You are the CEO of your functional area. Do you have a finance function at your company? You
are the CEO of that area, that small business. Work in human resources? That’s your small business.
Clean – up at the end of the day? You run a clean – up business that serves the larger company you work
with. Take personal responsibility for the success of your business. Show up like an entrepreneur. Grow
sales. Cut costs. Get good stuff done. You will shine in your career. And the CEO will love you.
34.
Act Like an Athlete
One of the best ways I know to create spectacular results in the most important areas of your life is through
daily practice. Top athletes know that practice is how you get to greatness. I was in Moscow a while back
for a series of speeches and workshops. One morning I went down to the hotel gym for a workout. It was 6
a.m. Guess who was there? Mary Pierce, the tennis star. For two hours, she ran, lifted weights, did sit –
ups and countless push – ups. She was paying the price for success.
You need to practice to get to your greatness. Athletes know this so very well. Why does it seem
so foreign to the rest of us? Sure practice takes discipline. But as my friend Nido Qubein (the business
consultant and motivational speaker) often says: “The price of discipline is always less than the pain of
regret.” Wise man.
What I’m suggesting is that personal and professional greatness takes work. I would never suggest
that you could get to your dreams without having to make some sacrifices and pay the price in terms of
dedication and self – control. “Pay the price.” Words with the ring of truth. The best among us make it all
look so easy. I call it the Swan Effect – elite performers make personal and business mastery look
effortless and seem to make things happen as gracefully as a swan moves along the water. But, like the