"Do not let other people dictate your path."

 

What do astronauts, Olympic champions, and Nobel laureates do differently that allows them to achieve at such a high level? My guest today is Dr. Ruth Gotian, and she will reveal the four attributes common to all high achievers - and how you can build this into your life!

 

It was clear from the minute I met Ruth that she was passionate and committed to studying excellence, and helping others benefit from it. Ruth is the Chief Learning Officer and Assistant Professor of Education in Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, and shares some fascinating insights.

 

In this episode we chat about her new book, The Success Factor, and you'll learn:

• How passion and purpose serve high performance (and why it matters)
• Why perseverance is a hallmark of high achievers worldwide
• The power of a strong foundation and what it means for YOU (don't miss this one!)
• How informal, continuous learning creates a huge advantage
• And a lot more!

 

High Achievers Learn Continuously

The last thing that all high achievers do – the astronauts, Nobel prize winners, CEOs, et cetera – is they’re continuously learning, and they’re learning through informal means. They’re not sitting in a classroom.

 

We’ve all heard that billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates read three to eight hours a day. That’s fabulous, but it’s not reading that made them billionaires. It’s opening their mind to new knowledge. And the high achievers, what they’re able to do is take ideas from different industries and re-imagine them and use them in their own industries.

 

High Achievers Have Rest Days, Too

The other thing that surprised me is how much these high achievers protect their down time. It was very important to them because they realized later on in their career that their rest days are as important as the work days. That in order for the work days to be productive, you must have the rest days.

 

Success as Defined By Dr. Ruth

The definition of success changes based on who you ask and based on rank and gender as well. That’s something to consider. But for me, there are certain markers that we can look at to determine whether the person is “successful”.

 

First is they would have made a fundamental paradigm shift through their work. Their work is so extraordinary that it lead other people to change the way they do things and perhaps, how they think about things.

 

Two, as they were moving up through the ranks, they lift other people up with them so it’s not just about them.

 

 

 

Links and Resources

Connect with Mark: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Website

The Success Factor by Dr. Ruth Gotian (book)

The Power of Pressure by Dane Jensen (book)

A Higher Standard by by Ann Dunwoody (book)