How to Achieve Peak Performance Creativity
Why should you care about peak performance creativity? In the year 2018, I did an online seminar tagged “Birth Your Brainchild” and in the buildup for the event, a lady in her early 40s reached out to me.
She was a banker at one of the top banks in her city and had been there for 10 years. She said she was feeling frustrated because she knows deep within her that she was not fulfilling her dreams.
She was making an SOS call to me to help guide her out of this predicament. She thought that maybe she needed to quit her job so she could become creative, but I told her she needed to become creative first, so that she could make her dream into a job, and then quit the job she hated.
Her job was never the problem, her inability to become creative was the issue.
This is the situation many gifted people who are yet to reach the peak of their creativity find themselves today.
Many need to stop waiting for an event and understand how to live their dreams one day at a time. Before we delve into peak performance creativity, let us understand what peak performance is. By the way, you can checkout my public speaking gallery here.
What is Peak Performance?
Peak performance refers to the maximum result that can be achieved or attained by an individual within a given period of time. A lot of people are performing way below their capacity.
They are like the man who has a power bike but only used the power bike to outrun bicycles when they ought to compete with fast cars and even outrun them.
Are You an Eagle With Chicken-level Results?
It reminds me of the mythological story of an eagle that was born in the nest of a hen and grew up among chickens. The eagle grew up with chickens and died thinking it was a “great chicken” not knowing that it was born to soar above the highest mountains.
Many people painfully have a similar story. They are born as eagles but instead of being highfliers, they end up competing with chickens and are satisfied with little results.
Peak performance is a great necessity for any student, graduate, professional or businessperson that desires to release his or her full creative potential.
It is relevant for maximum achievement and can be applied to anyone and to any area or endeavor of life. When you begin to perform at the peak of your creativity, you begin to harness fully, the potential of your mind as a creative.
The Creative Power of the Mind:
The creative power of your mind is so limitless that no matter how much you have achieved, you can always do more, achieve more and make more impact.
The performance of your mind is heavily connected to how effectively you allow creativity to dominate your thought processes. Imagine driving a car with manual gear transmission which has a capacity to run at 180 miles per hour.
If you never engage the gear system from one to two and you choose to run a journey of 200 miles on only the first gear, what will happen? You may knock down that engine because it was designed to work efficiently and maximally when all its gears are engaged from first to fifth.
On the other hand, when you begin to engage all the gears from one, two, and three until you get to the fifth or to the highest gear, you would discover that it becomes easier for the vehicle to move and to reach your destination faster.
That is because the vehicle begins to run on full throttle when the gears have been adequately engaged to maximum capacity. Peak performance creativity is attained when the mind is fully optimized, utilizing its immense potential.
Strategies to Achieve Peak Performance Creativity, Productivity, and Profitability:
To reach peak performance creativity, you must adopt strategies that enhance productivity and increase profitability.
While each person’s journey is unique, the following principles can be universally applied:
1. Define Your Major Goal
Define your major goal by aligning it with your purpose and vision. Your purpose represents the reason for your existence and your vision is a clear picture of where you want to go.
By setting a specific and challenging major goal, you direct your efforts towards accomplishing it. For example, a purpose-driven individual aspiring to positively impact the world with music may set a major goal of becoming a renowned artist within “X” number of years.
Defining your major goal gives you a target to work towards and fuels your creativity to function at peak performance.
2. Discover the One Thing to Do Today:
Break down your major goal into smaller, manageable steps. Determine the one thing you must do each day to move closer to achieving your major goal and fulfilling your vision.
By focusing on accomplishing this one task daily, you maintain momentum and make steady progress. For instance, if your major goal is to become a major distributor of a specific product, your daily task may involve conducting market research or establishing contacts with potential suppliers.
Consistently taking these small steps leads to significant accomplishments over time. Will there be roadblocks? Absolutely! And that is where creativity kicks in as you figure out a way around those roadblocks.
3. Avoid Complacency:
Never settle for past achievements, no matter how great they may seem. Continuously challenge yourself to go beyond your comfort zone and strive for improvement.
Recognize that your previous achievements should serve as stepping stones to greater accomplishments. By refusing to rest on your laurels, you can multiply your results and achieve peak performance creativity.
4. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone:
Creativity flourishes when we venture beyond our comfort zones. Break free from routine and familiar patterns by seeking new experiences, exploring different environments, and engaging with diverse perspectives.
Embrace uncertainty and embrace the discomfort that comes with trying new things. Stepping out of your comfort zone expands your horizons and fuels your creative spark. It pushes you towards your peak performance and keeps you reminded that you can do better.
5. See Imperfections as Catalysts for Growth:
Peak performance creativity is not about being perfect but about becoming all that you can be. Perfectionism often stifles creativity by demanding flawless outcomes.
However, true growth and innovation arise from embracing imperfections as valuable learning opportunities. Instead of fearing mistakes, see them as stepping stones towards improvement.
By adopting a growth mindset and viewing failures as valuable feedback, you can cultivate a more resilient and adaptive creative practice.
6. Iterate and Evolve:
Peak performance creativity recognizes that great ideas are rarely born fully formed. It’s a process of continuous iteration and evolution.
By allowing yourself to explore different possibilities, iterate on your work, and adapt along the way, you create space for unexpected breakthroughs and innovative solutions.
Embrace the concept of “good enough for now” and let your ideas evolve naturally.
7. Know when and How to Reinvent or Be Forgotten:
Your ability to reinvent yourself will go a long way to determine the durability of your peak performance. Steve Jobs, upon returning to Apple, focused on improving just 10 out of the 350 products the company offered.
This laser-focused approach propelled Apple’s performance, productivity, and profitability to new heights. Similarly, by concentrating on your key creative competencies and investing your resources wisely, you can excel in your chosen field.
Rather than comparing yourself to others, focus on surpassing your previous achievements and becoming a trailblazer in your own right.
For more actionable exercises and insights on how to reach the peak of your creativity, get a copy of “Ignite Your Creativity“.
Conclusion:
Peak performance creativity is within reach for anyone who desires to unlock their full potential. By defining clear goals, breaking them down into manageable tasks, avoiding complacency, and embracing individuality, you can achieve unprecedented levels of creativity and productivity.
Tap into the vast resources of your mind, unleash your creative genius, and soar above limitations.
Embrace the power of peak performance creativity to shape your destiny, make a lasting impact, and leave a legacy that inspires others. It’s time to unlock your full potential and embark on a remarkable journey of self-discovery and achievement.
Embrace the mindset of a kingdom citizen and harness the creative power within you. The world is waiting for your unique brilliance—step into the realm of peak performance creativity and let your imagination reshape reality.
PS: If you would like to have me speak at your conference, you can contact me here. Check out books authored by me here.
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