FSB Author Article
Sticking Your Neck
Out:
Discover the Top 7 Ways to Reach Your
Peak Performance
By Nikki Stone
Author of When Turtles Fly: Secrets
of Successful People Who Know How To Stick Their Necks Out
This philosophy was taught to me by my mother, who told me that I could achieve anything I wanted. I always held it close and adapted it to every situation I encountered. I'd like to help people breathe in this confidence and share the secrets that are common to those at the top of their given field.
1. Have a Soft Inside -- let your heart drive your actions
Find
Your Passion:
Do the things you hate first so you can truly get pleasure from the
parts of your job and day that you are most passionate about.
First
thing in the morning write down five things you don't like to do.
Do
each before 11:00 a.m., and check off that you've done them. Doing the
thing you hate most will allow you to spend the rest of the day or week
focusing on the things you enjoy the most.
Enhance
Your Focus:
Try to complete a task or project today as well as you can -- without
looking at others for approval. Can you bring something to
fruition
without worrying about the outcome? If you do feel you have to
see
your "results", compare them to your own past efforts rather than to
what someone else has achieved.
Be Committed: Either give
yourself a challenge or challenge a colleague, teammate or friend to
decide on a certain goal with you. Write the challenge down on an
index card and tape it to the wall to remind yourself of your
goal. This commitment will make you accountable to your goals and
responsible
for your actions.
Overcoming Adversities: Ask
yourself, "If I knew I couldn't fail, what would I try?" After you
answer this question, ask yourself why it would be so awful to fail at
the task or activity. We learn much more from our failures than
we
learn from our accomplishments.
3. Be Willing to Stick Your Neck Out --
put yourself out there and find the support to make sure you follow
through
Build
Your Confidence:
We all have our strong points and we need to remind ourselves of these
attributes. Create a list today of all the personal traits that
give
you confidence. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and
knowing
your strengths will help you compensate for your shortcomings.
Start Taking Risks: We can't be
afraid of failure. If you don't try, you have already failed. Why not
give yourself the chance to succeed? Pick something that scares
you a
bit, and decide you are going to take the risk to follow through with
it today.
Find Your Teamwork: A support
system is crucial in helping you develop a strong character. Go
out
today and ask a few close friends how they would describe you. If
they
define you only in terms of your accomplishments, take the time to show
them who you are in terms of your relationships. Think about the
things you may be doing to project a title rather than a personality,
and correct that.
I hope these tips help you find your Turtle Effect and encourage you to strive for levels once thought impossible.
©2010 Nikki Stone, author of When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How To Stick Their Necks Out
Author Bio
At the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, Nikki Stone
became America's first-ever Olympic champion in the sport of aerial
skiing. What made this performance so unbelievable was the fact that,
less than two years earlier, a chronic spinal injury prevented her from
standing, much less walking or skiing off a twelve-foot-tall snow jump
that launches aerialists fifty feet into the air. She overcame the
injury and went on to earn 35 World Cup medals, 11 World Cup titles, 4
national titles, 3 World Cup titles, a World Championship title, and
membership in the Ski Hall of Fame. Nikki is also a magna cum laude
graduate of Union College and a summa cum laude masters graduate of the
University of Utah. Her aerial retirement is less than restful as she
trains Olympic athletes and business professionals in speaking/media
skills, coaches personal and professional development courses, hosts
group skiing adventures, sits on five different charitable committees,
and writes articles and columns for many magazines, newspapers, and
websites. Nikki's career focus is now on traveling around the world
working as a sought-after motivational speaker, sharing her secrets to
success by inspiring her business audiences to "Stick their necks out."
Every spare moment is spent with husband, Michael Spencer, and
daughter, Zali, in Park City, Utah.
For more information, please visit www.WhenTurtlesFly.com.