Secrets of World-Class Athletes and Entrepreneurs

“Your true worth is determined by
how much more you give in value
than you take in payment.”
— “The Go Giver” by Bob Berg and John David Mann

How can you reach the next level of success? Think, dress and act like you’re already there, and give more of your time, expertise and service than others expect. The result? The universe will reciprocate. Here’s an example:

Many years ago, I coached a college senior (we’ll call him Steve) whose only job experience was being a waiter in college. We decided the best strategy for his job search was to find a company he really wanted to work for, contact the company and offer to volunteer his time to do any job.

Steve had a connection with the president of Volant Ski, Hank Kashiwa. Steve said, “I’ve met Hank Kashiwa; he’s a great guy and has revolutionized skies. I’d love to work at Volant.” So Steve set up an interview with Mr. Kashiwa. During his interview, he mustered his courage and said, “I have great respect for who you are, what you’ve accomplished and how you’re revolutionizing the ski industry making metal skis. I so want to be a part of your company that I’ll volunteer full time and do any job you ask.”

Mr. Kashiwa immediately took Steve up on his offer. Steve loved working at Volant and did everything and more that was asked of him. Within a month, he was offered a full-time job.

Steve created value, just as the great leaders and elite sales professionals I know do. Every business and personal relationship you’re in can benefit from you giving more, but you must also be open to receiving — which is the topic of the next EnCOURAGEment.

Have the courage to give more,
knowing the universe will return your kindness
in its own way and time.

If you’re not a positive deviant in your field, consider studying those who are, and then becoming one. Positive deviants are courageous people whose attitudes, behaviors and strategies dramatically increase their success over others who are in identical environments with the same opportunities. Positive deviants aren’t constrained by conventional wisdom. In fact, they understand that conventional wisdom is often the problem. Here’s one of the most profound applications of using positive deviance to save tens of thousands of kids from starving:* [Read more →]

This is an advanced statistical phenomenon, and it’s important to understand if you want to be a high-performer. (I’ll bet you never guessed you could be a higher performer by using a statistical phenomenon!). It essentially says that if you’re significantly different from the group you’re around, you’ll tend to become more like the group over time. I took 12 credit hours of graduate school statistics and this is the only useful concept I learned! [Read more →]

We don’t choose to expose ourselves to radioactivity because, depending on the dose, it will cause mild sickness or even death. But to a great extent, we do choose the people we spend our time with, and some can be as emotionally toxic to our minds (and, therefore, our success and happiness) as plutonium is to our bodies. [Read more →]

“Through everything I’ve gone through —
and I’ve been everywhere, at the top of the world,
in jail, hung-over drunk —
I never gave up my dream of winning
a gold medal in the Olympics.”
— Dan O’Brien, Olympic decathlon champion, 1996
and three-time decathlon world champion [Read more →]