“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life;
everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment.
Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated.”
~ Viktor E. Frankl
What’s your One Thing?
Your Magnificent Obsession?
What are you here to accomplish?
In the words of Frankl, what’s your “assignment that demands fulfillment?”
Do you know exactly what it is? Are you fully committed to its complete accomplishment and achievement?
The way you answer these questions not only determines your propensity to a level of mastery… they determine your quality of life, your energy and your fulfillment.
Mastery comes from knowing your unique genius and then developing
and leveraging it fully in the service of mankind.
Your Innate Abilities are your unique genius, and genius comes from deliberate practice and mastery of the unique gifts you’ve been given. So that obviously presupposes that you foremost know what those abilities are.
This particular series, as the title suggests, is focused upon Mastery, Genius, and Greatness. So while mastery is listed first, the formula actually unfolds in this fashion:
Let’s get into minimalism
Studies in willpower show that willpower is limited. Yes, you read that correctly. Even the most willful individual has a finite amount of energy in this particular line of development. Masters understand this fact, either consciously or unconsciously, and therefore design their life accordingly.
When you study the lives of the masters, those who achieve epic performance in their lives, it invariably proves that these individuals are minimalists.
These individuals have developed rituals and practices that often appear bizarre, or even as neurosis, to the masses. As we’ve already discussed, masters don’t care what others think.
Not that they don’t care for others mind you, they often really do. While there are often exceptions, it’s just that a master cares more for world class performance, mastery of their craft, and epic performance.
Laughter, ridicule, and/or lack of understanding are
a masters’ reinforcement that he’s changing the world.
This is why I’ve mentioned repeatedly that you must find your “Magnificent Obsession” your “One Thing,” and that you must become in the words of Drucker a “Monomaniac on a mission.”
When I personally mentor individuals, one of the questions I ask in our very first meeting is
“Describe a typical day to me in detail.”
Their answer speaks volumes about their level of mastery. Or lack thereof.
A large portion of them describes their day in broad general terms.
Mounds of research, as well as my own exhaustive personal experience, prove that the more masterful one becomes, the more they follow a specific daily system and routine. Why? Two straightforward inarguable reasons:
- Efficiency
- Effectiveness
A study conducted and published by Now Sourcing of the wealthiest people in the world, proves that 84% of these achievers follow a daily routine. Every single day!
If you leave your day and destiny up to chance,
There’s no chance you’ll master it.
I get up at 4AM. We’ve discussed this previously.
Why? A few reasons:
1. First, because Circadian Rhythms tell us that the greatest most leveraged sleep we get is between 2-4AM as well as between 1-3PM. I want to get into those windows of deep sleep.
In my mind there’s no reason to sleep beyond the most leveraged window… that is assuming that I’ve gotten at least 6 hours of sleep total. Do the math. Something to ponder.
2. Secondly, let’s discussed the power of solitude for creativity and flow
The undeniable fact is that there are just not that many individuals who want to get up early. Not in your household. Not in mine.
Not in any household for that matter!
Therein lies your automatic gift of silence and solitude.
3. Third, research proves that the worlds’ most epic achievers all agree that the hours between 4AM and 12PM are the most productive hours of the day. Therefore, Epic Achievers “frontload” their day.
So, if you choose to join the 4AM club you’ll automatically be gifted with solitude and greater productivity! Tremendous ROI.
“I love getting up early because I get so much more accomplished!”
~ Richard Branson
Finally the body, as well as your unconscious mind (UCM) thrives on routine; and once habituated, you most likely won’t even need an alarm. It might take a while but you’ll get there.
So what happens every morning at 4AM for me?
I come downstairs to the kitchen and instantly drink an 8 oz. alkaline drink. Every single day. No exceptions.
It’s imperative to hydrate and alkaline the body first thing in the morning. You’ve gone 6-8 hours without water, and therefore you’re invariably dehydrated.
Water is the number two nutrient of a healthy body. Water is only trumped by the number one nutrient of a healthy body… which is oxygen.
I won’t go on to describe the rest of my morning between 4AM and 6:30AM, (which is the time at which I go to the gym), but suffice to say that it’s automatic, habituated, and nearly identical every single day.
There’s an extreme amount of power in a strict routine like this. To say that you get a lot accomplished is an enormous understatement. But maybe, more importantly, going back to willpower, once something is habituated… you don’t have to think about it. At all!
This is the power of your amazing unconscious mind (UCM).
I can make my alkaline drink even on the days when I haven’t gotten my traditional 6-8 hours of sleep. Without even thinking about it!
… one 8 oz. glass of filtered water, one tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar, two pinches of sea salt, cayenne pepper, one tablespoon of organic lemon juice…
You get the idea.
Your UCM runs your body. Read that again.
Dr. Joseph Murphy’s research suggested it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. More recent research at the University of London suggests that it takes 66 days.
Which is more accurate?
Who knows?
But rest assured that somewhere between 21 days and 66 days you will have to use willpower (which remember is finite), to lock in the new behavior. After that is when the true magic begins. For after that time, the new behavior is locked in and concretized as a habit.
You see as a simple example because my UCM is programmed to make my morning drink every single morning first thing (as well as many other things), as stated previously, I don’t even have to think about doing these habituated things. Therefore I conserve my willpower for grander less mundane things later in my day and life. Do you follow?
Even decisions that seem trivial and mundane, even like what to eat for breakfast, can actually be exhausting over time; and will definitely burn up your willpower. Please read that again.
We must learn to eat to live versus live to eat.
When you burn up all your willpower on the trivial and mundane… you’ll have none left when it matters most. This is not a theory. This is science.
There’s a powerful concept in psychology called “decision fatigue,” which when properly understood is a literal game-changer.
Your willpower and decision-making muscles are much like your physical muscles in that when overused and spent, they don’t perform.
Muscle fatigue brings poor physical performance. Willpower fatigue brings poor decision making and life performance.
Wow!
Are you beginning to see why masters are minimalists?
Is it becoming clearer why I encourage you to find your One Thing?
If you attempt to be everybody’s everything
you end up as everybody’s nothing.
One of the most powerful practices I get my personal mentoring clients into is what I’ve labeled “The Master Protocol.” Given what we’ve discussed in this installment I’m sure you can imagine what it may consist of.
It’s not easy.
It takes extreme discipline and willpower to habituate this protocol initially. But once locked into your unlimited UCM you literally set your productivity and creativity on fire!
Are you addicted to the complexity of the masses?
Or are you committed to the simplicity of mastery?
What’s your One Thing?
If you attempt to be everybody’s everything you end up as everybody’s nothing. Something to ponder.
And the journey continues…
Be a Leader. Live Your Purpose; and Take Your Power Back!
James
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