So what are the benefits of being able to think quickly? Well, if you’re a Formula One driver, the main benefit is staying alive! However, for the rest of us, the main benefit of learning how to think quickly is really learning how to think clearly when the pressure is on. In sport, clear thinking is focused thinking. Learning how to focus is essentially  learning how to concentrate but crucially, focus equates to learning how to concentrate only on what matters.

 Action v Distraction

Only a few years ago, reigning world champion Jenson Button was as famous for his playboy lifestyle as he was for his Formula One success. Things have now changed. In a recent interview he said, “I thought that driving skill would be enough in Formula One, but it wasn’t…I realised that skill was not enough because everyone in Formula One is skilled – that’s why they’re here…I realised that everything else had to be on hold for as long as I was in F1.” Jenson Button has learned that physical skill alone is not enough. Staying at the top of your game takes mental skill. It takes focus: and Button’s focus is now only on winning, although he admits to not being a “saint.”

 “Your mind management has to be spot on and you must always have maximum concentration to maintain complete consistency” - Chris Buncombe

 When Lewis Hamilton was only nine-years old, he boldly introduced himself to Ron Dennis, McLaren team boss at the time, by saying, “Hi, I’m Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championships and one day I want to be racing your cars.” The rest, as they say, is history! Unlike Button, Hamilton has not come to “realise” that success in motor racing requires focus, his focus has always been on Formula One success.

“Lewis is exceptional. He has the mind for it, the attitude, the God-given skill, but he is already recognising that he needs something else. And he is doing it with humility and style” – Jackie Stewart

Clear the Clutter

Racing drivers have only nano seconds in which to make decisions. They are under extreme physical and mental pressure when racing and the difference between a podium finish and an ‘also ran’ finish is often only the tiniest fraction of a second. There is absolutely no downtime in the cockpit of a racing car, total concentration is needed at all times. With focus and with clear thinking, decisions can be made at lightening speed. Doubts or negative thoughts of any kind are clutter, and clutter can’t be allowed to enter a racing driver’s mind. Hamilton is described as having, “an acute tactical mind, strong race-craft, and brilliant opportunism.” Button, on the other hand, is described as, “laidback but seriously competitive.” Both drivers have mental skill. Both have the ability to “see” what they have to do, and both know that their focus must always remain on what can be achieved and what can be controlled or influenced by their thoughts and actions at any given moment of time. They have no room in their mind for negative thoughts.

 Sir Stirling Moss once said of Lewis Hamilton, “It isn’t just that he is a driver, he obviously can drive – he is a racer, he can see a gap and he’s in it.” That’s NLP mental skill; that’s real quick thinking in high-speed action. Jenson Button has also demonstrated his ability to remain focused only on the elements of the race within his control by saying of less than favourable weather conditions before a race, “It’s disappointing, but we can’t stop it raining here.” So, next time you feel under pressure to make a “quick” decision, clear your mind of unnecessary clutter, learn to focus only on what matters, think like a racing driver.

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“When a butterfly has emerged, it can never turn back into a caterpillar”
- Colin Wilson

Already in the past I’ve talked with you about successful people and what sets them out from those who aren’t so successful.  To refresh you on that topic though, what really sets these guys apart from the not-so-successful is their ability to take risks.  Women and men that are willing and prepared to step out of their comfort zones in order to bring about the visions they have in their minds. And this takes clarity, courage and mental toughness.

To turn their dreams into reality!

And in the process, these successful people also learn a whole lot more about who they are.  I can think of famous business entrepreneurs like Richard Branson or the late Dame Anita Roddick and entertainment giants like Simon Cowell. But also those I admire in my own community people that I grew up with, who have achieved so much.

Taking risks and stepping out of one’s comfort zone tends to do that.

Alan Alda, the famous actor who starred in that cult classic television show M*A*S*H and many other films has often come out with really wise quotes.  One of my favourite ones from him said, “You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you’ll discover will be wonderful.  What you’ll discover is yourself.”

In our comfort zones, nothing is challenged. It’s all mundane.  It’s all 100% familiar and safe.  There’s no risk in it.  It is completely safe and unintimidating. In our comfort zone – if we choose to stay there – nothing changes at all.  And we don’t learn a whole lot about ourselves, because all we seem to experience is more of the same.

Nothing spectacular happens on any level.

Venture out of that comfort zone and the experience changes completely. We’ll encounter different situations, different people…and we’ll have the opportunity to respond to those different situations and people.  In the responding, we learn more about who we are.

But because it’s all unfamiliar to us, we need to rely on our intuition to find our way.  That gut feeling – our internal guidance system.  That’s why stepping out of our comfort zones is challenging.

But there’s no other way we can experience new things and new people.  If we don’t change the scenery either internally or externally, we won’t see anything different.  We won’t diversify and expand our life experiences – thus our learning and self discovery – any other way.

Embrace your next opportunity to truly step out!  Don’t stress out about it – enjoy it!

Step out of your comfort zone in 2010.

P.S. I will be taking on 4 new coaching clients early in 2010 for an intensive 1 year coaching programme. Contact me directly at Donald@zonedinperformance.com if you are interested. A place on the programme is not guaranteed and I will be working with people totally committed to creating the “WOW LIFE” they desire and acting fearlessly to make their vision a reality.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson

Self-Confidence! It’s one of those things that even the best of us struggle with at times. We can often get down on ourselves and literally tear strips off ourselves.
But that’s never the way to go!
During times like this, we often feel as we did back when we were growing up. As teenagers in particular, we were more concerned about fitting in with the crowd, rather than going out and really doing what we want.
But now that we’re mature adults…(well sometimes )
…it’s time to have  confidence to do what we want in life!
Now whether you’re sixteen or sixty, this can be hard. We often fall into two traps:
1. That of not believing in ourselves; and
2. That of worrying about what other people think.
So! How do you get around these two traps and avoid getting stuck altogether?
Easy! We need to tackle each one and look each of those two traps fair and square in the eye.
You ARE brilliant!

Each human being has their own brilliance – the ability to go and create the life they want. The ability to CREATE all of those really great things they want out of life.
Life is favourable to us and ready to help us once we decide what we want, focus on the outcome as though it has already happened – and go for it!
We are brilliant because we have the ability to create our own reality and our outcomes.
Remember the quote I shared the other day with you by W. Clement Stone: “Whatever the mind…can conceive it can achieve.”
So replace those words of, “I can’t do it! It’s too hard!” to, “I can do this, I will get there”
And as for what other people think of you…
…WHO CARES! All that matters is what YOU think of YOU!
It’s YOUR thinking – YOUR thoughts – that create your reality. What other people think about you has no power whatsoever.
So do not feel limited by what other people say and think.
Remember that you are BRILLIANT – and believe it at all times!
Just recently I read a superb quote by Dr. Daniel Amen, as published in Jack Canfield’s book, “The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.”
The quote is actually called the 18/40/60 Rule and it goes like this:
“When you’re 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you; when you’re 40, you don’t give a darn what anybody thinks of you; when you’re 60, you realize nobody’s been thinking about you at all.”
So there you go!
One of life’s greatest mysteries unraveled right before your eyes, right here!
Your thoughts and your thoughts alone are the ONLY ones that have power of you. So remember your brilliance. Believe it at all times…and go for whatever you want in life with REAL confidence!

Action Project:

1. Remind yourself of at least 3 times you allowed yourself to shine and write these times down
2. From how you feel when you “shine” write down 3 goals, dreams or projects you would love to achieve
3. Choose to start and make one inspired action today to start your journey

Further Reading:

• “Instant Confidence”  Paul McKenna
• “You Can Have What You Want” Michael Neill

‘Somebody should tell us …right at the start of our lives…that we are dying.Then we might live to the limit,every minute of every day.Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows” Michael Landon

Be fearless …What will you do today ?