Learning to Be Excellent

The useful part

A mindset is simply the way you approach the circumstances you are faced with. It is a chosen approach to life that either propels you forward or leaves you drifting. In Learned Excellence, Eric Potterat and Alan Eagle say that "learning excellence starts with developing a deeper understanding of ourselves: how we act, why we act that way, and what drives us." In other words, our identity.

How it works

• Among all the top performers I have worked with or interviewed, the ones at the top will talk about controlling what they can control and not worrying about the rest.
• Too often we worry too much about what people think of us, and it affects our performance.
• Our focus should be on our identity—what we value—and our reputation will take care of itself.
• Eric defines his personal identity with ten words: wonder, stay hungry, stay humble, stay connected, loyalty, listen, laugh.

What to take from it

He adds, "I have used it to guide every important decision of my life, and I counsel my clients to do the same." Our identity defines our mindset. This is a skill that is difficult to master, but in my experience, it is through the controllables that one can best evolve into and practice a mindset. That's it, that's all you can control: your attitude, your effort, and your behavior.

Details worth keeping

There is attitude: the way you think about a thing or person.