How to make yourself work when you don’t have any motivation

Originally published on JOTFORM.COM

“Don’t break the chain.”

These four simple words helped Jerry Seinfeld become one of the world’s most successful comedians.

Seinfeld’s mantra pushed him to write new jokes every single day.

Using a wall calendar, he drew an “X” through each day on which he wrote. Once the Xs started forming a chain, his motivation grew.

“You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain,” Seinfeld told a young comedian, who had asked for success tips.

Seinfeld’s technique, which ultimately led to him landing a hit television show, is a perfect example of how success doesn’t always begin with extraordinary motivation.

Like a snowball gathering speed, sometimes the motivation builds after you get started.

By nature, I’m not a highly motivated person. I’m not an early riser, I don’t particularly love the gym and I don’t read two new books each week.

But somehow I still managed to launch JotForm, and slowly grow a network of over 4.2 million users over the last…