High Performers Think Different - And You Can Too.

High performers just think different.

And you can too. It’s about fundamentally changing your mindset around “failure.”

Roger Federer is one of the top tennis players of all time. Between 2004-7 he won 11 grand slam titles. He finished with 20 and is widely regarded as one of the top 3 to ever step on the court.

And he lost almost 50% of the points he played.

High performers interact with the world in a completely different way.

And when you pull back the cover - you realize it is accessible to all of us.

The Mindset of High Performers

“In the 1526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. Now, I have a question for you.

What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches? Only 54%. In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot.

You teach yourself to think, okay, I double faulted, it's only a point. Okay, I came to the net, then I got passed again, it's only a point. Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN's top 10 playlist. That too is just a point.

So here's why I'm telling you this. When you're playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world, and it is. But when it's behind you, it's behind you. This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that, with intensity, clarity, and focus.”

Think about that. 

You have 80,000 thoughts per day. 80% of those are negative. That’s not reality, it is biology. It is well-intentioned and trying to protect you from the saber-tooth tiger. It has not adapted to our modern world.

You see this repeated in every domain.

Justin Bieber: 285 songs, 85 hits (30%).

Taylor Swift: 243 songs, 59 hits (24%).

Drake: 133 songs, 38 hits (28%).

73% of their output is NOT popular. 

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Wayne Gretzky said “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” 

Lionel Messi takes 4.72 shots per game and scores .77 goals per game.

Cristiano Ronaldo takes 6.16 shots per game and scores 1.19 goals per game.

81% of their shots don’t result in success.

Michael Jordan in his incredible reflection said “I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Phil Knight, reflecting on his career, said “just keep going. Don't stop. Don't even think about stopping until you get there, and don't give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just don't stop.”

The opportunity is clear. Winning only 54% of the points makes you one of the best ever.

But only if you can live in that vortex. The one where it does not go your way in 46% of the interactions. And you can still come out on top 80% of the time.

Can you reflect and reframe, in the loss of a point and in winning a point?

It’s only a point. 

Brilliant or disastrous. 

It’s only a point.

The real game is played on the back of many points.

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Putting it into Action

Adam Grant laid it out clearly in his book Hidden Potential:

You need to become a creature of discomfort:

1. To abandon what got you here.

2. To put yourself in the ring before you feel ready.

3. To make more mistakes than others make attempts.

Embrace, seek, and amplify discomfort.

And that is the battle we all face.

As Shane Parrish puts it, "Sooner or later you realize everything comes down to mindset."

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Ready to embrace the high-performer mindset and get off the hamster wheel?

Our 12-month Levership Program helps you learn to make the right decisions in the right order by building processes for success in your business. You’ll make more money, with less stress.

Like Federer winning 80% of matches with just 54% of the points, turn every challenge into an opportunity for growth. 

60% of your success comes from setting up the conditions for it. Mindset is important. 

Set up a complimentary strategy call to see where your business stands today.