Why you work hard to underachieve

Following my post about the success of Yvonne Nelson’s movie premier, I feel compelled to share with you what I meant by assets and why they influence performance. The idea was borrowed from the Uptimetrics® foundation training program.

Gaining full performance is possible when you identify all your assets and aligned them all into a working unit in your favor. This is based on the presupposition that all entities or people if you like, have assets and liabilities. Assets fire you forward whiles liabilities obstruct you, weigh you down and set you back. To gain full speed in your performance therefore, it is important not only align your assets but also to either eliminate, convert or minimize your liabilities (the things that fight your performance).

Often when people become aware of their assets, there is an enthusiasm to engage and the feeling is fantastic. Soon however, it becomes evident that the individual is not peaking. This will happen when the liability factor has not been dealt with. Liabilities often manifest as leakages that keeps you in the same place no matter how much power you are generating from your assets. What is liability or asset is not the same for everyone. Remember; one of my favorite mantras; there is no-one-size-fits-all solution to anything.  Perhaps you have seen one of those vehicles that make all the noise yet don’t move much. In the same manner there are people who work really hard but achieve very little.

In truth many of us are at this stage as we are not clear about what our assets and liabilities are. This is not so easy to figure out with the number of things we have to deal with these days. This is where a performance coach can help. If athletes need  coaches to ensure they get the right results then so do you. Some of the most successful people around the world have personal coaches who work with them on very regular basis. Some have coaches without really knowing they have one. A person who is not in your situation may see things about you that you don’t see about yourself. He might also be able to assess your condition in a more dispassionate manner than you can. And if he has experience he will be able to share with you how to deal with some issues.

This idea brings structure to your engagement which transforms your chaotic situation into an orderly one. Order is one of the beautiful attributes of structure as it brings clarity. Clarity doesn’t mean your problems are solved. It just simply allows you to easily identify trouble spots and deal with them with an improved degree of ease. Of course there is more to the idea than what I can tell you in one blog post. It is better captured in my second book of the SPiD-UP book series which will be available soon.

So there it, you have been given a sample helping of the philosophy of peak performance. To increase your performance, take stock of everything you can prefix with My. Analyze them all through and decide which one pushes you towards your goal and which one does the opposite. Eliminate and align accordingly and be a superman …erm woman too.

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Yvonne Nelson long legs magic

Lately there have been a lot of discussions on both traditional and new media about the success of the Yvonne Nelson new movie premier and its record breaking success. While I have not seen the movie itself and I doubt if  I will, I am intrigued by the fact that she has been able to achieve what has been referred to as the highest sales of all time for a movie premier. In Ghana of course but I have no reason whatsoever why she shouldn't set a world record too if she so wishes.

Really it all comes down to how far you are willing to go and what you are willing to do. It is simply how the world works!  Setting a new record is of course taking things to the next level. Becoming the new standard and this only happens when we have done something new. As a general rule old ways doesn't bring new results. It is simply how the world works!

She had apparently taken to the streets to distribute flyers to motorist with the best of the cast and personally invited people to attend the premier. Now I have to tell you, I am not particularly an Yvonne Nelson fan per se, I don’t remember finishing a movie with her in it. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against her talent except I like a different genre of movies and she doesn't come across to me as the philosophical type. But I can assure you if she walks up to me and asked me to come to a premier, no hailstorm could have stopped me.

I am sure the whole exercise would have left her first-class-flying famous long legs with unbearable aches and pains. It shouldn't take rocket science to anticipate that but she did it anyway and she brought a bunch of her friends along with her. So here is the clearer picture

She had assets; her image, her friends, a set of long legs you want to see- and she knew how to use them. She combined them to do something new so she was bound to get new results; there is no other way around this. All of us want new results except not all of us are willing to do new things.

Higher performing people are responsible for the new achievements we see every day. Once the standard has been set, average people try to meet it until another high performer sets a new standard. Clearly it is those who are willing to do outstanding things that can bring outstanding results. It didn’t happen because she made a movie, it is because she was willing to walk the streets and invite people personally to the premier. Do something new today and get new results.#spidup wherever you are.

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Contextualizing your performance

The context of performance idea was born out of the many questions I received when I posted an early version of my book performance awareness online critique. The exercise forced me to rethink some of the ideas in the book which in fact contains the core of what I teach in the Uptimetrics® foundation class. In the end I had to add two new chapters one of which covers the context of performance.

Performance cannot be measured in the same way for any two people as no two people are the same even if they demonstrate strength in the same area. For this reason it is necessary to provide key indicators that will help decide when a person has done enough based on their nature. An employer might list the specific number of things that must happen within a certain period to determine whether an employee is performing or not. Whiles this criterion might be set for a specific role, he must understand that no two people will deliver it in the same manner.

There are some individuals categorized as cheetahs and I am not referring to professor Ayittey’s Cheetahs in his Hippos and cheetahs idea. The cheetah is the fastest land animal. Yet it does not run consistently as a horse will. The cheetah runs in short bursts. This 

means it run and stops intermittently. For the untrained mind, a person of the cheetah character is easily misunderstood as one who is not consistent. However the cheetah character is among the highest performers once we put their performance in the right context.

Context of performance is dependent on three things; Character (nature), Circumstance and Capability (I christened them the 3 Cs). Character here refers to the nature of a person. Since people are at their best when they are more of what they already are, we must quickly see the important role of character in reaching one’s best. We could use a pocket knife to cut bread but like any kitchen neophyte like me knows, it is best done with a bread knife on a flat surface and never in your palm. But pocket knives are best used in certain situations and we deprive them of peak performance if we use the otherwise. It is a question of the right tool for the right job.

Being human is easy… or is it? There are some things we can all do as basic. But there are those who are the best at those things due to their very makeup. This will become clearer if I put you and Husein Bolt together in a 100m race. We are each built for something and functioning out of that role does not allow our best. But you already knew that didn’t you.

So whether in a current occupation or in your larger life (don’t forget the two must seamlessly integrate for best output) there is a context in which you can be your best. These days, businesses hire people based on their nature and not necessarily qualifications. They look for a kind of person they believe will fit the role. That should tell you a thing or two. For a person to ensure they are their best, self-awareness is of extreme importance. When we understand our own context of performance, we know how to fit into any situation and what to do even if it is not the right one for us.

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Loose the pain to keep the job

Most people start a new job with great enthusiasm but change within a few months when they have settled in. They become familiar with the environment and get used to the culture. They have left the primary need zone and now they want more than being able to feed, clothe and shelter themselves. A new set of eyes open and they soon start seeing the negatives of the job and the environment. All of a sudden the attitude and management style of the boss is so bad they will take the next opportunity to leave. At this point, performance stagnates or begins to drop. You know you have been there.

Well this is not exactly surprising at all as most people choose jobs simply because they want to meet an immediate need. The need for survival means they will work in any environment and even accept a low salary ignoring all the warning signs that kept screaming; “you will be unhappy in this job”. They literally walk into “trapportunistic” jobs. This is the downside of working for money only. I am not about to reecho the ever popular “do what you love”. In fact I think it is getting boring; although it is the single most useful advice anyone can give you. Also, many people set dead-end goals. An example of which is simply to get a certain job or join a certain profession. Jobs and professions are vehicles (means) to be used to achieve something specific(end). It is this something specific that must drive the choices we make regarding occupation. This kind of motivation is of the intrinsic kind. When you are motivated from inside, the bad boss, low salary, and time spent commuting to work, your unfriendly colleagues all fade into the background and the most important thing really is what you do and how it makes you feel. In fact if you can get what you do right, it will fix all the so- called problems you have that affect your performance as you will engage wholeheartedly ignoring everything else. Nobody ever did a good job half-heartedly.

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The Gifty Anti self-sabotage

Self-sabotage is a phenomenon most people are not aware of. The funny thing is that, it is something we all indulge in every now and then. It is in fact responsible for most of our set-backs.  I have no doubt that you can recall a time when you built something halfway and did something that destroyed it all before you could finish it. Unfortunately for some it has become a habit. I have had my personal share of self-sabotage and sometimes the set-backs can be tremendously disheartening. There are statements we use every day that represents self-sabotage quite well. Among them;

…being your own worst enemy
…being self-destructive
…getting in your own

Those who suffer from another phenomenon called fear of success tend to self-sabotage more frequently. There is an internal program who’s job it is to destroy the very thing they have been building. This ensures they never reach their goals no matter how hard they work. This group will need some expert attention to address the problem. As a minister I should also point out that there can very often be a spiritual dimension to this although it is mostly psychological. This of course means it is a solvable problem.

But let me point you to something I saw on TV recently that might bring the idea closer to home for you. One of GBCs greats; Gifty Anti was making a presentation at Springboard which happens to be one of Ghana’s finest platforms for inspiration. The founders of springboard are known to be a solid Christian couple with the husband serving as executive minister with one of Ghana’s most powerful Churches. Over the years Springboard has brought inspiration to both young and old across the country and recently beyond. Every one of the speakers is a recognized success in their own way and supposedly has a positive influence in society.  

I believe it was Gifty’s first appearance on Springboard. She started on a wobbly note but that is nothing unusual. Those who have ever mounted a stage to speak are familiar with the initial nervousness. As she picked up speed, she normalized into a comfortable position as she shared her experiences as a broadcaster. Inspiring was the only word that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then she did it:

She mentioned E. L James (the author of 50 shades of grey) as one of the women she looks up to. Really…Gifty? She didn't end it there in fact. She talked about the author and the success of her book as the fastest selling book of all time. Well in case you didn’t know, 50 Shades of grey is classified erotica. In fact it is not just erotica, it is extreme erotica. Some critics have called it pornography. It can easily be described as the single most effective instrument of the BDSM crusade.

Now I happen to know Gifty is a Christian who was raised by a strict police officer father. How it is that she now enjoys extreme erotica is not particularly my concern. What is an issue however, is that set out to inspire people and ended up introducing them to BDSM.  This is a clear case of self-sabotage not only to herself but also to springboard. Why? There is a debate about whether self-sabotage is what you do alone or whether it includes what you don’t do. I am of the second school of thought. What you fail to do can be just as harmful as what you do? Hopefully, from now on Springboard managers will take interest in the content speakers are bringing to ensure it doesn't become an unregulated platform. By this I am of course assuming that they failed to check content which in many ways is better than assuming they knew she was going to be mentioning E. L James.

Hey, I have nothing against Gifty- I have never met the woman. But there are lots of inspiring female authors who have made a fortune selling their books she could have turned to for inspiration. There is always Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie or even good old Rhonda Byrne and many others. Good grief whatever happened to Maya Angelou? 

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Nkrumahist know not the Philosophical Consciensism

From a performance perspective, Kwame Nkrumah represents self-belief; a key asset in any high performer's toolbox. He was a genius of a thinker and a quintessence of the application of thought (a rare thing in our part of the planet). This he appeared to have done consciously;

“Theory is empty without practice and practice is empty without theory”

“Revolutions are brought about by men, by men who think as men of action and act as men of thought”.

In a recent exercise on Facebook, I observed keenly as many of our learned Ghanaians listed their top ten books. None of them mentioned the philosophical conciensism as an important book. On occasions like today when the discussion of Nkrumahism has been the focus of the media, I have thrown questions from the book to the so-called Nkrumahist and returned zilch. It appears nobody wants to discuss the one book that captures the very crux of Nkrumah's philosophy. For the most part, the discussions revolve around the fragmented outward manifestations of his thinking.   It beats my imagination how a nation like ours expects to develop without the slightest understanding of the every thought framework that gave birth to it. This is comparable to Richard Dawkins studying God’s creation without understanding God. He will never run out of questions and he has no real idea where he is headed.

The one thing that caught my attention as my untrained mind wondered through the maze of a very complex philosophical framework was structure. It seemed Nkrumah was a fanatic of structure and this was expressed in his very methods. Once he had laid a pipe, he doesn't depart from it.

“We face neither East nor West: we face forward”.

Anyone who has spent some time on this blog already knows how I feel about structure. In a coming article I shall explore how structure was birthed at the very beginning of God’s creation. If my proposition is correct, then Nkrumah’s legacy was built on the Christ performance methodology- the very essence of which is the Structure theory.

In the meantime I shall point you to another blogger who obviously has done more detail work on the Philosophical Consciensm. 

http://consciencism.wordpress.com/consciencism/mcclendon-on-consciencism/

http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/nkurumah-wooten.html

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The cycles that influence your performance

God in his infinite wisdom created the cycles of time as the structure within which we must function. He knew that for something to exist it needs a structure within which it can exist. We will need a sense of beginning in order to have a sense of direction. Because of his first command (let there be light—the installation of the time structure) we now have day and night that expands its way to years and eons. It also stretches towards seconds and nanoseconds and all of these are cyclical.

It is the sixty cycles of the seconds that makes the minute and the sixty cycles of the minute makes an hour. Twenty for cycles of the hour will make a day before it all starts over again. These are so important to the very structure of life that, it appears as if the misplacement of one cycle can lead to a cosmic disaster. When one of the seconds goes missing a minute cannot be complete. When this happens even the year cannot be complete. It is one second short and hence not be what it is supposed to be. The maximization of any existence is the result of a maximization of the cycles.

I have said that the cycles are at the very foundation of the universe itself. This means that they play a significant part of our lives as humans just as it does in the existence of everything that exists. This means that we must function in cycles to if we are going to follow God’s order. Man has a set of activities that must be performed at certain times of the day routinely. At night we go to sleep, in the morning we wake up. This is repeated every day and forms a cycle that is responding to the larger cycle that we are a part of. Periodically we eat and the food goes through a cycle—this we must continue to do if we are going to exist. The one who breaks the cycle soon will find himself slowly falling out of the larger cycle unless he restores himself back to the cycle. Once in a month, a woman will have her period over a certain number of days. When this doesn't happen we know something is wrong.

There are cycles that we all go through in your occupations. This daily engagement in a cyclical manner is what accumulates into your overall existence. So that your performance within the seconds determines your performance in the minutes and hours. How much you accomplish daily will influence how much you accomplish in a year and ultimately your entire life. The students maximize his learning opportunity by attending the set classes completely. One class missed makes him one lesson short and he is not the best student it can be. Those who seek to maximize their lives must therefore pay attention to the endless number of cycles around him. He must understand these cycles enough to find his perfect place within it and learn the ways in which it can be maximized.

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