World-class advice given to Tom Brady, Michael Phelps, and hundreds of other high-achievers.
by Marcel Schwantes
Whether you're a professional athlete, an Olympic athlete, or an "executive athlete," we all share a similar quest to be peak performers at whatever we do.
I caught up with Greg Harden, former executive associate athletic director at the University of Michigan, to hear some of the best advice he's shared with thousands of student-athletes--some of them super famous now--over a 30-year career.
Over 400 of the men and women Greg has counseled have gone on to professional careers in the four major sports -- including seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and Heisman Trophy-winners Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson -- as well as 120 Olympians, including 23-time gold medalist Michael Phelps.
But just as important are the countless other student-athletes who went on to become highly successful doctors, lawyers, teachers, business leaders, and professionals from all walks of life.
The one thing they all have in common is a set of peak-performance strategies they learned from Greg Harden, as described in his newly released first book, Stay Sane in an Insane World: How to Control the Controllables and Thrive.
I asked Greg to summarize the four most important pieces of advice he would give to anyone seeking to improve his or her own peak performance:
1. Become the world's greatest expert on yourself
Greg uses what he calls a personal SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, which starts with an honest appraisal of your own strengths and weaknesses. He even recommends asking for input from other people in your life for a complete inventory. (If you really want to get real, ask an ex-partner or a boss who has fired you!)
"Now think about what kind of person you want to become," Greg says. "And then look at your opportunities to get there, as well as the threats that stand in your way."
It's a powerful tool to become an expert on who you are and to identify the process you need to follow to become the person you want to be.
2. Take the 100 percent challenge
Of all the advice Greg has given out over the years, this may be what he is best known for. The 100 percent challenge means that, no matter what you're doing, you're going to make the conscious choice to give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. Because if you train yourself to give 100 percent to the stuff you hate, how phenomenal are you going to be when you get to the stuff you love?
It's not easy at first. You have to keep making that choice to give 100 percent. (Make a game out of it, if that helps.) But once this becomes your default mindset, on your absolute worst day, you're still going to be better than the average person on their best day.
3. Commit, improve, maintain
"If you want to make your life better, you have to make a commitment," Greg says. "That's number one. Number two, you have to improve your own performance in everything you do. Make the changes, one at a time. And number three, you have to make a plan to maintain those changes, every single day consistently."
That first point is the easiest to gloss over. "Sure, I want to improve. Who doesn't?" is not good enough. You have to stop and really ask yourself: What's important to me? What do I want to achieve in my life? What improvements do I have to make to reach that goal?
Commit. Right now. Really commit to making those improvements. Then start doing it. Today. Tomorrow. Never stop.
4. Control the controllables
We all have our own fears, our own self-doubts, and our own insecurities. These can make us more vulnerable to the insanity all around us than we care to admit. But as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission."
Never forget that you are the only person who has control over your own mind -- over your thoughts, over your reactions, and ultimately over your feelings.
Follow up Exercises
· Do a SWOT analysis and be honest about it.
· From point 3: write down your commitment as a SMART goal. Be specific, make it measurable, attainable, relevant to you and time sensitive.
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