Train Your Brain For Success

by Roger Seip

  The Value of the “Last 5 Percent”

  I was talking with somebody recently about where he was getting stuck in his business. He said, “I know that I need to do 100 percent of what needs to be done, including the little things. I'm at about 95 percent, but I'm seeing that 100 percent is necessary.” We then talked about a principle of physical training that applies to a person's productivity.

  In any workout—for improved endurance or strength—the actual growth stimulus occurs in a very small portion of the workout: the last 1 to 5 percent of the entire workout. For instance, if you're doing 3 sets of 10 reps on the bench press, you will only see enhanced muscle performance if the weight you use causes the last couple of reps of the last set to be nearly impossible. If those last few reps are easy, you have not taxed the muscle enough, and you will see exactly zero improvement. If a five-mile training run is to boost your endurance or speed, it should be run so that the last half mile is nearly impossible. If you're not “out of gas” at the end, your run was too easy and you won't get faster. This is not my opinion; this is exercise science. There are many theories as to the best way to get physical results, all of them revolve around the concept of pushing your workout to the “point of failure.”

  Two important principles are:

  1. The whole workout must be done, but the first 95 percent of the workout is done for the sole purpose of taxing your body to the point where it can receive a growth stimulus. That first 95 percent is necessary, but it doesn't actually produce a result.

  2. The last 5 percent is where the results happen. As you approach, then cross the threshold of giving out, this is the only part of the workout that actually makes your body do what it does to make you stronger, faster, or better. This also happens to be the part of the workout that hurts the most.

  So in effect this individual was doing the first 95 percent of the workout, but not the last 5 percent. Now you'd think that if you do 95 percent of the workout that you'd get 95 percent of the results, but that is clearly not the case. In an actual workout, if you're doing 95 percent, you get zero results. You make no improvement—ever. This is why you see people who go to the gym year after year in an effort to get fitter, but they just maintain.

  In life and in business the same concept applies. If you're only 95 percent, you miss out on all of what produces results. Some examples are:

  — If you dial a phone number 95 percent correctly, you don't get someone who knows the person you're trying to reach. You get a wrong number.

  — If you get 95 percent of the way to a restaurant, do you get 95 percent of your dinner?

  — In sales, if you get 95 percent of the way through your sales presentation, but fail to ask for the business, you don't get 95 percent of the business. You get nothing.

  — How many times have we seen a day of appointment setting stats like “100 dials and 3 appointments set,” where the bookings happened on dials 95, 97, and 100? Answer—a ton.

  — How many months have we seen where a company went from disappointing sales results to exciting sales results in the last few days of the month? Answer—a ton.

  So what's your last 5 percent? What are the little things in your life or business that get you all the results? For me it's things like confirming appointments three to five days in advance, not one or two. Like listening to audio programs instead of the radio. Like getting to bed at 9 or 9:30, not 10. There could be a whole host of last 5 percent things. Make sure that you are seeing projects 100 percent of the way through, not just 95 percent. The last 5 percent is where you actually get the results you're looking for.

  The last 5 percent of Train Your Brain for Success is about that last 5 percent in your life. We're going to take everything you've learned in the previous 16 chapters and tie it all together into a daily practice that will:

  Skyrocket your energy levels.

  Keep you on track.

  Tune your brain to a positive results frequency every day.

  Anchor you to your values, your goals, your purpose.

  Fire up your attitude of gratitude.

  Make you physically healthier.

  Create a perfect space in your day for any other personal development you wish to do.

  Cause members of the opposite sex to think you're extremely hot.

  Well, maybe not the last one—but it won't hurt.

  This practice (which we call the Power Hour) is the practice that I've personally crafted for myself over the last several years to consistently break records in every area of my life. My company and I have taught it to clients around the world and we know it works. I'll teach you specifically what I do, but more importantly I'll teach you the principles behind it so you can craft your own. I'll also give you modifications I've seen people make that have worked.

  Where This Comes from—The Concept of “Little Victories”

  In my early 20s I worked with The Southwestern Company, selling educational books door-to-door. I made great money and had a lot of fun, but the best thing was the life lessons that I learned. One of the best was taught to me by a top salesperson, a young man who made the equivalent of a six-figure income as a college student. In talking about how he got such incredible results, he described what he called “little victories”—a series of a few things he did to start each day that got him mentally prepped for a great day. I started doing them and saw great results myself. Through that I learned that small wins in controllable areas create momentum that carries into every area.

  A few years later I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and read about the concept of how “private victories precede public victories.” It clicked for me how the victories we achieve when nobody is watching are the foundation for the wins we experience when everyone is watching. John Wooden said that “Champions are made when nobody's looking.”

  So I realized that my “little victories” list that worked so well in a very specific sales environment was actually a microcosm of how to effectively build real momentum systematically in a person's life, and that anyone could do it. Thus began the development of the Power Hour.

  What the Power Hour Does

  Scientifically, a morning routine like the Power Hour will establish neural pathways that activate several systems in your brain to:

  1. Elevate your vibrational frequency.

  2. Release positive, life-enhancing hormones and neurochemicals.

  3. Impact your environment on a quantum level to attract and create the exact circumstances, people, and ideas you need to create your ideal life.

  If none of that made sense or you don't care about the science, here's a more practical analogy. If you were a pro athlete, you wouldn't even consider taking the field or the court for a game without a warm-up period, for both the body and the mind. In fact, you wouldn't do that if you were playing a game of pick-up basketball or going golfing. So why on earth would you ever consider starting a day—the fundamental unit of time where you play the game of your life—without warming up? The Power Hour gets both your mind and your body ready for a great day, and it unquestionably improves both energy levels and performance.

  The Power Hour Described

  The Power Hour has evolved into a specific series of small actions that I take on a daily basis. I'll lay out what I'm doing right now, which is in the first quarter of 2011. Feel free to adopt this routine wholesale, feel free to pick and choose parts, feel free to add to it, and definitely feel free to change it up. My friend Alan Mong (who's taken this concept to a whole new level for himself and for me), actually advocates purposely switching it up every few months to keep it fresh. Great idea.

  To start with, however, one of the most important concepts is that in order to get the maximum benefit from this protocol, you'll need to do the same routine consistently for a minimum of three weeks, and 30 days is better. Yes, you'll get a boost and a better day right away, but where the Power Hour really starts to affect deep and significant changes is when it becomes a habit. To cement a
habit actually requires the creation of and the setting of a new neural pathway in your brain, which requires a minimum of 21 days of repetition. So take this template and use it to create something that you will commit to doing for a month. If it's only a Power Half-hour that's fine. Craft it to fit you and then get going on it immediately. You will notice a difference.

  Currently, I've got 15 things that I do every day as my Power Hour. Each of the 15 things is an action that I do mindfully and purposefully—there's a specific reason for it. Each action either

  — anchors me to what's important to me.

  — does something specific to tune my brain to a success frequency.

  — is something I kind of don't like (it's a small victory over my lower self), or:

  — is just a healthy habit.

  You could say that each day starts the night before. There are three things that I do before bed to set up a great start to the next day. These were mentioned in a couple of places earlier, but just to review:

  I take a moment to review the day, practice gratitude, and just let the day go. Positive or negative, the events of the day are now in the past and cannot be repeated unless I choose to repeat them.

  I do my Daily Big Six for the next day. Again, deciding upon your most important results the night before allows your subconscious mind to work on them while you're asleep.

  I set an alarm for when I want to get up the next morning. While my brain is winding down from waking to sleeping, I gently say to myself “tomorrow's gonna be a great day!”

  Now I'm preloaded for a great Power Hour the next morning. Here's how the first hour of the day goes for me, along with why each step is effective:

  1. My alarm goes off and I physically get out of bed—I do not hit the snooze alarm. The reason this is important for me is twofold: a. I decided last night what time I was getting up, and it builds strength and self-esteem when you make and then honor a commitment to yourself (even a small one like not hitting the snooze alarm).

  b. For me (like most) the comfort of my nice warm bed has a fairly strong pull, and I find it encouraging that within the very first few seconds of the day I've made a decision that favors enthusiasm and energy over mere comfort.

  Do you recall our discussion of the comfort zone? Its pull is strong, and I understand that zero growth happens in the comfort zone. My business partner Eric Plantenberg taught me to get comfortable being uncomfortable, and I've found that concept to be the foundational key to personal development. This may seem infinitesimally small, but this little victory is a daily reminder of this concept.

  2. Immediately upon waking, I start the day with a verbal affirmation—specifically, I say out loud, “It's gonna be a great day!” In Chapter 16 we discussed the vital role of your self-talk as a mental input source. I want to take control of my language as early in the day as possible. Our thoughts influence our words—more importantly, our words influence our thoughts. Note: When I say “out loud” I don't necessarily mean “very loud”—no need to wake the neighbors. Just loud enough so that I can hear myself.

  Does this one sound a little corny? For me the whole concept of positive verbal affirmations seemed really hokey at first. After reading What to Say When You Talk to Yourself, however, I understood that affirmations truly have an incredibly powerful impact on your mind, especially in these first few moments of the morning. This practice really works. I had one client who took just this specific step and implemented it at the beginning of a new year. Three months later she informed me that, because of the chain reaction this one phrase set off in her life, she was on track to triple her income. Do not underestimate the power of this simple step.

  3. I take a moment to practice gratitude. I really am grateful for my house, my health, my bed, my family, my business, and a host of other things. So as I'm moving from bedroom to bathroom (yes, that also happens for me in the morning, but it's not actually part of the Power Hour, so no need to discuss) I just reflect and see these things in my mind. Based on the law of attraction, I know that by being mindful of the things in life that bring me joy, I activate the process of pulling more of those things into my life.

  4. I floss and brush my teeth—this one is just a healthy habit, plus flossing is another thing I'm just not particularly fond of. Mastery over self in small ways.

  5. I go down to my kitchen and drink a full 16-oz. glass of water. Proper hydration is really important for your energy, and we usually wake up somewhat dehydrated after not drinking anything all night. A big drink of water first thing gets all the important internal systems moving in a host of different ways.

  6. I start a pot of coffee, and I really enjoy the process. Yes, I literally “wake up and smell the coffee.” Partly this step is counted because I really like coffee, partly it's so I don't have to buy coffee later. It anchors me to David Bach's automatic millionaire concept of the “latte factor.” If you don't know what that is, read any of his books.

  7. I move to my living room and set up in my “morning spot.” I stand tall and take five deep breaths, all the way down into my abdomen. I visualize myself inhaling gratitude and exhaling tension. We discussed earlier how even a few deep breaths flood your brain with oxygen and calms the parasympathetic nervous system. I do this as mindfully as possible.

  8. I stretch my legs and back for a few minutes. For me, mental and physical flexibility are vital concepts, so stretching impacts both. In fact, you may notice that the next few steps are actually physical reminders of philosophies and important concepts in my life

  9. I do 20 to 25 deep knee bends. The specific number will depend on either a business goal or an income goal that I have that can be made to fall within this range. Again, it's a physical reminder of a psychological concept. The reason for this range is that somewhere around 20 is where I start to “feel the burn” in my leg muscles. I'm not trying to blast my legs here, just get the big muscles working.

  10. I do 40 push-ups—same concept as #9, just with push-ups.

  11. I do 40 sit-ups—same concept as #9 and #10, just with sit-ups.

  12. Now that my brain and body are turned on (light to moderate calisthenics like these boost my heart rate somewhat, which physiologically gets energy flowing faster), I am definitely awake. If I sit back down to be still, I will not fall back asleep. So this is the point where I will read my own description of my core values, purpose, and keystone goal. These have been handwritten on 3x5 cards. Included in that stack of cards is a series of written affirmations that I've created for myself. For a good starter list of affirmations, see the “Reinforcement and Bonus” section at the end of this chapter.

  13. I take anywhere between 20 and (ideally) 60 minutes to meditate. Personally, I have found tremendous benefit from a program called the Holosync Solution from Centerpointe Research Institute. It's audio technology for “entraining” brainwaves during meditation into deeper states of awareness. The science of it is a little outside the scope of this chapter, but I have found the practice of meditation to be incredibly productive in my business and in my life, and the Holosync program has taken it to a whole new level. The deal with meditation in general is that (among other things) it strengthens both your mind and your brain. If your mind creates your reality, it just follows that a stronger mind creates a stronger reality.

  14. Now that my mind/brain is actually thinking more deeply, I briefly repeat step #12—I review values, purpose, goals, and affirmations.

  15. Now that my mind and body are fully tuned up, I review my Daily Big 6 and make any adjustments I want.

  Lastly, I mentally review everything that I just did, and I tally the score. I literally identify each specific action as a little victory and give myself a mental pat on the back.

  Now I'm ready to get going with the day.

  I love the last step, it's really the kicker. Remember when I talked about having an undefeated mentality? When I've done this, it's not just BS to artificially pump myself up. I've literally tallied 15 victorie
s in my life before most of the world has even gotten out of bed! When you do this, you literally end up saying to yourself and believing, “Holy cow, I am awesome! I am 15 and 0 and I haven't even started yet! You cannot stop me, you can only hope to contain me!” You will feel fantastic, and you know what?

  You will have earned it.

  Making Your Power Hour User Friendly

  Does this seem a little complicated or time consuming? I can see where it might appear that way, It's certainly different from how the majority of the population wakes up. So let's be clear—how much time does this actually take? Not nearly as much as you might think. If you take out #13 (the meditation step, which ideally lasts 45 to 60 minutes for me but often is shortened because I have two young children that jump in my lap at 6:30 AM), the entire rigamarole takes about 20 minutes. This means that if I'm doing all 15 steps it's about an hour. Now really look at what that means for my psyche and self-esteem. In the very first hour of the day I've done more than a dozen things that I absolutely know have a powerful impact on my two most valuable assets: my health and my state of mind. Do you think it's worth it? It's my experience that this Power Hour is the most valuable hour of my day. When I started doing this systematically (about three years ago at the time of this writing), my business turned around, my financial situation improved dramatically, my relationships with my wife and kids also improved, and I found that I had much more energy and vitality. So even in its full, somewhat lunatic glory it's an investment that pays off hugely.

  That said, feel free to make your own modifications. If your Power Hour needs to be a Power Half-hour, no problem. As I said, the important thing to take away here is to craft your own success routine, and feel free to call it what you want. The reason the Power Hour described above works well for me is that it's mine. I learned the principles from a couple of books I read and then made the principles my own. Feel free to omit some of the steps. If you only have 5 or 6 that really work for you, so be it. There are tons of other specific steps I've seen people use. Some of them include: