We all have enormous undeveloped potential.
Our true limit is the mastery, cultivation, power, direction and application of our attention.
What does it take to be great?
It starts with a deep desire.
Without this, we won’t make the necessary sacrifices, and instead, succumb to short term pleasures or get sidetracked.
A clear why is essential.
Why be great?
Because you can.
Somewhere inside you is a truly great person ready to emerge.
It’s far more fun to operate at an elite level – to be able to really make things happen.
The path is not easy, but at a certain level, the returns on your effort grow exponentially, opening up a completely different reality.
Most struggle along with little to show for it in a debt of mediocrity.
The path to greatness is not without risks, but so is ceding your fate to the whims of nature.
By deciding to become great, you are taking your destiny into your own hands.
If you are not controlling your life, what is?
I want to be able to make the world better, be a force for good, and help others.
What else is needed to be great?
Once you have that deep desire, you soon realise that it’s not just about effort (time and energy). You need to understand yourself, manage energy levels and focus and apply attention on the right things.
Exercise is the keystone habit that uplifts everything else; diet, sleep, focus, energy, time management and attention. Quality sleep too. Diet, consistent times, exposure to morning light, all help with energy, sleep and the circadian rhythm.
Recently I discovered how much of a performance enhancer proper breathing can be. Deep belly nasal breathing can absorb up to 20% more oxygen than shallow mouth breathing while also calming, relaxing and promoting clarity.
Training the direction of the mind with meditation. Journaling and writing can help to reflect, understand, and improve your internal operating system. The right relationships are essential, if neglected can limit us.
It’s about applying attention to those highest leverage external tasks, but usually, the limits and challenges in the external world point to something internal. Our external and internal worlds are so intertwined that they are effectively the same.
Life experience is not objective, you are the creator and all results serve as feedback.
There is no limit to how much you can improve.
There are just different levels, and the time it takes to reach them.
What does a superhuman core look like?
- Clarity of vision & purpose – positive visualisation, goals, knowing why.
- Awareness – mindfulness, feedback, brain dumping them.
- Logic, emotional and processing power – reading, writing, name emotions to control them.
- Sheer energy – physical & mental vitality – sleep, health, diet and exercise.
- Extreme resilience, calmness & antifragility – voluntary hardship, reflection, preparedness.
- Control of time, and the application of discipline & focus – time blocking, awareness, environment, distraction.
- Faith, satisfaction and gratitude.
- Throttle and balance – knowing when to pursue and when not. When to care and when to let go.
- Alignment of all the above.
What does it not look like?
- Being perfect. Failure is part of the path.
- Constant busyness.
- Rigidity – instead be flexible.
- Arrogance – instead be humble.
- Emotional detachment – instead, find balance.
- Burnout, getting lost, understanding traps.
This is the work.
The real work, but also the reward.
The external, visible goals are the training ground, and the byproduct.
A difficult business negotiation is not just a potential win or loss; it’s a chance to practice your calmness and emotional power. A complex project is a training ground for your focus and logic.
By focusing on building your internal “superhuman core” you become the type of person who doesn’t chase success, but defines and then attracts it.
Instead of chasing outcomes and focus on building your capability.
The external achievements then inevitably follow.
The goals, opportunities, challenges, stakes and rewards continually get bigger as you level up and expand your capability, awareness and consciousness.
The key is to find the ways to accelerate this cycle of growth and expansion of awareness and attention.
A cycle of going after goals, preparation, reading, writing and reflection and teaching. Hormesis, and deliberate discomfort.
Skill stacking.
Exertion and recovery.
