What are the secret ingredients that high performers have over mediocre ones? There could be a myriad of reasons: competitive drive, IQ, inner motivation, better intuition, higher pain threshold. I am sure there are dozens more that you can think of.

Being a high performer is not just climbing the greasy pole to the top or just making lots of money, it is about people who are successful on their terms in all aspects of their life. A great life is the best measure. Highly successful people share the following traits.

Seekers
These people will seek everything that will help them get to the next level. This is not simply about money as it is rarely the strongest motivator. Rather they enjoy growing and creating for the sake of growth and creation. They will try new and different ways to do things, will actively seek out people to help them learn and do not have a fear of failure – it probably is not in their vocabulary.

The cynic is the opposite of the seeker and these people will look for a reason not to do anything. The cynic will want to learn over time and through her or his own experience. The composer Hector Berlioz said “Time is the great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all of its students”.

Investors
High performing people invest in themselves. They value themselves and recognise the importance of personal investment. They will be the ones with bookshelves full of books, audio tapes to listen to, and attending seminars. They will not be seminar junkies but will be investing in themselves in a targeted way to achieve the goals that they have set themselves. They will seek out people who have been where they want to get to in order to learn from them.

The cynics on the other hand will have the “if only” excuses. I could have been more successful if only……….., I would have attended that seminar if only I had more time…… Being mediocre with a good excuse is not as good as being successful.

Implementers
Seeking and investing do not produce any results on their own. Implementation is critical.

It is great to have ideas, although they will only remain as ideas unless you implement them. We call all these ideas “Someday Isle”. Someday I’ll climb Everest, run a marathon, and travel round the world. These ideas will simply stay on Someday Isle unless you renew your commitment to follow through on the great ideas you get and implement them immediately.

At some stage you will have what you want in life or the reasons why you don’t. Choose to get what you want.