What does it takes to achieve optimal performance? You cannot think average and expect to achieve it. Can you be merely interested and create it? Nope. There is a massive difference between interest versus commitment.
Can anyone achieve optimal performance? Absolutely. It doesn't matter if you are a total beginner in the sport or you are a seasoned veteran.
How committed are you willing to be to see your hard work pay off?
For example, I started this website over 7 years ago. I wanted to reach more people and knew I had to be fully committed in order to that.
In addition to that, interest was not enough otherwise this site would have been done away with years ago. Your mind, body and actions have to all be working as one to achieve optimal performance.
You cannot achieve peak performance with one missing. All have to be working as a cohesive unit. I would have never broken the 1:07:10 half-marathon barrier had I not been fully committed to optimal performance. It was something that I was seeking and yearning for.
Actionable Steps To Achieve Optimal Performance
Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan
What is it that you want to do with your running career? Is it to break the 3 hour marathon? Do you desire to run a marathon under 4 hours? Is it to lose more weight? Everyone has something they aspire to do and do exceptionally well.
Furthermore, you have to map out your plan, write down your goals and take action to make them a reality. For me, it was to start the RunDreamAchieve YouTube Channel. I've been writing on this website now for over 7 years and just started creating videos this month.
So, planning your work and working your plan sometimes means doing things that make you uncomfortable. Repetition is the key. We didn't learn to walk until we first crawled and goofed it up over and over again.
In addition to that, we learned to speak our language via repetition.
Get Rid Of The Distractions
Change Your Surroundings
Do you want to know another great way to achieve optimal performance? Surround yourself with the right people. An athlete consultant can help you achieve your racing and fitness goals much faster than you could on your own.
You are not going to achieve optimal performance watching television. Did you know the average American is watching 5 to 6 hours of television per day. Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper will not help you grow your bank account or help you lose weight.
ESPN is not going to help you run a sub 3:30 marathon in anyway, shape or form. You have to make a decision this year to fully commit. Make a commitment to yourself that you are going to make some serious changes to live the life you desire.
Minimize The Distractions
In addition to that, all it takes it minimizing the noise, clutter and distractions in your life. I have a friend who has a lot of goals and aspirations but he lets himself get distracted too easily. he fully realizes this but ultimately it is going to be up to him to change.
One of the best things you can do is go where your mentors are at. If you are beginner or advanced-level runner perhaps rundreamachieve is a great place to get started. There are a lot of resources here like the RunDreamAchieve Academy, the archives page and the consulting services available here.
Here are a few other helpful articles to help you reach optimal performance.
- Peak Performance Running Tips
- Elite Fitness – Tips From A 2:19 Marathoner
- Pro Fitness Tips To Run Faster in 2019
- How to Achieve Lifestyle Fitness
Make A Decision To Change Your Life Today
Decide
First, we were taught in Army Officer Candidate school to make a decision. Decisions can be the right or the wrong decision but you have to decide. Secondly, if you are going to achieve optimal performance this year and in the future you are going to have to make a decision.
Steve Harvey puts it beautifully in the video below. You are going to have to jump. We all have a decision in this life to stay on the cliff where it is safe or jump and take a chance.
Look around you. Do you notice what being safe has gotten most people? The average college graduate in this country now owes on average, $37,000 in student loan debt. W
Go to school, get good grades and get a job.
What is leverage?
Does it mean one needs to take out 5 to 6 figures in student loan debt and then spend the rest of ones' life paying the debt back.
Does the average American, co-worker or friend that you know have true leverage over their time
Is time not our most precious asset?
Why have we been brainwashed into squandered it warming a seat somewhere in an office building?
Expect Some Backlash
Are there people who thoroughly love what they do for a living who will disagree with this? Absolutely. The reality is most people are fine with this and that is respectable. That being said, if you have to keep showing up somewhere so you can pay your mortgage, student loans, credit cards and car payment is that what life is all about?
Or, is it a philosophy you and I have been spoon-fed to believe? Gary Vaynerchuk recently said this,
The American Dream should not be to ‘own' a home, it should be to be happy
Who owns that home the average American is paying on? Let's say for example, someone took a “loan” out for $400,000 to purchase a home. Who owns the home? The person or the bank?
It is not that we need to work hard, pay bills and die. We need to start working smarter and using leverage in our lives.
You will run into people that love to play it safe. They think trading their life for a paycheck. One income stream is totally fine. They are content, respectfully. Look at the current government “shutdown” going on? How many Americans that are relying on one source of income are being screwed right now?
Let's be honest. The old, Industrial Aged concept of being an employee in today's day and age is no longer effective. There are far too many people in this country and around the world barely making ends meet.
The American Dream. Is It The Road To Optimal Performance?
We have been spoon-fed, “The American Dream”. “
- Own” a home – the bank owns the home and you are stuck somewhere for 30+ years. Forget being mobile. You signed the document and are now stuck. Did you know the bank didn't loan you a cent. The Promissory Note you signed has equal value to the check the bank cut for you. An exchange, not a loan was made. The top executives at every bank knows this. The “homeowner” is never told this fact.
Never own one door – Grant Cardone, real estate investor
- Go to college so you can be “successful” – spend the rest of your life paying off student loan debt. You were already successful when you came out of the womb.
The longer I live the more that I have been taught becomes more of a bigger lie. Are you mobile by “owning” a home? Can you get up and go where you want every 10 months or so? You can get up and go wherever you want. Are there pros and cons to both? Yes.
That being said, do you want to be forced to be a slave to a bank to “own” a home or be mobile and have more leverage of where you can live?
Why not rent?
In addition to that, you can own real estate where you can grow your passive income. Is college the holy grail of earning more income? Employees are the highest taxed worker there is. Is the IRS tax code written to benefit the employee or the entrepreneur?
Start Working Smarter
If you want to achieve optimal performance in your running career and lifestyle you need to start using leverage. Leverage simply means doing more with less. It was never taught to most people growing up.
It was never taught to us in our school system. Please understand, I am all for education. I'm currently working on an MBA at Purdue University. That being said, I did not take out student loans to pay for it. The Post 911-GI Bill is.
It took me 12 years to pay off my undergraduate and graduate degree. My last payment was made while I was deployed to Afghanistan. I remember what it was like to have to send all of my hard earned funds to a bank or bill collector.
What I mean by working smarter is to start investing in yourself. Do you want to start an online business revolved around fitness? I would strongly recommend you take a look at Pinterest Avalanche. This is a course you can take to help you build new followers to your blog or website via Pinterest.
Education is important but we all have also been taught we need to take out 5 to 6 figures in student loan debt in order to achieve “success”. Do you know there are teenagers on YouTube right now making more in a month than a trained Physician makes in a year.
What is the difference between the YouTuber and the Physician? Who receives passive income between the two? The other has to work for linear income and keeps having to show up somewhere or their paycheck stops coming in. Is this leverage?
Think Outside The Box
Observe the masses and do the opposite
Look around you. Normalcy is everywhere. How can you achieve lasting results? Start doing the opposite of what other people are doing. You can respect and love them from a distance but make small changes each day to break free from the matrix.
The matrix was not a movie, it was a documentary – Dr. Bruce Lipton
Running a marathon under 3 hours is not normal. It takes an incredible amount of desire and dedication. Optimal performance is what it takes to run a time like that. It takes jumping off the cliff as Steve Harvey stated above and being willing to take some risks.
78 percent of the American population is living paycheck to paycheck. Most people in this country are broke. Why? How can we be living in the richest country in the world and that many people are barely making it financially?
How many Americans have car debt? 107 million
How many Americans have a mortgage? 64.2 percent as of 2017
How many Americans have student loan debt? Over 44 million
Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
Do you know one way to achieve optimal performance? Start doing the things you fear. You are not going to achieve ultimate fitness and success by remaining in the comfort zone.
Punching the time clock each day and getting up doing the same routine. Do you have a race coming up and want to train with a new strategy? Invest in a 5K to marathon training schedule created by someone who has done what you visualize yourself doing.
Try running on a curved treadmill where you don't have the luxury of electricity to push the belt. How is this different? It is up to you to move the belt. You provide the inertia to get the belt to move. The result? You burn more calories and get a better workout.
Live, Don't Just Exist
Steve Harvey touched on the above video but it is important. We cannot accept just living an average life. We were a magnificent creations of a beautiful and powerful Creator.
There is a God. Yours may be different than mine but Something created us. I can guarantee He already made us successful prior to us coming into this world. There was no college degree, an alphabet we needed behind our names or a fancy job title needed to achieve optimal performance with Him.
RunDreamAchieve allows me to reach people from around the world. I'm all in with my brand and business. You should be as well. We were not put on this Earth to be a slave to a bank or bill collector. We are special, deserve to wake up and do what you want to do, live the way you wish to live.
The problem is we all conform. Play it safe. Do what the boss says. Follow the play book. Don't break the rules.
The problem with bad debt is that it robs people from optimal performance. It takes their productivity from them on the 1st and 15th. Car loans, credit cards, student loan debt, mortgages.
The word “mortgage” commonly used by bankers means “Death Pledge”
Expect Some Haters
Anytime you go against the grain you will encounter flatulence. Fart winds that stink quite badly. You need to know that anytime you choose to do the opposite of what others do you will not be liked.
Say or write something others want to defend? Be prepared for the stank to rise.
Rent don't own a home? Oh yes. You will not be the popular one in the room.
Going to school only to be in debt for the next 40 years? Get the gas mask out.
If you want to achieve optimal performance whether it be on the athletic field or in business you have to do what others are unwilling to do, period.
I broke the 2:20:00 marathon barrier because all I did was run. You cannot rely on talent and expect to run a 2:19 marathon. There is no room for interest. If you are interested in running a fast marathon time good luck. You'll never do it. What you need to be is fanatical about it.
I ran on holidays, on vacation trips, when I was sick (perhaps not too bright but I was committed), while in school etc. There was a white hot commitment that was present.
Be In Control
We are always in control of our words, thoughts and attitude. If your thoughts are not in frequency with those that are successful, change your tune. Have you ever turned the dial of your radio station when your favorite song came on? You hear your song but it isn't coming in clear? When does it sound perfect? When the frequency is right where it needs to be.
Do you think our thoughts are not the same? The key strategy to achieve optimal performance in life is to surround yourself with the right people. Listen to the average conversation of the people around you. Is it uplifting? Does it have anything to do with getting rid of debt, living life, traveling, being free from banks and bill collectors?
Does it have anything to do with increasing ones income? Income streams? Leveraging your time and finances? Does it inspire you? Or, does it have to do with President Trumps' “Border Wall” policy? Kylee Jenner's newest finger nail polish or Instagram post?
Does it have to do with the political atmosphere in Washington DC? A co-worker bitching about his or her hours, what the boss wants or worrying about measuring up? Is the conversation about some football player or someone's favorite sporting team? There is untold amounts of meaningless chatter that surrounds us everyday.
Do you want to know a great way to change that environment you are in?
Invest In Leadership Conferences
Here are three conferences I will be attending this year. Do you want to know a great way to achieve optimal performance on and off the track, road or treadmill? Start surrounding yourself with thought leaders. These are people who are innovative, positive, employees who are fed up with just getting by.
- Social Media Marketing World – social media marketing conference (perfect if you want to start your own online business revolved around fitness, running or something you love
- FinCon – Finance conference – Where Money & Media Meet
- Digital Marketing World Conference – conference for online brands and professionals seeking to improve upon their website and marketing
Business and leadership conferences are an investment in yourself where you can surround yourself with leaders. People that will help take you where you want to go. Surround yourself with influencers.
Get around the right kind of people. Professionals who are not just going to be just spouting off meaningless chatter. When was the last time your favorite sport team put any money in your pocket? How about your co-worker? Did they help you get ahead financially, help you lose weight or start your own business online?
Closing Thoughts
The point of this post on optimal performance was not to degrade education or your friends or co-workers. It was simply to provide some ideas to make you think.
We all love those that tell us what we want to hear but it takes a coach, mentor and friend to tell us the truth. The truth is you weren't put on this Earth to pay bills and die. If you want to run a faster 5K or break the 4 hour marathon there is going to take some commitment on your part.
These results will not come by way of being merely interested. You cannot half-ass it and expect to create a peak performance. It is going to take an enormous amount of hustle, diligence and being willing to lose a few friends if need be.
Optimal performance comes only by way of doing what most people refuse to do. Is it cold or snowing outside? Nah, I'll stay in for the day. It is safer anyway. The roads are horrible. This is the mindset and thoughts you need to get away from.
Run Towards Where The Action Is
Start running toward what you are fearful of. What is the worst that can happen? Someone might not like what you say or write? Do you realize how limiting that is? How many people would love to hear what you have to say? In addition to that, how many need to hear or read what you have to offer and you are choosing not to out of fear.
It's time to start doing what we are fearful of and start living. I hope this post on optimal performance provided you with some ideas to help you. Feel free to leave a comment below, subscribe to the RunDreamAchieve YouTube Channel.
There are many resources here to help you run your best this year. You can invest in one of our courses at the RunDreamAchieve Academy, visit our archives page, or purchase a 5K to marathon training schedule. What I want more than anything for you is simply to be happy.
I'm tired of running into so many people struggling financially and who are letting things outside of their control get the best of them. What the nightly news tells you does not have to be your reality. Be willing to jump, get off the cliff, make the leap.
This is the only way optimal performance in any area of life can be achieved.
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