Clip From Audiobook Enhanced Life Performance

Profile photo for Jim Jackson
Not Yet Rated
0:00
Audiobooks
11
2

Description

This is the introduction from an audiobook I narrated entitled Enhanced Life Performance. It is one of 12 audiobooks I have narrated.

Vocal Characteristics

Language

English

Voice Age

Middle Aged (35-54)

Accents

North American (General) North American (US General American - GenAM) North American (US Mid-Atlantic)

Transcript

Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
introduction. The concept of enhanced life performance has been an ongoing passion of mine for many years and if I remain true to the concept of the program, it will continue to improve year after year. This journey at my slightly atypical approach to life started when I was a very young student athlete facing the challenges that all kids tend to face as they mature growing up in a small city in Hammond Louisiana. I was like so many others picked on and bullied by many of the kids that up until that point, I had considered my friends, not just the normal ribbing that goes on in the dugouts and locker rooms across America. This was more vicious and hateful and it escalated to a point that became abusive, both mentally and physically. As I reached puberty, my friends became taller, stronger and faster, even though I was talented in most everything I did athletically, my genetic makeup and ignorance of the principles of fitness left me vertically challenged and roughly £50 overweight. This occurred during my early teen years, which is not a good combination for an athlete or for a teenager, just trying to get through life like so many other Children, I wasn't the kind of kid that was going to go home and complain about it to my parents or to the teachers who often turned a blind eye. Anyway, after all, getting my ask kicked from time to time was my problem, right, make no mistake. I was taught that life is not always easy and at this point standing up to bullies in school was getting me nowhere. At one point, I deduced that the reason I was picked on had to be because of my weight. In the summer of my 13th birthday, the peak of puberty, I decided to stop eating so I would no longer be the fat kid. I lost £54 in three months and became very ill Once the summer was over, I went back to school the fat kid no more. Unfortunately, now I was the £86 weakling that could barely lift his pencil and even the athletic success I enjoyed seemed to decline as well. I was a fairly sick child and was dealing with an eating disorder before eating disorders were readily diagnosed. The common panacea for all things challenging teenage boys at that time seemed to be rub some dirt on it and get back in their monastery. If only I had a dollar for every time my football, baseball or track coaches would send me in for the next play or the next snap completely unprepared, both mentally and physically, there was no concussion protocol or buckets of hydrating fluids **** back then. They wouldn't allow us water just to make us tougher. I don't share this to place blame. Mind you, that was just the way it was done back then and believe me, I deserve much of the blame for not believing that I was worthy of the next snap or play. We often are sent back out there in life completely unprepared or feeling unworthy and then wonder why things aren't going our way once back in school, even after losing the weight, the bullying didn't stop at the time, I had no idea that the week oftentimes become victims of the strong and in many cases are content to allow it to happen after all who wants their *** kicked. This holds true for individuals as well as entire populations. But this phase of my life had run its course and I was about done being on the losing end of a bully, imposing his will upon me and my life, I decided that I was going to live free from persecution or just die fighting those who tried to impose their will on me, I wanted more, my dad introduced me to weightlifting and martial arts and my life began to change. I never was the kid that would back down from a fight, even one that I knew I would lose as I got stronger and more agile, the bullying subsided and the day came when the biggest kid in school got to witness exactly what I had learned in martial arts and just how strong I had become, the bullying stopped, but my education and fitness and the disciplines of martial arts had just begun. I became a student of the physical, the mental and the preparation that it takes to have a different kind of spirit, mind and body Fast forward to 1993 when I decided to start my own systems integration company, complete with multiple employees and a ton of responsibility. I knew that I had to deal once and for all, with the feelings of not being good enough strong enough or smart enough, that lingered from the days of my adolescence. At this point in my life, I was no longer willing to only be good at my career, it just wasn't enough. And honestly, the thought of being pushed around by a bigger, stronger person or company that I might compete with just wasn't acceptable. So at the age of 25, after much research and contemplation about what it took to be successful, the concept of enhanced performance began to take shape. I wasn't looking for just a little success. I wanted a level of hyper success that I hadn't experienced before. The intentional habit of expecting excellence from everything that I or any member of my staff attempted was necessary and I never quit attitude began to grow back Then. The only thing that got in the way of the excellence we displayed each and every day was the limitation of my own expectations of how really great we could become. Let me say this one more time, because it is pretty much the root of why I had to that point allowed myself to believe that I or the people in my life were not worthy of a fulfilling life. The only thing holding me back at that time was you guessed it me. So how is that possible? Up until that point, I had been conditioned to fight through adversity and stand up to what amounted to adolescent tyranny many times. In fact, I had one even when I lost, but the desire to remain hidden and off the radar of the Strong was still a limiting factor in my life. As I struggled with these concepts, in 2008, I was approached by a larger systems integration company. They wanted to buy my company and have me come to work for them. This larger company had been a formidable competitor and just like the bullies at my school seemed to take what business they wanted back then the concept of selling my company was a bit foreign to me. But it uncovered something within me that had been there since my days of hiding in the hallways to avoid confrontations. What value did I really have and why would this large successful company want me? Sadly I realized that even as an adult with a successful business, I didn't believe that I was deserving of a fulfilled life or the things that the Strong received the root cause of this feeling of lack of value could all be traced to my childhood where that kind of attention and success had led to pain for me. So now when this larger company offered to purchase my business for far more than even I thought my company was worth, I realized it was time for me to stop hiding in the hallways of Holy Ghost catholic school and to figure out who I really was and what I really could accomplish this was the secret finally revealed even in my attempts and in many ways success of achieving hyper success, I was still battling a question of value and lack of fulfillment. A total stranger saw more value and worth in me than I did or even had my business by all accounts was a success, but my life was not fulfilled. At that moment I decided the time had come for my world to get a little bigger and the enhanced life performance program began, So began an all out assault on gathering data and figuring out how I should be approaching my life. My career and my world enhanced life performance was formulated using two concepts that rarely intersect. First, I considered that a 360° approach to life which included mind, body and spirit Was necessary in order to achieve the one thing that we were all looking for fulfillment. Next, if we took it one step further, one more degree, if you will, to 361, we would consider the concept of continual improvement. In other words. Once we got it figured out, once we finally figured out how to balance our mind body and spirit, we could achieve fulfillment. But if we could even improve from there, we could accomplish the one thing that we all want out of life and that is to leave a lasting legacy. See when all of the core life components are clicking along and fulfillment is achieved. We, as humans have a tendency to rest while rest is essential in order to progress further. It should only occur after we have adequately and aggressively tested the spirit, mind and body when we rest without a sufficient testing phase oftentimes the balance is lost If we fight that desire to rest at the wrong times, if we press on and continue to improve the state of constant fulfillment becomes the norm and that state drives in us an innate desire to give back to others. We coach. We teach, we give it a level that provides even more fulfillment when we do that when we begin to build our legacy. If and only if I could be fulfilled by achieving balance in the core components of my life and not hide from those people I perceive as strong. Now, before you decide, this is only about chance, meditation and connecting with the energy of the universe, Please understand that while some of that is important, the most essential thing about corralling the core components of life is determining why we are trying to achieve that in the first place, enhanced life performance truly does take it one degree further than spirit mind and body. It looks at continual improvement through the plan, execute, evaluate and improve process. This program shows you how to take this well known management concept and superimpose it on your life. What it creates is a life worth living, worth improving and most importantly worth sharing with the entire world and this is where your legend is created. I'm not just promising you a better life, I'm promising you a better afterlife and a better way of sharing the gifts both those who have earned and those who have been allowed to have. You will have the clarity of thought, the strength of spirit and the requisite energy to accomplish this and then share in ways that will not only impact the lives of others, but create a continuous loop of fulfillment that grows with each legacy impression, you will hear more on this concept later. If you choose to read on, you will begin a journey, you won't soon forget the impact it will have on your life and the lives of those around you will undoubtedly surprise all concerned, especially you. Chapter one the Why quote he who has a Why to live for can bear almost any how unquote Friedrich Nietzsche self help books typically bother me because they make a multitude of promises on how their particular approach or system will bring forth a massive change in life with little consideration of how to position the person to actually make the change. Having dealt with various individuals who lack the discipline to execute even the simplest of tasks, it became clear to me that the secret to executing at a high level is not the process they use, but the person ultimately in charge of the outcome, the same message given to two similar people can manifest itself quite differently based on how the individual chooses to utilize the message. So while I as a thought leader, author or manager can coach or teach the process, the true outcome of the task taught is entirely up to the individual that is executing the lessons learned. I could start here and suggest that execution of a task comes down to the ability of the individual. But if we dive even deeper, we find that it isn't the process, nor is it the ability of the individual carrying out the task that gets them through the really tough spots. That is not it at all. If I was doing a root cause analysis of why people fail at various things they set out to do, the answer is generally very simple. All too often. They really never had an unobstructed view of why they should succeed in the first place at this point, you may be asking yourself, isn't your book about the process. If so, are you telling me I don't need to read on that? All I really have to do is figure out why? Well, the answer is a resounding yes. In fact you already have everything within your mind, your body and your spirit to accomplish anything within your physical and mental capacity. In other words, I will likely never dunk a basketball mainly because I'm five ft five and lack the physical structure to accomplish such a feat. I do believe if I set my mind to it that I could possibly get to the rim, I'm just not certain I would survive the landing. I digress. Yes. You have everything you need. But so does Lebron James and he has a coach and so does every other elite athlete that has accomplished great things similarly and in common. They also ran a specific process of how to accomplish the task at hand and had an accountability coach to help them get through the tedious tasks that would stand before them. Incidentally, their focus on mind and body is truly at an elite status and they train just as we should for our own career choice. Just because we choose to sit behind a desk or work in a trade. Our training shouldn't be any less intense. Generally speaking, no one trains to be good at their job unless they complete whatever schooling, certification or continued education is necessary to obtain the position. What Lebron knew then and still knows today is the why of what he does. This book will not only discuss and help you find your own why, but it will also stress what we should continue to practice and train in our chosen profession, preparing for opportunities to execute at an enhanced level quote. So, if I read your book, can I be great at what I do unquote again. The answer is yes. But like things worthy of intense study practice and execution. It isn't that easy. Let's be honest for a second here, it is not as if the change from good to great has eluded you your entire life. It's not as if your whole life has been culminating around reading this book, waiting until the contents could unlock the very potential that would create majestic power over all things around you. Even I am not that egotistical and that is a massive admonition because my ego once unleashed, became as big as a whale again, I digress. So why is this book? This modus so different? The answer is simple because the book and everything that makes up the enhanced life performance program is controlled and governed by one thing, not discipline, which you will need, not will and determination, which is essential and definitely not the process or the tools that I will share with you along the way. No. None of these things measure up to the one thing we must have. We have to know why shaping the why in your mind's eye is as important as fuel in a car or even more fundamental the engine or the steering wheel. Why? When we were four years old, we asked this question almost as frequently as we asked for candy, we were likely told no to the candy and eventually no to the question why to which we asked again why? Somewhere along the way our parents let us know that asking why was bad? The constant, Why questioning was irritating. It hasn't become any less so to us as adults. Even though we are now looking to the heavens or asking our inner self the random wise of life. Somehow knowing these answers is truly the secret of how he progressed through the different times. Knowing the reasons why we are motivated to do what we do. Makes those days when you feel it can't be any worse, more rewarding to persevere through. I got my start in computer systems integration back in the 90s when computers were booming, the timing was perfect and I started my own systems integration company even though the timing was ideal, owning my own business proved to be extremely difficult and maddening at times. Why why was I subjecting myself to the tortures of low to no cash, Late nights and long hours. One day as I searched for the answer, I decided to place a picture of our Children on the front page of my day planner every morning I looked at that picture and it helped me define a little more clearly the why behind what I was trying to accomplish. Even then I knew I needed a larger purpose than good cash flow or profitable business to get through the trials and stress of making a small business successful, this is a great example of the reality that as humans, we know that our will discipline and determination are not enough to get us through the really tough times. In addition, we need a deep understanding of why we must endure. We need to determine the source of our gratification of doing so too often. The thing we fail to do before we take on the endeavor is reason through the why behind it? Who has the time? If we did truly dive deeply into our psyche on the topic of why we exist on earth today, why we must accomplish a specific endeavor or why we should even wake up in the morning, we may find that the things we considered so important really aren't important at all. So what does this all lead to? It could lead to proper goal setting, which we will discuss in chapters to come goal setting while extremely important is but a mere component of the why we must understand the why is a concept that is more than just a set of goals that leads to tasks which lead to action. I described this level of understanding to be like the unobstructed focused mental clarity of a dog on a bone. The why if it truly is the why must shake you to your very core and move you in such a way that if you speak of it out loud, it impacts you emotionally. This why is your life's mission statement Or I prefer to call your core purpose? If I ask you in later chapters to develop your core purpose for a task or definition of your life. This dog on a bone type focus is what you will need to conjure that thought. If you aren't that fixated on it, if it doesn't move you to that extent, you will not get to the place you need to be in order to find it. Before you read on spend 15 minutes thinking about your core purpose. We will complete a deep dive and spend time finding that core emotionally moving purpose in this chapter. But you will find, as you read this book, it becomes very clear that the reason that we do nearly everything is because of the why and your core purpose is the outcome of knowing it.