Articles and Videos from Achievement Consulting LLC. that are designed to help you reach your maximum potential
In the vibrant and competitive business landscape of Charleston, South Carolina, small businesses are constantly seeking ways to stand out and thrive. In this digital age, having a strong online presence is essential for success. That's where a digital marketing specialist at Peak Performance Consulting comes in.
In today's hyper-competitive digital landscape, businesses must leverage effective marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve. Digital advertising has emerged as a powerful tool for reaching and engaging with target audiences. However, navigating the complex world of digital advertising requires specialized knowledge and expertise. This is where a digital advertising specialist can prove to be an invaluable asset for business owners.
Let’s face it - everyone wants to grow their business online and everyone wants to do it for free. That’s not a complicated thing to conclude. However, what can get more complicated is how to do it correctly. Anyone can do it, the question is, are you going to just go through the motions, or do it right. Well, we hope in this article to give you the 5 best ways to grow your business online for free..
Toughness, I believe, has more to do with the strength of one’s character and having self-respect than their ability to lift weights, run long distances, or take a beating.
Before the University of Alabama faced Florida State University in the first week of the College Football season, Coach Nick Saban was asked what he would like to see from his team in the upcoming game. His goal was simple:
The question then becomes, what can you do, as an athlete or a coach, to get you or your team to stay in the present moment? How, no matter what the internal or external distraction is, can you focus on the task at hand and do what you need to do in order to get your assignment done?
Here are three simple was to help keep you present when stress, pressure, or distractions keep you from achieving you goals.
First, become aware of your signals. When we get into stressful situations, we tend to have very unique signals that go off when we are not in the moment. It could be negative self talk or tension in specific areas of the body. Whatever the signal is, being aware (which we will talk about more later) is key to staying focused in the moment and controlling the things that you can control.
Second, be patient. If you are constantly in a rush, that means more than likely you are thinking about something in the future. In order to achieve the task that is right in front of you, right that second, what is going to happen five minuets or even two minuets down the road doesn't matter. What does matter is your ability to stay calm, not rush from one moment to the next, and stay right where you are until the moment is over. As we talked about a few months ago, the only thing that you have is right now - and rushing to get it to be done with will doesn't help.
Lastly, make being aware a priority. If awareness is the third or fourth most important priority in your list of trying to improve yourself as an athlete, you're more than likely in a bit of trouble already. Success is centered around your ability to be aware of the situation that you are in, accurately assess your emotions, correct your mechanical issues if necessary, and focus back on the task at hand. And no matter what you do, from breathing properly (which we discussed on how to do in a previous post) to staying calm in challenging situations, your ability and commitment to being aware is the vessel you need to get you where you want to go.
Staying in the moment is really hard to do. In the case of the Alabama Football Team, when you are expected to win the National Championship each year, just focusing on your job can be challenging. But each year, for nearly a decade, they have been in the last game of the year - because they play one play at a time and stay in the moment.
So don't just watch them do it. Go try it and see its benefits for yourself.
If you were one of the nearly fifty million people that watched Floyd Mayweather defeat Conor McGregor on Saturday, what you saw was not only the greatest fighter of his generation continue his (now) fifty fight winning streak - but a lesson in the art of patience and composure.
The entire reason for watching this fight, at least in my opinion, was to see if a UFC/MMA athlete, in the prime of his career, could take down the guy who many consider to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time.
And within the first four rounds, you couldn't watch the fight and think that McGregor was not on the path of pulling off one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
Coming into each round in an aggressive fashion that admittedly surprised Mayweather, the UFC Champion was quicker and more effective - landing quality jabs,and clearly had the fight in hand.
Mayweather on the other hand, threw very few punches, choosing rather to wear McGregor out through continued patience and gain feedback for his plan of attack in the later rounds.
And after a 10th round TKO that left McGregor wondering where he was, the Irishman's response to Mayweathers victory was not praise of his technical skills, but more so praise of his mental game:
"I don't think that there was skill there. I just think there was composure and experience there."
And whether you are an athlete or involved in business, what McGregor said about the importance of patience and composer needs to be understood and implemented.
Lets took at why both of these skills (which can be learned) and why they can help you start achieving your goals:
First, patience can beat aggression. Unfortunately, patience is not something that the modern-day athlete, business person, or any normal person for that matter is told to is important. You are constantly told to go faster, get work done quicker, win now, right this second. Especially when trying to achieve a goal that may take you some time, whether it is a marathon, a report that takes you a few weeks to put together, or in the case of Mayweather, a fight that lasts several rounds - having patience is key. There is no reason to go right to the lead of a race that lasts two hours if you can let others do the work for you, no reason to do sloppy work in trying to show someone how good an employee you are, or go for the knockout early. Take your time. Focus on the process and show patience.
Secondly, stay composed, no matter how stressful the situation. Composure is usually taught from coaches or other leaders in the form of being told, "hey, calm down!" or "knock it off a focus," and the frequent "keep it together, lets go!" Being composed means that you are able to stay focused in the moment. You may feel stressed, overwhelmed, or out matched. But what matters is what can you do in that moment? Can you stay committed to the plan you have created? Can you make good adjustments via the awareness you have of what is happening right then and there? Those who can do all of this, even when you confidence is down are ones that will not only win, but when facing situations in which they are not supposed to do well in, can shock the world.
Be committed to having composure and patience - no matter what you are doing. That commitment can be the difference in you achieving your goals and just dreaming about them. Don't be a dreamer. Be a doer.
When Tori Bowie became the World Champion in the Women's 100m dash two-days ago, she made an adjustment in her race place before she went to the line.
Different than her past championship appearances, when she would get nervous because of the competition, this past Sunday she was going to "block out the noise and just focus on what I needed to do. Although I couldn't believe who was in the race, I knew that thinking about them was not going to do anything for me, so I just had to focus on what I had to do."
Success does not come from always thinking about what others are going to do. Sure, you need to be aware of what is going to happen in the race and the situations that you are in (we spoke about that recently when talking about Jenny Simpson's first round 1500m race) - but if you let it control you, you will loose sight of what you specifically need to do in order to be successful.
Champions know that they need to control their emotions, ease their minds, and focus on their plan. This is how winners win. It's how Tori Bowie became the World Champion by 0.01 of a second over the best field in the world. The competition didn't (and shouldn't matter) - all that mattered doing what she needed to do.
Try this for yourself next time - I think you will like the results.
Ten years and 50 weeks ago, Justin Gatlin was suspended from professional track and field for using a banned substance. His ban, originally eight-years, was reduced to four after his cooperation with doping officials. This suspension took place at the height of his popularity: only two-years removed from gold-medal performance in the 100m during the 2004 Olympic Games, three-times a World Champion the following year, and just a few years removed from racing his way to six NCAA Championships at the University of Tennessee.
Last night, Gatlin returned to London, England - a place where he raced to a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics - and defeated the greatest sprinter of all-time, Usain Bolt, for the 2017 World 100m Championship. His journey from doping outcast to champion, although controversial, should be a teaching moment to all of us who have failed, try and try again to be successful, and realize that a journey to greatness can not be achieved without the support of others.
Here are our takeaways:
Always Persevere - There is a saying that Samurai are taught at an early age: fall seven, rise eight. You fail, you get back up. You loose, you try again. You screw up, you try to do better. Gatlin's poor and selfish decision making that lead to his greatest failure was so big that he was not allowed in a track stadium for nearly half a decade. But that didn't stop him - so don't let failure stop you.
Great Things (most of the time) Take Time - Being about to bounce back from failure or lapses in judgement take time. No one can change who they are overnight. However, with a heightened state of self-awareness and clear understanding of the process of your goals, you can gain perspective, stay more engaged in the moment, and learn understand that your goals will come - if you can take your time.
Selflessness - After winning last night, Gatlin repeatedly told reporters that the difference between this championship and others where he could't beat Bolt was, "I usually sit and think a lot about myself and my plan. But tonight, I was thinking about my family, my friends, and the people that got me to this point. This race was not about me tonight - I was doing it for them." If you are coming back from redemption or failure, odds are you have a support team around you to make sure you are making the proper steps to come back (and if you don't have that type of group, you need to get one - now). People who are successful over a long period of time don't just do things for selfish reasons, they want to best represent and make proud the people that got them there. Gatlin, whose doping actions should and are considered extremely selfish, accomplished what was once that the impossible when he let is focus move away from himself (for once) and put his attention on those who got him there. Needless to say, the results where better. When you are coming back from failure, don't just make yourself better for you - focus on getting better and bouncing back because of the people that are around you.
Whether you love or hate Justin Gatlin, it's hard not to recognize that nearly eleven-years after he was banned, going from banned-doper to defeating the fastest man who has ever walked the earth is pretty amazing. And although the actions that warranted his suspension where appalling, his comeback and teachable moments for those who have failed, are ones of true inspiration.
On the first day of the IAAF World Track and Field Championships in London, England, Team USA's (the former World 1,500m Champion and 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist) qualified for the semi-finals of the Women's 1,500m - but it was not as easy as she hoped it would be.
With the first six athletes obtaining automatic qualifying spots to the semi-finals, the race involve lots of pushing, shoving, and in the last 120m, what should have been an easy run to the final ended up being a dead sprint for one of the last qualifying spots. After learning she had advanced to the finals, Simpson, in a post-race interview, discussed her thoughts on the race and how important a role preparation plays in her success:
"This is where experience matters. You study film on everyone in the race and learn their tendencies, and you hope that the preparation you do pays off - it did today. I think because of all that I have done leading up to this meet that if I can be there with 100m to go, I'm going to be pretty hard to stop"
What should this teach us about the importance of being prepared?
First: Even the best spend time preparing. They may be talented, but being great does not come naturally. It takes time and dedication to become one of the best at anything. So before you think you have it all figured out, realize that you don't and go do more work.
Second: The more that you prepare, the more you will believe in yourself. If confidence comes from how you talk to yourself based on the work that you have done, then if you put in the right work (remember - it's not just that you are doing something its HOW you do it) you're going to have the opportunity to be successful that you are looking for.
Third: Preparation means little without awareness. You need to be able to recall situations that you spent time studying, understand the current situation that you are (and will be) in , and have the awareness of when is the right time to take a calculated risk. You can learn more about how to become more aware in last weeks article: Five Ways to Become Self-Aware.
We will be reporting on the mental side of the IAAF World Championships each day for the next week - and we would love to have you follow us! Check us out for daily updates on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
In 2016, VaynerMedia CEO & entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk took part in an interview with the great Larry King. During that interview, King asked Vaynechuk, who is a big proponent of self-awareness, how one can become more self-aware. His answer (at least to me) was surprising: I don't know. For someone who claims to know so much about self-awareness, it was amazing to me that he didn't have an answer.
So, in hopes to help answer this ever growing question about the root of self-awareness, we wanted to present to you some of the skills that we have taught to over 175 NCAA All-Americans, 5 NCAA Championship Teams, and professional athletes from the MLB, NFL, USATF, and PGA. Here are 5 Ways to Become More Self-Aware:
First, be available. You may be thinking, what the hell does that mean? The great comedian Bill Murray talked about the importance of being available in an interview with Charlie Rose two years ago. Very few have explained how important it is to be alert and available as good as Murray does in this interview. To put it plainly, being available means that you are not stuck in a bubble and to be aware of what is going on around you. Being available also means (most importantly) that you are willing be be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses. Those who lack self-awareness are those who do not want to address their weaknesses and are not truthful about their strengths. Here are some things that you can ask yourself during this first step:
Second, start a mindfulness practice. We have written much about about mindfulness on this blog and how vital it is to success in athletics, business, and life. Taking the time to learn your thoughts, how you react under stress, and how well you can focus is where you can make huge strides in becoming more self-aware.
Third, get organized - Nearly any problem can be solved through organization. When I work with political campaigns, I always tell them on the first day that "organization will solve all of your problems." Why this is so vital to self-awareness is simple: if you are not organized, you are never going to know where your focus needs to truly be. Your efforts and energies are always put into a state chaos - rather than in areas where it deserves and is needed. An organized person has a much greater chance to succeed compared to one that just does shit on the fly.
Forth, play to your strengths - After you determine what you are good and what you care about, then play to whatever that strength is. This does not mean that just because you are good at something you do not need to address your weaknesses. I work with a lot of track and field athletes. Some have great leg speed, some are great in the weight room, some are superior in their mental toughness. Those who lack those strengths however, although they work to improve them, don't obsess with their shortcomings. They know what their strengths are and do what they can to make those even better, while continuing to improve in other areas.
Fifth, realize that becoming self-aware is hard - Recently, we talked about how you can fail and still succeed. This concept is really important to understand on your journey to becoming more self-aware. You are going to fail on your journey. Even when you think you have everything figured out and you know how you are - you are going to fail. You will make poor decisions. And that's ok. Just accept that this is going to be hard. Accept that all things that have great results are going to be challenging. And when you do fail, don't waste your time complaining about how hard it is, spend your time getting ready to start again.
So what are you waiting for? Get to work.
On June 8th, 2017, Achievement Consulting, LLC. was named the Top Sport Psychology Company in Charleston, SC. by been given the Charleston Area Business Award for 2016-2017.
In less just a year, Achievement Consulting has worked with some of the best athletes, businesses, non-profits, and teams from across the country.
Here are our results in athletics:
In the business and non-profit sector, we have accomplished a great deal in 2016-17:
So after looking at all of this, the question is simple: WHY ARE YOU NOT WORKING WITH US YET?
HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO DO TO GET THE STARTED:
Thank you so much for you support over the last year - we look forward to working with you soon and look forward to an even better 2017-18.
Failure is a part of life. Each of us fail at something each day. It could be something as simple as not getting out of bed on time, or a complicated as failing to do a report for work. Whatever the case is, failure is always right around the corner. The question that presents itself then is this - how can you succeed in a world in which you are always failing?
The answer is not as complicated as you may think.
Whenever you start on a new journey, remember this: you are going to fail. In baseball, failing 70% of the time will put in you in the Hall of Fame. In politics, Presidents Obama, Clinton, and George W. Bush each lost their first race when running for U.S. Congress. Even the "unbeatable" Usain Bolt has lost races in between Olympic Games.
What makes these people unique is that they understand failure is always present, however their ability to be resilient and stay committed to their long term goal(s) keeps them motivated and moving in the right direction.
That is why where others may only dream, they succeed.
Here are three ways to take failure and turn it into success:
First, come to grips with the fact that failure is a part of life
If you are going to do anything, you need to know, chances are, you are going to fail. You may be the most fit, the most prepared, the most talented. However it does not mean that you are always going to be successful. The sooner you understand this notion, and know that there is no shame in failure (only shame if you didn't try your best or quit) the easier failure will be - whenever it arrives.
Second, be resilient
If you loose, it's O.K. to be upset - for a while. But those who success after failure don't dwell on past loses. They use it as tinder that sets the fire, assuring that it does not happen again. Being resilient means you are never out of the fight- it means you are quick to recover. Because there is always another race to run, another opponent to face.
Lastly - CARE
If there is one lesson that you should take away from this piece it should be that you need to CARE - especially after you don't get the results that you want. The more you care, the easier (and faster) it will be for you to get up after you get knocked down. And if you don't want to keep fighting, you need to examine how much you care. There is nothing wrong with saying that you don't want to keep fighting after a lose, as long as you know in you heart that there are other things you care more about. Once you discover that - start fighting for it.
Failure happens. Just don't let it take you down. Be resilient and start to fight again. Because even when you fail, you can still succeed.
