Over the next few weeks, LtCol. Bruce Bright, USMC (Ret), president and CEO of The Bright Group, will offer his thoughts in a series of short articles on "Peak Performance" for you and your organization. The objective of these articles is to help get you thinking about becoming a "Peak Performer" and empowering your family, friends and employees. This series is intended to enhance the keynote talk LtCol. Bright will give on Saturday morning at the 17th Annual Improving Profitability, and Business and Legal Issues for ASCs Conference on "Peak Performance: How to Achieve Peak Performance as a Person and an Organization."
"It is better to follow the Voice inside and be at war with the whole world, than to follow the ways of the world and be at war with your deepest self." — Michael Pastore
In part one I discussed the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and of making S.M.A.R.T. choices. In part two I focus on the most important aspect of Peak Performance: your heart.
Heart. In an average lifetime, the heart beats more than 2.5 billion times without ever pausing to rest. Working tirelessly like a pumping machine, the heart provides the power needed for life. We are directly tied to the performance of our heart — if it slows, we slow; if it stops, we stop.
Before 1900, very few people died of heart disease. Since then, heart disease has become the number one killer in the United States. The age of technology has made life easier but has also made people more prone to heart disease. Before the Industrial Revolution, most people made their living through some sort of manual labor. Walking was the major means of transportation. Most jobs were completed without the assistance of machines or the machines were run manually by the workers physically operating them. Food was grown in the family garden, butter churned, laundry washed by hand. According to the CDC, in 2009, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 had a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one.
Okay, enough about the physical health of our hearts; it is important but not the function of the heart that is most important to becoming and maintaining performance at the top.
When we make decisions we use a number of sources to help us arrive at what we think is the best solution to the opportunity that has been presented. Peak Performers do not have problems, they see opportunities. Our life experiences, upbringing, education and values all play a part in our decision making process. Remember in part one we discussed how important it is for Peak Performers to make wise decisions? Well, the key to making those good choices lies in the source you use to get to your solutions. Each of us has our own inner instinctual voice that, when listened to, guides us with wisdom and empowers us with unlimited potential. This inner voice, higher coach or whatever you choose to call it is the key to Peak Performance. In October I will discuss how you might connect with this "Higher Coach" and unleash your true potential.
Between now and the October conference in Chicago think about how you come to the solutions to your opportunities. How do you decide right from wrong? What is your most powerful source of input to your personal decision making process? Once we get you connected to your Higher Coach you will see your life transform into the Peak Performer you have always wanted to be. I look forward to seeing you in Chicago.
To learn more about LtCol. Bruce Bright and becoming a Peak Performer, visit www.pilotbright.com or contact LtCol. Bruce Bright at bruce@pilotbright.com.