Jeff Haden wrote his way up. He’s a man who can teach us a thing or two about putting plans into perspective and embracing the not-so-unique process towards success. A contributing editor to Inc., he’s done differently by sticking to a model and learning from the pros.

His book, The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win, has made it to the best sellers list of New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon, helping thousands of people in working to achieve their goals.

Introverted, Jeff admits to being terrible with complimenting people. He knows he needs to break out of that shell of inherent shyness, and he’d thought to work on it by committing to a “compliment challenge.” All day long, he’d paid people compliments whenever they made eye contact with him.

It was an enriching experience, albeit no easy feat.

“How cool is that... that you can walk around and actually make a small difference in other people’s lives?” - Jeff Haden

This one-day challenge has become a habit, almost second nature. To be comfortable with being uncomfortable is something that everyone needs to learn at one point or another, and it comes in handy when the mere thought of acting on a plan, whether big or small, seems too daunting.

Jeff proclaims that he’s a big procrastinator, and a lot of people can surely relate to feeling stuck when you have yet to start. It's even more difficult to focus on what’s in front of you when you’re conditioned to keep a laser eye on the end result.

But Jeff believes that no matter how difficult the process may look, getting things done leads to the actual motivation that you need to gain more success.

“The hard way is usually the way that works.” - Jeff Haden

Action leads to motivation, and breaking in that glove will always require some effort.

1. What have you done to stand out in business and in life?

“It’s getting things done."

2. What advice would you give someone to stand out in business and in life?

“Be the best person at your job.”

3. What is the best advice you received?

“Shut up. You’re not as smart as you think you are.”

4. How do you want to be remembered?

“I was an average person who worked hard, and tried hard, and got to accomplish things that were not necessarily average.”

To hear what Jeff Haden thinks about the special snowflake mindset, how he perspires inspiration, and how he fares in BDD’s challenges, download and listen to the show!

Read his articles on Inc.

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Jesse Cole is a passionate and engaging business leader sharing other leaders messages, tips and fresh ideas on Business Done Differently. Subscribe to hear more front runners doing it differently and remember to leave him a rating and review on iTunes.

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