Great performers are, by definition, abnormal; they strive throughout their entire careers to separate themselves from the pack.

Bill Russell is one of the great names in basketball, an all-American... and the only athlete to ever win an NCAA Championship, an Olympic Gold Medal, and a professional championship all in the same year-1956...But Bill Russell had this one problem: He threw up before every game.

Great performers welcome pressure.

To be a top performer you have to be passionately committed to what you're doing and insanely confident about your ability to pull it off.

Overachievement is aimed at people who want to maximize their potential. And to do that, I insist you throw caution to the wind, ignore the pleas of parents, coaches, spouses, and bosses to be "realistic." Realistic people do not accomplish extraordinary things because the odds against success stymie them. The best performers ignore the odds. I will show you that instead of limiting themselves to what's probable, the best will pursue the heart-pounding, exciting, really big, difference-making dreams-so long as catching them might be possible.

All the great performers I have worked with are fueled by a personal dream.

Great performers are, by definition, abnormal; they strive throughout their entire careers to separate themselves from the pack.