A lot of people are good at what they do. Some are even elite. A select few are completely unstoppable.
Those who are unstoppable are in their own world. They donât compete with anyone but themselves. You never know what they will doâââonly that you will be forced to respond. Even though they donât compete with you, they make you compete with them.
Are you unstoppable? By the end of this blog you will be.
Letâs get started:
1. Donât thinkâââknow and act.
âDonât think. You already know what you have to do, and you know how to do it. Whatâs stopping you?ââââTim Grover
Rather than analyzing and thinking, act. Attuned to your senses, and with complete trust in yourself, do what you instinctively feel you should. As Oprah has said, âEvery right decision I have ever made has come from my gut. Every wrong decision Iâve made was the result of me not listening to the greater voice of myself.â
The moment you start thinking, youâve already lost. Thinking swiftly pulls you out of the zone.
2. Always be prepared so you have the freedom to act on instinct.
âJust as the yin-yang symbol possesses a kernel of light in the dark, and of dark in the light, creative leaps are grounded in a technical foundation.ââââJosh Waitzkin
Become a master of your craft. While everyone else is relaxing, youâre practicing and perfecting. Learn the left-brained rules in and out so your right brain can have limitless freedom to break the rules and create.
With enhanced consciousness, time will slow down for you. Youâll see things in several more frames than others. While theyâre trying to react to the situation, youâll be able to manipulate and tweak the situation to your liking.
3. Donât be motivated by money or anything external.
Having nice things is, well, nice. But for you, itâs never been about the money, prestige or anything else outside of you. Take these things away and nothing changes for you. Youâre still going to be pushing your personal limits and giving it your all. Give these things to you and they wonât destroy you like they do most people.
4. Never be satisfied.
âThe drive to close the gap between near-perfect and perfect is the difference between great and unstoppable.ââââTim Grover
Even after you achieve a goal, youâre not content. For you, itâs not even about the goal. Itâs about the climb to see how far you can push yourself.
Does this make you ungrateful? Absolutely not. Youâre entirely humbled and grateful for everything in your life. Which is why you will never get complacent or lazy.
To quote Jim Rohn, âthe way to enjoy life best is to wrap up one goal and start right on the next one. Donât linger too long at the table of success, the only way to enjoy another meal is to get hungry.â
5. Always be in control.
Unlike most people, who are dependent on substances or other external factors, you are in control of what you put in your body, how you spend your time and how long you stay in the zone.
Act based on instinct, not impulse. Just because you could doesnât mean you do. And when you do, itâs because you want to, not because you have to.
6. Be true to yourself.
Although 70 percent of US employees hate their jobs and only one in three Americans report being happy, relentless and unstoppable people purge everything from their life they hate.
Have the self-respect and confidence to live life on your terms. When something isnât right in your life, change it. Immediately.
7. Never let off the pressure.
âPressure can bust pipes, but it also can make diamonds.ââââTim Grover
Most people can handle pressure in small doses. But when left to their own devices, they let off the pressure and relax.
Not you. You never take the pressure off yourself. Instead, you continuously turn-up the pressure. Itâs what keeps you alert and active.
8. Donât be afraid of the consequences of failure.
Most people stay close to the ground, where itâs safe. If they fall, it wonât hurt that bad. But when you choose to fly high, the fall may kill you. And youâre OK with that. To you, there is no ceiling and there is no floor. Itâs all in your head. If something goes wrongâââif you âfailââââyou adjust and keep going.
9. Donât compete with others. Make them compete with you.
Most people are competing with other people. They continuously check-in to see what others in their space (their âcompetitionâ) are doing. As a result, they mimic and copy whatâs âworking.â
Conversely, youâve left all competition behind. Competing with others makes absolutely zero sense to you. It pulls you from your authentic zone. So you zone out all the external noise and instead zone in to your internal pressure to produce.
10. Never stop learning.
Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning. When you want to become the best at what you do, you never stop learning. You never stop improving and honing your skills and knowledge.
Your unparalleled preparation is what gives you power. No one else is willing to pay the price youâve paid.
11. Success isnât enoughâââit only increases the pressure.
For most people, becoming âsuccessfulâ is enough. However, when youâre relentless, success only increases the pressure to do more. Immediately following the achievement of a goal, youâre focused on your next challenge.
12. Donât get crushed by success.
âSuccess can become a catalyst for failure.ââââGreg McKeown
Most people canât handle success, authority or privilege. It destroys them. It makes them lazy. When they get what they want, they stop doing the very things that got them there. The external noise becomes too intense.
But for you, no external noise can push harder than your own internal pressure. Itâs not about thisachievement, but the one after, and the one after that. There is no destination. Only when youâre finished.
13. Completely own it when you screw up.
âImplementing extreme ownership requires checking your ego and operating with a high degree of humility. Admitting mistakes, taking ownership and developing a plan to overcome challenges are integral to any successful team.ââJocko Willink
No blame. No deception or illusion. Just the cold hard truth. When you mess up, you own it. And as the leader, you own it when your team fails. Only with extreme ownership can you have complete freedom and control.
14. Let your work speak for itself.
âWell done, is well said.ââââAnthony Liccione
Cal Newportâs recent book, Deep Work, distinguishes âdeep workâ from âshallow work.â Hereâs the difference:
Deep work is:
Rare
High value
And non-replicable (i.e., not easy to copy/outsource)
Shallow work is:
Common
Low value
Replicable (i.e., anyone can do it)
Talking is shallow. Anyone can do it. Itâs easily replicated. Itâs low value. Conversely, deep work is rare. Itâs done by people who are focused and working while everyone else is talking. Deep work is so good it canât be ignored. It doesnât need words. It speaks for itself.
15. Always work on your mental strength.
âMental resilience is arguably the most critical trait of a world-class performer, and it should be nurtured continuously. Left to my own devices, I am always looking for ways to become more and more psychologically impregnable. When uncomfortable, my instinct is not to avoid the discomfort but to become at peace with it. My instinct is always to seek out challenges as opposed to avoiding them.ââââJosh Waitzkin
The better you can be under pressure, the further youâll go than anyone else. Because theyâll crumble under pressure.
The best training you will ever do is mental training. Wherever your mind goes, your body follows. Wherever your thoughts go, your life follows.
16. Confidence is your greatest asset.
Youâve heard it before: Running a marathon is far more mental than physical. A personâs ability to run a marathonâââor do anything hardâââis more a reflection of their level of confidence than their actual ability.
Your confidence determines:
The size of challenges/goals you undertake
How likely you will achieve those goals
How well you bounce back from failures
If youâre not confident, you will never put yourself out there in the first place. When youâre confident, you donât care how many times you fail, youâre going to succeed. And it doesnât matter how stacked the odds seem against you.
17. Surround yourself with people who remind you of the future, not the past.
When you surround yourself with people who remind you of your past, youâll have a hard time progressing. This is why we get stuck in certain roles, which we canât break free from (e.g., the fat kid or shy girl).
Surrounding yourself with people who you want to be like allows you a fresh slate. Youâre no longer defined by your past, only the future you are creating.
18. Let things go, but never forget.
Being unstoppable requires carrying no unnecessary mental or emotional baggage. Consequently, youâll need to immediately and completely forgive anyone who has wronged you. However, forgiveness doesnât mean you forget. And it doesnât mean you have to do further business with those who have wronged you.
19. Have clear goals.
âWhile a fixation on results is certainly unhealthy, short-term goals can be useful developmental tools if they are balanced within a nurturing long-term philosophy.ââââJosh Waitzkin
According to loads of psychology research, the most motivating goals are clearly defined and time-bound.
Your goals can either be focused on your behaviors (e.g., Iâm going to write 500 words per day) or on the outcomes youâre seeking (e.g., Iâm going to get published on The New York Times by June 1, 2016).
For most people, behaviorally-focused goals are the better and more motivating option. But when you crave the results so much that the work is irrelevant, your aim should be directed straight at the outcomes you want. However, results-focused goals are better when short-term and grounded in your long-term vision and philosophy. When your why is strong enough, the how will take care of itself.
20. Respond immediately, rather than analyzing or stalling.
âHe who hesitates is lost.ââââCato
Anticipation of an event is always more extreme than the event itselfâââboth for positive and negative events.
Just do it. Train yourself to respond immediately when you feel you should do something. Stop questioning yourself. Donât analyze it. Donât question if it came from God or from yourself. Just act.
Youâll figure out what to do after youâve taken action. Until you take action, it will all be hypothetical. But once you act, it becomes practical.
21. Choose simplicity over complication.
âIf you canât explain it simply, you donât understand it well enough.ââââAlbert Einstein
Itâs easy to be complicated. Most of the research and jargon in academia and business is over-complicated.
Cutting to the core and hitting the truth is hard, because itâs simple. As Leonardo da Vinci has said, âSimplicity is the ultimate sophistication.â
Very few people will give you the truth. When you ask them a question, it gets mighty complicated. âThere are so many variablesâ or âIt dependsâ they say.
T. S. Eliot said it best, âWhere is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?â
Wisdom is timeless and simple. Learn wisdom and choose it.
22. Never be jealous or envious of someone elseâs accomplishments.
Being unstoppable means you genuinely want whatâs best for everyoneâââeven those you would consider your competitors. Jealousy and envy are the egoâââwhich operates out of fear.
The reason you are happy for other peopleâs success is because their success has nothing to do with you.
You are in control of you. And you are different from every other person. There is no one who can do exactly what you can do. You have your own superpower with your own unique ability to contribute. And thatâs what youâre going to do.
23. Take the shot every time.
âIf I fail more than you, I win.ââââSeth Godin
You miss every shot you donât take. And most people donât want to take the shot. Fear of failure paralyzes them.
The only way you can become unstoppable is if you stop thinking about it. Just take the shot. Donât do it only when itâs convenient or when you feel ready. Just go and make whatever adjustments you need after the fact.
24. Donât get caught up in the results of your success. Always remain focused on what got you those results: the work.
When you start doing noteworthy stuff, there are benefits that can become distractions. It can get easy to âride the waveâ of your previous work. Keep practicing. Perfect your craft. Never forget what got you here.
25. Think and act 10X.
âWhen 10X is your measuring stick, you immediately see how you can bypass what everyone else is doing.ââââDan Sullivan
Most peopleâââeven those you deem to be âworld classââââare not operating at 10X. In truth, you could surpass anyone if you radically stretch your thinking and belief system.
Going 10X changes everything. As Dan Sullivan has said, â10X thinking automatically takes you âoutside the boxâ of your present obstacles and limitations.â It pulls you out of the problems most people are dealing with and opens you to an entirely new field of possibilities.
When you take your goal of earning $100,000 this year and change it to $1,000,000, youâre forced to operate at a different level. The logical and traditional approach doesnât work with 10X. As Shane Snow, author of Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success,has said, â10x progress is built on bravery and creativity instead. Working smarter.â
The question is: Are you willing to go there? Not just entertain the thought for a second or two and then revert back to common thinking. No. Are you willing to sit with 10X thinking? Are you willing to question your own thought processes and open yourself to believing an entirely different set of possibilities?
Could you convince yourself to believe in your 10X potential? Are you willing to undertake goals that seems lunacy, to you and everyone else? Are you willing to take the mental leap, trusting âthe universe will conspire to make it happenâ?
26. Set goals that far exceed your current capabilities.
âYou need to aim beyond what you are capable of. You need to develop a complete disregard for where your abilities end. If you think youâre unable to work for the best company in its sphere, make that your aim. If you think youâre unable to be on the cover of TIME magazine, make it your business to be there. Make your vision of where you want to be a reality. Nothing is impossible.ââââPaul Arden
If your goals are logical, they wonât force you to create luck. Being unstoppable means your goals challenge you to be someone more than you currently are. As Jim Rohn has said, âDonât wish it was easier, wish you were better.â
27. Make time for recovery and rejuvenation.
âWherever you are, make sure youâre there.ââââDan Sullivan
When you focus on results, rather than being busy, youâre 100 percent on when youâre working and 100 percent off when youâre not. This not only allows you to be present in the moment, but it allows you the needed time to rest and recover.
Your ability to work at a high level is like fitness. If you never take a break between sets, you wonât be able to build strength, stamina and endurance. However, not all ârestâ produces recovery. Certain things are more soothing than others.
Recovering from my work generally consists of writing in my journal, listening to music, spending time with my wife and kids, preparing and eating delicious food, or serving other people. These things rejuvenate me. They make my work possible, but also meaningful.
28. Start before youâre ready.
âThe best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.ââââChinese Proverb
Most people wait. They believe they can start after they have enough time, money, connections and credentials. They wait until they feel âsecure.â Not people who are unstoppable.
Unstoppable people started last year. They started five years ago before they even knew what they were doing. They started before they had any money. They started before they had all the answers. They started when no one else believed in them. The only permission they needed was the voice inside them prompting them to move forward. And they moved.
29. If you need permission, you probably shouldnât do it.
A mentor of mine is a highly successful real estate investor. Throughout his career, heâs had hundreds of people ask him if they should âgo into real-estate.â
He tells every one of them the same thing: that they shouldnât do it. In fact, he actually tries talking most of them out of it. And in most cases he succeeds.
Why would he do that? âThose who are going to succeed will do so regardless of what I say,â he told me.
I know so many people who chase whatever worked for other people. They never truly decide what they want to do, and end up jumping from one thing to the nextâââtrying to strike quick gold. And repetitively, they stop digging just a few feet from the gold after resigning the spot is barren.
No one will ever give you permission to live your dreams.
30. Donât make exceptions.
Zig Ziglar used to tell a story of traveling one day and not getting in bed until 4 a.m. An hour and a half later (5:30), his alarm went off. He said, âEvery fiber of my being was telling me to stay in bed.â But he had made a commitment, so he got up anyway. Admittedly, he had a horrible day and wasnât productive at all.
Yet, he says that decision changed his life. As he explains:
âHad I bowed to my human, physical, emotional and mental desire to sleep in, I would have made that exception. A week later, I might have made an exception if I only got four hours of sleep. A week later, maybe I only got seven hours of sleep. The exception so many times becomes the rule. Had I slept in, I wouldâve faced that danger. Watch those exceptions!â
Hence, Zig was unstoppable.
Conclusion
âFrom this point, your strategy is to make everyone else get on your level, youâre not going down to theirs. Youâre not competing with anyone else, ever again. Theyâre going to have to compete with you. From now on, the end result is all that matters.ââââTim Grover
When youâre unstoppable, you will make sure to get what you want. Everything you need to know is already within you. All you need to do is trust yourself and act.
Are you unstoppable?
Article by: Benjamin P. Hardy