It seems fitting to address the topic of peak performance as we near the hosting of the Olympics in London this summer. Peak performance is all about performing at your best and sport is not the only field of application. It equally applies to business and life in general.

Many associate peak performance with an event of task, and whilst that is true as far as it goes, the concept of being at your best goes far beyond a task or an event. It is a process of being.

What are the essential ingredients to peak performance with regards an event like a sports match or athletics race? Much is spoken about having a winning mentality but what does that actually mean?

Winning mentality is characterised by a desire to win along with an enduring belief that one can win. However, desire and belief can be somewhat incremental and come in degrees, so it is important to have strength of desire and belief such that you can overcome challenges and navigate past disappointments.

The importance of knowing yourself cannot be emphasised enough, not just in terms of your ability, but your capacity as well. The issue of capacity is not just about knowing what conditions help you perform to your best and what conditions hamper that.

It is also about how well you harness your inner resources to perform any task, action or event to maximum effect.

Marilyn King is an interesting example in kind. Marilyn King was a pentathlete back in the 1980’s, and many predicted she would win a gold medal in the Olympics.

Unfortunately several months before the Olympics Marilyn was involved in an accident that required her to be hospitalised for a while. Her participation in the Olympics was thrown into doubt. Few gave her a chance of winning a medal even if she recovered in time.

Whilst her accident and subsequent hospitalisation put her back a couple of months in training, somehow she not only recovered but actually went on to win a medal.

When asked how she performed this somewhat miraculous feat, Marilyn explained that during her time in hospital she mentally rehearsed her training routine every day. This intensive visualisation of practising to win, in her mind, allowed her body to catch up with her mind when she returned to training.

Top performers in sports, business and life understand that peak performance is not just about physical practice of a task or drill.

They understand that they need to master their emotions, spirit and mind, in such a way that their actions and performance are supported and fuelled by the resultant cohesive inner energy.

Most people are ‘also rans’ because they are familiar with the principles of peak performance yet do not embrace it habitually in their lives, yet expect great results.

There is a difference between familiarity and the knowing that comes from effective application.

Peak performers also understand that energy can be subtle. For example in order for Marilyn King to be effective with her visualisation, she had to practise how to access a deeply relaxed state.

Relaxation is a key to peak performance. For those who have studied this subject you will know that a little rush of adrenaline is good, but in excess, anxiety manifests.

During my years in psychiatry and my on-going practice as a coach in football and in life, I have observed many who have professed to be relaxed, yet their body language has not backed this up.

Relaxation is very much about letting go and being present. The more self-aware you become the more you will detect the more subtle layers of anxiety.

When you think about it we live in a society where we are exposed to so many mixed messages and differing expectations from the TV and advertisements. This can be compounded by some of the unhelpful conditioning we may have accrued in the younger years.

It would make sense that many carry a subtle tension in their system that is cumulative from years of conditioning, yet feels so normal to them that they do not recognise the existing tension.

Relaxation is both an art and science and is a powerful key to peak performance and creativity. Meditation remains a powerful vehicle for accessing deeper states of relaxation that are conducive to peak performance, and this was a key resource I employed during my football career as well as my profession.

Brain wave entrainment is another, more passive form of meditation for those who struggle with manual meditation, because it trains your brain to access the relaxed, aware state called alpha.

If you like the ideas of music combined with brain wave entrainment, then take a look at the super mind music series. You can hear samples of different tracks before you buy.

I practice relaxation daily and recommend you do so too, whether you have a big dream or not. Your day to day quality of life will be greatly impacted, as you develop greater resourcefulness.

A book I would recommend that expands on relaxation, and provides alpha techniques and exercises is Psycho- cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz.

My Personal Best Coaching helps people set personal best landmarks in different areas of their lives, and learn to excel beyond them, so that they can live and enjoy life to the full now. The ‘personal best’ training and coaching also helps them achieve peak performance required to achieve their dreams or goals in record time.

A personal development plan is simply a structure for personal development.

Personal development has several terms by which it is known such as personal growth, self-growth, or self-improvement.

A common question I get asked is ‘what is the best form or method of personal development’ and ‘what should a personal development plan consist of.

There is no correct answer to that. Personal growth is by nature a personal and individual matter, and whilst there are certain principles of growth that should form part of any personal development plan, the format will vary depending on a number of factors.

Those factors will include current issues in a person’s life, personal learning style, and personal resources to name a few.

There is an argument to be made that we all we need to learn is within us and around us. You only have to witness and observe nature to experience this in action. Take a look at a tree and you will see that it grows with exposure to light and the sun. In fact it needs all the seasons to aid its growth.

Additionally it draws on certain nutrients from the soil to aid its growth. There is also a rhythm and pace to nature that is in stark contrast to the hectic pace that humans go about their life and work.

Nature gives us clues about our own growth, and can aid us in forming personal development plans that are customised to our lives.

Questions and Personal Development Plans

What helps you grow? Where do you feel deficient in growth? What aspirations do you have for your life? Who or what do you need to become more of to achieve those things? What do you need constant exposure to? What are the essential inner nutrients you need to feed on regularly? What work or career objectives do you need or wish to achieve.

These are just a few of many questions you should ask yourself in order to form an individual personal development plan. The importance of having a customised personal development plan is that you are more likely to own it and take responsibility compared to having a personal development plan imposed on you.

Formats For Personal Development

Personal development can take on different formats depending on your needs, personal preferences and resources. Coaching is a very powerful format for personal development.

Their one on one nature, combined with frequency of skills development as opposed to knowledge development is one reason why those who have huge dreams and goals employ a coach.

For those who are hungry for knowledge and skills, attending a personal growth boot camp may be an option. The nature of boot camps are that they are intensive and immerse you in the subject matter.

If you can handle the intensity, that is an option. If you want a more interactive experience workshops may be your preference. For those who like their personal development to be drip fed, may be an online personal development membership site might suit best.

Some of the best and simple formats for personal development that are low cost or no cost are reading books and listening to training audios, or videos.

Meditation and observation or experiences of people or things like nature are simple yet powerful ways of expanding awareness, growth.

Tips For Effective Personal Development

If you are going to grow as a person, you must have an open heart and an enquiring mind. Also you need to apply the tools and techniques consistently and properly rather than being dismissive if they do not produce results in two days.

Remember a new habit takes 30 days of intensive, frequent practice to start forming. Above all you must be willing to change and grow.

I spoke to a lady recently who had unresolved emotional issues from some challenging life events. She seemed to think that life was against her and that there were little options available to her to help her overcome those challenges, without huge expense.

I pointed her in the direction of the book shop which had a huge personal development section. She seemed surprised that she had not considered such a simple option.

So there is no excuse for not having a personal development plan for your life and work, whether that be an informal or formal plan.

Any one of the options above, when engaged with consistently will make your personal development plan and the growth that follows, highly effective.

The World Tapping Summit is coming to town and wherever you live in the world, you can access this global event free from your computer. This summit has gathered in attention.  Last year it attracted over a quarter million people, this year it is predicted to be nearer half a million.

So what is the big buzz?  Starting on May 7th you will get a chance to experience and decide for yourself.

For 10 days starting on May 7th you can attend for free, online presentations on ‘tapping’ or emotional freedom techniques across a range of different subject matters. Here is the list:

Day 1: Emotional Gridlock – How To Get Out Of Your Own Way to Get What You Want.  There will be 2 presentations dealing with fear of success and failure, and overcoming overwhelm.

Day2: Pain Relief With Tapping – Two presentations will explore the connection between pain and resentment, along with healing pain and illness

Day3: How To Create Financial Success – Two presentations will cover how to speed up the path from debt to wealth, along with overcoming resistance round business growth and sales

Day4: The Formative Years – two presentations will cover identity and healing unresolved painful memories from childhood

Day5: Weight Loss – two presentations will cover body image and controlling food cravings

Day 6: Procrastination and Perfectionism – two presentations will cover overcoming procrastination, and understanding the destructive force of perfectionism

Day7: How To Create The Relationship Of Your Dreams – two presentations will cover peaceful resolutions of broken relationships and finding your soul mate

Day 8: Supercharging Your Tapping – two presentations will cover energy medicine and tapping, along with creating abundant possibilities

Day 9: The Widespread Use of EFT – two presentations look at applications for sports performance and sleep

Day 10: Integration Day – two presentations discuss integration of EFT practice and personal peace

Tapping or emotional freedom techniques works by tapping on certain meridian points of the anatomy whilst talking about the issue in question, and/or making focussed statements of resolution about the issues.
The act of tapping in this manner impacts the human electromagnetic energy field that may have become disrupted with painful chronic emotions.

The above schedule gives you insight into the many uses and applications of tapping, and the numbers who flock to The World Tapping Summit reflect the growing interest and impact of this approach in working with the human energy field.

Whether you are seeking to raise the minimum baseline of inner strength and peace, wanting to experience a more emotionally vibrant life, or seeking to achieve certain goals and dreams, this approach is one you should experience to decide whether it becomes part of your personal development toolkit.

The World Tapping Summit is a global summit to empower individuals across the globe without the costs usually associated with attending a global summit.  You can access 3 pre summit educational videos in the run up to the event.

The 10 days of free video training on EFT or tapping, covers a whole variety of topics along with the science and practical demonstration, so your knowledge and learning can be comprehensive.

You will also understand why leading experts in personal development and health include this in their personal and professional lives, along with the discoveries they made.

You can sign up for free for The World Tapping Summit right now rather than waiting for the day.  Be sure to mark your calendar for the 7th May 2012, by clicking here now

Emotional Freedom Techniques has emerged from a growing field of science with quite profound research findings and results amongst its consumers.

The work of Dr Callahan and Gary Craig may be familiar to you. The scope of application ranges from applying emotional freedom techniques to illness to proactive use of the techniques to experience greater emotional vibrancy and life.

It is widely acknowledged that in spite of the advance of technology, the stressors of a modern society have taken its toll. Workplace stress has reached excessive proportions, and has played its part in an under performing global economy.

Whilst the average lifespan may have increased, so has the incidence of chronic disease, with heart disease claiming the number one spot.

Heart disease claims more lives than the top six cancers combined. Cancer, diabetes and respiratory disease are the other common chronic illnesses.

When you consider this, the actual illnesses are usually symptomatic of a cluster of emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual threads that define our lifestyle, which when out of harmony breed these illnesses.

Whilst it is well documented that excessive stress can lead to chronic and degenerative disease, there is still a stigma attached that prevents closer attention and care.

It is somewhat ironic that many place more value on their cars than their well-being. A car gets an MOT and Full Service yearly due to the wear and tear of travel and to ensure safety on the road.

However the human body and the human life embodied is arguably a more important vehicle. Yet many do not do the equivalent of car maintenance where their lives are concerned.

One of the biggest components of health that warrants more attention is in the area of the emotions, rather than just the mind. Unresolved emotions can be as damaging to health as unhealthy thoughts, yet this is an area that remains relatively neglected.

It is fascinating that scientists can now measure the frequency of a thought and an emotion. Emotional Freedom Techniques works with the human energy field and in particular where unresolved emotions disrupt the human energy field.

Scientists can show the difference in frequency between a diseased and health cell. The way emotional freedom techniques work is by tapping on certain energy areas of the body known as meridians, whilst making certain statements in relation to the issue being worked on.

The results gathered in the study of emotional freedom techniques is such that Deepak Chopra MD declared that “EFT offers great healing benefits”.

In many documented cases, therapy times have been reduced with profound physical healing as well.

Another colleague Eric Robins MD went one further when he said “Someday the medical profession will wake up and realise that unresolved emotional issues are the main cause of 85% of all illnesses. When they do, EFT will be one of their primary healing tools”

The research and case studies of results have gathered so much momentum that in the last two years there has been a World Tapping Summit.  Details can be found by clicking on the banner on the right.

The World Tapping Summit is an online event and a good place to receive educational content on emotional freedom techniques, whilst watching inspiring real life accounts. You decide whether this is worth exploring and adding to your life’s tool kit.

The Science of Getting Rich is one of the many timeless classics, written by Wallace Wattles, in which he discusses what he believes to be the principles of wealth.

It is interesting to note the overlap and differences between his principles and those shared in the DVD The Secret in relation to the law of attraction.

Wallace expands on a number of concepts which he believed if followed would make monetary wealth a ‘mathematical certainty’

Some of The key concepts he discusses are:-

1. Wealth as a birthright, and richness is a science
2. Abundance and gratitude
3. Creative visualisation and imagination
4. The importance of thinking accurately and truthfully
5. Finding the right business and the importance of value
6. The use of  your will
7. How to take action effectively

Both The Secret DVD and Wallace Wattles refer to the Law of Attraction – the process by which we draw and attract experiences to us whether by deliberate creation or by default.

Unfortunately in any film there is often editing which can strip a message of context, which was the case in The Secret. At times there was so much emphasis on getting the life you want, that insufficient attention was given to the person you must become to achieve those things, for example

Wallace poses some interesting concepts, which depending on whether you area beginner or seasoned practitioner of personal development, you may vary in your belief, response and practice.

For example many people struggle with the idea that wealth, including monetary wealth, is as equal an inheritance as for anyone else.   Many believe some are more destined or predisposed to wealth than others.

If that ambivalence exists, then it will affect ability to believe that you can become wealthy, if that is your desire. In tandem with this concept of wealth being your birthright, Wallace also talks about an abundant universe where there is a limitless supply of resources for all.

He cites lack of imagination as a key to being unable to experience this abundance.  Napoleon Hill suggested likewise in his study of the world’s most successful men including Andrew Carnegie, the big steel mogul.

There are many who would question this and operate within a finite concept of opportunities and business for example.  Or they may believe there is only one right person for them romantically, as another example.

Fewer people would argue about the importance of providing value in the world, and focussing your thinking in an accurate and supportive manner towards your dreams or goals.

However it is one thing to agree with these principles, yet another to practice them with skill. For example when Wallace talks about the use of the will he says that ‘you have no right to use your will power upon another person even “for his own good” for you do not know what is for his good’

He goes on to add the distinction that it is just as wrong to do so in thought as it is to do so physically.
So our thinking has to be as disciplined as our doing.

I remember when I was a raw rookie in business, my exuberance and enthusiasm to spread the word about coaching could sometimes overspill into imposing my idea onto another person. It was a subtle difference where I had to learn to feel the boundaries.

This one insertion from Wallace helped me a lot to discern the subtle differences, by observing and evaluating my thinking.  How we are on the inside is as important as what we do.  The two are inextricably linked.

I have found  much of what Wallace talks about to bear credence.  Many of his principles have been embedded in many of the personal development courses that abound today.  However I still come across many in my coaching practice who question whether success is largely down to taking massive action compared to the inner stuff mentioned.

What I have observed in my own life is as follows. When I am clear about my purpose and goal, and combine them with giving huge value in a way that will benefit others from my life and business, and do so with an attitude of belief and emotional vibrancy for what I do, I progress towards my goals and dreams with relative speed.

The hardest part can be on the inside – holding the image of a vision with unswerving belief, yet the better I become at it the more amazing things I see happen

Ultimately, whilst I have my own beliefs I encourage people to test out the principles of success for themselves over a protracted period of time. This is the only way you will discover what is true at a heart rather than head level.

Ultimately the only knowledge that counts is that which goes from head to heart and which you apply to great effect in your life.  So study and test the principles of success that have been written as far back as the eighteenth century and beyond.  Given those who have studied and applied these to great success, you owe it to yourself for the sake of your own success.

Creative visualisation is a powerful technique in the process of solving problems, creating solutions, achieving your goals, and making your dreams come true.

Whilst creative visualisation is powerful, it is also one of the most difficult techniques. I come across so many people in my coaching practice, who attempt visualisation and then tell me it does not work.

Further probing reveals that they did not practice for more than a week maximum, yet expected major results!

That attitude is endemic of a society that has put emphasis on convenience and quick fix.

Visualisation is the art of creating an image of a desired outcome, as if it is happening now. Napoleon Hill captures the complexity of the skill in his book ‘The Keys To Success p7’:-

‘The subconscious mind receives any image that is transferred to it by the conscious mind under strong emotion. Think of the pair as a camera. The conscious mind acts as a lens, concentrating the image of your desires and bringing them to a point on the film of the subconscious.

Getting good pictures with this camera is the same as it is with any other: the focus must be sharp, there must be good exposure, and the timing must be right.

Correct focus requires a clear definition of purpose. The composition of the photo must be made with care and precision; you decide what to include in the frame. The proper timing is determined by the intensity of your desire at the moment of exposure.’

Challenges With Visualisation

You can see from this description that visualisation is both a science and an art that involves key ingredients – definite purpose and desire, for example. Two of the most common challenges I come across with this process are:-

1. Those who struggle to visualise clearly, because the visual sense is not their dominant sense of processing information.

2. When they visualise they do so in a detached way. In other words they do not see their vision as if it has already happened. What they see is the gap between now and then – their lack of vision

Steps To Improving Visualisation

If your dominant sense of processing information is not visual, play to your strengths by using your other senses to sense your vision, dream or outcome. Also use empowering questions to direct the focus of your senses.

I use this to great effect as my visual sense is not my strongest sense. In tandem with this continue to flex your visual muscle. The way to improve visualisation is by visualising more, with the help of the tips just given.

Practise seeing your dream as if it has already happened. The act of seeing your dream as if it has already happened adds the emotional intensity required for the image to be imprinted firmly on the subconscious.

As Napoleon Hill adds:-

‘This sort of repeated exposure of the subconscious to the image of your desire is crucial. You must work at the process repeatedly until you have transferred the exact image you want into your subconscious mind.’

This type of imprinting opens doors to creative ideas as to how and what steps to take to close the gap from where you are now to the realisation of your dream:-

‘The intensity with which you impress your subconscious with a picture of your plan directly affects the speed with which the subconscious will go to work to attract the picture’s physical counterpart by inspiring you to take the right steps.’

Draw out on paper what you are sensing and perceiving.  This will help to formulate your images.  You do not have to be an artist.  A tool that may assist you in this process is goal mapping.

Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein attribute their respective success to their ability to engage with creative visualisation to solve their challenges. We have benefited from their discovery.

I have used this successfully to write my upcoming book and receive top industry endorsement without campaigning for it.

I got clear on my values, my purpose and desire, set my standards for delivery of valuable content, and visualised the solution of finding true ambassadors of personal development to review and endorse the book based on the value they saw.

I took action based on the ideas that arose as a result of visualisation, and the intuitive nudges that resulted. Had I relied on logic alone I would not have achieved this.

So practise creative visualisation, so that you can gain insights and ideas for action, then act accordingly with belief and perseverance, and witness the doors that start to open in your life.

Rooting for your success with visualisation

Anita

The topic of life balance is an interesting one when looking at it in the context of your dreams and goals.  There are many who emphasise the need for balance in all aspects of life, whilst others say it is impossible to be in total balance when you have a dream to fulfil.

So what is life balance all about, and how does it come to bear on our dreams and goals.  Our lives can be broken down in to various planes, facets or domains, such as the emotional level of being, the mental, the physical, the spiritual. Some even talk of the soul level.

Who knows of there are other domains or levels of being.  We are still very much on a journey of discovery where human nature is concerned.

However the idea of balance in many ways comes from the concept of homeostasis. ‘Homeo’ means the same and ‘stasis’ means stable.

I first learnt about this in nursing where the term was discussed in relation to the complex functions and interchanges the body performs to keep the human body stable and in harmony, as we go about our daily lives.

What that does not mean is that everything exists with equal proportion within the body, in order to maintain stability.  For example the optimal pH in the body is not the half way point on the pH scale, but is about 7.365 (slightly alkaline).

The very nature of a dream is such that it will take up dominant space, time, energy, and possibly money too.  The bigger the dream, the greater the journey of growth and application can be.

So it is important to keep your life in general well being and stability to support your dreams.

Many make short term sacrifices for longer term gain.  Here is where some challenges can arise with regards to life balance.  Delayed gratification is a positive ingredient where instilling discipline for a greater long term benefit is concerned.

However what I witness so often is a person taking massive action to the point of fatigue and burnout.  Worse still I witness others who do not look like they are enjoying what they are doing – you would never know it was a dream they were working towards!!

Some neglect relationships along the way.  If this type of approach is maintained achieving a dream can end up being like a court case – you win but what you pay out in costs can dilute the achievement if not cancel it out altogether.

When building toward a dream it is important to take stock of what is needed and what will be sacrificed.

If you need to give up some of your social life, explain to friends and family, rather than just cut off.  That way you are more likely to maintain friendships and have the support and understanding from them.

One thing that is needed in abundance is your health and energy.  Many abandon this in favour of working long hours, thinking that the effort alone will get them there.

The other thing you need in abundance when building towards your dream is a sense of emotional and mental well-being (which is a part of health), and if you are not having fun along the way, it is a long time to be feeling stressed.

If you fail to give attention to these things and neglect to nurture your health and energy, you will suffer if not completely sabotage on your dreams.  Exercise wisdom and include in your plan things that will proactively nurture your well-being.

Learn to become better at relationships, communication, working smart and not just hard, and enjoying life every day and you will achieve your goals and dreams much quicker.

This is why personal development and coaching are so powerful.  They equip you proactively with the inner qualities that will keep your life in perspective whilst pooling resources to support your dreams.

At My Personal Best Coaching we equip you with the skill of being at your personal best and exceeding personal best targets so that you can develop a higher minimum baseline in all areas of your life.

This will take you beyond mere life balance, and will help you both enjoy the journey and the achievement of your dreams.

Disappointment and setbacks are simply a part of life and can happen for a number of reasons. Disappointment may result from a variety of instances.

For example an event you were looking forward to may get cancelled. You may make a mistake that is costly or neglect to do something resulting in missed opportunity.

Someone else may let you down by not being dependable or through deliberate and wilful neglect. You might miss out on a promotion despite your best efforts. It could rain whilst you are on holiday abroad!

The results you expected from a product launch or marketing campaign may have been less than desired and expected.

Whatever the nature of the disappointment, it is important to know how to best deal with it and navigate it as part of life.

Dealing with Disappointment

Now there are many that would answer this question by talking about being and thinking positively. However it is not easy to take this step when there is pent up emotion around.

Here are my thoughts:-

1. It is really important to be honest, authentic and acknowledge your disappointment first of all.

Denial will only compound the emotional tension that accrues, and can negatively infect further actions and thought. Trapped emotion needs to be released and there are several ways of doing so.

Some prefer to talk it out with a friend or colleague. Others discharge and release the emotion in a physical work out or sport.

Others use cathartic techniques such as emotional release techniques, otherwise referred to as emotional freedom techniques. Others will prefer to have a rant by themselves to get it off their chest.

2. Evaluate the disappointment, so you can take understanding and wisdom from the situation where possible.

Explore in what way you might have contributed to the situation through your action, inaction, or the way you were being. Were there unrealistic expectations at work? How could the disappointment have been avoided?

Could some adjustment in an approach prevent it happening again? Do you see disappointments and setbacks as an intrusion or a part of life? Be bold enough to learn any key lessons along the way, without berating yourself.

3. Let go of the disappointment as soon as you can.

There is a difference between passing through disappointment and dwelling there. When you can become better at passing through disappointment quickly, you will reach your goals quicker too.

4. Depersonalise disappointment

Many take disappointments personally, when in truth they are rarely personal. If you take things personally, you are likely to absorb this into your self- esteem, which can cause you to spiral downwards.

As you continue to grow, you will realise that what we take to be personal is normally someone playing out there unresolved stuff, or just an event of misfortune that can happen to anyone. Our response is more important that the event.

Minimising Disappointment

If you want to keep disappointment to a minimum, check your internal wiring and make sure it is set positively.

For example some people tend to take most of their actions based on the need to avoid pain and disappointment. Others take action more based on a desire or something they wish to achieve.

I refer to the pain/pleasure principle inherent to motivation. So if you are wired predominantly in the latter mode, disappointments are likely to be minimal by virtue of your outlook and response to challenges.

Also keep the bigger picture of your life in mind. If you have a vision and a desire towards a dream, you are more likely to put disappointment in perspective and not let it derail you.

Look after your health and energy. It is difficult to navigate more quickly past disappointment, when you have the physical resource compared to fatigue.

And remember that if you can see disappointment and setbacks as a part of life rather than an intrusion, it will sting you less, and your resilience will build as you refuse to allow it to distract you from your bigger goals in life.

I leave you with one of my favourite quotes from Willie Crawford.

‘A setback is an opportunity for a comeback’

So a disappointment does not represent the bigger picture!

Energy has an important part to play in your success and fulfilment.  It is that life force that moves through who you are and everything you do

Everyone has a different definition of what success means to them.  However whatever your definition is, success is like a coin – it has two sides.  To demonstrate the point I have in the past coached a client who was having difficulty concentrating on his business, with anxiety and poor concentration.

He had big financial goals for his life and business, but his lack of concentration and anxiety were impacting everything he was doing.

Another client was trying to run her business yet suffering with low confidence and self-esteem. She kept active to distract herself from these issues but her activity rarely resulted in real accomplishment.

These are just two examples of many that typify so much of what I come across as a coach, where ‘being’ or inner issues have a detrimental impact on the ‘doing’ activities

There is a distinct difference in energy between having health self-esteem and not, between confidence and no confidence.  That energy translates into the way we communicate ourselves to others, or our business to others. It also gets picked up by others.

If you think about anything in your life that you feel passionate about, and then think about something you have no interest in, you can feel the contrast by difference if you observe your response.

Your energy is important to your success and I don’t just mean that in the pure physical sense of the word.  Clearly if you are not well, this will impact your capacity to be at your best. However it is important to understand that human energy is multidimensional.

Scientists have demonstrated that energy is emitted from a thought and a feeling, as well as the brain, the cell and the heart.

In fact if you take a look at the energy field round the heart it is 5000 times  greater than the brain, yet so many people talk about putting their head before their heart.  Why does it have to be either or?  Why can they not work together?  Take a look at this video

In fact if you look at anything under the world’s most powerful microscope it’s all energy interacting with energy, separated only by the arrangement of atoms.

In the case of the clients above I worked with them to help them realign with themselves first of all, so they could be at their personal best, and then from that place assisted them to focus towards their other goals.

So many people pay more attention to the doing, stating that massive action wins.  However my challenge is that you need both.

There is a difference between activity and accomplishment, focus and directed focus, and these are just some of the gaps that My Personal Best Coaching closes.

There is a difference between carrying out an activity form a place of valuing yourself with enthusiasm, passion and belief, versus doing so without that inner vibrancy, resulting in conducting activity in a mechanical fashion.

So pay attention to your own energy, and realise that success starts with the decision to be successful, which is an inside job.

Learn to bring your energy into alignment with your goals by coming from the heart and using your brain and mind to assist.

Draw up a plan of personal development that addresses important inner ingredients such as desire, belief, values, emotional vibrancy, strength of heart and mind.

Employ a kinesiologist to help you determine where you are in alignment with your goals or not.

Kinesiology is a powerful way of working with the human energy field through muscle testing, to detect imbalances and non -alignment issues at a subconscious level

Your attention to the ‘being’ aspects of your success will not only bring you into alignment with your goals but will have a profound impact on how you do things, what you start to accomplish, and a fuller expression of success than ever before.

Perseverance is an essential requirement when it comes to success yet a commodity that is poorly used.

I come across so many people throughout my coaching practice who had dreams they have aborted or given up on. Further probing revealed in many cases that they expected results very quickly, and because that did not happen they judged their dreams to be defunct.

Add to that that the inner processes needed were also inadequately practised only compounded their results and sense of failure.

In many ways the lack of perseverance is endemic of a society that demands quick fixes and instant gratification, for things that require time and due process.

As I write this the manger of Chelsea FC has been sacked after only 8 months with his team lying 5th in the table, a position that many other teams in the premiership would swap for.

Why? It seems the owner wants immediate and lasting success without giving adequate time to the stability and infrastructure of the club needed for success on the pitch.

What is perseverance? It is that commitment to a goal or dream that requires constancy of character, belief and action. It’s that never say die attitude of determination that ultimately shapes the outcome.

Nature depicts perseverance quite nicely when you observe water flowing over a rock. Ultimately water both shapes and dissolves the rock over time, through its constant flow.

History has so many examples of those who were successful as a result of perseverance.

Colonel Sanders had his recipe turned down over a thousand times before it was accepted, and the rest is history as they say. Thomas Edison travelled a similar path with his light bulb invention.

One of Amway’s multimillionaires went through the first 2 years of the business without being able to recruit anyone into the business. Three years later he became a multimillionaire.

All of the above examples were people who were not academically gifted but who had perseverance in abundance. In fact perseverance has been shown to have far more value than academic intelligence when you look at the most successful people throughout history.

What enabled them to persevere?

Belief and Desire Fuels Perseverance

All of the above examples believed in what they were doing, and believed in themselves. These are two areas of belief that many experience as challenging over time. Some may believe in what they are doing yet lack self-belief or vice versa.

Sometimes time has a corrosive impact of belief, when results do not manifest quickly. Desire also added to the fuel of perseverance of these successful people.

When you have great desire and belief it is easier to persevere, and perseverance is essential, especially when you have a big dream.

The bottom line is that if you practise the right things for long enough till they become second nature; your success is virtually guaranteed. Often times many people give up when only inches away from success.

Listen to this inspiring piece from Al Pacino in the film Any Given Sunday.

Many give up when a few tweaks would have made a massive difference. You may be familiar with the analogy of the golf swing. If you hit the ball 1mm of the intended angle, the ball will land much further away from the intended spot over distance.

Similarly the small tweaks in the finer detail can make a massive difference over time. So do not dismiss the smaller steps and tweaks where the skills and attributes of success are concerned.

Your perseverance will reward you with success!