tell you all the times that they failed.

Whereas the unsuccessful people, the people who didn't meet their goals, are the people who said, yeah, I tried, it didn't work.

And they never try again.