How to Move to my Personal Best Performance!

- The Stealth; Going for the very best possible

Needless to say, this book is for people who has thought of how they can be their very best by producing their finest performance in their work currently. This is important to mention because not everyone is ready to perform at their very best, though many are doing the same work. Only those who had compelling reasons and had thought deep enough of this issue will benefit most from this writing.

They would receive most from the insights and would be most willing to implement the ideas and thoughts learnt. The rest of us might just read for knowledge, and until the time comes when you are ready to perform, you will most likely close the book after reading, or reading halfway, and just continue with your life as usual.

I'm writing this down not to spite anyone, but just so that we may know that this is happening all the time. Whether you are the one who is doing this only the individual will know himself. Importantly, just as in doing anything in life, unless we are truly serious and committed, learning to do something different or difficult, will be just so challenging that not many will really do it. And if that is so, if we are talking about you, give a thought to why you are reading in the first place.

In short, let's just say that I like you to be know the reason why you need to move to your very best performance, be truly committed to it, even passionate about it, and be determined that it must come to pass. That's the only guarantee that it will happen. Without these, it will be just nice reading.. Nothing different is going to happen when you don't change anything, or do anything about your newfound knowledge and insights!

It is a well-known fact that every top athlete has a coach, to help him / her perform better and better, to achieve their finest performances. Being the coach requires different skills from the athlete himself. Though the coach know the game, his main goal is to help the athlete know himself better, be aware of how's he is performing, understand how he is getting the current results, then show him how he can go to his next level, by working on the different areas that affects his performances, be it on the athlete himself, or the actual game itself. Very often, the work to be done is within. Then there are also the areas which requires a different strategy, or some minor or major changes in certain
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techniques, or maybe an entirely different perspective about the game itself, etc.

With this illustration, it is important to note that your finest performance will come with the help of a coach and mentor who is not only able to help you, but also has the desire to help you. He must believe in you, your potential, able to see you accurately, willing to confront you, discern into your personal and professional situations, and will consider the best way to bring the relevant issues to your attention, hopefully during the teachable moments, when you are open, and coachable.

It is good to note that sometimes, or very often, we are not very open, and so not so teachable. What happens next is that we will reject the advice and counsel from our mentors, of course with very good reasoning from ourselves; the very way we are currently thinking, which is probably causing the very problem in the first place.

To help you learn how you can move to your personal best performance, think about the Stealth plane.

Consider the head of the plane, with the word Guide. The G is the first letter of the word GAS. Remember that we need GAS to fly the plane! And when the plane flies, behind it comes the exhaust gas. So let's go through the acroymn: G - Guide A - Accountability S - Strategy And the exhaust gas is the Inspiration you will need to fly very high! That's the reason why you need to move to your personal best performance in the very first place, the point mentioned earlier.

As mentioned about top athletes who engages coaches to help them, or have mentors in their lives to learn from, you will need a coach or mentors who is willing to help you scale the performance ladder. Having a coach or mentor has many advantages, most importantly is to learn the right things & to shorten your learning curve.

Of course, this is for the serious performer, who greatly desires his highest
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performance. The average performer would normally just do as usual, getting about the same results which they will normally be satisfied with. They are normally very complacent.. comfortable.. but hopefully not be like the frog slowly boiled to death without knowing that it is already happening! Just a word of reminder, we are living beings. And anything living is either growing or dying. If you look at a plant, it is growing, or is it dying? Can there be a third option? Can it just stay neutral? Of course not! Similarly, as human beings, we have a physical dimension, as well as the spiritual, mental and emotional dimension of life. And in all these areas, we are either growing or dying! Let's grow together!

It is difficult to see our blind spots, which is one good reason why we need a coach or mentor to point them out to us. Anything that will affect our performance and is in our blind spots must be surfaced and tackle with in order that we can overcome them and become better! We also need to work on our self-awareness with the help of the guide so as to catch our own blind spots. This is definitely an important skill of any high achiever.

The reason why blind spots are so difficult to see is because we don't know what we don't know. G K Chesterton make popular this point when he says: "The problem is not that we don't know the solution. The problem is that we don't know what's the problem." And if that's true, we are in trouble! Because that's a big problem!

When we don't see any problem, there's often nothing to be changed, and work and life remains in a rut, and we will continue with it until something drastic happens. Normally speaking, that doesn't happen very often, and so by the time we realise that things are not working right, a few years had already passed, and we are already older. Talking about missing our potential and wasting our lives!

That's why the main focus in Legacy's mentoring programs and workshops is to help surface the blindspots for many of our members. We do it mainly through questions that will provide the answers, and from the different members situations. Sometimes it is easier to see other people's problem and through it identify our own. When we begin to see it consistently, and begin working on our awareness and implementing changes in our work and life, we will progress in a very certain and sure way!

Guides can also come in different forms, not necessary a formal coach or mentor. Some guides come in the form of a friend, a manager, a colleague, a peer. It is possible as long as there is consistency in the relationship, which will truly help the person in need. Otherwise, the hap-hazard manner of receiving coaching or mentoring may leave the person in great need or desperation at crucial times. The guide must be able to commit to the person in time and effort if it is to work out.
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He must not only care about his coachee or mentee, but also give to them in real time and counsel and help. With this requirement, it has to be accepted that only a formal relationship will allow for such time and advice to be given, especially at a time required. Only through a working structure within the company, or an external coaching relationship, will normally help solve this problem.

Next, let's look at the A in GAS; Accountability. Accountability surely increases the chance of something happening. When we say we need to do something, and when we are held accountable, it will happen, most of the time. It is definitely necessary when we consider the importance of the matter. Without accountability, the discipline to carry out tasks and duties for the accomplishment of the goal would likely slack, and so we'll miss the accomplishment of the goal. And if the matter is a serious one to you, missing the goal would cost you, directly and indirectly.

You can be accountable to your coach, a mentor, a friend, a team or even a system. Of course the relationship and responsibility between you and your coach must be clear. With that, each will have a part to play, and staying close and meeting the requirement would help in the accomplishment of the goal on hand.

If you have a team, and it's led by a good leader, you would further enjoy the benefit of the great morale and synergy which can only come from good teamworking. The need of a good leader is necessary here, even an informal one within the team members. It's also important to add that the team must fulfil the qualities of good teamworking, or else it might not work to help the individuals being accountable, or in any way hope for.

As for the system, it must be comprehensive and preferably proven, to keep you on track daily, as you do the activities that you get you to your goal on a daily basis. And because it is between you and the system, your commitment to your personal goal, and your discipline to carry out the duties and tracking them would all rely on yourself. But it is still accountability, and will help you and not hurt you. Without one, you would most likely lose track of your activities, become hap-hazard, chaotic even, and might even forget the goal you are shooting for. For the sales adviser, a selling system would do it's work here, keeping track of all your goals and activities.

The S in GAS represents Strategy. Strategy refers to the formula for helping you accomplish your best performance in your vocation. As we are considering the role of a sales adviser here, let's look at the strategy specific to them here. Note that the formula listed here addresses not only obvious requirement for the adviser, but also very strategic needs required in the adviser to be a peak performer in their work. With the combined requirements, the Strategy would help him move to his
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very best performance. You can also get details of this section in the book Legacy's Strategy for Peak Performance. There are a total of 6 module in Legacy's Strategy, as follows: M1 - Mastering Sales Psychology & the Selling Process M2 - Financial Models, Sales Ideas & Selling Systems M3 - Secrets of the SuperProducers M4 - People Mastery & Influence M5 - Developing your Innerman for Peak Performance M6 - Power Principles, Winning Strategies for Successful Selling It is good to note that among these 6 modules are areas of Professional Growth & Develoment, namely M1, M2, M6. M3, M4 & M5 would come under Personal Growth & Leadership. It is observed that many advisers are average because of the Personal Growth arena, which is often overlooked. When we don't work on this area, we cannot become the best we can be, and achieving your personal best performance would be compromised.

On the whole, the strategy would require the sales adviser to work on their Personal Mastery, People Mastery, Sales Mastery, and Life Mastery. This would be a complete and comprehensive training for the individual and would greatly help him soar to his potential in his practice.

At Legacy, we provide these mentoring, coaching and training through our books, ebooks, producer interviews, seminars, workshops, sales clinics, group mentoring sessions as well as personal mentoring sessoins. The complete 6 modules are provided for our memberships as well.

Personal growth would allow the adviser to attain Self-discovery, which is crucial in achieving their personal potential. When one knows oneself, the battle is half won! And if you know yourself and your opponent, you have totally won! That comes from a Chinese Proverb.

The final component in the Strategy is the Inspiration behind the Stealth. The thrust forward allowing the Stealth to fly comes from the 'Fire' from behind! So what's this Fire, what's this Inspiration?

The sales adviser need inspiration from within to 'fly'. Without inspiration, external motivation will work from time to time, incentives, rewards, trips, motivational sessions, etc. These would motivate him, but not consistently and permanently. Would it be great if there's a mightly and permanent force propelling the adviser forward? Would it be great if he is self-motivated? Wouldn't it be great?
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To receive this inspiration is the subject of another book. Suffice to say that when we receive this inspiration, we would be seen to be serious in our work and life. Traits of commitment, passion and determination would be displayed and people around us would never doubt that our best performance is definitely coming, if not already accomplished!

To recap, the Stealth is led by a Guide, with Accountability next, followed by the Strategy. It need GAS to power it and let it fly! When GAS is present and working well, you can believe that it would fly well.. and help you move to your personal best performance! And more importantly than achieving our best performance for the year, would have to be the consideration that our innate potential yet to be unleashed could be much much higher. For that, we each have to think about that, seriously. Good luck!

Copyright Leonard CJ Lau All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted by any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law.