High Performance Habits

High Performance Habits Plot Summary

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why some people consistently achieve remarkable results while others struggle despite similar talents and opportunities? The difference isn't raw ability or luck—it's specific habits and practices that can be learned and developed. Extraordinary achievement isn't reserved for the gifted few; it's available to anyone willing to master the fundamental habits that drive high performance. Throughout these pages, we'll explore the science-backed practices that separate high performers from everyone else. You'll discover how to generate more clarity about what matters, create sustainable energy, raise your standards, focus on what truly moves the needle, develop meaningful influence, and demonstrate courage when facing challenges. These aren't theoretical concepts but practical tools you can implement immediately to transform your results and experience in any area of life.

Chapter 1: Clarify Your Purpose and Direction

Feeling lost in your career or life? You're not alone. Many high achievers reach a point where despite their success, they feel disconnected from their work and uncertain about their direction. Like Kate, a successful executive managing thousands of employees at a top company, who despite her impressive career and loving family, confided: "I just don't know what I want anymore." This disconnection happens when we stop generating clarity about who we are and what we want at this stage of life. High performers consistently seek clarity on their future identity, social connections, skill development, and service to others - what I call the Future Four. They don't just stumble upon clarity; they deliberately generate it through thoughtful questions and mindful experimentation. The first practice for gaining clarity is envisioning your future self. High performers spend more time thinking about who they want to become, not just who they are now. When I asked Kate to describe her ideal future self in three words, she chose "alive, playful, and grateful" - qualities far from the "going through the motions" feeling she'd been experiencing. I had her program these words as alarms on her phone, creating daily reminders of who she wanted to be. High performers also have clear intentions about their social connections. Before important interactions, they ask themselves: "How can I be a good person or leader in this situation? What will others need? What mood do I want to set?" This intentionality improves their performance and relationships. For Kate, I suggested she imagine how she wanted her family to describe her twenty years from now, then approach each interaction as an opportunity to demonstrate those qualities. Additionally, high performers are clear about the skills they need to develop. They focus on their primary field of interest (PFI) and deliberately build competence in that area. Kate had forgotten how much she enjoyed learning. When she reconnected with her passion and set up a structure to develop new skills, she wrote: "I can't believe changing how I feel was as easy as choosing to learn again."

Chapter 2: Generate Sustainable Energy

"If I keep up this pace, I'll eventually burn out, or probably just die," confessed Arjun, a Silicon Valley tech founder who had flown me in on his private jet at 3:00 a.m. for an urgent consultation. Despite his success, he lacked joy and energy - a common crisis among high achievers who prioritize hustle over wellbeing. Our research shows that high performers have what I call capital "E" Energy - a holistic blend of mental, physical, and emotional vibrancy. They score higher on statements like "I have the mental stamina to be present and focused throughout the day" and "In general, I feel cheerful and optimistic." This energy isn't just about physical vitality; it encompasses mental alertness and positive emotions as well. The first practice for generating sustainable energy is mastering transitions. Every day, we experience countless transitions - from rest to activation when waking up, from family time to work time, from one meeting to another. High performers excel at managing these transitions through a simple practice I call "Release Tension, Set Intention." When moving between activities, they take a moment to close their eyes, breathe deeply, and repeat the word "release" while consciously relaxing tension in their body. Then they set an intention for how they want to feel and perform in the next activity. Arjun tried this practice before entering his home after work. He sat in his car for five minutes, closed his eyes, repeated "release," and asked himself how he wanted to show up for his family. "I walked in like a new man, as if I'd won the lottery of life," he reported. "My wife realized it was just me again. My daughter noticed, too. We just had the most wonderful night." The second practice is to deliberately bring joy into your daily life. Joy is one of the three defining emotions of high performance (alongside confidence and engagement). High performers don't wait for joy to land on them; they actively cultivate it through specific habits. They prime positive emotions before key events, anticipate positive outcomes, seek to insert appreciation and wonder into their day, and regularly reflect on what they're grateful for. After a serious ATV accident that left me with a brain injury, I developed several "triggers" to help me maintain positive emotions. I set phone alarms labeled "BRING THE JOY" to remind me throughout the day. I created a "doorframe trigger" - every time I walked through a doorway, I'd say to myself, "I will find the good in this room." I also established an evening practice of writing down three positive moments from my day and reliving them emotionally.

Chapter 3: Raise Your Performance Standards

"What else could I do?" asked Isaac, a Marine who had been shot while rescuing a fellow soldier after their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. Now in a wheelchair, he was struggling to find purpose. "I'm useless now. It's over," he said. His friend leaned in and replied, "If you don't have a reason to be, man, you're done. But the deal is, you choose the reason." This conversation illustrates the power of performance necessity - the emotional drive that makes great performance a must instead of a preference. When you feel necessity, you don't sit around wishing or hoping. You get things done because you have to. Your heart, soul, and the needs of the moment demand action. Our research shows that high performers strongly agree with statements like: "I feel a deep emotional drive and commitment to succeeding, and it consistently forces me to work hard, stay disciplined, and push myself." This necessity comes from four forces: identity, obsession, duty, and urgency. The first practice for raising necessity is knowing who needs your A game. Set a "desk trigger" for yourself - whenever you sit down at your desk, ask: "Who needs me on my A game the most right now?" This simple question forces an internal review (What is my A game? Have I been bringing it today?) and makes you think of someone external to work for. When you have someone to take action for, you perform better. To bring your A game, you need to choose your identity and create immersive situations. There's a difference between dabblers, novices, amateurs, players, and high performers. High performers are all-in on the game, playing at a high level regardless of recognition or rewards because the game is intrinsically rewarding and part of how they view their service to the world. The second practice is affirming your why. High performers confidently declare their goals and the reasons behind them to themselves and others. Before filming videos (which I initially struggled with), I would say to myself: "Brendon, you're doing this because it's important. Remember your students. You can inspire them and help them reach their goals. That's your purpose." Speaking your why creates social consequence and obligation. When I told friends I would send them access to my online course the following week, I created external expectations that motivated me to follow through. Had I not done this, the million-plus students who have completed my courses would never have benefited from them.

Chapter 4: Master Productive Focus

"It's just not happening fast enough," sighed Athena, a school administrator who had worked in the same office for fourteen years. Despite her constant busyness and long hours, she felt she wasn't making enough progress on important projects. "I'm putting in the hours, but I haven't advanced as fast as I thought I would. Everything I do, it's just never... enough." One of the worst feelings is being incredibly busy but making no real progress. Athena seemed productive - crossing many items off her daily to-do list - but she hadn't learned the difference between just getting things done and reaching high performance productivity. High performers have a deliberate approach to planning their days, projects, and tasks. They score well on statements like "I'm good at setting priorities and working on what's important" and "I stay focused and avoid distractions." The difference is that they're more productive yet also happier and less stressed than their peers. The first practice for mastering productive focus is increasing the outputs that matter. High performers have mastered prolific quality output (PQO) - producing more high-quality output than their peers over the long term. This requires identifying what "relevant PQO" means to you. For a blogger, it might be more frequent and better content. For a parent, it might be increasing quality time with children. When I left corporate consulting in 2006 to become a writer, speaker, and online trainer, I spent almost a year spinning my wheels until I clearly defined my PQO. For writing, my output needed to be books. For speaking, it was paid gigs at a certain booking fee. For online training, it was curriculum, videos, and courses. Once I focused on these outputs, my career transformed. Nearly two million people have enrolled in my courses, and my instructional videos have been viewed over 100 million times. I recommend spending 60% of your workweek oriented toward your PQO, with the other 40% going to strategy, team management, and everyday tasks. When this ratio drops, your productivity suffers. If procrastination is an issue, remember it's usually a motivational problem - you're not working on things that intrinsically matter to you. And perfectionism is just delay logic; true perfectionists would complete and release their work, then improve it. The second practice is charting your five moves. For any major goal, identify the five most important projects or activities that will help you achieve it. Break these down into tasks and deadlines, then schedule them in your calendar. High performers know exactly what they're working on and why, in exacting detail.

Chapter 5: Develop Meaningful Influence

Juan, the CEO of a global apparel company, was in crisis. After seven straight quarters of weak performance, he blamed Daniela, his new chief designer. Their conflict had split the company, stalled projects, and tanked revenues. Juan wanted to minimize Daniela's influence through budget cuts and restructuring. When I was brought in to help, I challenged Juan's approach: "You handle things. You collaborate with people." I explained that real influence comes from raising ambition - first relating with others, then helping raise their ambition to think better, do better, or give more. "You can't influence a person by diminishing them or putting out the fire in their belly. People only like to work with leaders who make them think bigger and grow more." Our research shows that high performers excel at earning trust, building camaraderie, and persuading others. Interestingly, influence isn't strongly correlated with giving or creativity - many givers lack influence, and creative people don't necessarily have people skills. What matters most is your ability to shape others' beliefs and behaviors. The first practice for developing influence is teaching people how to think. High performers deliberately shape how others think about themselves, other people, and the world. They use phrases like "Think of it this way..." or "What would happen if we tried..." to guide thinking. My parents were masters at this. When our heater broke during a Montana winter and we couldn't afford to fix it, my mom set up our camping tent in the living room with sleeping bags and electric blankets. We kids thought we were having an adventure! Through such experiences, my parents taught me to think of myself as self-reliant, to view others with compassion, and to see the world as a place where you can handle challenges and make the best of situations. The second practice is challenging people to grow. High performers consistently challenge others to raise their standards in three areas: character, connection, and contribution. They set expectations, ask questions, give examples, and directly ask people to improve. Linda Ballew, my high school journalism teacher, changed my life through such challenges. When I was about to drop out after being barred from returning to school following a family trip to France, she sought me out. Instead of telling me dropping out was a bad idea, she challenged my character: "You aren't a quitter, Brendon, and you don't want to be one. You're too strong a person to let the administration make you quit."

Chapter 6: Demonstrate Courageous Action

At 2:47 a.m., I was awakened by a phone call from Sandra, a celebrity client. "I need you to look at something. I'm getting a ton of hate on social. I think I'm in danger." She directed me to a YouTube video titled "CONFESSION" where she vaguely admitted to not being honest with her audience about her struggles. The video seemed disingenuous, lacking specific details, and the comments were mostly negative. When we met for lunch the next day, I was prepared to tell her that posting a video wasn't truly courageous. Real courage, I thought, was facing uncertainty and risk for a cause beyond yourself - like Washington crossing the Delaware or Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat. But when Sandra removed her sunglasses to reveal a black eye, everything changed. "It's my husband. I've been abusive for a long time," she confessed. "I posted that video. I just felt like it was my first step..." Her words dissolved into tears. We spent three hours planning her escape, and she never returned home that day. She had crossed her own Delaware and revolutionized her life. High performers are courageous people. They score high on statements like "I speak up for myself" and "I am willing to take risks." Courage isn't just about heroic acts; it's about consistently choosing to act despite fear, uncertainty, or risk. It's a habit that can be developed through practice. The first practice for demonstrating courage is honoring the struggle. High performers view struggle as necessary for growth rather than something to avoid. They embrace difficulties, knowing that overcoming challenges builds character and capability. When faced with hardship, high performers ask empowering questions: "What can I learn from this? How can I grow stronger through this? How might this prepare me for future challenges?" They also maintain perspective by comparing their current struggle to past difficulties they've overcome and to the greater suffering of others. The second practice is sharing your truth and ambitions. This means being honest about your experiences, beliefs, and dreams, even when it's uncomfortable. For Sandra, sharing her truth about domestic abuse was her first step toward freedom. For others, it might mean speaking up in meetings, expressing unpopular opinions, or declaring ambitious goals. High performers don't wait until they're "ready" to share their truth - they recognize that courage is acting despite fear, not in the absence of it. They understand that vulnerability creates connection and that sharing ambitions creates accountability and attracts support.

Summary

The journey to high performance isn't about superhuman talent or relentless hustle. It's about developing specific habits that allow you to achieve extraordinary results while maintaining wellbeing and fulfillment. The six habits explored in this book provide a comprehensive framework for reaching your highest potential in any field or endeavor. The most powerful insight from studying high performers is that confidence is the common thread connecting all six habits. Not arrogance or blind self-belief, but the grounded confidence that comes from competence, congruence, and connection. As Aurora, an Olympic gymnast preparing for her first major speech, discovered: "I'm not some little wide-eyed girl lost on a stage. I'm a champion." This shift in perspective transformed her nervous anticipation into powerful presence. Choose one habit to focus on this week - seek clarity about what matters most, generate energy through mindful transitions, raise necessity by connecting to your deeper why, increase productivity by identifying your most important outputs, develop influence by teaching others how to think, or demonstrate courage by sharing your truth.

About Author

Loading...

Brendon Burchard

BRENDON BURCHARD is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, THE CHARGE, and the #1 New York Times bestseller THE MILLIONAIRE MESSENGER. He is also founder of High Performance Academy, the legendary personal development program for achievers, and Experts Academy, the world's most comprehensive marketing training program for aspiring authors, speakers, coaches, and online thought leaders. For these works, Brendon is recognized as one of the top trainers in the world on the topics of both motivation and marketing.Brendon's books, videos, newsletters, products, and appearances now inspire two million people a month worldwide. Brendon was blessed to receive life's golden ticket -- a second chance -- after surviving a car accident in a developing country. Since then, he has dedicated his life to helping individuals, teams, and organizations find their charge, share their voice, and make a greater difference in the world.Brendon is regularly seen on public television, and he has been in media appearances on Anderson Cooper, ABC World News, Wall Street Journal TV, NPR stations, Oprah and Friends, and other popular outlets like SUCCESS magazine, Inc.com, Forbes.com, FastCompany.com, and the Huffington Post.As one of the most in-demand trainers of our time, Brendon has shared the stage with the Dalai Lama, Sir Richard Branson, Tony Hsieh, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Stephen Covey, Deepak Chopra, David Bach, John Gray, Jack Canfield, Tim Ferriss, and more. His clients include entrepreneurs and executives from 59 countries, and his advice and training has been in use at, or sought by, Accenture, Alcoa, Amazon.com, The United States Naval Academy, and 34 or the top 50 universities in the world.Brendon's recent online marketing campaigns have set records in publishing, online product launches, and live video broadcast revenue, and he has become the go-to marketing advisor for many of the most successful companies and celebrities in the world. Anderson Cooper calls Brendon "one of the top marketing and business trainers in the world." Brendon blogs on his FB page at http://www.facebook.com/brendonburcha...

Read more