‘Do or Die’ Commitment
“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
If there was ever one word that defined the champion, the word would be commitment. When everyone else is tired, exhausted, and burned out from the battle, the great ones are just getting warmed up. It’s not that they don’t fatigue, but their commitment to their dream keeps them going. Average people think it would be nice to achieve their goals, as long as it doesn’t get too uncomfortable or painful. Champions don’t recognize pain, because they have made a commitment to do what it takes to win.
Average performers make a commitment and approach it like a hobby. World-class performers make a commitment and approach it like a war, knowing they will have to go through the unknown level of suffering along the road to victory. Average performers always question the price they have to pay for success; champions pay whatever price it takes to win. This small difference in mental strategy makes all the difference in the world. Commitment is more about making a decision to do whatever it takes to succeed than anything else.
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 aligned with my commitments?” If they are not aligned, then make a commitment to change them.
Consistency in Performance
“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. Day after day, they perform at the very highest levels. The reason they are so consistent is because their actions are congruent with their thought processes. Champions usually have a very clear mental picture of what they want, why they want it, and how to move closer to their target objective. While average people are complaining about the sacrifices they have to make to be great, the champions have already made those decisions and continue to move forward.
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Champions invest an excessive amount of time thinking, planning, and clarifying their goals and targets, as well as mapping out an exact action plan for attainment. 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. Consistency is also created by practice. Champions are usually thought of as the people with the most talent, and sometimes this is true. Yet champions are known to invest large blocks of time practicing their craft long after everyone else has gone home. The practice may not make perfect, but it does create consistency in performance.
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. 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.
Willingness to Suspend the 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
The world-class is the most open-minded group of people you will ever meet, which is one of the reasons for their tremendous success. While amateur thinkers are convinced they have figured out how the world works, champions are not so sure and are open to new ways of looking at old problems. In other words, champions are willing to suspend their disbelief until they evaluate the facts. The great ones are ready to change at a moment’s notice if they are convinced something can be done faster, cheaper or better.
A great example is Internet of Things (IoT) or digitalization in business. Open-minded leaders are guiding & encouraging their team to implement these initiatives in different processes of business. I have seen that with IoT and digitization life is getting easier for professionals and at the same time process cum person productivity/efficiency is skyrocketing.
On another side, so many leaders are still not believing in these initiatives. They are having excuses for not having the funds to start. But the real root causes are, they are not having knowledge of the subject and their lack of willingness. Why I am so confident on this is, though these initiates call for a good amount of investment but the return on these investments is pretty good. In some cases, recovery is very well possible in less than a year’s time.
These initiatives reduce the rework & cycle time of the process. They generate data, reports, graphs, which are easy to understand & help professionals to make the right decisions. All these improvements provide a good contribution to the bottom line (profit) of the business.
Things are going virtual day by day at a rapid pace. A lot of automation is going on all around us. So it’s a great time to implement these initiatives in your business. You can go through the related blog titled ‘The Robots Are All Around – Notice the High Potential Future Business’ to gain on the subject.
The heart of the champions’ open-minded attitude is in their spirit-based consciousness. Most new ideas with the power to revolutionize people’s lives never make it past the amateurs’ ego, which is rooted in fear of the unknown and marked by pre-judgment, pretense, and frustration. While the masses are dying from mental stagnation, the pros grow healthier every day by entertaining thoughts of abundance and keeping their fertile minds open to life and successful living.
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? (Inspired from one of my favourite ‘177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class’ by Steve Siebold)
