The 3 Pillars of High Performance

So, you want to achieve more.

But you are stuck. You have a big goal, but you just can’t seem to make progress…

Another day goes by and you don’t seem to be any closer.

Join the club. You are not alone.

There are many people in The Stuck Club.

Today, you are going to learn how to get unstuck.

I am going to teach you the 3 Pillars of High Performance.

If you want to achieve more, then you must learn these pillars.

3 Pillars.

9 Principles.

1 Goal.

What is that goal?

Well, that is up to you. But if you are like the people I coach, then you know you are capable of more. And achievement is about doing more, being more, and becoming more.

So why should you listen to me?

There are two reasons.

First, I too have woken up repeatedly and have thought, “Clark, what the h*ll are you doing… you KNOW you are capable of more.”

I know what it is like to feel stuck, to get in your own way, and to feel like life is intentionally throwing obstacles in front of you. So, I can empathize.

But second, and more importantly, I’ve been studying human performance and achievement for over 20 years. And I’ve been helping people achieve more for the same amount of time.

Thousands of hours.

Hundreds of clients.

From professional athletes to weekend warriors.

From C-Suite executives to frontline workers.

Those who succeed embody these principles. Those who struggle ignore one or more of these principles.

No matter what you are trying to achieve, these pillars and principles will impact your success.

Ignoring these principles will keep you stuck.

Join me for this ride, because we are jumping right in with pillar number 1.

Pillar 1 - Self-Leadership

The first pillar is all about how we lead ourselves. Each principle under this pillar reinforces our own responsibility for our life.

Principle 1 - You are the leader of your life

This sounds cliche, I know. But just simmer on this for a moment.

Who else is going to lead your life?

Do you really want someone else to be in charge of your decisions? Outcomes? Possibilities?

Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and I said, “Hey, good morning! So, listen, from here on out, I am going to be in control of your life. We are going to skip breakfast, because we have to lose that 10 pounds you’ve been trying to get rid of. Then it will be time to do that workout you hate. And by 9am you have to be at your desk working at that job you loathe. Only 25 more years before you can retire!”

This sounds ridiculous, right?

But consider at this moment. How do you feel about your own life-leadership?

What is your reaction to the thought, “This is my life. It is mine to lead.”

Does that scare you? Empower you?

Regardless of how you feel about it, let me share an anecdote: I have NEVER had a successful client who avoided self-leadership.

EVERY client who created success for themselves (whether it be a fitness goal, career goal, or relationship goal) wore the hat of self-leadership.

This principle is a state of mind. It is about acceptance and ownership.

Only those who take ownership for their current state and desired outcome make any progress.

I will be the first to admit personal struggles with this core principle. There have been many times in the past where I felt the universe was out to get me, or life was unfair, or insert-another-feel-bad-for-me-story.

It is human to get upset with a lack of fairness, or with the universe’s challenges.

Even so… the principle is still true. We are the leaders of our lives.

When we accept that we are the leader of our own life, then we can apply principle 2.

Principle 2 - You need a clear and compelling vision of your life

First, to reiterate, you cannot create a vision for your life and then NOT be the leader of your life.

This is like envisioning your dream body, all shredded and glorious, but then expecting the universe to magically make it happen without you working out or changing your diet.

First you take ownership for your life. That means your current state and current path.

Then create a vision!

Leaders have a vision. They are going somewhere. They are headed in a direction. They are going to a place that is better, more, or different than where they are now. It is because that place is better, more, and different that makes the vision compelling.

A compelling vision is the one that motivates you.

A compelling vision is the one you will act upon even when motivation is gone.

A compelling vision will attract others.

The more clarity you create on your vision, the better aligned your actions will be. A lack of clarity in vision leads to a lack of clarity in action. As the saying goes, “If you are not sure where you are going, then any path will get you there.”

Also, when you are clear on your vision, you prime your brain to be aware of aligned opportunities.

You will better notice opportunities that can help you achieve your goals.

While thinking about principle 2, please remember that you are a multifaceted human. You are more than a parent. You are more than an employee. You are more than an aspiring ultrarunner. You are all of those things.

When creating a compelling vision for your life, consider all the hats you wear and all the roles you play. I’ve talked about this elsewhere, but you have at least 3 realms to create clarity on: Personal, Relational, and Professional.

And if you really don’t know what you want in these realms, work to create clarity on who you want to be. Clarity on your desired identity can be a compelling vision in the absence of a clear outcome.

So, you are the leader of your life, and you have a vision! Now for principle 3.

Principle 3 - You are responsible for your results

Whose fault is it?

Yours.

(or mine, if I ask myself this question)

This is the only appropriate response to a growth minded individual.

For someone who leads their life, THEY are responsible for wins and losses.

This can seem harsh, even when things seem out of your control. In reality, this is a very empowering belief.

I’ll give you an example of two clients with a similar story (and different levels of ownership).

Years ago, I was working with a couple of clients who wanted to lose weight. Both clients had over 50 pounds to lose and were highly motivated. Interestingly, both had spouses who had a similar love language - Food (actually, both spouses were saboteurs, but this is a longer story for another day).

My first client would complain to me each week about how his wife cooked with extra butter, and made cookies, and bought extra ice cream, all while he was trying to control his eating. When he lost weight, she responded by bringing more tempting food into the house. When I asked my client what he could do about it, his response was an exasperated, “Nothing. She just keeps doing it.”

My second client had a very similar experience. She lost weight quickly, and then her husband started to bring in more sweets and food into the house. Just like my other client, she was frustrated. But when I asked, “what can you do about this,” she had a different response. She said, “I am going to bring him into my counseling session to see how we both can support each other through this program.”

She did not blame. She did not point fingers. She acknowledged her own ownership and agency over this situation.

Guess who lost weight and kept it off?

My second client.

Guess who didn’t… my first client.

Even if something is not your fault, you are responsible for moving forward. Your results, or lack of results, are a direct reflection of the responsibility you take.

I will admit my own struggles and shortcomings with this principle. I used to think that all relationship struggles were not my fault (how ego-centric). This is still my human reaction to any interpersonal conflict. However, if I want my relationships to be strong, then fault doesn’t matter. Responsibility does. I used to think that my career success was in the hands of my boss. This belief held me back from the growth and development I desired.

Successful people own their lives.

High achievers have a vision for their lives.

Winners take responsibility.

Losers avoid it.

Self-leadership is the first pillar.

But high-performance requires more than self-leadership.

It’s time to unpack our second pillar.

Pillar 2 - Mindset Matters

You can take ownership all day. You can create a vision for your life and take responsibility. But if your mindset is not aligned, then achievement will always be just out of reach.

Mindset is crucial for achievement for one simple reason: What you believe determines how you behave. By identifying our beliefs, and even by creating new beliefs, we can shape our thoughts to align with our vision. We can actually create the identity of a high-achiever. This brings us to principle number 4.

Principle 4 - You choose your identity

“That’s just the way I am,” is the biggest crock of sh*t.

The correct statement is, “that’s just the way I choose to be.” Or a more accurate statement is, “that’s just the way I’m reacting to be.”

We tend to think that our identity is a static thing, and something that we cannot control.

And I get it. It sure feels that way.

I don’t know about you, but I get up in the morning and just am who I am… I don’t make a conscious decision about who I am going to be.

But wait. What is stopping us from making that choice?

What stops us from pausing and intentionally choosing a mindset and identity that serves us?

We already choose different mindsets and identities, and I bet you don’t even realize it.

Are you the same person with your spouse as you are with your friends?

Are you the same person presenting to your boss as you are parenting your kids?

No, you are not.

You have differing levels of patience, curiosity, authority, etc.

You are a different person in different environments… you just may not realize it.

Now, think about how you are showing up regarding your goals.

Are you an “achiever?” Are you a “dabbler?”

When you have an achiever identity, how do you show up? What actions do you take? What thoughts do you think?

When you are just dabbling in something, how do you show up? What actions do you take? What thoughts do you think?

The achiever and dabbler identities are just examples of how we might show up differently.

Regarding high performance, we already talked about one identity that is a requirement: the leader. You must be a leader of yourself first.

But there are other mindsets and identities you can leverage to perform better. By the way, mindsets lead to identities and identities lead to mindsets. When we think a certain way, we tend to act in alignment, and vice-versa.

Here are some mindsets you may have heard of:

Growth vs fixed.

Abundance vs scarcity.

Craftsman vs passion.

Creator vs victim.

There are many mindsets. You may have a default mindset, but you can still choose a different one.

You can choose your mindset.

You can choose your identity.

Start by choosing, “I am the leader of my life who is responsible for my current state and path.”

Not only is this a good place to start because of the first pillar, but also because life is going to test you.

Your mindset is the only thing keeping you from quitting.

Principle 5 - Mental toughness is built.

I could also call this principle “Resilience is a choice.”

When things get tough, do you quit? Or do you persevere?

If you are on a mission to creating your vision, life is going to test you. There will be obstacles. There will be blockers. There will be a**holes along the way who will ruin your day.

Your mental toughness will dictate your perseverance. Your perseverance will dictate your chances at success.

Your mental toughness is your ability to handle a load of stress and still perform.

A little stress may not impact your performance, but a whole pile of stress may certainly impact your performance. Your mental toughness dictates the stress you can handle.

Mental toughness is a skill we can build to navigate stress. Just like muscles, our toughness levels can grow with training. We are not born with a limited potential for mental toughness. It evolves depending on our own growth.

As an example, I bet the current stress you can handle at this age is much greater than your younger self.

Imagine piling all the challenges you have now on a younger version of yourself. Bills, responsibilities, parenting, saving for retirement, etc. How would your younger self have responded?

We handle stress differently as we gain wisdom and experience.

The level of physiological stress we feel decreases when we change our perceptions and self-talk. This is because the stress we feel is related to the stories we tell ourselves. The more we can control our minds when challenges and pressure arise, the more mental toughness we have. Most all stress is in our heads.

I am not saying that stress isn’t real… because it sure feels real. But the truth is that stress we feel largely comes down to our mental framing and perceptions. As such, stress tolerance is a mental game.

Where most people get this wrong is by allowing stressful situations to fly by without any reflection, assessment, or learning. They don’t even try to create wisdom from their experience.

Also, most people don’t even try to control their minds when it comes to stress. This is not a judgement. This is a human default. But it keeps you stuck.

Mental toughness is a skill you build.

Resilience is a choice.

Principle 3 - Emotional mastery is required for high-performance

We humans are emotional creatures. We are emotional before we are rational. While our logical reasoning sets us apart in the animal kingdom, it is our emotional brain that keeps us safe, connects us to others, and motivates us to take action.

Jonathan Haidt (who wrote The Righteous Mind and The Anxious Generation) equates the emotional mind to an elephant, and the rational mind to a small rider atop of that elephant. The metaphor is apt.

Emotions are powerful. They are our first reactions. They guide our decisions. They get us to take action without conscious awareness.

But here is the challenge: our emotional brains evolved to help us survive and keep us safe. NOT to reach for the stars and achieve great things.

Our brain’s default state is one of reactivity. Also, our brain has a natural negativity bias. This means we are better at detecting risks and threats than we are at detecting opportunities.

When we put these two facts together, we can see how our emotional brains try to keep us safe and make us avoid risk.

Our emotional brain tells us to avoid conversations that we need to have.

Our emotional brain tells us to eat that extra piece of cake and have another drink.

Our emotional brain tells us to quit.

Most of the time, our emotional brains are not helping us win. But it does not have to be that way.

We can create mastery over our emotions. We can create a gap between a stimulus and our response. We can use our rational minds to leverage pain and hope for personal gains.

Most people default to being slaves to their emotions. We have to learn how to become the master of our emotional world.

Only then can we overcome our hardwiring for safety and take the necessary actions for growth.

We have covered pillar 1, which is all about self-leadership. You have to lead your life.

We have covered pillar 2, which is all about leveraging our mindset.

But there is one more pillar. Without this pillar, we are just stuck on the couch dreaming big and feeling hopeful.

Pillar 3 - Personal Performance Systems

High performance is engineered, planned, and executed. It is not left to chance.

You can take ownership all day. You can create a vision for your life and take responsibility. You can build a success mindset, too. You can yell at the world, “bring it on!” But if your actions are not aligned, you might as well be sitting on the couch.

Actually, I personally saw this happen with a few of my friends.

About 20 years ago, the movie and book The Secret came out, and manifestation became all the rage.

The lesson was, “Imagine what you want, put it out into the universe, and the universe will deliver it to you.”

The implication was that you didn’t have to DO anything except think happy thoughts.

What a crock.

I saw friends and a couple family members take the bait. They got busy dreaming up things and thinking positive. But they didn’t DO anything to make their goals happen.

We must take action. Obviously.

And we must leverage systems. Without systems, you let your emotional brain dictate your actions.

Pillar 7 - Systems create consistency

Our motivation will come and go.

Emotions will rise and fall.

We cannot wait until we feel good to take action. If you want until you feel good, you will be waiting for a long time. Feelings are supposed to come and go.

If we build a system, we can remove the need to feel good. We can simply execute against the system.

Not only does this build consistency, but taking repeated action creates momentum, shifts identities, and gives us experiences to learn from.

What kind of systems should you build?

The more the merrier.

Morning routines.

Evening routines.

Workout plans.

Conversation systems.

Leadership systems.

Eating regimens and meal planning.

Goal setting systems.

Wherever there is an opportunity to NOT take action because your feelings get in the way…. THAT is an opportunity to implement a system.

Also, you do not need a massive system to become unstoppable.

Small systems are fine.

The smallest viable system is the one that gets you to take a single action toward your goal. If you repeat this system over and over, you will move closer and closer to your goals.

Systems are not only good for tasks, but they are needed for your energy and attention too.

Pillar 8 - Health comes first

Systems are crucial for time management. But you may have heard sayings like, “It’s not about time management, it is about energy management.”

Well, it is about time management. AND it is about energy management. AND it is about attention management.

The first place I recommend starting is with your energy management. To do that, you must prioritize your health.

Sleep. Eating. Exercise. Hydration.

Building systems and routines for these things will build your energy.

Then you can use that energy to leverage your time and attention.

It is hard not to put this as Pillar and Principle number 1. Your health is paramount. The rest of your performance rests upon the level of your health and energy.

There is a saying I fully agree with: When you have your health you can have 1000 problems. When you don’t have your health, you have 1 problem.

This is a fact.

If you have every been really sick, or had a health scare, this will ring true. When you do not have your health, it becomes priority number 1.

When you are a physical badass, then performing in every other area of life becomes easier.

Physical health empowers you to do everything else.

This is not new wisdom either.

Over 2000 years ago, Aristotle taught Alexander the Great a principle: Your body should be the servant of your spirit and not the master of it.

As Alexander was out conquering Asia, he was always exercising, moving, and leaping over chariots. His body was the servant of his spirit.

Whatever you want to achieve, your health should enable you… not hold you back.

There is one more principle we need to cover.

Principle 9 - Planning and reflection are non-negotiable

We do not walk into our day, or week, or month, without a plan.

Also, we do not miss opportunities to learn from what worked and what didn’t during those time frames.

When we don’t have a plan, we allow emotion to guide our decisions.

When we don’t reflect, we miss connecting the dots on efforts that worked and efforts that failed.

Any good system has a purpose and can evolve. Planning sets the intention and reflection creates the evolution.

Now, when should you plan and when should you reflect?

I would say “often.”

Personally, I find a weekly rhythm to be effective. I have different high performing clients that prefer daily, weekly, or monthly rhythms.

Your actual cadence matters less than the fact that you have a system for planning and reflection.

My recommendation, start by planning and reflecting every Sunday night.

Alright friends.

I hope this gives you more understanding on how to level up your performance and achieve more.

Remember, these are pillars and are not a hierarchy. Like 3 equal gears in a clock, if you remove 1 you remove your ability to achieve.

Lead yourself.

Choose your mindset.

Build personal performance systems.

Until next time, keep crushing it.

I’m rooting for you

Clark

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If you are interested in getting help implementing these pillars for yourself, I will be putting these into a course (and maybe a coaching program) to help.

If you want to stay updated on this program, click here: Becoming Unstoppable