#525: "I am the CEO of an investment bank and a professional athlete. I graduated from the UW Business School a few decades ago. People say that I’m known as someone who has studied the principles of personal development for a long time. Applying these principles to myself, I’ve coincidentally become a model of personal development and inspiration to many around me. Although success is different to every individual, it is generally accepted notion that people are much happier when they grow, develop, and are good at what they do. Some people like myself become very proficient in their fields much faster than most. The first thing that you must understand is that success is a mental transformation, not an external event. To be successful, you must first know exactly what you want to achieve. Second, you must commit to the sacrifices that it will take to achieve your goal. And third, of course, you must believe beyond any reasonable doubt that you will achieve your goals. To be able to approach your goals with such level of certainty and determination, you need to take care of your base first, which is your physical conditioning. For instance, I rep shoulder press 140 pound dumbbells in each hand every day. Failure cannot be considered an option. It has been my personal experience that your level of physical fitness reflects directly in your mental sharpness and in your energy level that you have to take care of your tasks. As you train to provide your body with the level of energy and intensity that you need to pursue your tasks, you inertly train your mind too. Always push your limits; always push your comfort zone. And as you train to expand and step outside your comfort zone mentally, you soon realize that the things that most people around you consider impossible to do are actually completely within your grasp, such as when I bench pressed 495 lbs. Many people believe that successful people are lucky; I completely disagree with that notion. Successful people think in very specific patterns, which then create opportunities for them that they can seize. An average observer thinks that that’s luck, which people told me when I went to the Olympic Valley National Qualifier for skiing. Luck doesn’t jump in anyone’s lap. Success requires persistence, perseverance, attention to detail, and of course, patience. People around you will tell you that you will not succeed: ignore them! When I was little, I couldn’t run, so many tennis coaches said that I couldn’t play tennis. When I mastered that, they said yeah… but he’s a big guy, and his reactions’ terrible so he will never be a real player since he couldn’t serve and volley. Hmm. Today my tennis serve measured 140 MPH. When people tell you that you won’t be able to achieve something, cross them out of your life because they are directly interfering with your success. Ignore the losers. Bring your a-game, your determination, and your drive to a field, and success will follow you. There’s another peculiar thing about success… anything you do, you must pursue it with your entire heart. Live your life openly, go all out for what you want to achieve and what you believe in. If you’re going to work, work. If you’re going to train, train. If you’re going to dance, then dance! But do it with passion. While physical training might make you stronger and mentally sharper, things like dancing will teach you how to pursue your goals with your entire heart. When all of this is said and done, we come back to one fundamental truth: success is a mental phenomenon, not a physical one. It must first be conceived internally before it is manifested externally. Behind your clarity of your goals, determination, persistence, passion, patience, lies one main tenant. Napoleon Hill said it best… what you can conceive and believe, you can achieve. You must first believe beyond any reasonable doubt that success is possible. Remember: to achieve success (such as when I broke 7 brick blocks with my karate-chop), you must first conceive it and believe it. Impossibility is just another term, another opinion. It should have no bearing on your success whatsoever. Remember: IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING. [This story is dedicated to my coach, Radomir Kovačević. If you want to learn how I went from the non-target UW to Wall Street, how I won two games against tennis great Pete Sampras, and taught Jerry Seinfeld and Harrison Ford to play, how I am an expert in Chinese orthopedic massage, how the Dalai Lama wrote my college recommendation letter, how I was an action stuntman and professional skier, how I am a professional model who has appeared in promotional ads for multiple clothing stores including Ann Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue, how I worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, how I am a master in the art of Tibetan bone-setting, how I forged passports for the Russian Mafia, how I participated in Tibetan gladiatorial contests, how I am one of four people in the state of Connecticut certified to handle nuclear waste, and how I was the original developer of Napster, please read my book, the Millionaires’ Blueprint to Success]. "
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 05:54:23 +0000
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