What do you think of when you hear the term, "peak performance"? • An Olympic athlete giving a gold medal performance? • The close of a billion dollar business deal? • An authentic life full of personal power? Would it surprise you to know that what you choose to focus on and your level of mastery over how you focus are at the heart of peak performance in these and all other areas? Hundreds, if not thousands, of books have been written analyzing what it means to have optimal experience. The self-help market is huge and lucrative, covering all aspects of personal development and reaching back for many centuries. For instance, in his 1932 book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill states, "Purpose is the touchstone of any accomplishment, large or small. A strong man can be defeated by a child who has a purpose. Shift your habits of thinking about the significance of your task and you can often accomplish the seemingly impossible. "
Hill tells the story of Edwin C. Barnes, a businessman who accomplished his desire to partner with Thomas Edison, even though "he had nothing to start with except the capacity to know what he wanted, and the determination to stand by that desire until he realized it." In Hill's opinion, these few words contain the entire secret for all achievement."
