If you meet the earlier version of me, I will probably want to motivate you. We will say affirmations together in a room and jump up and down with high energy. We will encourage each other that we can achieve anything we set our minds to.

I got so excited and fully invested in motivation that I almost bought a $50,000 Tony Robbins program after listening to his motivational talk.

I used to think I needed to be inspired before I could take action. The problem is, we are motivated until we are not motivated anymore.

The road to success will not be a straight line. There will be days when everything and everyone will be against you. They say you will bounce right back after hitting rock bottom. Unfortunately, the truth is that once you hit bottom, the universe will test you and drag you along the lowest point. You might even bleed from it and likely drown in it. I rarely see anyone bounce back from the bottom in real life.

For me, that period happened after I had an accident with my dream car. I told myself a long time ago that when I had a little money, I would go ahead and get the one and only material thing I wanted the most: the Ferrari 458, only to crash it just over a year later in a major accident that almost harmed myself and others. To make it worse, the accident occurred one week before Jenny’s birthday trip to Paris.

You can imagine us trying to have fun in Paris while our minds are still at the accident site (yes, she was in the car with me). I know I have a first-world problem here: a wealthy guy crashed his Ferrari and walked away; he had to fly to Paris for his wife’s birthday. But regardless, it is still a problem, at least until I can get out of my own head.

I wish I were making this story up. On the last day of the trip, I was ready to cheer myself up and end our time with an “Emily in Paris” tour. We would eat at Gabriel restaurant and then follow our host to visit all of the favorite scenes from the movie. I woke up with intense abdominal pain rated 10 out of 10.

I tried to act normal and still go out, but later on, I succumbed to the pain and lay in bed rolling around, trying to figure out what to do next. The flight to Vietnam (our next destination) was less than 24 hours away.

If you know me by now and my entire career, I have always tried to motivate myself, cheering myself up, telling myself everything will be fine. I do that until I am emotionally and physically unable to, which is at this very moment.

It was a cold winter afternoon in Paris. I was at the peak of my emotional and physical pain. I didn’t want Jenny to see me suffer like this, so I tried to act normal and asked her to run some errands for me while I tried to figure out what to do. I did positive self-talk, motivation, and affirmations. They all helped me hang on to my consciousness a little bit until the fever kicked in, and then everything turned…black.

For a brief moment, I felt a sense of relief, letting things go because it didn’t matter what I did or tried to do; my body and mind completely succumbed to the pain. I passed out.

Jenny finally came back to the hotel after the long list of errands I had given her. Luckily, the pain medication I took earlier finally kicked in, and I could perform some basic human functions.

What happened after this changed my perspective on motivation.

This is me before this incident:

Motivation ? Action

This is me after this incident:

Action ? Motivation

It is the very next action I take that motivates me to do more and take the next action. Everything starts with movement first; then motivation comes later.

Sitting in pain in that hotel does not motivate me to do anything. But instead of sitting in pain, I took the next action: cleaned myself up. Then the next action: got hydrated. Then the next action: packed and prepared for the flight. Next action: reserved a taxi (I decided to take a chance and fly to Vietnam instead of going to an emergency room in Paris).

To conclude the story, I landed in Vietnam at 7 AM, and by 10 AM, I was seeing the first doctor. It turned out I had two large kidney stones blocking my ureter and causing inflammation. Luckily, I was treated by the best medical staff in the nation.

The recovery was still painful but swift. I am so fortunate to be able to recover at my home in Sai Gon with friends and family instead of a dark and cold hotel room in Paris.

Through my recovery, it is still the action that created the motivation. This is what I call the minimum viable action. I don’t want to do anything, but what is the minimum thing I can do to get myself healthier or recover faster? Once I take the first small steps, the motivation automatically follows to take the next step, just like writing this book.

I am not motivated to do anything and could easily fall into a victim mindset. But with each small action toward a particular goal, motivation automatically emerges and brings you closer to your destination.

I took this lesson to heart and stopped relying on motivation.

I took action.

Motivation will come later, or not. I don’t care.

Don’t get me wrong; there is a time and place for motivation and affirmation, and I would love to do it with you. But remember, it is the action that creates motivation.

Don’t wait to be motivated.

If you find yourself stuck, remember: take that first step. It doesn’t have to be big; it just has to be a step. Whether it’s writing a paragraph, making a phone call, or even just getting out of bed, action creates momentum. Each little victory builds on the last, and soon you’ll find yourself on a path you never thought possible. So, let’s get moving together. The world is waiting for you to take that leap, and trust me, once you start, the motivation will catch up with you.

Whatever you want to do, take the first small step, and the rest will follow.

Action eats motivation for breakfast.