Committing yourself to excellence

Welcome to SuccessJames Vardaman, PhD

The New York Times reports that the income disparity between “superstar” performers and average performers is at an all time high.

Average employees salaries have stayed flat, while superstar performers have seen their salaries skyrocket.

Wage disparities have grown

Wage disparities have grown

Magic Johnson’s annual salary, 1985 (in 2011 dollars): $7 MillionKobe Bryant’s annual salary, 2011: $30 Million

Why are superstars earning such a higher proportion of total income than they have in the past?

Technology has made industry consolidation and broader marketing possible

1970

Technology has made industry consolidation and broader marketing possible

2011

One firm can market it’s products, services, etc. to a worldwide market◦ Fewer Vice-Presidents◦ Fewer HR professionals◦ Fewer Accountants◦ Fewer Sales Reps

MORE COMPETITION FOR YOU IN THE JOB MARKET!

You have to be more skilled than your parents to have the same success.

Why does this matter to you?

You don’t get a trophy for 9th place in the real world

1. Become self-aware

How we commit ourselves to excellence

2. Build your personal brand

How we commit ourselves to excellence

Just documenting your fabulous life on facebook doesn’t build your brand…

What is your personal brand? Ask yourself some questions

1. What am I known for?2. What do I WANT to be known for?3. What do I want people to say about me?4. What do they say now?

Facebook is good for building your brand, however

Do your facebook posts match the answers to questions 2 and 4?

Or do they look like this?

Facebook and your brand

Or this?

Do you look, act, and dress the way that reflects your personal brand?

If the answer to this is no, your first step is to take action to correct these issues.

Once you’ve established your brand and attained congruence between your brand and your look, actions, and dress, the next step is to work on your skills.

The importance of building your brand

Developing your talent and engaging in hard work through deliberate practice will make you a high performer

What determines good performance? Is it talent? (IQ, personality in intellectual

jobs; speed, strength in athletics) Is it hard work?

We all know washouts who are super smart or super gifted. We also know plenty of people who work really hard and are only mediocre. We also know lots of people who are smart and seem to work hard but still don’t get ahead.

Deliberate Practice So if it’s not just talent, and it’s not just

hard work, what is it? The answer is hard work with deliberate

practice. Deliberate practice is hard work done to

emphasize the specific skills necessary to succeed.

Deliberate practice requires coaching and mentoring

Hard Work

Performance w/ DeliberatePractice

Without DeliberatePractice

Perf

orm

anc

e

Repetition

Previously thought ‘Max Performance’

Deliberate Practice This explains why certain schools or academies

produce high performers in certain fields over and over again.◦ Juliard School of Performing Arts◦ 2nd City Comedy Troupe◦ Penn State “Linebacker U”

Why?◦ Because the key to deliberate practice is identifying the

behaviors that are key, and are to be improved, as well as the techniques for improving them.

◦ This is not an easy task. Those who’ve figured it out tend to produce excellent performers over and over again.

◦ This is why coaches are valued.

Deliberate Practice Does talent matter?

◦ Of course, if an individual with more natural inclination engages in hard work and deliberate practice, they will succeed.

Is talent overrated?◦ Of course. Most people don’t engage in deliberate

practice. Most people also don’t work hard. Even fewer both work hard AND engage in deliberate practice.

Tiger Woods Is Tiger Woods the most talented person to

ever play golf? Does he look like a great athlete?

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/tigerr-woods-teen-not-interested-girls-9887085 Tiger is 6’0” tall – only slightly above the

national average for a U.S. man. He clearly has a naturally slight build.

Tiger Woods Childhood friends describe him as “gawky”

and a “bit of klutz”. So how did he become the best golfer ever?

◦ His father was an excellent teacher who spent 25 years training recruits in the Army.

◦ His father took up golf in adulthood and became obsessed with learning everything he could about the game.

◦ His father began training him at 16 months old.

Tiger Woods He practiced different aspects of the game

religiously The effect was cumulative He engaged in deliberate practice!

Engage in introspection and figure out who and what you want to be.

Decide on a brand Look, act, and dress in a way that is

congruent with your brand. Engage in deliberate practice to develop

your skills◦ Find a coach, a mentor, someone who knows what

it takes to achieve excellence◦ LISTEN to them-you know a lot less than you think

you do!

Action Steps