BECOME A HIGH ACHIEVER
So, you want to become a high achiever. You’ve always reached for the stars and have your heart set on big goals in the future. Maybe you run a small business, and you’re looking to attract more clients, perhaps you’re ready to move into new territories, or you want to be the next Fortune 500 company. Despite the early mornings, late nights, grit, and determination, you don’t seem to be getting any closer to being where you want to be.
Don’t worry; many high achievers have been precisely where you are at some point in their lives. Be it personal distractions, a hindered mindset or simply a lack of know-how, we all need a helping hand every now and again. My name is David Wyatt, and I am a life coach focusing on the skills necessary to become a high achiever. I dedicate myself to supporting passionate and powerful business people with a track record of success, shine their light. I use my personal experiences and fuse them with my intricate knowledge of high-performance success, particularly within business, to help turn dreams into a reality. As Oprah Winfrey once said, “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you can become what you believe.”
- KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
It may seem obvious, but you need to know what it is that you want to become a high achiever. It is amazing how many potential high achievers don’t know what they want out of their business or life. Sure, they can ace a maths test in school, and they can be the top-performing team members at work, but ask them what they want, and they go running for the hills. As Oprah said, you “become what you believe,” but if you do not actually know what you believe, how can you possibly begin the journey to achieving it? The most successful people in the world have ultra-clear goals and a fine-tuned vision of how they will arrive there. If you want to become a high achiever but don’t know what you want, it is time to make a plan.
2. FOCUS ON YOUR GOALS
To become a high achiever, you need goals. Once goals are set, you need to focus on them. So many people dream of what they want but do nothing strategic to achieve it. The most successful among us filter everything they do in their life through a set of criteria to figure out whether these tasks are helping or hindering the achievement of their goals. Anything that is hindering achievement is discarded while tasks that are having a positive effect are encouraged further. High achievers also take little notice of what other people think about them. By this, I don’t mean they go around upsetting people to get their own way; rather, the opinions of doubters are of little interest to them. For the high achiever, doubters are distractions that need to be avoided at all costs. By all means, listen to people when they discourage you, but once you have, politely tell them they are wrong and get right back on track.
3. BE PASSIONATE
Do your goals make you feel passionate? By passionate, I mean, the second you wake up in the morning, do you jump out of bed eager to get started? If the answer is yes, then great. If not, chances are what you’re chasing after isn’t actually what you want. If this is the case, go back to step one and start again. To become a high achiever, your goals need to fill you will joy; you need to feel that even if you weren’t getting paid (and if you’re setting up a business, you’re probably not), you would happily do what you do for free because it gives you so much satisfaction. Trust me; it’ll make the journey to high achievement so much easier. Want to increase the chances of realising your goals? Make sure they are goals that you are passionate about.
4. STOP PROCRASTINATING
Don’t get me wrong, achieving goals, even for high achievers, can be difficult. In a hyper-technical world, there are hundreds of things that are fighting for our attention every day. Social media, e-mails, family, and that latest hilarious WhatsApp group that you’ve forgotten to mute. Then, of course, there are the times you want to stare out of your office window, dreaming of lying on a beach next to Angelina Jolie. Sorry, maybe that’s just me. My point is, 2021 planet earth is designed to encourage procrastination. My advice? Don’t let it win. The path to those goals isn’t going to be walked by itself; if you haven’t started yet, do it now. To become a high achiever, you need to learn how to focus on what needs to be done each day and then actually do it. High achievers don’t do tomorrow what can be done today; they are strict with their time, take responsibility for their actions and don’t spend their time dreaming of Halle Berry!
5. CREATE YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES
We’ve all spoken to a pessimist. Perhaps they haven’t achieved what they expected to in life, maybe they feel as though they have fallen on bad times, or that the world is against them. When discussing successful people, pessimists often present undertones of jealously and a sense that high achievers have been handed their success on a silver platter. Of course, this is not the case. Despite circumstances, high achievers know how to create their own opportunities. Take J.K. Rowling, for instance; she was once a single mother living on state benefits, not knowing when she would next be able to eat and feed her child. She didn’t sit and complain; she carved an opportunity for herself by sending manuscripts to hundreds of book publishers. This proactive approach led to “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” getting published in 1997. She’s now worth over USD 1 billion.
6. BE POSITIVE
Granted, it was already alluded to in step five, but this is important if you want to become a high achiever. Be positive. Today, tomorrow, every day. Even if you’ve been kept awake all night by your next-door neighbour’s dog, have a 3-hour meeting with your least favourite client and have just found out your husband is having an affair with Shirley at number 23. Positivity is the key. Smile, pick yourself up and keep going. So much of how we feel, and what we experience is based on how we react to situations, so learn to see the good in every situation. It won’t always be easy, but trust me, it is truly liberating. If you have a great attitude and understand that setbacks are only temporary, the possibilities are endless.
7. IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED …
It may or may not shock you to know that not all those who want to become a high achiever achieve it overnight. It takes a lot of hard work and learning to get there. Tobias Lutke, the founder of Shopify, had to quit school due to displaying the signs of ADHD. As with my own battle with Asperger’s Syndrome, Tobias was once cast aside by teachers and peers as someone who wouldn’t go on to achieve. Despite this, Tobias was determined to make something of himself. He picked himself up, took the initiative to learn computer programming and although he almost went bankrupt several times, he launched Shopify. The company’s success has now made him one of the most famous e-commerce entrepreneurs globally and has a net worth of USD 10.5 billion. The moral of the story? To become a high achiever, never give up. Ever.
CONCLUSION
If you want to become a high achiever, you need to know that it’s not going to be an easy ride. Success is not a given; it is earned. The difference between a successful person and a fully-fledged high achiever, however, is mindset. High achievers are positive, goal-driven, tenacious individuals. They see the world very differently from others and understand that both positive and negative experiences are a step in the road to success. If you are looking to readjust your lens and finally achieve your wildest dreams, I can help. I have the first-hand experience of how setbacks and our view of the world can affect our understanding of possibility. I’m looking for seven top performers who are finally ready to shine their light and become a high achiever. If you are passionate, powerful and have a track record of success, you could be just the person I am looking for.
If you’re ready, contact me today and let’s start the journey to turning your dreams into reality.