Course homepage
Course overview
Why is this book worth reading closely?
Explore the psychology behind behavior with me
Build better ways to achieve your goals
Do you always find yourself wavering, unable to make up your mind, and stuck in a constant state of confusion?
Why did your past self make those choices? What does your future self truly want?
How can you set goals you genuinely want to achieve, and that someone can actually carry out?
When pursuing a goal, how do you keep your motivation alive and put it into practice?
Motivation is the inner process that provides energy and direction for behavior. If you want to become someone full of inner energy and clear direction, you should definitely read Motivation Psychology.
A grand synthesis of cutting-edge motivation science
Read one10times better books
One volume: breakthrough in one place, vividly and clearly explaining the subject of “motivation”
One thread: connecting the dots, using “motivation” as the core to bring together the knowledge systems of modern psychology’s different branches
One perspective: a panoramic view, combining the thinking of ancient sages with the frontier findings of motivation research
One volume, one thread, one perspective: a rigorous work of scientific psychology
From the classics to Warfalcon, Yang Zhiping, and Qu Long, all recommend The Book of Life Control.
People in the know say that you can explain almost any chapter as an entire book.
Read 1 book closely and save yourself the time of reading 10 bestselling books.
About the authors
Edward Burkley
A social psychology PhD at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Oklahoma State University. His research focuses on motivation and self-regulation, with recent work emphasizing the role of the self in motivation and the development of motivation scales. He has published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and other journals; his research has also been covered by New Scientist and APA Monitor.
Melissa Burkley
A social psychology PhD at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Oklahoma State University. Her research focuses on implicit bias, stigma, racism, and sexism. She has published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and other journals, and her research has been covered by national media including The New York Times and Oprah’s television network.
Who will guide your close reading?
Zhichao Wei
PhD in psychology from East China Normal University
Psychology popular-science writer
He is a former university psychology lecturer;his specialty is his foundation
He graduated from the School of Psychology and Cognitive Science at East China Normal University, studying under Professor Yang Zhiliang, a leading experimental psychologist. He was a visiting scholar at UC Davis. He taught psychology at university for 10 years, covering courses from general knowledge to specialized subjects. His academic background allows him to understand Motivation Psychology with room to spare, while adding relevant knowledge and insights.
He is now a psychology popular-science writer;his trademark is making things fun
He has written bestselling psychology books including Intelligence on the Offensive, The Myth of the Mysterious, Why Elephants Don’t Listen, and 14 Psychological Codes. He is the first film critic with a psychology background, one of the few psychologists active in film criticism, a top Zhihu answerer in psychology, and a Bilibili creator. He has written several million Chinese characters online, bringing professional knowledge vividly to life.
He is a popular and well-known explainer;his perspective is worth anticipating
He has explained dozens of psychology books across various platforms, including Noise, Social Psychology, and Success, Motivation, and Goals, reaching millions of listeners. Many bestselling psychology books introduced to Chinese readers in recent years were first presented and explained by him. His close-to-the-user perspective connects knowledge with your actual life.
What you gain from the close reading
Zoom out for the big picture
Survey knowledge from above and sort out its logic and connections
This book uses “motivation” as its core and incorporates research findings from every branch of psychology. For example, when you encounter the chapter on “emotion,” it may initially seem off-topic, but the guide will help you locate it within the book’s overall framework.
Zoom in for the details
Pull out the core ideas;pry open the shell and unpack the fine print
The textbook is extremely dense with ideas and overflowing with information, so readers may sometimes struggle to grasp the key points. The guide combines his experience and understanding to explain those essentials. When discussing “goal pursuit,” for example, it focuses on improving self-control, using a magnifying glass to make every detail of this important idea clear.
Use a long-range lens
Go beyond the book itself;expand your thinking
In the intensive course, the guide supplements the book with other materials, connects it with other books, papers, and real-life phenomena, and examines important questions raised by the book. It helps you stand on the author’s shoulders to see farther, then look back at the book’s knowledge from a higher vantage point.
Everyday perspective
Build a bridge to practical application;make positive change happen
How do you discover your own motivation and passion? How do you set goals you genuinely want to achieve and can actually carry out? How do you plan the steps toward a goal? While pursuing it, how do you maintain goal-related motivation and resist other motivations that get in the way?
Knowledge is truly valuable when it can change your life. This intensive course will help you apply the book’s theories to life, explore the deeper motivations and obstacles behind behavior, and make good use of them—so you can find effective ways to achieve what you truly want and take better control of your life.
Who is this for?
People caught in powerlessness and confusion who want to explore where their motivation and passion lie
People looking forward to achieving goals and taking charge of their lives
Managers, teachers, and parents who need to motivate others
What is an intensive reading course?
With the guide leading the way, read for 1 hour each day and, over 15 to 30 days, truly finish, understand, and see through a good book.
At a set time, in a set amount, with a set structure
Listen to one lesson: hear the guide’s in-depth explanation of the relevant chapters
Read one chapter: return to the book and complete a close reading of the relevant chapters
Do one exercise: practice and deepen your understanding and insights from the relevant chapters
Good books require close, firsthand reading
Unlike the audio-video products of quick-listening services, the intensive course asks users to return to the book after listening to the guide’s audio and complete a personally engaged reading loop. Learning efficiency and learning results are negatively related: consuming knowledge quickly and comfortably can be efficient, but it leaves few traces in the reader’s lived experience. For the good books selected for the intensive course, we pursue learning results even at the cost of some efficiency—and that requires firsthand reading.
The act of reading is itself a form of learning
Reading itself is a learning process. It is not merely a “brain on autopilot” process, but a series of physical actions—turning pages, reading, taking notes, looking things up, resolving confusion, and doing exercises. Performing these actions deepens your sensory grasp and understanding of the book’s knowledge.
The intensive course cultivates the habit of reading
The guide’s audio does more than organize the framework, highlight key points, answer difficult questions, and share inspiration. More importantly, it is designed to activate a complete set of reading actions: listening, reading, and doing exercises. Reading is not comfortable; it consumes mental energy. The essence of the intensive course is a reading-training camp that cultivates the habit of reading.
Services provided by the intensive course
Carefully designed reading pathways
Repeatedly polished guide audio
Thoughtfully designed after-class practice
Online Q&A with the guide
Occasional offline or livestream interaction
Course outline
- Publication message: Motivation is the first driving force behind behavioral change (free preview)
- 01 From Plato to Freud: the philosophical roots and concept of motivation (free preview)
- 02 From Darwin to William James: the psychological roots of motivation
- 03 The need for autonomy: why is a sense of control so important?
- 04 The need for competence: everything I do comes from a fear of mediocrity
- 05 The need to belong: no one wants to be an island
- 06 Goal setting: how do you set a good goal?
- 07 Goal planning: pay attention to these 4 points and make planning more than just planning
- 08 Goal execution: 3 strategies to resist temptation and stick to your goals
- 09 How does the unconscious influence our behavior?
- 10 How do emotions influence our behavior?
- 11 Individual differences in achievement motivation
- 12 No self outside the self: how does the environment influence motivation?
- 13 Motivation and health: how do you cope with stress?
- 14 Motivation and wealth: the middle way to happiness
Leave a Reply