# Why Momentum Beats Motivation Every Time

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/evan-carmichael-believe-unlocking-your-true-potential-7782439/why-momentum-beats-motivation-every-time
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/evan-carmichael-believe-unlocking-your-true-potential-7782439/why-momentum-beats-motivation-every-time.md
Podcast: [Evan Carmichael - Believe: Unlocking Your True Potential](https://stenobird.com/podcast/evan-carmichael-believe-unlocking-your-true-potential-7782439)
Published: 2026-09-12T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG5501828046.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG5501828046.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/evan-carmichael-believe-unlocking-your-true-potential-7782439/episodes/why-momentum-beats-motivation-every-time
Duration seconds: 1073

## Resource

✎ Get free access to our vault of PDF summaries for every YouTube video here: https://believe.evancarmichael.com/the-vault ✎ Check out my NEWEST video: https://goo.gl/E0eE6m ✎ To get more details on all the research and studies mentioned in this video check out the articles below: https://www.alexishaselberger.com/news-notes/action-begets-motivation https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins https://kappicoaching.com/productivity-blog/momentum-over-motivation-the-habit-that-actually-gets-things-done https://socialblade.com/youtube/handle/evancarmichael https://jamesclear.com/stop-procrastinating-seinfeld-strategy ✎ Stop waiting for motivation because it might never come. Motivation is just a feeling that changes all the time, but momentum is reliable. Think about the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare had speed and energy but lost because he stopped. The tortoise won because he kept moving slowly and steadily. I learned this lesson firsthand in my own life. I am actually an introvert who gets nervous before filming every Thursday. I do not wait to feel brave to do my interviews. I just start. After five minutes, the action gives me energy. Science backs this up too. You have to start moving to feel motivated, not the other way around. ✎ Real success comes from doing small things every single day. Harvard Business School calls this the progress principle because small wins build your confidence. I saw this with my own YouTube journey. I only had 25 subscribers in my first year. It took me 10 years to hit one million subscribers, but I kept going. Now we have over 4 million subscribers because of momentum. Jerry Seinfeld used this same trick to become a comedy legend. He wrote jokes every day and marked an X on a calendar. His only goal was to never break…

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## Transcript

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