10 Ways I Stay Consistent and Motivated

How I got a job at Google, Qualcomm, a start-up, and started my own company

Parker Klein ✌️

Published in

TwosApp

5 min readMar 31, 2023

10 Ways I Stay Consistent and Motivated - Twos

Over the past 7 years, I've programmed almost every day which lead to me working at Google, Qualcomm, a startup in San…

www.twosapp.com

Over the past 7 years, I’ve programmed almost every day which helped me work at Google, Qualcomm, a startup in San Francisco, launch 5 of my own apps and websites, and now start my own company.

Here’s a screenshot of my GitHub history this past year (green means I programmed).

These are the tips that help me stay consistent and motivated:

1. Believe you are the type of person who is consistent

Our minds are extremely powerful and we can control and change them.

The first step is to believe you are capable of what you want to do and can be consistent.

I remember when I first learned about the power of our minds from a book called “As a Man Thinkth” by James Allen.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” — Mahatma Gandhi

2. Find your “why”

Why are you starting? Why will you persist in the face of an obstacle?

Figuring out a reason bigger than yourself will allow you to keep going when times are hard or people are telling you “you’re crazy.”

I did an exercise back in 2017 called 7 Levels Deep. It helped me find my “why”—to learn about myself, pursue what I love, and inspire people to do the same. It helps me try my best every day.

“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’” — Viktor Frankl

3. Set goals

What do you want to accomplish today? In one week? In one month? In one year? In 5 years? In 10 years?

Knowing where you want to go will clarify your intention and help you decide what to do every day to get there.

I set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals so I can direct my actions in order to reach them. I don’t always hit them on time, but I make progress and reach them eventually.

“You need a plan to build a house. To build a life, it is even more important to have a plan or goal.” — Zig Ziglar

4. Know yourself

Journal, meditate, and reflect. Listen to your thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

You’ll learn when you do your best work and it will give you the confidence to keep going even when you don’t see the results yet.

For the past 6 years, I’ve been on a journey of learning about myself, reflecting, and asking questions. I love to discover how I learn and work best so I can be a better human in all aspects of life.

“To grow yourself, you must know yourself.” — John C. Maxwell

5. Prioritize your health

If you want to perform at a high level for a long period of time, you must take care of yourself.

This includes getting enough sleep, eating nutritious foods in moderation, and taking care of your mental health through meditation, journaling, and relaxing when you need it.

I try to prioritize my rest and do activities that keep me happy and healthy like meditating, reading, walking, and eating healthy.

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” — Buddha

6. Do what you love

You won’t stick with something you don’t love to do.

Enjoying what you do is a prerequisite to putting in the 10,000 hours to become an expert at anything.

I love to build and create. When I found programming, and how I can build anything with just time and a computer, I started investing my time and energy into it because I truly loved the challenge and process of creating.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” — Steve Jobs

7. Understand there will be ups and downs

Know your emotions and feelings will constantly change. Sometimes you’ll feel good, other times you won’t.

If you need to take a break and rest, you can, and you’ll be back better than ever, even after a few minutes.

This is something I learn about every day. It’s amazing how one second you can think you’re awesome and the next second you think you can’t do anything right. Just hang in there, don’t be too hard on yourself, and keep progressing.

“Life is like a roller coaster, ups, downs, twists, and turns, but what a ride.” — Lisa Layden

8. Know you will make mistakes

Nobody is perfect and nothing is going to work 100% of the time.

You will fail and make mistakes, but see the opportunity in those experiences to improve.

I used to be embarrassed by failure. Now, I try to see the bright side and embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and grow.

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” — Henry Ford

9. Understand compound interest

Effort and learning compounds. That means the more you work on something, the better you become, and the more you are capable of.

Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger made this concept popular in investing and became two of the wealthiest people of all time.

Compound interest gives me peace of mind knowing that as long as I continue to show up, learn, and improve, I will become capable of reaching my goals.

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it…he who doesn’t…pays it.” — Albert Einstein

10. Take it one day at a time

Know you are playing the long game and focus on what you can do today to get closer to your goals.

If one day you aren’t feeling it, no worries, you can always show up tomorrow.

Eventually, if you put in enough days, you’ll be able to look back at all you’ve accomplished over the years.

This has been my experience after working for Qualcomm, Google, a start-up, and launching five apps and websites. I’m now the founder of my own company called Twos: the best place to write *things* down and I still can’t believe all that I’ve accomplished by just taking it one day at a time and doing my best.