High performers are clear on their intentions for themselves, their social world, their skills, and their service to others. I call these areas self, social, skills, and service, or the Future Four.
It is such a simple formula: The more senses we bring to the moment, the more time slows, the more a catalogue of joyful vivid memories grows in our minds, the more life is filled with gratitude, and the more nourished our soul.
And for the entitled, there can be only a constant whining misery; no person who believes they should be given everything for nothing will ever be free from an immature envy and contempt for those who have more than they do.
High performers are happy. We all want to be happy. But many people are unhappy achievers.
We hold these truths self-evident: That all men and women are created equal, though we do not live equal lives due to differences in will, motivation, effort, and habit. That we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, but that it is incumbent upon each of us to be vigilant and disciplined should we wish to attain such a vital, free, and happy life.
We complained with angst and anger that it should be easier, forgetting that much of the negative energy that pervades our lives comes from despising the inevitable hardships of change.
Clarity is the child of careful thought and mindful experimentation. It comes from asking yourself questions continually and further refining your perspective on life.
Decide what you want. Determine the Five Major Moves that will help you leap toward that goal. Do deep work on each of the major five moves – at least 60 percent of your workweek going to these efforts – until they are complete. Designate all else as distraction, tasks to delegate, or things to do in blocks of time you’ve allocated in the remaining 40 percent of your time.
Don’t you dare settle for anything other than the life you want to live. Look at your life. Look at every area. See what you need to stop doing and what you need to start, and do it while you still can, no matter how hard it is.
You probably already know you need to eat healthier, and so I say to you, begin.
To succeed, always remember that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Greatness belongs to those who have mastered the ability to focus relentlessly on their ambitions and act decisively toward them.
Maturity comes in understanding that it is our choice alone to move toward freedom.
We have forgotten that the natural foe to life is not a distant death, but a present, in-the-moment detachment from living.
In becoming successful, hard work, passion, practice, resilience, and people skills are often more important than IQ, raw talent, or where you’re from.
The person who is certain is most closed to learning, most vulnerable to dogma, and most likely to be blindsided and overtaken by innovators.
It turns out, too, that marriage is good for your energy, just as it’s good for your longevity.
Often, the journey to greatness begins the moment our preferences for comfort and certainty are overruled by a greater purpose that requires challenge and contribution.
Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.” – James Allen.
A hallmark of those who achieve greatness is the discovery that they can control the level of motivation they feel by better directing their own minds.
First, it is an intention. Then a behavior. Then a habit. Then a practice. Then a second nature. Then it is simply who you are.