Sustained Success is Never an Accident
I spend my professional life helping high achievers reach even higher and feel better. I help people go from good to great and great to elite. I know the ins and outs of intensely driven, high performance individuals—their strengths and their vulnerabilities.
One thing I can tell you for sure: sustained success—the kind of success that brings several Olympic medals over time, or a business that grows and evolves over decades or a family that is happy, healthy and productive —is never an accident. Real success is carefully crafted, intentionally planned and deliberately executed.
Does that sound like drudgery? It’s not. Is it a lot of hard work? Yes, but who said hard work can’t be fun? In fact, I highly recommend that you enjoy what you’re pursuing if you really want to reach the highest level. If it’s drudgery, that’s a red flag that you’re on the wrong track, doing it for the wrong reasons or burned out.
In this blog, I want to share with you the characteristics that I see and help to cultivate in the high achievers. In another blog post, I’ll share their common vulnerabilities as well. Why? Because the secret to success shouldn’t be a secret. Any of us who seek to be better, achieve more and feel better can get in the game if we so choose.
Ready?
1) Number one, and arguably most important is vision. High achievers know where they’re going, and they know what they’re about. They know their WHY—their reason for being and doing do what they do. Their WHY is their foundation of everything they build. Remember, a solid house won’t be around long if it’s built on a flimsy foundation.
2) Second, high performers are very intentional, meaning they are selective about how they spend their time, energy and resources.
3) In turn, they cultivate habits and routines which flow directly from vision and and their intentions.
4) Discipline: High Performers are disciplined about maintaining and developing the habits that support their success. While they are routinized, they’re careful not to become stagnant.
5) Resilience: Let’s face it, individuals who craft sustained success are experts at learning from mistakes. By nature they push limits and take risks, and in so doing understand that mistakes are part of the process. They know in their bones that every failure is an opportunity to learn. As Billie Jean King says, “Everything is feedback. Use it.”
6) Attitude: High achievers tend to be optimistic and forward looking people. In addition, they usually have daily gratitude practice. They don’t take what they have for granted and are joyful about the pursuit of excellence.
These general qualities I’ve described above are vague. I do this intentionally to allow you to fill in the space with your own experience and aspirations. I encourage you to start at the top with your big picture, and allow yourself to flow from there. Remember that everything supports your vision. When I say everything, I mean it. If you aim to be a five start athlete, then everything you do must align with that vision. My clients have heard me say, “They don’t give you the cheap soap when you go to the Ritz Carlton.” Everything, from the little soap on up, has to be five star. Think about that principle as it relates to you and how you conduct your life.
Last for now is this: Images and messages on social media lead us all to believe that success (in whatever form) is easily achieved. Glamorous images mask the reality of all the behind the scenes planning, work, failures—and the small successes that add up to a win. My advice: ingest it lightly and carefully, and get back to focusing on your own adventure.
Or, as many people have said: “You create your own luck.”
Many people regard the start of the new year as a reset button, reaffirming fitness or business goals, or just taking a pause to reflect, review and plan for the next year and beyond. This year I’m doing the same, taking a bit of space to reflect and refine the course.