Being a High Performance Person

 After a certain point in one's life, a person can reasonably ask themselves whether they are winning the game of life, or not. Then once one has gotten beyond the productive years, it should be self-evident whether one is able to sum up their life as that of a winner or that of a loser. What makes one person a winner? And another a loser? What actions can one take to up their game and perform at higher levels?

I see myself as a winner, and always have. Despite not being ridiculously wealthy, I still consider that I have won the game of life. I am happy and have more than enough of what I need and want, and I did it my way. But... nobody may have failed at more endeavors than I have if life. If I sat down to record my journey, I could write more about the things that didn't work out than about those that did – because I have tried a lot of things – more than most – and continue to do so.

Failure is just testing, after all. I didn't really fail at anything. Perhaps I came up short, and perhaps I have some regrets, but by and large, I wouldn't do it any other way if I had it to do over. Making mistakes is okay. That's how we learn. If you don't make mistakes, you aren't going to get better. Get comfortable with making mistakes. If we pay attention, we won't make the same mistakes a second time. That is applied wisdom.

Ever been told you can do anything you want to do? You can't. I never told my kids that. There are always limitations as well as hurdles, and life isn't always fair. It is we who place the greatest limitations on ourselves. And every inequity can be overcome.

You can be successful at anything you have a passion for. Doing what you love eliminates most of the challenge. But most people don't follow their dreams. They settle for less. Their lives are a sad saga of living compromise to compromise. Your dreams will never be achieved unless you follow them. Maybe I am a winner because I never stopped dreaming and never ceased chasing my dreams.

You will never achieve anything greater than your highest aspiration. If you want a million bucks, you won't make a million and a half. If you want ten million, you won't make a hundred million. You cannot exceed your aspirations. You have got to dream of winning if you hope to win at the game of life.

Then you have to do what you often don't want to do, but you know you got to do it to get to where you want to be. It is work to be a high performance person. Lots of work. You have to be disciplined and you have to be focused.

How do you get disciplined and more focused? Study people who are successful. Study the people who are winning. Two-thirds of all Fortune 500 CEO's have one thing in common: a military background. Two-thirds of those two-thirds have something else in common: martial arts. What do you learn in the military and martial arts? Discipline. Focus.

A lot of people believe they don't deserve to succeed. Believe in yourself. Practice being successful today and every day. Feel successful. Do what successful people do. Wear suits that you cannot afford. Eat the most expensive item on the menu. Drive a better car than you can afford.

Maybe you need to find new friends. Hang out with winners. Billionaire Dan Pena said, “Show me your friends and I'll show you your future.” Maybe it is time to lose your loser friends. If you are losing at the game of life, you are going to have to make some tough lifestyle changes somewhere. All successful people have to sacrifice somewhere along the road to winning.

Begin today. Be a winner. People procrastinate because they are unsure. Just do it. We overanalyze because we're unsure. The truth of the matter, however, is that we're not so much worried as to whether something will work or not - we're worried that we may be embarrassed. Quit worrying. Time is expensive. Don't waste it.