By: Eddie O'Connor

The good news is, whether you are in high school now or high school was a long time ago, you can start taking effective action toward your dreams. 

Rather than give a whole long list of tips, which can be overwhelming and cause paralysis, I’ve narrowed it down to eight essential strategies.

And I encourage you to do all of them. Because each one adds a unique ingredient to the “dreams to reality” recipe. 

I encourage you to not do more than what I describe either because lesser suggestions can be a distraction from these most effective eight.

As we go through, you’ll see how they actually all tie together and work in unison.

I don’t know about you, but I spent years trying to figure out exactly how to let go of some pretty rough experiences, thoughts and feelings. 

Things that had happened to me. Childhood experiences. Self talk, that was really unhelpful. I just wanted to get rid of it all. 

And the more I tried to let it go, the more I had it. 

What I learned was that the best way to let something go is to wholeheartedly invest your heart and attention somewhere else.

If you are hard on yourself, do it with a loving heart. The harsh approach may motivate us in the immediate moment, but the benefits won’t last.

I recently read some articles on this topic and I found that I disagreed with most of what has been written.

Many of the articles are talking about the pathologies of why you’re beating yourself up, such as abuse or bad parenting or perfectionism. They frame it in this unnatural, unhelpful way that honestly just makes me feel worse when I catch myself being critical. 

But I want to ask, have you ever met somebody that didn’t beat themself up? 

There is, if you want to call it a “pathological” or more problematic level of self criticism. But I’m scaling this discussion back to the idea of self criticism in any capacity. 

And what I want to be sure you know is this: self-criticism is just a normal response to our failure to meet the standard we desire.

Self-accountability is an absolute requirement to succeed in sports, business, and life. 

It doesn’t matter if you are a CrossFit athlete, a business professional, or a performing artist, if you do not hold yourself accountable you won’t get very far. 

In this article, we’ll explore what self-accountability is, why it’s crucial for success, and provide you with ten practical strategies on how to hold yourself accountable.

Athletes are impressive, aren’t they? I often marvel at what they can accomplish with their bodies. 

They aren’t average, and that is particularly true of athletic champions. 

How do athletes achieve these incredible results?… They train intently and intensely.

Do they do anything different from the average guy or gal?… Yes. 

Can their training process be used to help non-athletes?… Also yes.

Training like an athlete isn’t limited to those competing in sports. 

Their holistic approach to physical and mental conditioning benefits performers in various fields, from business professionals to musicians and artists. 

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to train like an athlete and why their methods differ from others. 

Additionally, we’ll explore five essential principles that can be applied universally to train like an athlete and win.

Self-discipline is the cornerstone of success in every aspect of life, and for athletes, business professionals, musicians, and high achievers of all kinds, it plays a pivotal role in achieving peak performance. 

In this article, we’ll explore the concept of self-discipline, its significance in sports, health, and fitness, and provide you with a comprehensive reading list of 20 self-discipline books that delve into various aspects of self-discipline and high performance.

In the world of high achievers, whether you’re an athlete, business professional, musician, or artist, mastering your emotions is often the key differentiator between success and mediocrity. 

Emotions are an intrinsic part of the human experience, and they can be both your greatest ally and your most formidable adversary on the journey to peak performance. 

In this article, we will delve into what emotions are, why mastering them is crucial, and how mastering does not mean controlling. 

We’ll also explore how mastering your emotions can propel you towards peak performance and provide eight actionable steps to help you achieve emotional mastery.

I am so excited to write this article because I hate a lot of sports clichés. 

This one is among the most frustrating. 

I’ll start with what this phrase gets right. 

Namely how embracing discomfort can promote personal and athletic development. 

I’ll shed some light on the nuances that differentiate individuals on this journey, and distinguish between discomfort and fear. 

I’ll give you five compelling reasons why embracing discomfort is the key to high performance, and two big reasons why it does NOT mean getting comfortable with it. 

Finally, we will explore five powerful strategies to help you (not) get comfortable being uncomfortable on your path to excellence.

To be honest, I haven’t heard much about referent power in my sports psychology circles. 

That’s a bit surprising because, as you will discover below, it is a pretty powerful thing for leaders in all contexts, not just sports. 

If you want to be an effective coach or team captain, referent power is essential.