People love to seem to buy into the myths of “The Natural” and “The Overnight Success”, neither of which exists. I believe the allure of both these myths is that they relieve people of any pressure to put in the time and do the work necessary to achieve that level of success or achievement. 

"Spectacular achievements are always preceded by painstaking preparation."

Roger Staubach

We like to argue that some people, especially athletes, are genetically predisposed to be successful in that particular sport. Maybe, but so are large numbers of other people who never achieved those levels of accomplishment.

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic athlete in history, may have a body type and lung capacity that is ideal for swimming, but no one ever outworked Michael Phelps and his long time coach Bob Bowman. 

Potential is a nice thing to talk about, but of little value if you are unwilling to do the work it takes to activate that potential. 

"Most of us aren't performing at the level of our potential, we are performing at the level of our preparation."

Steven Furtick

The research is very clear that people, who have achieved what others would call mastery, in any arena of performance, have achieved that level through hundreds and thousands of hours of purposeful and dedicated practice and preparation. 

A singer might achieve name recognition in a short period of time after delivering an amazing performance on The Voice, or Britains Got Talent when their performance goes viral through reposts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, iTunes and other social media platforms. However, without years of hard work, sacrifice and dedicated practice they would not have been able to deliver that amazing performance in the first place. 

What’s Important Now? – Want to achieve great things in your life? Dump the myths. Do the work. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com

www.winningmindtraining.com

Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?

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