I KNOW I put in more hours, take fewer vacations, play less golf, get in less beach time and spend far less time with kids, family and friends than they do.
And yet, in a world where all four of us have exactly the same 24/7/365, I produce nowhere near the results they do. What’s worse, I am not even allowing myself to enjoy as many non-work-related joys of life as they are.
I have to confess, this really ticks me off!
And the only person I have to be mad at… is me. All four of us started out this journey relatively the same—a couple of them in much more difficult circumstances than me—and yet, I’m getting my butt kicked.
I think I’ve finally figured it out a critical distinction of how they are accomplishing so much more than me… and probably you too.
OverachieverYou see, I have always been an overachiever. If you read The Compound Effect you know I was raised by a university football coach, single dad. And the way you got love and an ‘atta-boy’ in our house was to achieve. Do well in school; you get to go to the ice-cream parlor to celebrate. Don’t do well and you’re left home. Hit a home run at Little League and we stopped at the pizza parlor on the way home. Collect a day of strike-outs and it was a cold, quiet car ride—straight home.
Looking back, this is why I think I am such an achievement addict—or as it is commonly known as in polite society, an overachiever. In fact I have worn this title as a badge of honor. I was proud that I could outwork most anyone.
But I now understand the massive difference between an overachiever and a superachiever. They kind of sound the same, don’t they? Yeah, that’s what I thought. But they are worlds apart—or you can say islands apart, as Branson has his own island… and I do not.
As I start seeing the differences between what overachievers do and what superachievers do, I realize how many of us are also probably confused between the two.
We all lead incredibly busy lives, trying to keep up and get it all accomplished. We feel this pressure to be superman or superwoman and do it all, BE it all! So we overstretch and overreach and in doing so become the exact opposite of productive.
How many of you already feel overworked, overstressed and at times overwhelmed, but you still aren’t getting the results you want? The strategies I will outline in this series are for you if you want to go from being an overworked, overstressed and overscheduled overachiever to becoming a superachiever who produces stunning results with less effort, less stress in less time—leaving lots of time to experience your hobbies and be with your family. How does that sound?
Great! Join me back here next Tuesday and tell all your overachiever friends, family and colleagues to also subscribe to this blog. Let’s all journey together on the road to overachiever recovery and onward to superachiever productivity.
Do you feel you work harder, longer and more tirelessly than others who produce more and are wealthier than you? Why do you think that is? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
