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January 31 - August 26, 2023
There are no leaders, because we all lead, so just find your groove for right now and add value. You’ll never figure anything out—just keep adapting, because tomorrow everything changes again.”
the first professional certification program in the field: Certified High Performance Coaching™.
With the right habits, anyone can dramatically increase results and become a high performer in almost any field of endeavor.
What’s achievable is not
always what’s important.
We call these six habits the HP6. They have to do with clarity, energy, necessity, productivity, influence, and courage.
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.
To succeed, always remember that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
check out my blog or podcast via Brendon.com. If you want a more academic approach and a deeper look into our methodology, visit HighPerformanceInstitute.com.
1. Take the assessment at HighPerformanceIndicator.com
“Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” —William Faulkner
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” —Jim Rohn
They wouldn’t matter if you didn’t know what you wanted and how to go get it (clarity), felt too wiped out to perform (energy), didn’t have a sense of drive or any pressure to get things done (necessity), couldn’t focus and create the outputs that matter most (productivity), lacked the people skills to get others to believe in you or support you (influence), or failed to take risks or speak up for yourself and others (courage). Without the HP6, even the most
A RISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS—ONE HABIT LIFTS ALL OTHERS
think of the HP6 as “meta-habits”
because they make all other good habits in life ...
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Start bringing your full attention to the moments of your life. Start bringing more joy. Start bringing more confidence. These things will not only make you feel better, they’ll also help you perform better. Still, the same caveat applies to states as to strengths: Without effective habits, they’re just not enough.
“If you don’t have clarity of ideas, you’re just communicating sheer sound.” —Yo-Yo Ma
on your head and all things become clear. Clarity is the child of careful thought and mindful experimentation. It comes from asking yourself questions continually and further refining your perspective on life.
what makes the difference is that high performers imagine a positive version of themselves in the future, and then they actively engage in trying to be that.
Be more intentional about who you want to become. Have vision beyond your current circumstances. Imagine your best future self, and start acting like that person today.
LIVE. LOVE. MATTER.
“Did I live fully today? Did I love? Did I matter?”
They’ve thought about how they want to be remembered—they think about their character and legacy.
When you are constantly juggling and feel depleted, you don’t think about the future.
It wasn’t about quantity, but about quality. So
They don’t draw a blank when you ask them, “What three skills are you currently working to develop so you’ll be more successful next year?”
primary field of interest (PFI). They aren’t scattershot learners.
This means high performers approach their learning not as generalists but as specialists.
Look to the future. Identify key skills. Obsessively develop those skills.
“If you leave your growth to randomness, you’ll always live in the land of mediocrity.”
When someone becomes disconnected from the future and their contribution to it, they underperform.
No goals, no growth. No clarity, no change.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” —Howard Thurman
I can tell myself that the emotions are just telling me to pay attention or to speak up for myself or to feel empathetic toward others.
Instead of allowing the emotion to evoke the feeling of dread, I can just let it be, take a few deep breaths, and choose to feel alert yet calm.
My automatic emotions don’t have to be in charge. My feelings are my own.
But I share this here because it’s so thoroughly obvious that high performers are generating the feelings they want more often than taking the emotions that land on them.
In your everyday life, start asking, “What do I want to feel today? How could I define the meaning of the day so that I feel what I want to?”
“Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.” —Don Herold
When most people talk about having “meaning at work,” they typically discuss (a) enjoyment of the tasks of work, (b) alignment of personal values with the work, and (c) fulfillment from the outcomes of the work.
They try to figure out whether you see the work as just a job, or an important career, or a calling.
First, they linked enthusiasm with meaning.
ask myself this question every morning in the shower: “What can I get excited or enthusiastic about today?”
second link to meaning was connection.
Third, high performers relate satisfaction with meaning. If what they are doing creates a sense of personal satisfaction, they feel that their life is more meaningful.
Passion + Growth + Contribution = Personal Satisfaction
The fourth way that high performers say their efforts have meaning is by making them feel that their life “makes sense.”
Enthusiasm + Connection + Satisfaction + Coherence = Meaning
The important thing is this: You need to bring more conscious and consistent thought to what you will find meaningful in life. You start by exploring your own definitions of meaning and how to enhance it in your life. When you learn the difference between busywork and your life’s work, that’s the first step on the path of purpose.
