As a communications strategist for more
than five decades and founder of the
Vocal Awareness Institute, I have been
privileged to teach champions from all
walks of life. I have taught Olympic gold
medalists, Hall of Famers, Tony and
Academy Award winners, chairmen of
boards. The common theme among the
greatest, no matter the platform, is "a
champion does it differently.''
I've distilled these axioms and tips from
studying the character and practice of
each individual who has fulfilled and
maximized his/her vision and ability.
1. Never simply go through the motion.
The routine is never routine. In each
practice/each repetition, strive to do it as
conscientiously as possible.
In sports and the arts, it is easy to
understand this principle. The work is
objective. You can see your on-field
performance, watch film on yourself
playing. There are trainers and coaches
guiding you each step of the way. How
do we refine our practice in business?
How do we improve without daily
guidance?
One way is to become our own teacher.
Listening to a recording of yourself in a
business meeting, Power Point or
conference call is invaluable. Rather than
walking in with a few notes and merely
getting underway, prepare for the
meeting at home before a mirror or video
camera.
2. Have a clear vision and purpose of
who you are and what you want to
achieve, both short-term and long-
term. I consider our commitment to
excellence to be ethical and integral. The
root of the word ‘integral’ is wholeness. It
is ethical to be who we are.
First, create a "persona statement.'' This
helps you identify how you want to be
known. Second, in business, one creates
a business plan. in Vocal Awareness, we
create a vision statement with
accompanying goals and timelines of one
year and five years, with clear
deliverables and benchmarks.
3. Establish structure. There is an
exercise in Vocal Awareness called 168
hours (7x24) to identify how you spend a
week. Once you objectively understand
how you spend a week, you can create a
system that works for you. Every
champion employs meticulous structure
in their daily lives, both personally and
professionally.
Structure does not impinge, it liberates.
Freedom without direction is chaos.
4. Be in mastery. A champion in their art
or skill set is in mastery. For mastery to
be achieved, one must always integrate
mind/body/spirit and constantly refine
every element of their craft.
One way my clients embody personal
mastery is to be in stature at all times.
Stature is not simply good posture. It is
the embodiment of what you know to be
true for you. Practice the statement, "I am
an extraordinary person, and I do
extraordinary things." In the beginning, it
may not feel authentic but in time you will
feel the truth of what you are saying.
Practice in front of a mirror "pulling a
thread from the top of your head.'' You
will notice the first thing you do is inhale
and you become taller. Your core
muscles engage and your chest opens.
Again, this may not feel natural at first
but it very shortly will.
5. Learn how to believe in who you are. I
call this, "the talking myself into it stage.''
In any empowerment work, a teacher can
never empower the student. Rather, the
teacher helps the student empower
himself.
Nowhere is this more critical than in the
beginning, when you may confront doubt
and fear. Great artists and athletes never
let fear impede them. They are never the
cork in their own bottle. They do whatever
it takes to do their best, even when others
may doubt their ability.
You may not always believe but you must
always persevere and be audacious, not
to your commitment to perfection or
outcome but to excellence and discipline.
(Discipline means teaching or learning.)
Take incremental steps. Don’t strive for
giant leaps. I call this "the journey.''
The late, great collegiate football coach,
Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant, said it best. “If you
believe in yourself, have dedication and
pride, and never quit, you will be a
champion. The price of victory is high,
but so are the rewards.”
No comments:
Post a Comment