TwosWrite things down

177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class by Steve Seibold

177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class by Steve Seibold

by Parker · 964 things on Twos

The Thought Processes, Habits And Philosophies Of The Great Ones
Foreword
What you think controls how you perform -- pure cause and effect. Your thinking is the cause. Your performance is the effect. So thinking the right thoughts (and acting on them) makes great sense.
If you want to Be like a champion, you’ve got to Think like a champion.
The World Class Operates From Objective Reality
“Amateur performers operate from delusion, pros operate from objective reality. The great ones’ habits, actions, and behaviors are totally congruent with the size and scope of their ultimate vision. That’s why we call them champions.” - Steve Siebold
Most people delude themselves into thinking they are working harder then they are, and that they are more competent than they actually are.
Action Step for Today: Make a commitment to check delusion at the door. Be honest and ask this critical thinking question: “Are my habits, actions and behaviors congruent with the vision I have for my life?”
Poverty-Class Consciousness = 5%. Working-Class Consciousness = 10%. Middle-Class Consciousness = 70%. Upper-Class Consciousness = 10%. World-Class Consciousness = 5%.
Leadership and Self-Deception by Arbinger Institute
The middle class competes, avoids risk, lives in delusion, loves to be comfortable, has a lottery mentality, hungers for security, sacrifices growth for safety, operates out of fear and scarcity, focuses on having, sees themselves as victims, slows down, is frustrated, has pipedreams, is ego-driven, is problem oriented, thinks they know enough, chooses fear, is boastful, trades time for money, denies their intuition, believes their vision only when they see it, coaches through logic, speaks the language of fear, believes problem solving stems from knowledge.
World class creates, manages risk, lives in objective reality, is comfortable being uncomfortable, has an abundance mentality, doesn't believe security exists, sacrifices safety for growth, operates from love and abundance, focuses on being, sees themselves as responsible, calms down, is grateful, has vision, is spirit driven, is solution oriented, is eager to learn, chooses growth, is humble, trades ideas for money, embraces their intuition, seeks wealth, knows they will see their vision when they believe it, coaches through emotion, speaks the language of love, believes problem solving stems from will.
World-Class Wealth Begins With World Class Thinking
“Wealth is the product of a man's capacity to think.” - Ayn Rand
The middle class believes formal education is the answer to acquiring wealth, yet very few academics are wealthy.
The middle class trades time for money. The world class trades ideas that solve problems for money.
Money flows like water from ideas.
The poverty class talks about and regurgitates the past; the middle class talks about other people; and the world class talks about ideas.
Action Step for Today: Ask this critical thinking question: “At what level of monetary success do I feel most comfortable? a) poverty class b) middle class c) world class.” Where you feel most comfortable reflects your self-image, and most likely, your current status. If you want to become wealthier, begin by raising your self-image by upgrading the self-talk you use regarding money and finances. If all you do is chase more money, you are simply attacking the effect. The cause is how you think, and if you improve the cause, the effect will take care of itself.
You Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor
Champions Have An Immense Capacity For Sustained Concentration
“Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all of your energies on a limited set of targets.” - Nido Qubein
Champions are famous for concentrating their energy and efforts on what they want and blocking out anything or anyone who threatens that focus.
When the goals are set, champions put mental blinders on and move forward with dogged persistence and ferocious tenacity.
While average people see world-class performers’ successes as a matter of intelligence or luck, champions know sustained concentration of thought and action is usually the true key to their success.
Action Step for Today: Write down the single most important goal you want to achieve in the next twelve months and make a commitment to concentrate on achieving it – no matter what it takes.
Champions Are Driven By Emotional Motivators
The masses are primarily motivated by extrinsic motivators, such as material possessions and money. The world class is motivated intrinsically, by their dreams, desires and passions.
External motivation is short lived, while internal motivation is nearly impossible to exhaust until the goal is achieved.
The process great leaders and coaches use is tedious, time consuming, and simple: ask questions, and don’t stop until you have landed on the emotional hot buttons. World class coaches keep digging until they hit the vein of gold – when the performer begins answering in terms of how they feel, as opposed to what they think.
Action Step for Today: Ask these five critical thinking questions: 1) What am I willing to fight for? 2) What values do I hold dearest to my heart? 3) What values would I be willing to die for? 4) If I could achieve a single thing, what would make all my hard work worth the struggle? 5) If I had thirty seconds left to live, what would I tell my children are the three most important things I learned about how to live a happy life? Your answers will tell you a lot about what drives you emotionally.
The Great Ones Separate Truth From Fact
Champions use their critical thinking skills to make a clear distinction between truth and fact. Fact is reality. Truth is our perception of reality, and perceptions are subjective.
Champions make decisions based on facts, not feelings.
The great ones know the conscious mind functions most effectively on fact, while the subconscious can be programmed with truth. Since the subconscious is unable to make the distinction between fact and truth, champions program their subconscious minds to believe their visions, dreams and ideas as truths. Because the subconscious doesn’t have the ability to reject an idea, it accepts it as truth and begins to create behaviors that are congruent with this new “truth.”
Action Step for Today: Write down 10 things you know are fact, and rethink each by asking, “Is this really a fact, or a truth I’ve created from my own or others’ perceptions?” For example: is it a fact that the sky is blue? Is it a fact that you are a nice person? Is it a fact that the faithful will be rewarded in heaven? You’ll see how often we operate from truth, rather than fact.
Champions Lead Through Facilitated Introspection
Facilitating the introspective process in another person requires patience and time, and the great ones are willing to invest. The amateur wants instant results, but pros know this rarely occurs. The payoff for the pro comes not only in the form of increased productivity, but also in the connection created between manager and employee. Once an emotional creature is convinced that you care about what she thinks and how she feels, it sets the stage for emotional bonding to occur. Managers and leaders who lead this way lose very few of their people to rival companies because of this bond. In the age of the mind, facilitated introspection is the core process of leadership.
“The great managers and leaders of the future will know more about their people than ever before. They’ll know their emotional hot buttons as well as the essence of what makes them tick. Through facilitated introspection, these leaders will create a competitive immunity for their companies by reigniting the flame of loyalty that burns within their people.” - Steve Siebold
Action Step for Today: Invest 20 minutes today leading someone through the introspective process. Your first question should be: Tell me what you really want out of life more than anything else? Your goal should be to make the person comfortable enough to answer you in terms of how she feels, rather than how she thinks. Once she begins to explain her feelings, follow up with these questions: 1) What exactly do you mean by that? 2) What does that look like? 3) Why do you feel that way? 4) Tell me more about that. 5) Why is that important to you? 6) What does having that mean to you?
The Great Ones Know They Are Unaware
“Everyone is operating and running their lives at their current level of conscious awareness.” - Carlos Marin
Average people have a world view that says being comfortable with who and where they are in life is the key to happiness. The great ones have a world view that says happiness is learning, growing and becoming.
Action Step for Today: Ask yourself this critical thinking question: Am I growing or dying? If your answer is dying, make the decision today to become more aware and begin growing.
The Handbook to Higher Consciousness by Ken Jeyes Jr.
Champions Develop World-Class Beliefs Long Before They Become Champions
“They can . . . because they think they can.” - Unknown
People of influence, such as parents, teachers, coaches, religious leaders, and others were the primary builders and shapers of our early belief systems. In most cases, this programming is limiting because it comes from people who believe they are limited.
Average people are saddled with a set of beliefs that are more about survival than success.
Average people have been programmed to avoid pain at all costs, which promotes a ‘playing not to lose’ mentality.
Reprogramming is a never-ending activity. Some people even consider this process ‘positive brainwashing.’
Action Step for Today: Make a list of your most closely held beliefs, and begin the process of questioning whether they are serving you or holding you back. Question their validity. Are they relevant, or out of date? Knowing that behavior follows belief, give yourself an opportunity to discard or upgrade any beliefs that limit you.
Champions Embrace Relativity
“The great ones are highly aware of the fact that all perceptions are based on the experience and belief of the beholder. This is the reason they surround themselves with people who think much bigger than they do. Beliefs and expectations are contagious, and champions are eager to catch as much as they can.” - Steve Siebold
Ask champions if their vision is big, and they are likely to respond, “Compared to what?” The great ones develop the unique ability to measure beyond their own perspective. This is one of the secrets which enables them to reach for goals and dreams far exceeding anything they have accomplished in the past.
Action Step for Today: Listen to how people around you measure the size and scope of things. When you hear someone placing a value on something, using their own perspective as a reference point, challenge them. For example, if someone says, “This is a huge project, Bob,” reply, “Really. Compared to what?” Try this and see the reaction you get.
The World Class Compartmentalizes Emotions
“Nothing external to you has any power over you.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Professional performers compartmentalize each problem and create a mental/emotional separation between the person and the problem. Pros don’t engage in the emotional aspects of each problem; they focus on a logical solution and then put it aside so they can focus on the next challenge.
While amateurs get tangled in emotions, professionals are grounded in logical problem solving. Compartmentalization allows champions to work on and solve one problem at a time, with- out the emotions of one problem bleeding into the solutions of the others.
Action Step for Today: Commit to compartmentalizing problems by focusing exclusively on one problem at a time. Imagine you are the President of the United States. You must keep a clear, unemotional mind during the problem-solving process. The masses multi-task. The great ones focus.
The World Class Connects To The Source Through Gratitude
“Gratitude is the aristocrat of all of the emotions.” - Bill Gove
Champions know the ultimate creative force is located somewhere beyond our everyday consciousness, and they must tap this source to generate their best ideas. The secular sometimes refer to this source as the unconscious mind. The spiritual often call it God. Whatever label their belief warrants, few deny the power of the source, whatever its point of origin. Champions know the fastest way to connect to the source is through gratitude. Thoughts and feelings of gratitude seem to elevate the performers’ consciousness to a higher plane than is accessible through any other means.
Action Step for Today: Make a list of the ten things you are most grateful for in your life, and review them every morning for the next seven days. Monitor how this activity impacts your emotions.
Champions Know Adversity Is The Catalyst Of Mental Toughness
“If it weren’t for the dark days, we wouldn’t know what it is to walk in the light.” - Earl Campbell
Adversity is a challenge through which learning and growing occurs.
Action Step for Today: List the three most difficult adversities you have faced and five good things that happened to you as a result of each one. Train yourself to see the good in adversity, and your fear of future challenges will dissipate.
✓ Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frakel
The Great Ones Do It All With Class
Great ones tend to project themselves in the same manner whether they are winning or losing. When they win, they love to share the credit with the team, and when they lose, they assume 100% responsibility.
Action Step for Today: Make a list of the five things you would like the following groups of people to say about your conduct: 1) Your family 2) Your friends 3) Your customers Now go to work and become this person.
Champions Make 'Do or Die' Commitments
“You cannot keep a committed person from success. Place stumbling blocks in his way, and he takes them for stepping-stones, and on them he will climb to greatness. Take away his money, and he makes spurs of his poverty to urge him on. The person who succeeds has a program; he fixes his course and adheres to it; he lays his plans and executes them; he goes straight to his goal. He is not pushed this side and that every time a difficulty is thrust in his way. If he can’t get over it, he goes through it.” – George Gilder
When everyone else is tired, exhausted and burned out from the battle, the great ones are just getting warmed up.
Champions don’t recognize pain, because they have made a commitment to do what it takes to win.
Professional performers make a commitment and approach it like a war, knowing they will have to endure an unknown level of suffering along the road to victory.
Commitment is more about making a decision to do whatever it takes to succeed than anything else, yet only the pros seem to be able to get themselves to make these decisions.
Action Step for Today: Make a list of the five most important things you are committed to in your life, and ask this critical thinking question: “Are my habits, actions and behaviors congruent with my commitments?”
The World Class Is Consistently Great
“Plenty of men can do good work for a spurt with immediate promotion in mind, but for promotion, you want a man in whom good work has become a habit.” - Henry Doherty
A lot of performers are capable of outstanding performance, but the great ones all have one thing in common: consistency.
Erratic performance is the result of erratic thinking, so the first step in mental toughness training is gaining mental clarity.
Consistency in performance is the direct result of knowing why it is necessary to perform well and the benefits that will accrue, especially when the going gets tough and the pain sets in.
Champions are known to invest large blocks of time practicing their craft long after everyone else has gone home. Practice may not make perfect, but it does create consistency in performance.
Action Step for Today: To gain mental clarity and focus, create a written vision for your life. Imagine your life five to ten years in the future and list all you have done, accumulated and become during this time. Use the letter to a friend format that we use in our corporate Mental Toughness University program. Write a letter to a friend – real or imaginary – and date it from five to ten years in the future. Let your creative mind freewheel, without any thought of how you will achieve any of these things. Be sure to include as many details and as much emotion as possible. When you have a world- class vision for your life, you’ve taken the first step to world-class performance.
Champions Understand Logic vs. Emotion
“The arena was so loud, the emotion so great. Everybody was going crazy. I remember thinking, ‘Stay with it. Don’t get swept up.’ The hotter it gets, the cooler you have to get. I remember thinking of one word in my mind--‘miraculous.’” - Al Michaels
The sheer force of the collective emotion is so overwhelming that it mentally elevates the consciousness of the individual performers, which enables them to tap into a higher level of intelligence.
Champions Are Willing To Suspend Their Disbelief
“When presented with a new idea, check your ego at the door and suspend your disbelief. Your ability to open your mind and consider new ideas without fear will propel you to the top faster than anything else.” - Bill Gove
While the masses are dying from mental stagnation, the pros grow healthier everyday by entertaining thoughts of abundance and keeping their fertile minds open to life and successful living.
Action Step for Today: Think back to the last time someone approached you with a new idea that you were quick to dismiss, and give it a second chance. Suspend your disbelief, open your mind and give it careful consideration. What have you got to lose?
The World Class Is Ferociously Cooperative
“You can employ men and hire hands to work for you, but you must win their hearts to have them work with you.” - William Boetcker
Professional performers are the most cooperative people in the world, because they know it takes a team to achieve anything worthwhile. Their cooperation stems from their desire to win. They know they cannot do it alone.
Action Step for Today: Rate yourself on your level of cooperation. In your opinion, you are: 1 - Very cooperative with others 2 - Somewhat cooperative 3 - Not very cooperative 4 - Not cooperative at all If you rate a 2, 3, or 4, ask yourself if you are allowing your ego to get in the way. If the answer is yes, check your ego at the door and become a team player.
Champions Are Curious
“Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.” - Samuel Johnson
Champions are masters at learning from other people’s experiences because they are always asking questions. Their curiosity accelerates their growth through lessons learned vicariously.
Action Step for Today: The next time you are socializing with friends or associates, see how many questions you can ask each about what they do and why they do it. Get as many details as possible. Most people are full of great suggestions for solving problems, yet no one asks for their opinion. Your curiosity, combined with a beginner’s mindset, may yield unexpected solutions you can implement immediately.
The Great Ones Possess Supreme Confidence
The two fastest, most powerful ways to skyrocket self-confidence I’ve ever seen are:
Changing the language you use when you talk to yourself and others. Positive self-talk can literally change your life in ninety days, if you really stick to it. You can reprogram your entire belief system just by changing the words you use when you talk to yourself.
What to Say When You Talk to Yourself by Shad Helmstetter
Learning to be a proficient and entertaining public speaker. When you can stand in front of a group of people and communicate effectively, it catapults your confidence into the stratosphere.
Action Step for Today: Ask your three closest friends this question: On a scale of 1 to 7, 7 being most confident, how much confidence do I project? This will give you an idea of how the world is responding to you.
Champions Evolve From Competing to Creating
“Creative people rarely need to be motivated--they have their own inner drive that refuses to be bored. They refuse to be complacent. They live on the edge, which is precisely what is needed to be successful and remain successful.” - Donald Trump
The highest level is Playing to Win, which occurs when the performer moves from competition to creation, where the primary goal is to be the best they can be.
Knowing that creativity and fear cannot co-exist, these people are competing only with themselves with the objective of being better today than they were yesterday. The Playing to Win philosophy is rooted in a spirit-based consciousness operating from thoughts of love and abundance. Fear and scarcity have no place at this level of thinking.
These performers are fearlessly seeking what Dr. Abraham Maslow referred to as Self-Actualization, or becoming all that one has the potential to become. The most powerful belief performers operating at this level possess is that they cannot fail; they can only learn and grow. With their potential in front and their fear behind them, champions are able to move beyond the boundaries of competition and create what the masses believe is impossible.
Action Step for Today: Examine the 5 Levels of Mental Toughness and identify the level you inhabit most often in performance situations. Make a commitment to spend as much time at the Playing To Win level as possible.
5 levels of mental toughness
PLAYING NOT TO LOSE - “I better perform or I’ll be in trouble.”
PLAYING TO CRUISE - “As long as I continue to perform, I can cruise.”
PLAYING TO IMPROVE - “Maybe I can accomplish more than I thought. Maybe I’m better than I think I am.”
Belief-altering event occurs triggering a new thought process.
PLAYING TO COMPETE - “I think I can be the best!”
New success expands the belief system.
Performer is powerful, but still driven by ego gratification.
PLAYING TO WIN - “I cannot fail, I can only learn and grow. The only person I’m competing with is myself. I no longer feel fear, because it’s impossible for me to lose. I feel so grateful just to have an opportunity to be the best I can be. I see my performance as the primary catalyst of my self-actualization. I don’t have to be who I’ve always been. I learn and I grow; that’s how I win.
An event awakens the performer and triggers inner wisdom. Performer starts to see his/her performance as a game in which there is no way to lose.
Performer is driven by spirit instead of ego, devoid of pretense, and totally focused. Fear does not exist at this level, only love.
Champions Remember Their Roots
“We usually think of advice as something that someone tells us, but I learned my most valuable lessons in life by example, by watching people around me both when I was growing up and when I was trying to stay true, in my business career, to the values they taught me. Yet, if there is one piece of advice that has been important to me, it is “Always remember where you came from.” - John J. Mack
The world class is always reaching for the stars while keeping their feet on the ground.
You’ll hear them speak about the gratitude they feel for all of the people who contributed to their success and fulfillment.
The great ones know success is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and remembering their roots reminds them of not only where they came from, but also what it took to get them where they are now.
Action Step for Today: Invest ten minutes today remembering your roots and what it took to get you where you are now. Write a note or place a call to someone who helped you along the way and thank him or her for what they did for you. Pay special attention to how taking these actions makes you feel.
The World Class Never Bows To Criticism
“You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.” - John Wooden
Mental toughness, broken down to its root, is really about becoming a master of your emotions in performance situations, especially under pressure.
Amateurs are shocked when they are criticized, and many are emotionally wounded. Professional performers expect criticism as a part of being a champion and are rarely rattled by it.
Professional performers rarely criticize other people – they’re too busy working and practicing to get wrapped up in other people’s business. They don’t deal in personalities; they deal in ideas. Professional performers aren’t surprised by criticism from average people.
Champions ignore the criticism and go back to work.
Action Step for Today: Decide to separate your emotions from other people’s criticism of you. Refuse to talk about other people or gossip about their behavior. Focus only on ideas that can help you fulfill your vision.
Champions Believe In Choice
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” - Viktor Frankel
Amateurs feel they are at the mercy of the gods; professionals carefully construct a life based on a series of choices they make. This sense of control increases the professionals’ ambitious drive. It’s also one of the reasons champions appear to be so much happier than average people. They know their choices really control their destiny. They believe they can be anyone they want to be, do anything they want to do, and have anything they want to have. Their belief in this concept becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, which builds psychological momentum and makes the belief stronger every day.
Action Step for Today: Make a list of the things you feel you have no choice about doing, and revisit each one. Do you really have to do them, or are you choosing to do them? Could some of the less desirable things be omitted simply by making a choice? Delusion says you must do these things. Objective reality says you always have a choice, because you are always in control.
Choice Theory by Dr. William Glasser
The World Class Embraces Metacognition
The better you are at controlling your thoughts, the better the results will be.
“Of course we become what we think about. The real question is, “Do we know what we are thinking about?” - Steve Siebold
Action Step for Today: Take your emotional temperature today and assess your mood. Ask this critical thinking question: “How did I end up in this mood?” What thoughts did you process that put you in this mood?
Professional Performers Don't Require Immediate Compensation
Champions believe every effort performed with good intention yields some form of compensation at some point.
People become champions by perfecting their competencies until other people label them ‘champion.’ In most cases, this label took years of hard work and sacrifice to achieve, with little or no apparent compensation along the way. Many of the great ones were ridiculed and criticized for investing so many hours in the development of their core competency. Not swayed by amateur opinion, they pushed forward aggressively. This delayed gratification set the stage for all future battle plans for achievement in the minds of champions.
Action Step for Today: Ask this critical thinking question: “Am I more interested in pleasure, or gratification?” Amateurs focus on pleasure-based activities that deliver short and sweet payoffs. Professionals focus on gratification-based activities that take longer to achieve but deliver long and deep payoffs. Into which category do you fall?
Champions Embrace Conflict For Growth
The great ones see conflict not as a threat, but as an opportunity to gain a three-dimensional perspective on a problem.
The pros operate at a higher level of consciousness and don’t care who gets the credit for solving the problem.
Organizations which welcome or embrace conflict are destined to evolve exponentially from the combined brainpower of the group.
“A good manager doesn't try to eliminate conflict, he tries to keep it from wasting the energies of his people. If you're the boss and your people fight you openly when they think you're wrong - that's healthy.” - Robert Townsend
Action Step for Today: Ask this critical thinking question: “Am I emotionally addicted to the approval of others?” If your answer is yes, make a commitment to break this addiction immediately.
Champions Are Comeback Artists
“I'm going to the top of the mountain. You're either going to see me waving from the top or dead on the side. Buy you know what? I'm not coming down.” - Eric Worre
There’s an old saying among the world class: “A bet against a champion is a bad bet.”
The great ones never sacrifice people for success. The upper class is so ego-driven they often run over anyone who gets in their way. The world class, guided by their spirit-based consciousness, will only proceed toward their visions if their actions are fair to all parties concerned. Once this has been established, the champions fail again and again; yet continue coming back for more. On the physical plane, we call it perseverance. On the mental plane, we call it toughness. On the spiritual plane, we call it artistry.
Action Step for Today: Identify a goal or dream in your life that you have given up on, and ask this critical thinking question: “Is it possible to make a comeback in this area, and breathe new life into this old dream?” You’re a tougher, more competent performer than you were back when you abandoned this dream. Are you good enough to make a comeback now? (Hint: YES!)
The Great Ones Are Masters Of Their Work/Rest Cycles
“Recovery is an important word and a vital concept. It means renewal of life and energy. Knowing how and when to recover may prove to be the most important skill in your life.” - James Loehr
The great ones know (or are trained to know) when to exert maximum effort and when to let their mind and body rest.
Action Step for Today: Give yourself a life balance checkup. Are you investing the necessary time and energy in the important areas of your life? What areas are you over-stressing? What areas are you under-stressing? Think about your current stress and recovery cycles and make any adjustments you think are necessary for peak performance and maximum happiness.
Stress for Success by James Loehr
The World Class Is Coachable
“Great coaching is helping people discover what they already know.” - Bill Gove
Champions are well known for being the most open to world-class coaching. The bigger the champion, the more open-minded they are. The great ones couldn’t care less about ego satisfaction when it comes to improving their results – all they’re looking for is an edge, no matter how slight.
Action Step for Today: Invest 15 minutes to consider hiring a coach to help you get better results. Be coachable and open-minded. You may be surprised at what you will learn.
Champions Are Mentally Engaged In The Creative Process
“The creative person wants to know about all kinds of things: ancient history, nineteenth-century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, flower arranging, and hog futures, because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea.” - Carl Ally
There is a level of relativity and relationship to the order of all things, and the great ones know it.
Champions are being mentally reborn daily as a result of making new distinctions, interpretations and discoveries . . . and then they use these ideas to solve their problems.
Action Step for Today: Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 7, 7 being most creative. Be honest. How creative are you?
✓ The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
Champions Operate With a Clear Conscience
“Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does.” - Josh Billings
While average people are more concerned with what other people think of their actions, professional performers answer to a jury of one: their conscience.
One reason they’re able to maintain such high levels of concentration and intensity in their field of expertise is because they rarely carry mental baggage.
The four-way test from Rotary International:
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Champions know they can often fool other people, but they can never fool themselves.
“Self-esteem is the reputation we acquire with ourselves.” - Nathaniel Branden
Action Step for Today: Ask this critical thinking question: “Are all of my dealings congruent with my conscience?” If the answer is yes, you empower yourself to success. If not, consider abandoning these deals or behaviors. Universal law dictates that whatever you sow, you shall reap.
Common Sense Is The Foundation Of High Performance
Champions solve more complex challenges by looking at the situation as an outsider viewing it for the first time.
The great ones get out of their own way by viewing the problem from ten thousand feet in order to gain a new perspective.
The law of indirect effort is one of the most powerful problem-solving processes known to man. Champions realize the secret to tapping their true genius is sometimes hidden in the act of not trying so hard.
“Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe
Action Step for Today: Write down your five most pressing problems and ask: “Is there a kindergarten answer to this seemingly complex problem?” Let your mind revert to childlike thinking and write down the first answers that come to mind.
Champions Always Strive For Greater Competence
“Information is the booby prize. The real prize is competence.” - Larry Wilson
Champions are focused on becoming competent at what they do, and leave the information gathering to someone else.
While amateurs stay up at night worrying about job security, the pros are quietly creating it through competence. The future belongs to the competent, both in their field and in terms of controlling and directing their emotions. But then again, it always has.
Action Step for Today: List the three most important activities in which you must continue to develop competence. Make a commitment to invest a set number of hours per week (beyond your normal working hours) to study. One hour of extra study per day in your chosen field will make you a national expert in five years or less.