Jan 21, 2022
The 5 ways to outperform the best
There’s the 99% of the people, and there’s the 1%. We all heard about that. But that’s actually not accurate. It’s the 99% the 0,9% and the 0,1%. Those 0,1% of the people are interesting to watch. Who are these people? They are the Elon Musks in business. The Nelson Mandelas in human kindness. And two Formula 1 drivers: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, in sports.
What makes these 0,1% stand out from even that small 1%? Because they outclass even the Elite 1% they’re part of. Why these 2 drivers? Formula 1 has the 20 best drivers in the world racing cars all over the world, in the most extreme, most complicated form of motorsports. And both Lewis and Max rise above the standard of all other drivers, they are in a league of their own. Not even their teammates, who drive in the same cars in the same team.
So what makes them so special?
When you study their life, you will find some interesting parallels that they both do in their daily life to maximize their results.
Below are the top 5 things I believe define them to be part of the 0,1%.
1. Stoicm; They lock themselves out from what other people think or say about them. They both learned that the opinion of others, does not define you, and you just have to be you, who you chose to be, and that that is enough. Being different is okay. Learn from the ones you decide. But don’t get discouraged by comments from random people or people you don’t value being helpful.
2. Dedication; They both have one goal and one goal only. Be the absolute best of everyone. Win the F1 Drivers Championship. Everything in their life is designed around that. They spend the majority of their attention and focus on that. Not only their daily routines, like the food they eat, exercising, preparing, and doing the actual racing, but also in their primary focus. They sacrificed a lot of things ‘normal kids’ could do. They created discipline and intrinsic motivation to never quit and always stay focused on the bigger goal.
3. Work ethic; They go for being a 10 instead of aiming to be a 6, like most people do. Being 6 means you’re good enough. It’s not bad, it’s okay. Be okay. Be happy with what you’ve got. Don’t stand out.
Not these guys. They only want what’s best for them that will help them perform the best. They don’t only say “I do my best”, they actually do their absolute best, without using it as an excuse for when they don’t succeed. And when they fail, which both of them do, and did, a lot, they take the lessons out of it and try it again differently. They never give up. Even driving last in the race, they still have the belief they can win this, because they know they are the best at what they do. They go for the 10, always. And the funny part in that, is that when they don’t get the 10 (because they became 2nd for example), they still outperformed everyone else who only went for a 6 or even a 7.
4. Team leader for the bigger picture; They never win alone. They have a team around them that follows their principles. From the team principal to the cleaning guy in the factory, they all know what the goal is and that every individual is giving their maximum potential. They lead their team in an inspiring way to outperform everyone else.
5. They have a coach/mentor. Both Max and Lewis had their Dad as their biggest coach and mentor. Jos Verstappen was a Formula 1 driver himself and learned a lot about this world, and what it needs to become a driver. He was good friends with Michael Schumacher, the first 7x world champion (until Lewis equaled that record last year). Jos gave Max his 20 years of experience when Max got in his Kart at the age of 4.
Lewis’s dad had the belief his son was up for something special and dedicated everything he had to the success of his son. Worked 4 jobs, and guided him through life as a black English kid that came through the ranks of this predominantly white sports. He joined Mercedes almost 10 years ago and met Niki Lauda, also an F1 champion and advisor in the team. He had a major impact on Lewis’ development to become the driver, the man, he is today.
Having a coach and mentor gives you that benefit. Of learning lessons from their mistakes. Of having the head start. And having the outsider’s insight. Who can point you toward things you never knew existed.
These 5 things are what make them stand out. And these are no superpowers they were born with. They learned them and executed on.
Which means: they’re not special. They just took different decisions.
And it also means you can still make these decisions. To not let you be defined by others. To set yourself goals that almost seem impossible but you do believe you can reach them and stick to that belief. To always go for that 10 and be okay when you reach an 8. Learn from what went wrong and go again for that 10. You will reach it. To work with a team that goes for that same success as you’re going.
And to have a coach. Hire one if you don’t have one. A coach that can help you get what you want. Who has been where you are, or know how to get you there.
All successful people have a coach. And with that, I mean the extremely successful ones, they all have a coach.
So what do you want, where you can apply these superpowers?
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
