10 Tips To Be Your Best

By Jon Gordon, thanks to Dave Witzig:

1. THE BEST KNOW WHAT THEY WANT

I think a lot of people spend their life being average or good at something, but they don't strive to be great. The best of the best not only know what they want, but they want it more.

2. THE BEST WANT IT MORE

We cannot measure desire in terms of merely thought and wishes. The best not only do the things that others won't do and invest the time others won't invest, but they do so with passion and intent to get better. The best are never satisfied with where they are.

3. THE BEST ARE ALWAYS STRIVING TO BE BETTER

If you are striving to get better, then you are always growing. And if you are always growing, then you are not comfortable. To be the best, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable, and embrace it as a part of your growth process. The best see where there is room for improvement and their humility and passion drives them to improve. The average ones however, don't see it or don't want to see it. The fact is past success does not determine future success. Future success is the result of how you work and prepare and practice and how you strive to improve every day. It's a commitment that the best of the best make every week, every day, every hour, and every moment. Force yourself to be uncomfortable.

4. THE BEST DO ORDINARY THINGS BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE

Work hard on the right things. It means you must identify the very "little things" that are fundamental to your success, and then you must focus on them, practice them, and strive to execute them to perfection.

5. THE BEST ZOOM-FOCUS

There is no secret recipe. If you incrementally improve each day, each week, each month, by the end of the year you'll see remarkable results and growth. When you zoom-focus on the process, the outcome takes care of itself. Master the fundamentals.

6. THE BEST ARE MENTALLY STRONGER

Being mentally strong means you stay positive through adversity. It means you are resilient when facing pressure, challenges and change. Weed and feed: Each day you need to weed out negativity and feed it positivity. You need to weed out the self-doubt and negative talk and feed it positive thoughts, memories and visuals.

7. THE BEST OVERCOME THEIR FEARS

Those that succeed, those that reach the pinnacle of greatness, are able to face this battle (overcoming fear) and win.

8. THE BEST SEIZE THE MOMENT

When the best are in the midst of their performance they are not thinking ‘What if I win?’ or ‘What if I lose?’ They are not interested in what the moment produces, but they are only concerned with what they produce in the moment. Rather than hiding from pressure, they rise to the occasion. As a result, the best define the moment rather than letting the moment define them.

9. THE BEST LEAVE A LEGACY

You leave a legacy by living and working with a bigger purpose, you leave a legacy by making your life about more than just you. You leave a legacy by moving from success to significance.

10. THE BEST MAKE EVERYONE AROUND THEM BETTER

The point is to strive to be your best and inspire others to be their best, because it's in the striving where you find greatness, not in the outcome.