There has always been something which has fascinated me about the greatest athletes, salespeople, manufacturers, or anyone else whose performance is measurable. The best of the best always seem to get even better and take it to another level.
The question is why.
On Monday, January 22nd, Philadelphia 76ers 2022-23 NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid scored a career-high 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs. In fact, he tied for 12th place for the highest scoring game in NBA history.
Watch the video below to see his game highlights and afterwards, we will hear from Embiid himself.
In this The Athletic article, Embiid said, “That’s really the mindset; try to go out and dominate. I’m really pushing myself and challenging myself every single night. What else can I do? What else can I add to my game? Can I try something new to see if it works or if it doesn’t. I’m really challenging myself.”
For more on the leadership of Joel Embiid, click The Key To A Larger Platform And Increased Influence Only The Most Successful Leaders Know.
4 Things Elite Performers Do To Get Even Better & Take It To Another Level
From Embiid’s comments, we glean the following four things elite performers do to get even better and take it to another level:
To Get Even Better, Have The Right Mindset
The difference between successful and unsuccessful people is how they think. Embiid said, “That’s really the mindset; try to go out and dominate.”
To Get Even Better, Challenge Your Daily
Elite performers have become comfortable being uncomfortable. They stretch themselves and know struggle is necessary for strength. Elite performers have developed a fondness for lactic acid.
Embiid noted, “I’m really pushing myself and challenging myself every single night.” He even reiterated this sentiment at the close of his comments saying, “I’m really challenging myself.”
To Get Even Better, Add To Your Skill Set
Elite performers know that what made you successful today will not make you successful tomorrow. Embiid knows this. He added, “What else can I do? What else can I add to my game?”
To Get Even Better, Try New Things
Elite performers are always experimenting and looking for an edge. In the January 21st edition of Billy Oppenheimer’s wonderful Six At Six On Sunday newsletter, he tells the following story:
On October 10, 2001, the future award-winning comedy writer B.J. Novak tried stand up comedy for the first time. It was a disaster. Novak was terrible. After he got off stage, the emcee said to the crowd, “takes a lot of courage to get up on this stage.” For the next three months, Novak couldn’t work up the courage to get up on another stage. Then he had an idea. If he paid for stage time at various comedy clubs for two weeks straight, he would have not choice but to confront the stage. “I couldn’t make each night a referendum on whether or not I should do it,” as he put it. Regardless of whether he did well or not, the next night, he had to get back up on another stage. And as he forced himself to confront the stage night after night, he got better and better which made it easier and easier to get up on stage. It’s a virtuous cycle— “If you do 20 jokes and 3 of them get laughs—well, those are the 3 you keep. And then after a while, one of them always does well—well, that’s your opener. And then a second always does well—well, now you have a closer…And it evolves that way. I was bad for a while. But night after night, you evolve and get better.” Similar to inspiration, ability lags behind the confront.
B.J. Novak did trial and error and continually added to his skill set. Embiid does so as well. He said, “Can I try something new to see if it works or if it doesn’t.”
Conclusion
If you want to get better and take your performance to another level, you must do the following four things:
- Have the Right Mindset
- Challenge Yourself Daily
- Add to Your Skill Set
- Try New Things
What is one thing from this list you can do to improve your performance?
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