How do you confront fear?
We all experience fear at some point in our lives. It’s a natural emotion that helps us stay safe and avoid dangerous situations. But when fear starts to hold us back from reaching our goals and achieving our dreams, it’s time to confront it head-on.
Friends, welcome back to The School of Greatness. My special guest today is a friend of mine, George Mumford — who I had such a pleasure sitting down with.
George has been a globally recognized speaker, teacher, and coach since 1989. In this episode, we discuss what separates the top 1% of high performers from the rest. We also dive into the five superpowers we can all focus on to be the best versions of ourselves, the practical steps we can take to stop living in fear, and so much more.
It’s an exciting episode, so get ready with your notes, and let the class begin!
Who Is George Mumford?
George Mumford has an inspiring life story. He was an aspiring basketball player at the University of Massachusetts. However, injuries forced him out of the game, and the pain from his injuries led him to emptiness and depression.
To help him out of depression, he resorted to meditation. He enrolled in Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction program, where he was instrumental in the creation of the stress reduction clinic back in the early nineties.
When Michael Jordan left the Chicago Bulls, Coach Phil Jackson approached Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn to teach mindfulness techniques to the struggling NBA team, and George Mumford helped the team get back on its feet. In fact, he was instrumental in leading the team to 6 NBA championships.
Aside from the Chicago Bulls, George has worked with several famous personalities and professional athletes — the likes of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant.
He is also an author of the book, The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance, where he shares his revolutionary mindfulness-based program for elevating your game and even getting to the top 1% of high performers.
What Separates the Top 1% of High Performers From the Rest
We all want to be high performers. We dream of being in the top 1% who stand out from the rest. They’re the ones who are always one step ahead, and they seem to be able to do the impossible.
But what separates these extraordinary individuals from everyone else? Is it something innate, is it luck, or is it talent? Actually, it’s none of those things. The difference between the 1% and everyone else is simple: They work harder, and they have the willingness to succeed. That’s it. There’s no magic formula and no secret sauce.
“[They have] the willingness to succeed, … and they ask coaches and experts. … You might call it the pursuit of excellence. … So it’s the hunger and the thirst, [and] you have to go for it. It is not something that’s gonna come to you. It’s something that you have to pursue.” – George Mumford
The willingness to succeed is often something that people take for granted. They think that because they have the desire to achieve their goals, they will automatically be successful. However, this isn’t always the case. The reality is that pursuing success requires hard work, dedication, and determination.
It’s not something that you can half-heartedly pursue and expect to see results. If you’re truly committed to succeeding, you have to be willing to put in the effort and go after your goals with everything you’ve got. This means making sacrifices, staying focused, and never giving up — even when things get tough. It is this hunger that drives us to do whatever it takes to achieve our dreams.
“You can create a sense of urgency by creating a possibility, a vision … that you want to live in or you want to serve more people or something. … So it’s about helping people understand they have a masterpiece and that their job is to express it and share it with the rest of us, but it’s an inside job, and only they can do it. … So that’s the 1% that says, ‘I am responsible and I have a massive piece inside of me,’ or, ‘I have greatness inside of me, and it’s my job to develop it and express it.’” – George Mumford
The hunger for success is something that we all experience at some point or another in our lives. It’s the feeling of wanting to achieve something great, whether it’s a personal goal or something professional. And while the thirst for success can oftentimes be overwhelming, it’s important to remember that it’s always worth pursuing. After all, if you don’t aim high, you’ll never know what you’re truly capable of achieving, and when it comes to achieving your dreams, it should start by just being the best version of yourself every day.
