The ability or inability to achieve is not an innate characteristic; we can learn to achieve more. Nearly all high achievers share certain traits and viewpoints, whether they succeed at work, in sports, or at home. In this article, Joey Klein, founder and CEO of Inner Matrix Systems – a personal mastery training system for high achievers – shares his insights about developing the ability to achieve more in life.
Characteristics of high achievers
Each of these characteristics is common among people that have reached the pinnacle of success in their chosen field. Fortunately, anyone can develop these same traits in themselves.
Focus on the Outcome, Not the Setbacks
People who accomplish great things focus on the outcome they want to create instead of the setbacks they may encounter along the way. When we give our failures too much weight in our minds, they become the focus, and motivation changes from achieving goals to avoiding failure. Focusing on the outcome we want to create gives us access to critical thinking, which helps us see how we can get to the outcome even if there are a few setbacks. High achievers know to think of setbacks as opportunities to optimize and then move back to focusing on the outcome they want to create.
Commit to Learning and Growing
At Inner Matrix Systems, we define high achievers as those people who are willing to take action towards making their lives better. Making a commitment to yourself to continue to move towards an outcome you’ve named means being willing to continually learn and grow. High achievers know it’s about the journey of learning and discovering, not necessarily the destination that matters.
Commit to An Outcome
All high achievers name an outcome and commit to making it happen, no matter what. There is great power in making your desired outcome your “YES” and making everything else that isn’t that outcome a “NO.” To train this ability, practice naming small outcomes and fulfilling them. When you commit to going to coffee with a colleague, go! When you commit to going to the gym in the morning, don’t hit the snooze button. Training this accountability in small things will support you to be accountable to larger commitments.
Enjoy the journey
Life should be enjoyed. Even, or maybe especially, when we are pursuing worthwhile goals, joy and happiness should be woven into our lives. It is important to celebrate small victories. As a real-life example, a man in his forties found a sense of accomplishment when he was first able to run around the block near his home. He later went on to complete a dozen marathons and a triathlon. The success of making it around the block provided the motivation he needed to keep trying. Don’t tell yourself that you’ll enjoy life more when you achieve your goals. Let yourself start enjoying the success that will come now.
Exercise patience and persistence
When we see someone at the top of their profession or an athlete that has set a new record, it can be difficult to imagine the journey it took them to get there. We see the outcome, not the small commitments and hours of focus and possible setbacks it took to get to that outcome. The one thing all high achievers have in common is that they continue pursuing the outcome no matter what. The only failure is quitting.
About Inner Matrix Systems
Inner Matrix Systems, based in Denver, is a personal mastery training system for high achievers. For more than twenty years, IMS has delivered a proprietary methodology that rewires, trains, and aligns the nervous system, emotions, and thought strategies to create real-life results. CEO, Joey Klein, and IMS have worked with more than 80,000 individuals from around the world through both live and online training programs, as well as one-on-one coaching. Clients have included: Boeing, IBM, Dell, Google, Panda Express, Coca Cola and The World Health Organization. Joey is the author of The Inner Matrix: Leveraging the Art & Science of Personal Mastery to Create Real Life Results (June 2021).