OK, I know we just finished Thanksgiving and so I should probably tell you something about being thankful. It’s a powerful thought, really, and there is increasing science behind the notion that being grateful is an important ingredient for success.
However, I’m not going to go into that now. Rather, here are three thoughts for you to focus on. Warning—we’re going to get a bit metaphysical and spiritual here, so hang on. Don’t let that sense of “pretty colors and butterflys” throw you into ignoring the truth inherent.
#1—Let Go—remember the old adage “practice makes perfect?” Well, as a coach of swimmers, many of whom had NCAA careers (some even made Olympic trials), what I taught was that “practice makes habits” and thus what we have to work on is building habits that will sustain us when the race really is on. Under pressure of the actual event, we simply can’t take time to start “thinking about it” if we hope to really achieve top peak performance. To really get to life success, you have to let go the conscious mind and let the body simply take over. But remember, to get there, you have to put in the foundation of focused, diligent effort in “practice” that builds habits that sustain.
#2—Emphasize the last 10%–I was reading an article about soccer great David Beckham and one of his coaches said something startling. “Just about every soccer player reaches the same level of cardio fitness, but it’s the extra things you do—that last 10 percent that can separate one player or one team from another.” The coach went on to explain that Beckham does that, putting in the extra effort on many levels to achieve that level of success. That is true in every phase of life, gang, so, are you emphasizing that last 10% or are you coasting on your perceived greatness or previous accomplishments? I can promise you that your competition (for the job, for the raise, for the scholarship, for the internship, for the sale) is not coasting, not the truly great ones.
#3—Find the true love—so many of us find ourselves in situations that we don’t like, often things we think that are beyond us. We all get that way. The key for true success comes in how you handle that feeling. Do you complain bitterly? Do you rail against the stars as to how things turned out? Or do you turn to a deeper fire within that enables you to see into the deeper sense of the “NOW?” I really enjoyed the movie Peaceful Warrior; there’s a great quote in that movie where the mentor, played by Nick Nolte, says “a warrior does not give up what he loves; he finds the love in what he does.” Many times you may think that you are not getting to do what you love, what you think you should get to do. A successful person sees that the now is what we have; whether we are happy is a choice we make, not something contingent on the destination or the journey.
Let go and let your preparation take over. Emphasize that 10% differential in your preparation and it will come out in the execution. And live deeply in the now of where you are sensing the real purpose in being, that true love of now that will release you to rise on your life of success.