I often get asked where to begin when trying to create the 1% Mindset. In theory, it’s easy, but the real life application is where the elite separate from the mediocre.

The first thing that must be accomplished is making a committed decision, promising yourself that nothing will stop you from reaching your goals. The difference between a regular decision and the committed decision is one simple word: Sacrifice! You need to be willing to sacrifice everything that may stand in your way, potentially blocking your achievement. I’ve made countless number of decisions, but only a handful of committed decisions. Without exception, every committed decision I’ve made has turned into a successful attainment of my goals.

The next thing that must immediately take place is eliminating “try” from your vocabulary, substituting “I will, no matter what it takes…” in it’s place. There’s no room for try. It only leads to doubt and hesitation, ultimately bringing failure.

1% isn’t outcome based. You don’t have to become number one in the world … but you must become number one in YOUR world. It’s a way of thinking, leading to a specific way of acting. This specific type of action will eventually lead you to anything you want to achieve.

Success is relative, and means many different things, all individual to your motivations. It mustn’t be compared to anyone except your own reflection. Look deep within, ask yourself if 1% is really worth the dedication and sacrifice. If the answer is yes, look back at that reflection, stare into it’s soul, make that committed decision, and write on a piece of paper: “Now What?!”

The answer will reveal itself, day-by-committed-day.

I regularly teach and write about creating a 1% Mindset — separating from the pack of average thinkers and doers. In order to attain this goal, we must push past our comfort zones, risk failure, and take massive action.

A student recently reminded me that we could be achieving all of this, yet still be unaware of our progress. What if, after hours of disciplined, passionate effort, we reach this next level, but fail to draw from it’s success? I’ve rarely focused on this part of the equation, because I’ve assumed the achievement would be so obvious, failure to feel it’s power would be impossible.

Chris, my student, has reached this plateau, yet is still choosing to feel unworthy… as if his accomplishments didn’t exist. He’s choosing to close his eyes to all the past success he’s achieved these last two years, but why?

It’s a self protection and fear of failure issue. In his warped sense of reality, if he acknowledges his improvement, he’ll then be held to a higher standard, and expectations of him will be launched to another level. These pressures can be suffocating, if not viewed through positive, opportunistic lenses. He’s currently choosing to see the possible failure of the new expectations, knowing many would be left disappointed. The last thing he wants to do is disappoint anyone, including himself, so by standing still in his current mindset, this will remain a non issue.

Instead, he must view these new expectations as an opportunity to propel himself to an exciting future, where boundaries don’t exist. Use the pressure he feels to fuel his 1% Mindset.

Everyone feels fear … but the elite have learned that it’s this fear that drives them. They turn the fear of failure into an opportunity to achieve. They choose to see successful outcomes, and understand that failure may be a part of the process, but it’s not what defines them. They know they’re defined by the actions they take immediately following setbacks.

Be fearless as you move forward. Make sure you’re moving forward.

1% is all about stepping away from the norm in order to stand out. Steve Jobs and Henry Ford are incredible examples of separating from the pack. Be fearless. Take risks. Act now.

Henry Ford & Steve Jobs from Tier10 Marketing on Vimeo.

It doesn’t forgive or feel sympathy. The difficulty it subjects you to is a test of your passion and discipline. Many talk about achieving it, but very few ever do. It knows this, loves this, thrives on this. You sure you want it? The last guy thought so, too … until he found out how tough it really was to attain, and the pain it takes to grab ahold.

It doesn’t care about your past or future. It only knows now, and what must be done this second. It knows you better than you know yourself, and uses this against you at every turn. Your weaknesses become gaping holes that it uses to mentally torture the very fabric that keeps you sane. It hears you talk-the-talk, and even silently watches you walk-the-walk for a few steps … but knows it’s only a matter of time before you fall to your knees.

You sure you want it? The last guy thought so, too … until 5:30 am, when it was time to wake up and run his sprints before breakfast. It loves the snooze button, because it knows this is where most come up short at ever achieving it. It listens to all the wannabes talking about how passionate they are about reaching it, secretly laughing out loud at the arrogance … or is that ignorance?! It doesn’t care. It only knows failure will be the result.

It hides in your mind, knowing it will eventually be shown the way to your muscles. If it’s allowed to grab your flesh unchecked, defeat is guaranteed. Conversely, if it’s trained properly, it will allow you to go places 99% never go.

You sure you want it? 1% is waiting for you to step-up, look it in the eye, and challenge it to a lifelong battle. It’s daring you to make the commitment needed. Stop talking. Start doing. Go.

Everything we say, do, and believe is a direct result of our mindset. In order to improve in any facet of our life, priority must first be put on our everyday belief system. I was taught at an early age that how I practiced would dictate my outcome, yet never told that the way I practiced stemmed from my thoughts. I was a slave to my thinking, never knowing the role it played in the outcome I achieved.

Focus on your mindset! Concentrate on what you choose to think and believe, as this will instantly affect the action you take.

“John” recently left me a desperate voice mail, explaining the different reasons he played poorly in his last tournament. He chose to put on his “negative lenses,” focusing on the trouble in front of him. During play, he viewed all that could go wrong, and when it did, his inner conversation sounded like this:

I received a call last week from my mom, informing me that my grandma was in the hospital, and may only have a couple more days to live. After a quick packing of the car and canceling of the rest of my week, I was on the road. I was only an hour and half away, but if felt like a lifetime. My mind was all over the place, reliving the fun times I had with her, as well as the opportunities I let slip by, due to my own selfishness.

When I walked in her hospital room, I immediately noticed how big it was, and how alone she must have felt. This saddened me, immensely. No one should have to go through this time alone. She was laying on her back, hands crossed over her stomach, with a large oxygen mask blowing air into her lungs at a rate necessary to keep her alive.

She looked asleep, but as I loudly said hello into her right ear, she immediately opened her eye. Her head turned to me, allowing her left eye to make contact with my face. She wasn’t asleep at all, she was waiting… waiting for a familiar face to say, “I’m here. You’re no longer alone.” She immediately recognized me, letting out a sigh of relief, and what seemed to be excited glee in her eye. Because of the mask, she couldn’t talk, but her eyes and body language said it all. She knew I was there. She knew her once lonely room would never be that big again.


Not knowing how much she was going to understand and communicate back to me, I just talked. I talked about her gorgeous granddaughter, the Lakers (she loved the NBA), and how my arm was still sore from throwing the football with her when I was 6 years old. She was focused directly into my eyes, making sure I knew that she understood everything. When I told her my mom (her daughter) would be there the next day, both eyes opened with anticipation. It instantly struck me: This is what she’s been waiting for!

Her body was broken, but her mind was alert and strong. She was going to hold on as long as it took to say goodbye to her daughter. No matter what her physical shell was telling her, or how much pain it was sending through her nerve endings, her commitment and passion would win-out! Nothing was going to beat her before her goal was achieved. I knew it would be 24 hours before this would happen, as my mom’s flight didn’t land until the next night. This next full day was going to change my life forever.

The next morning came too fast. As I arrived back at her bedside after a rough night’s sleep, she was laying in the same position. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, and she responded immediately. When she turned her head to see my face, I instantly felt as if I could read her mind. She was happy to see me, but wanted to know when her daughter would be by her side. “Mom will be here tonight. Until then, you’re stuck with me,” I jokingly said.

The remainder of the day was spent talking with her, and taking mental notes on how strong the mind can be under incredibly stressful times. Her hands moved quite well, but for such an active woman, not being able to move much more must’ve felt tortuous. She also communicated with her eyes, eyebrows, and shoulder shrugs, but even during this incredibly frustrating time, she remained tough as nails. At one point, I began reading her favorite passages from the bible, but she made it quite clear she wanted me to stop. With every ounce of strength she had left in her arms, she reached up to my face, gestured me to stop, and waved me out of the room! Through her oxygen mask, we whispered, “Sleep. Head back.” This was the first time I heard her speak. I didn’t even think it was possible for her to verbally communicate. This was my grandma, though – she was as strong as they came, and always let you know how she felt. She didn’t care that I was there to comfort her … she just wanted me out of the room so she could take a nap. I laughed as I shut the door behind me.

When my mom arrived, and grandma heard her voice, it was as if a long, tedious marathon had finally ended. Grandma locked on to mom’s eyes, and wouldn’t let go. She attempted to pull that overgrown oxygen mask off her face, but didn’t have the strength. Words weren’t necessary. They both knew how much they loved, and would miss each other. The love my grandma had for her daughter was so intense, she somehow found a way to give her a hug. They held on for what seemed like an eternity.

My grandma didn’t know it, but during the two days I spent with her in the hospital, she taught me the true meaning of the 1% mindset. From this day on, when I talk about “separating from the pack,” I’ll compare all others to her strength, passion, and commitment.

Say hi to grandpa for me!

My next Lesson Post comes from someone who wants to remain anonymous (I’ll call him John). He asks,

Continuing the series of Lesson Posts, this one is an extremely common challenge for everyone, athlete or not. It was submitted by @RandleGolf on Twitter.

“How do I stay confident while I’m not performing well?”

This is a question I receive every day, and if practiced consistently, can be game / life changing. The short term answer is simple in theory, more difficult in practice. Because of our emotional nature, staying calm and focused during these rough times in our first priority. Being able to see a clear picture of what’s taking place is an important piece of this puzzle.

When things aren’t going our way, and we begin to lose confidence, it’s vital to look back to a time where we were playing our best. Draw from that experience(s), and bring it into our current situation. The key to this isn’t the picture of past successes, but instead, the EMOTION that’s linked to it. Our bodies react to emotion, so by attaching a positive and confident feeling to our past performance, it’ll immediately bring a sense of restored confidence to our mind. Most fail when attempting to “draw from past experiences,” due to this lack of visualized emotion. Visualizing a detailed picture of confident actions, and linking the powerful emotions to it, is absolutely critical!

For a long term solution, we must understand there are different types of confidence, but only one we should be striving for.

Fake Confidence


We pretend to act confident in all that we do, in order to hide how scared and insecure we truly are. We puff out our chest, talk about the wins under our belt, and make sure everyone knows that we know how special we are.

Dependent Confidence


Unfortunately, this is where most of us live, and is why this specific topic is discussed so often. We only feel confident and believe in ourselves when we’re playing well. When we perform less than we think we should, all confidence disappears, and we begin to doubt all aspects of our our game. We hear it all the time, whether on t.v., from coaches, peers, or family:

“He’s gotta find that confidence he had in the past… the type of confidence he had when when he was winning.”


“When he starts playing better, he’ll regain his confidence.”

Sure, confidence can definitely be built upon when we’re performing well, but doesn’t have to be the only tool in our bag. The all-time greats understand that Dependent Confidence is a trap, inevitably leading to a loss of self belief.

True Confidence


This type of belief was there when we were born, and never leaves us. This intense confidence comes from deep in our core; a level of certainty that can’t be taken away by anyone or anything. It’s there during our highest level of performance, and remains after our most heart breaking defeat. It’s an assurance that makes us feel invincible. Rather than a slave to our outcomes, we understand the true meaning of our steps, and belief in our process. We know we belong because of who we are as people, our preparation, passion, and dedication to our craft. This true confidence can’t be shaken, no matter the result of our short term journey. It stays strong, and always reveals a true inner champion.

This is our goal. This is what we should be striving for in our every day preparation for greatness. This is the true definition of 1%!

Continuing my series of Lesson Posts, I was contacted by golfer, @breadchick on Twitter, wanting to know why this continues to happen to her. Unfortunately, this is prevalent among all athletes:

There are three things that immediately come to mind when asked about loss of concentration in sports.

1) Proper food and water intake.

This is crucial for long term, intense focus during competition, but can often be overlooked. Decision making is directly affected by lack of hydration and nutrients, especially over a 5 hour round of golf.

2) Having short term goals to focus on during play.

Very often, we get “mentally lost” during the round because of so much down time in between shots. I’m a huge advocate of breaking down each round of golf into 6 sets of 3 holes. This allows the player to stay intense for a longer period of time, and stay mentally present on the task at hand. Creating short term goals within every 3 hole span is the perfect way of keeping the mind focused and present. Mentally, 18 holes can feel overwhelming, and is easy to become overly concerned with the outcome of the round. By allowing the mind to focus on short term process and results goals, it enables you to stay focused on right now, eventually connecting to long term concentration.

3) Embrace the competitive moment!

This may be one of the most important lessons an athlete can learn. It becomes very difficult to lose focus during any event if you truly love the challenge of the situation. In fact, concentration levels of the all-time best athletes increase during these pressure moments. If you look forward to, and embrace this time, your focus will automatically intensify.

Every challenge you encounter creates an opportunity to take your game to the next level. Become the 1%!