Pulling excerpts from previous podcast guests like Eddie Jones, Damian explains how we should be utilising desire and future planning to get a learner's attention. Take any success story - take any famous person - who is famous because they are successful, and they will regale you for hours with stories about their training programme, the sacrifices, the early morning starts…. But here’s the thing that hardly ever gets mentioned: We’ll never know. Because, one way or another, we’ll never bother to ask them. Their life of relentless striving led only to obscurity.

Everyone has one system they use and one they are building, but most do not see the bigger picture of the system they are in.” Psychological framework involves the ability to master what’s within one’s control; the ability to live with passion; to have clarity of purpose and subsequent goals; and be able to persevere during difficult times. The mental skills element is about developing—as I mentioned earlier—calm, confidence, deep focus, and the ability to trust oneself in any moment; to adjust to the unfolding unpredictable unknown, the present moment. That requires a self-discovery process of knowing who you are, and who you’re working on becoming, and aligning all of those to run to the edge of one’s capacity on a regular basis. There’s a real recognition of failure, why you need to persevere and develop a team. And as someone who followed many of the sports people they reference, I found that fascinating. But many books also share these insights and arguable a little bit more fluently. Covers the importance of taking responsibility, motivation, emotions, strengths, flexibility, leading a team and crafting a culture. All things you’d have covered in an undergrad business degree, but perhaps could have lost sight of in the real world. Their competitor was working just as hard, was just as determined, just as focussed, just as ready, just as driven…. But on the day, they slipped into the obscurity of second place.So, a mark of somebody who has developed their inner capacity, as well as an external skill, is their ability to move freely in the world around them in any condition, any environment. At this point, I admit, my expectations were being met. And then things went from bad to worse. “Taken together, the six habits you’ll learn here won’t just get you to excellence, they’ll make you happier—and the data proves it. The positive emotions of engagement, joy, and confidence that define the high performer’s emotional state can be yours.” Outliers: The Story of Success : Book on the habits and methods higher performers use to achieve extraordinary results Brendon's books, videos, newsletters, products, and appearances now inspire two million people a month worldwide. As a final choice, would you consider recommending one of the practical how-to books you mentioned at the beginning? Something that might help us put these values into practice?

But…. If this your first dabble into the “winner” genre, I’d recommend a note of caution before you start. Like many “positive thinking” books, HP’s underlying message is that, if you put in the hard work, if you take responsibility, if you’re single minded, dedicated and determined, and if you stay focused and driven; you’ll get to the top. Looked at from a less romantic point of view, the true lesson from any Steve Jobs or Usain Bolt story is that dozens of other people stood on the same start line after putting in just as much work and had their efforts come to nothing.

Burchard is also not a therapist. “I’ll remind you, I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, biologist, or any other title I’m aware of that ends in ‘-ist.’ I am a professional high performance coach and trainer who is paid for results, not discussion or theory.” Fair enough. That’s probably what most people who will consider this book are looking for. Otherwise you’d be in the religion or philosophy sections. There are at least three ways to listen. One is through a mindfulness or meditation practice. Another is through writing. As we write, we have to force ourselves to choose words, and as we choose those words, there’s a connection, you know? A feeling that goes with that, oftentimes. And then, there is talking with wise men and women. Those three functions can help gather a deeper insight about the person that somebody is working on becoming. We—and when I say ‘we,’ I’m talking about my partnership with Coach Carroll, the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks—we’ve found that there are five core pillars in the psychology of excellence. They are: self-discovery, mental skills, psychological framework, recovery and mindfulness. This is an interesting in book about what it takes to be a high performance or high achiever person. It does not shy from what it needs to be done and doesn't go into fantasy land saying that if you want something it will happen. However, the book is mostly based on stories from sport-related careers and sometimes it is hard to make the connection to a working day in a normal office. I’ve found the easiest, fastest, most effective way to increase their energy is to teach them to master their transitions... If we can get you to change the way you shift from one activity to the next, we can revitalize your life.”

I will tell you that one thing all six habits have in common is that they are deliberate. They require conscious effort. There are no little green pills. The book, in fact, might have been called The Power of Being Deliberate. Then comes the hook. Every consultant knows the old saying, “Them that can, do; those that can’t, teach.” That’s why they always give you the pièce de résistance, the handful of words that describes why their idea is different. It can normally be shown as a geometric shape or simple graph. In this case, it is, “High performance is not achieved by a specific kind of person, but rather a specific set of practices, which I call high performance habits.” I love the High Performance podcast and listen to it fairly consistently (!); my issue with the book is that about 90% of the material has already been shared on the podcast. There are some new anecdotes from Jake and Damian personally but with respect to the pair of them, they aren’t why I listen/read.Brendon's recent online marketing campaigns have set records in publishing, online product launches, and live video broadcast revenue, and he has become the go-to marketing advisor for many of the most successful companies and celebrities in the world. Anderson Cooper calls Brendon "one of the top marketing and business trainers in the world." then, apart from a handy recap, this book will have nothing new for you. If you haven’t encountered these books yet, then this book is probably an excellent place to start. The “taking responsibility” chapter was my favourite & gave me a tough wake up call of how I can’t remain in a state of “learned helplessness” where the world and life is happening TO me. I have to learn to take responsibility. But also understanding a fine line between always thinking something is my fault = taking responsibility - that’s not true. “high performance is about what you do; it isn’t about constantly blaming yourself”. It’s all here. Find the books, hear from authors and discuss content with other like-minded people!

Which habits can help you achieve long-term success and vibrant well-being no matter your age, career, strengths, or personality? To become a high performer, you must seek clarity, generate energy, raise necessity, increase productivity, develop influence, and demonstrate courage . The art and science of how to do all this is what this book is about. I was able to listen to this audiobook via Mr. Burchard's podcast. The audiobook is broken into 11 episodes and is free to listen to. You can find them on: THE BRENDON SHOW podcast. The first episode is from April 6, 2018. The philosophical ones are the ones that stand up best to the test of time, for the ages, if you will. And it’s been really tough to split between the Tao Te Ching, the Gita, and the Bible. Those three books have shaped more ideas than any other book combined.From professional athletes to CEOs, entrepreneurs and adventurers, it makes for insightful and meaningful conversations. And all are focused around how they have managed to be high performers achieving incredible levels of success in their field. High Performance Book The podcast this book was grounded on has popped up regularly on my feed. The book itself is like a ‘Greatest Hits’ from the podcast and ultimately there are a lot of helpful insights in it. After extensive original research and a decade as the world’s leading high performance coach, Burchard found the answers. It turns out that just six deliberate habits give you the edge. Anyone can practice these habits and, when they do, extraordinary things happen in their lives, relationships, and careers.