10 Tips to Be Your Best
January 11th, 2010 Posted in Newsletter
Eric Musselman and Bob Starkey did such a great job summarizing and sharing tips from my book Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else on their blog that I decided to share what they wrote. Here are 10 tips to be your best this year. I hope after reading these tips you will be inspired to read Training Camp. Also share it with your team, your kids, your college students, or anyone who wants to be their best.
1. THE BEST KNOW WHAT THEY WANT
“I think a lot of people spend their life being average or good at something, but they don’t strive to be great. The best of the best not only know what they want, but they want it more.”
2. THE BEST WANT IT MORE
“We cannot measure desire in terms of merely thought and wishes. The best not only do the things that others won’t do and invest the time others won’t invest, but they do so with passion and intent to get better. The best are never satisfied with where they are.”
3. THE BEST ARE ALWAYS STRIVING TO BE BETTER
“If you are striving to get better, then you are always growing. And if you are always growing, then you are not comfortable. To be the best, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable, and embrace it as a part of your growth process.” It’s a process…
“The best see where there is room for improvement and their humility and passion drives them to improve. The average ones however, don’t see it or don’t want to see it. The fact is past success does not determine future success. Future success is the result of how you work and prepare and practice and how you strive to improve everyday. It’s a commitment that the best of the best make every week, every day, every hour, and every moment. Force yourself to be uncomfortable.”
4. THE BEST DO ORDINARY THINGS BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE.
“Work hard on the right things. It means you must identify the very ‘little things’ that are fundamental to your success, and then you must focus on them, practice them, and strive to execute them to perfection.”
5. THE BEST ZOOM-FOCUS
“There is no secret recipe.”
“If you incrementally improve each day, each week, each month, by the end of the year you’ll see remarkable results and growth. When you zoom-focus on the process, the outcome takes care of itself.”
“Master the fundamentals.”
6. THE BEST ARE MENTALLY STRONGER
“Being mentally strong means you stay positive through adversity. It means you are resilient when facing pressure, challenges and change.”
Weed and feed: “Each day you need to weed out negativity and feed it positivity. You need to weed out the self-doubt and negative talk and feed it positive thoughts, memories and visuals.”
7. THE BEST OVERCOME THEIR FEARS
“Those that succeed, those that reach the pinnacle of greatness, are able to face this battle (overcoming fear) and win.”
8. THE BEST SEIZE THE MOMENT
“When the best are in the midst of their performance they are not thinking ‘What if I win?’ or ‘What if I lose?’ They are not interested in what the moment produces, but they are only concerned with what they produce in the moment. Rather than hiding from pressure, they rise to the occasion. As a result, the best define the moment rather than letting the moment define them.”
9. THE BEST LEAVE A LEGACY
“You leave a legacy by living and working with a bigger purpose, you leave a legacy by making your life about more than just you. You leave a legacy by moving from success to significance.”
10. THE BEST MAKE EVERYONE AROUND THEM BETTER
“The point is to strive to be your best and inspire others to be their best, because it’s in the striving where you find greatness, not in the outcome.”
-Jon
Which is your favorite tip? Join the conversation here.
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Tags: 10 tips, be your best, focus, future, jon gordon, success, training camp
8 Responses to “10 Tips to Be Your Best”
By Chris Conley on Jan 11, 2010
I like #3 and #10 the best. The best are always striving to be better, thus growing. I like the summarization,”The best see where there is room for improvement and their humilty and passion drives them to improve. Lastly, The best make everyone around them better, hopefully sums up what we’re all trying to do. You can’t do it alone so if everyone is better because of you that is your legacy.
By Bob Mc. on Jan 11, 2010
Jon - They’re all great. I think (4), Work hard on the right things is important for companies and individuals. Pay attention to the basics and do them right - repeatedly. And # 10, The Best Make Those Around Them Better. Whether it’s in ones business or personal life, helping others to recognize and overcome hurdles allows their success to multiply itself. As they suceed, their ability to help others increases as well.
By Craig Thompson on Jan 11, 2010
You asked me which of the 10 Tips to be your best I liked: #10; The “best” make everyone around them better. This will make us all a winner, The salespeople will compete more with each other (bigger pay check). The dealership becomes stronger,(with more sales. We become a happier place to work. We all need to strive to be the best we can be by working hard and never give up on a sale;(remember they came to us we didn’t go to them. “Persist and you will succeed” Craig Thompson
By Bob Mc. on Jan 11, 2010
Craig - I sell stuff where I have to go to “them”. When they are coming to you, they are predisposed to “buy”. I do take exception with the idea that salespeople motivate other salespeople. In my experience, the sales world has not been the “team” concept. I always got a kick out of seeing a younger salesperson succeed because of my help, but among most salesforces, the only part of “team” is the sales manager. A great boss will inspire by example. The “best” salespeople will encourage other salespeople to try to duplicate their success, but they will also be competing to keep their position on top. That “competition” does not always improve everyone.
And Jon/Daniel - Good to see that the title for #3 got “better”. You guys are improving all the time as well.;-)
Keep up the great work! You provide insight and inspiration that would have made even Kamikaze pilots smile as they took off. However, you also provide the “fuel”, inspiration, and guidance for a successful return trip.
By davidburkus on Jan 11, 2010
I love number 10. Making others better doesn’t just help them, it helps you, then you help them, and they help you…and on and on it goes.
By alex on Jan 12, 2010
the best overcome there fear
the best know what they want
the best are mentally stronger
By Michelle Hill on Jan 12, 2010
I’m going to go with #10 as well. It’s the paying it forward principle in action. Since my personal theme for 2010 is Add Value, this fits in with adding value to others lives in whatever ways I can find.
By Bob Mc. on Jan 13, 2010
Michelle - Great comment. “Add Value”. Anyone in sales should take that to heart. Salespeople quickly learn that their profession doesn’t allow them to be rewarded for simply showing up. I like to look at my efforts, and imagine them as a piece of artwork. I try to ask myself if I would be willing to “hang” my “work” (business or personal)in a gallery and sign my name to it.
If anyone knows where this came from, I once heard a quote that went something like this. “Service to others is the price we pay for the space we occupy on the planet.”