HBR’s 10 Must Reads on High Performance (with bonus article "The Right Way to Form New Habits” An interview with James Clear)

The Right Way to Form New Habits

by James Clear and Alison Beard

Editor’s Note: The transcript of this audio interview (originally published on December 31, 2019) has been lightly edited for clarity.

We spoke with James Clear, entrepreneur and author of the book Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones, about why success requires discipline. It’s something we’ve seen time and time again in the stories of great leaders. They might get up at 4 a.m. every day, read a book a week, or have a tried-and-true system for client outreach or interviewing.

Many of these people seem to have superhuman ambitions and work ethics. But there’s another way of looking at their achievements: They’ve developed great habits. ...