Many people have the mindset that they “hit their peak” back in high school or that they’re waiting to “get in the zone” at some point in the future. This is the reason why the majority is stuck in mediocrity. The truth is you can be at your peak at all times. This is what it means to be a super-achiever. It’s not about perfection but rather, about excellence.
As I’ve mentioned before, one of the key essentials to achieving more, working smart and taking proactive steps to reach financial freedom is to have clarity. This is your foundation. When you have a clear vision of who you are, what you want and why you want it, the journey to being a millionaire becomes real.
So what does it take to be a super-achiever? Here are six ways to boost your performance that allow you to maintain higher levels of energy on a long-term basis.
Flexibility
On the one hand there’s dedication to a clearly defined goal, on the other is blind persistence. Obviously you want to find yourself in the former group. It’s good to never give up and keep trying, but as Einstein put it, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
If a plan you’ve implemented is not working out, some may say you should quit while you’re ahead, while others will advise you to stay the course and see it through. Now it depends on the situation and only you can determine the best course of action. However, I feel that, as a super-achiever, there’s another route to take. If nothing is going right, go left.
To be a super-achiever you have to be flexible and open to solving a problem from a different angle, rather than persistently pushing your original plan through despite every red flag that comes your way.
Membership to the Elite
According to Jim Rohn, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” So if you’re the smartest person in your group, you need to seek out new contacts. To be one of the elite you need to join the elite.
I’m not talking about “snobs” or people who look down on others and think of them as inferior. No, when I say elite I mean people who work smarter, achieve more, are doing the things that you want to do and living the life you want to live.
Surround yourself with the people you aspire to be like and who inspire you. Join a mastermind group of high achievers.
Environment is a far stronger motivator than willpower. By mixing with minds that are at your level or higher, you’ll find it so much more difficult to fail. Not only will you feel energized by the people surrounding you, you’ll also find simple ideas that are casually bounced around have a tendency to grow into the extraordinary.
Alternatively you can get a mentor, someone who has been in your position, gone through the journey and achieved the goal you’ve set for yourself. Your mentor will constantly be holding you to the same high standards they hold themselves. This opens your mind to the possibilities that lie within you and will force you to elevate your performance.
Emotional Maturity
The thing with emotional maturity is that it doesn’t necessarily come with age. It is a conscious decision to keep calm when faced with an infuriating situation. When you’re able to control your emotions in the most difficult and stressful of environments, you’ll allow yourself to see a solution with more clarity.
Naturally you can’t change who you are, and I’m not saying you should. But knowing your boiling points and taking steps to release your anger in productive ways, rather than shouting at the person who made a mistake, is something you can own.
What I often find is when average people are faced with a problem, they spend 90% of their time discussing that problem, dissecting it, pointing fingers and blaming. They ask, “how could this happen?” and “why did this happen?” and “who is responsible for this?”
As a super-achiever, you should only spend 10% of your time discussing the problem and the remaining 90% finding a solution to it. The super-achiever asks, “how do we fix this?” and “what can we do right now to make this better?” and “what can we do to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future?”
It’s like the old saying of not crying over spilled milk. The super-achiever is the one that cleans up the mess, designs a sturdier bottle and puts it in a secure place away from possible harm.
Be Open to Learning
The worst thing a person can believe is that they don’t need to learn anymore because they already know enough. Times and technology are ever evolving and if you want to be a super-achiever, you need to be evolving with them. By picking up a new skill or sharpening your current skills, you stay ahead of the pack.
Tennis champion Martina Navratilova is a prime example of this. Even though she was one of the top players at the time, she realized that the upcoming women were beginning to outplay her. Rather than sticking to her guns and continuing to play the game her way, she adapted by changing her routine and diet. The transformation of her training ensured she remained relevant and competitive.
Take Action
Possibly the most obvious of attributes with regards to super-achievers is that they take action. But it’s more than just “working.” It’s about the ability to get more done, more efficiently in the same time as everybody else. Super-achievers don’t need to work more by putting in more hours. In fact, if you find that you need to clock in the overtime at your job, it may be that you’re simply under performing throughout the day.
If you’re currently working at an office, look at the people who are surpassing their peers. What are they doing that makes them invaluable to their employers? It’s likely that the work they produce is of a higher caliber than the person they sit next to and yet they’re able to hit their deadlines just like everybody else.
Maximizing your time and potential on a consistent basis rather than depending on sporadic bursts of activity will create lifelong good habits that will translate into different areas of your life from the financial to the personal.
Heightened Focus
Contrary to popular belief, multitasking is not a good approach to productivity. Putting your hands in a million different projects at one time is a surefire way to not achieving anything at a higher level. By attempting to do different things all at once, the energy is dissipated and less potent. To be a super-achiever you must have the discipline to follow through with what you place your focus on.
This is especially true for those seeking financial freedom. It can be so easy to get distracted by the next shiny object that promises quick riches at the press of a button. Don’t be fooled into leaving a program to take up something new. Often all it does is take you out of a half-fulfilled journey, making you start over from scratch.
A super-achiever has the power to say no to things that aren’t of their purpose. They stay the course and follow through to the end. This is what allows them to outperform others who quit when things get hard. As well as being willing to make informed decisions and take risks, super achievers often prove to have heighted and sustained levels of energy.
Committing to Change
The path to being a super-achiever doesn’t have to be an uphill struggle. While others think it’s impossible to always be hitting your full potential, I can tell you right now it’s not. Again, remember that this isn’t about being perfect and never making mistakes. It’s about constantly excelling on a long-term basis.
When things go wrong, and they will at some point in time, the super achiever will find a way around it rather than giving up and going home. Start by having a clear vision of what you want to achieve and then add the values required to sustain a high level of performance: flexibility in any situation, surrounding yourself with the elite, being emotionally mature, having a willingness to learn and grow, taking purposeful action and maintaining a higher level of focus.
By consistently striving for excellence, you’ll achieve more, faster, with higher efficiency and greater quality, putting you on the fast track to success and achieving perpetual wealth and freedom.