- The Process
- Posts
- 10 powerful ideas I wish I knew 10 years ago
10 powerful ideas I wish I knew 10 years ago
Lessons from studying hundreds of high-performers
Teddy Mitrosilis
January 22, 2023
Welcome to the new readers who’ve joined us this week.
If you’re not subscribed, subscribe below and join 11,300 growth-minded leaders who receive stories and insights on personal improvement every week.
Now, onto Issue 19.
A message from The Optimistic Office
The average person will spend 90,000+ hours of their life at work. We might as well enjoy it, right?
That's why my buddy Harris created the Optimistic Office newsletter. Harris shares ideas, articles and tips to help you and your employees enjoy work more.
Join 800+ HR leaders, managers and founders and check out The Optimistic Office to learn how to make work more enjoyable.
|
Today’s Issue
Over the last 10+ years, I’ve studied hundreds of high-performing people.
Today, I want to share 10 powerful ideas I’ve picked up from that study that I wish I knew 10 years ago.
Let’s dive in.
10 powerful ideas I wish I knew 10 years ago
Over the last 10+ years, I’ve studied hundreds of high-performing people.
Athletes
Leaders
Coaches
Creatives
Special Forces
Entrepreneurs
And many others.
I’m fascinated by what makes them tick.
Below are 10 powerful ideas I’ve learned that have profoundly impact my life.
I hope they do the same for you.
1. Full Benefit
Navy SEALs have a saying.
When something sucks, they say: "Full benefit."
It’s an instant mindset shift.
Hiking in pouring rain? Full benefit
Lose draft of a project? Full benefit
Driving + car breaks down? Full benefit
The lesson is simple and powerful: Every adversity provides an opportunity to improve.
Build patience. Develop resiliency. Refine our craft. Give more attention to our best customers. Something.
In every adversity exists an opportunity.
(One note: there’s a major difference between the kind of adversity I’m referring to and trauma. This mindset may not apply to traumatic experiences. I’m not a therapist or trauma expert and don’t want to insensitively suggest there’s a “benefit” to those experiences. Maybe sometimes there is? Truthfully, I don’t know.)
2. Choices > Feelings
University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban uses this phrase often with his players.
The lesson: We make too many decisions by how we feel and not by what we choose to do.
Do I feel like studying?
Do I feel like working out?
Do I feel like making calls?
Do I feel like eating healthy?
Do I feel like working on this project?
Elite performers prioritize choices over feelings.
They do what they choose to do.
Not what they "feel" like doing.
3. The Inner Scorecard
Warren Buffett lives by a framework called The Inner Scorecard.
There are two general ways to measure success:
Outer Scorecard
Inner Scorecard
The Outer Scorecard is based on things like titles, money and accolades.
The Inner Scorecard is based on things like:
Values
Principles
Standards
Excellence
Commitment
The most powerful way to maximize your potential — AND to achieve the best results — is to develop and live by your Inner Scorecard.
4. Remember Tomorrow
Jesse Itzler is an accomplished entrepreneur, author, speaker, endurance athlete and all-around wonderful human being.
He has a saying I love: “remember tomorrow.”
Amidst struggle, remember how you’ll feel tomorrow.
When you’re tired
When you want to quit
When you’re frustrated
When you feel defeated
When you doubt yourself
Remember tomorrow.
You'll feel proud and accomplished that you carried on.
5. Winners Make the Most Mistakes
Legendary UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden had a saying:
“Winners make the most mistakes.”
It’s a great reminder that you will make mistakes when you choose to live life in the arena instead of on the sidelines.
The arena is where success is created.
If you want to live mistake-free, live on the sidelines. Take no risks, play it safe and accept average.
But if you want to win, enter the arena with courage and embrace the mistakes you’ll make — and learn from — along the way.
6. F.E.A.R.
Fear cripples people.
Fear of failure. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of risk. Fear of success.
But most of the time, fear exists only in our minds. It’s not real.
Th acronym F.E.A.R. stands for False Evidence Appearing Real.
Our mind and emotions trick us. They make us believe our feelings are the truth.
But that’s not necessarily the case.
Combat fear with logic. Ask:
What are the facts?
What’s the worst case?
Calm, rational logic defeats fear.
7. The Infection of Success
Success is a moment in time. It’s achieved, and then it goes.
It’s not a continuum that repeats in perpetuity.
Some believe success simply repeats itself, but that’s wrong.
When you believe this, you’ve fallen victim to the “infection” of success.
The truth is, success must be continuously earned. The past does not guarantee the future.
Learn from the past, but don’t live in it.
8. Consistency > Intensity
When building habits or beginning new projects or goals, most people prioritize intensity.
Prioritizing intensity looks like this:
Read 2 books / month
Never eat sugar again
Go to the gym 5x / week
Write for 3 hours per day
Save every dollar beyond living expenses
It’s almost never sustainable.
You will come out in a blaze for a short time, and then fade away.
Instead, prioritize consistency.
Do something small every day, and then slowly build up your capacity.
Consistency, over long periods of time, wins.
9. Big Talkers and Little Doers
Most people can be categorized in two buckets:
Those who talk about what they will do, and those who just do it.
Some people say a lot and do little. Others say little and do a lot.
Don't be a big talker and a little doer.
Take all that time, energy and attention away from making proclamations, and channel it into action instead.
(I suppose there’s a third group: those who say a lot and then back it up. If you want to talk the talk, make sure you also walk the walk!)
10. Character Creates Longevity
Talent and ability may get you to the top.
However, character is required to stay there.
Character is defined as the “mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.”
Said another way: Who are you?
Are you someone who relies on talent and coasts?
Or are you someone who does the diligent work to continually improve?
It’s easy to relax after after experiencing some success.
Have the self-discipline to stay the course.
Summary
To recap:
F.E.A.R.
Full Benefit
Choices > Feelings
The Inner Scorecard
Remember Tomorrow
Consistency > Intensity
The Infection of Success
Big Talkers and Little Doers
Character Creates Longevity
Winners Make the Most Mistakes
These are 10 powerful ideas that have profoundly impacted by life.
I hope they do the same for you.
Teddy’s Recommendations
(1) I’m only 50 pages into Steve Magness’ book “Do Hard Things,” and I absolutely love it. Steve is an endurance athlete and accomplished performance coach.
In this book, he redefines what “toughness” means. Toughness is not the outward display of strength that we’ve largely characterized it as. It’s a concoction of several internal qualities. Every parent, coach and leader should read this book. It will change how work with and develop people.
(2) If you want to become a better writer and/or build your personal brand online, I started a new newsletter for you: The Daily Creator.
I share one simple and actionable tip each weekday. Each issue takes only a couple minutes to read. Join 1,600+ others (FREE):
|
Work with Teddy
• 1:1 coaching: I'm looking for CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs who want to become better writers and grow their personal brand online. I will work with you 1:1. If you're interested, please reply to this email with "coaching."
• Speaking: I'm doing some speaking in 2023 on various topics. If you're interested in having me speak to your team or at your event (remote or in-person), please reply to this email with "speaking."
• Sponsorship: We'll soon be opening applications for presenting sponsors of The Process newsletter. If you're interested in sponsoring this newsletter, please reply to this email with "sponsor."
Thank you!
I’d love to hear from you
What’s your biggest takeaway from this issue?
Reply to this email and let me know.
I personally read every email.
Thanks for reading.
See you next Sunday.