High-Performance Lifestyle
When it comes to physical preparedness, nothing is quite as important as becoming strong. It is the essential component of physical development and is often lost in the enormous stacks of garbage information that say otherwise.
Why?
Because strong people are harder to kill. When all things are equal, like skill or ability, then the stronger person/ athlete/ fighter will win. Mark Rippetoe, one of the most respected developers of strength states: [Read more…]
The following speech was given by Albert E.N. Gray at the National Association of Life Underwriter’s convention of 1940. It was given to those that sold life insurance for a living.
Selling anything in life requires a certain degree of resilience, grit, and determination. The fortitude to keep on pushing forward when people shut doors in your face. In a field where failure is common, the traits that make one successful are also common.
Within the speech, lies a universal trait, that can be adopted by anyone as it applies to everything. [Read more…]
There is nothing quite as important as your mindset — your outlook on how things unfold in the world. I always knew that my approach to things was important but this idea was further magnified after I read Carol Dweck’s groundbreaking book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
Dr. Dweck redefines the idea of mindset. The idea that we can be anything we want, fulfill any dream, accomplish any goal. It’s so simple and her research is sound that it’s hard not to believe what she says as truth:
Our abilities and talents can be developed. We can reshape ourselves into a better, more successful version. All we have to do is adopt a growth mindset.
People that adopt a growth mindset understand that persistence and effort matters. This concept makes success something that is simply achieved over time. Not if, but when.
They think:
1. No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change quite a bit.
2. You can always substantially change how intelligent you are.
3. No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially.
4. You can always change the basic things about the kind of person you are.
This is in direct contrast to those that have fixed mindsets. Dr. Dweck states that our society produces people with fixed mindsets. These people avoid effort for the fear of failing. They are afraid to look like someone that is not innately talented. These people believe that our talents and abilities are fixed. We are either born champions or losers, that our environment shapes our future, that we are born into a life of mediocrity.
They think:
1. Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much.
2. You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are.
3. You are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that.
4. You can do things differently, but the important parts of who you are can’t really be changed.
The two types of mindsets can mean the difference between failure and success. It can also mean the difference between happiness, freedom, and autonomy or mediocrity and a life without passion.
It often means the difference between starting something new and settling for what is already the norm.
Adopting a growth mindset is the foundation of success and must be applied to all other areas of personal and professional development. Dr. Dweck often talks about the growth mindset’s application to sports, business, learning, and parenting.
It is a universal concept that lies at the bottom of the pyramid of success.
I took the following passages directly out of her book. It is a word for word, practical application of the growth mindset:
♦ People are all born with a love of learning, but the fixed mindset can undo it. Think of a time you were enjoying something- doing a crossword puzzle, playing a sport, learning a new dance. Then it became hard and you wanted out. Maybe you suddenly felt tired, dizzy, bored or hungry. Next time this happens, don’t fool yourself: it’s a fixed mindset. Put yourself in a growth mindset. Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn.
♦ It’s tempting to create a world in which we’re perfect. We can choose partners, make friends, hire people who make us feel faultless. But think about it — do you want to never grow? For the rest of your life, seek constructive criticism.
♦ Is there something in your past that you think measured you? Focus on that thing. Feel all the emotions that go with it. Now put it in a growth-mindset perspective. Look honestly at your role in it, but understand that it doesn’t define your intelligence or personality. Instead, ask: What did I (or can I) learn from that experience? How can I use it as a basis for growth? Carry that with you instead.
♦ How do you act when you feel depressed? Do you work harder at things in your life or do you let them go? Next time you feel low, put yourself in a growth mindset — think about learning, challenge, confronting obstacles. Think about effort as a positive, constructive force, not as a big drag.
♦ Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but were afraid you weren’t good at? Make a plan to do it.
Whatever you aim to do, a growth mindset shapes the outcome.
It is a universal concept that lies at the bottom of the pyramid of success.
Onward,
Chief
I recently drove from Texas to California and I needed a good book to listen to. During long road trips, I like to listen to stories that will inspire me to become better a person in some way. For this particular journey, I chose to listen to the Empire of the Summer Moon. It was broadly about the Comanche Indian Warrior but it also did a good job illuminating the fight for Texas and how the expansion westward ultimately led to the demise of Native America’s most powerful fighting force. [Read more…]
That statement, while simplistic, is as true as any noble saying. This is why quality matters in all things. From the things you choose to put in your body, to the things you choose to put on your body, and the things you put in your head, nothing is quite as important as the quality of that thing. For many people, the variance of these things is immense. [Read more…]
