High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset

Duncan Simpson, Assistant Head of Mental Conditioning at IMG Academy, is passionate about working with people to maximize their potential and help them accomplish what they haven't. In this interview, he talks about how focus, not confidence, is the most important mental skill. The best focus on the right things at the right time. The key is to detect distractions and dial in for 1 minute. Duncan describes that confidence is a belief state. Confident is not an emotional state. It doesn't matter how you feel. When we are performing, there is no reason to change how we feel. Instead, he suggests we move on and shift our focus. Towards the end of the interview, he describes that motivation is a lie. It is discipline that is key to high performance. Other gems that Duncan discussed include: His "Time Machine" exercise 4 parts of a routine: physical, technical, tactile, and mental. How to layer imagery His epic failure that helps him get to where he is today. Head over cindrakamphoff.com/Duncan for a description and summary. You can follow Duncan on Twitter @SportPsychDunc or email him at duncan.simpson@img.com.

"Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it." Mia Hamm High performers have a burning desire to be at their best. They have high standards for themselves and others around them. They are driven to succeed and get satisfaction from pursuing their goals. They take their mistakes in stride, however, remembering that not everyone is perfect. My High Performance Affirmation: I have a burning desire to be at my best. I am driven to succeed. I focus on why I love to do what I do.

"If you change the way you look at things, the thing you look at change." Wayne Dyer High performers use reframing daily which is the process of recreating alternative frames or looking at their life, sport, or the world. They don't ignore the injury, difficulty or pain, but instead see a different perspective and how the obstacle is helping me. This helps them feel unstoppable and jazzed about their life, sport, and job. My High Performance Affirmation: I use reframing regularly to keep me passionate and charged for my goals and my life. I see a setback as a comeback.

"If you think you can or think you can't, you're right." Henry Ford. High performers choose powerful, possibility-oriented, process focused and positive thoughts regardless of the situation and what is happening around them. They know this type of thinking leads to success. High performers address weak, negative, restrictive and outcome-focused thinking which does not lead to reaching their greater potential. My High Performance Affirmation: I make a commitment to not believe everything I think! I talk to myself not listen.

High performers know that how they interpret their failure greatly determines their success. They approach failure as an opportunity. They see failure as essential for them to grow, learn, get better, understand themselves. They see failure as helpful in reaching their full potential. Week's Affirmation: I see failure and mistakes as opportunity to learn and grow. I know failure is a learning tool so I embrace it instead of fight it.

Dr. Mark Anshel talks about his new book, In Praise of Failure: The Value of Overcoming Mistakes in Sports and Life, in this podcast interview. Dr. Anshel has written 12 other books, and over 145 research articles. He has applied his concepts with college athletes and coaches, law enforcement, exercisers, sports rehabilitation settings, performing artists and corporate leaders. Mark came to study failure from his own experiences failing. He says we are taught to see failure as harmful, but failure should be viewed as feedback. Failure is a perception, meaning failure to one person is success to another. As leaders, coaches, parents and teachers, Dr. Anshel suggests that we should criticize behavior, not character when discussing failure. When giving feedback, we should praise first, and then discuss what the person did wrong by focusing on only 1 or 2 things. The key is to give people hope – that is what we all need, he suggests. You can reach Dr. Anshel at Mark.Anshel@mtsu.edu. * Tweet this: "Failure is a stepping stone to something better." Mark Anshel via @Mentally_Strong * Tweet this: "You need to experience failure to appreciate success." Mark Anshel via @Mentally_Strong * Tweet this: "We don't learn unless we fail. Failure is feedback." Mark Anshel via @Mentally_Strong * Tweet this: "We need failure to learn and continue to be self-motivated." Mark Anshel via @Mentally_Strong * Tweet this: "Give yourself a break once in a while. Don't be so self-critical." Mark Anshel via @Mentally_Strong To order, Dr. Anshel's book, In Praise of Failure you can visit Amazon HERE. He also mentions a few other books in this interview including Between Parent and Child by Haim Ginott and Teacher & Child by Haim Ginott.

High performers are confident – they believe and trust in their ability. They wear their confidence armor so they don't take comments and actions of others personally, but can still learn and grow. They appreciate their experiences that they have led them to where they are today. They choose confidence! Affirmation this Week: I choose confidence. I choose to believe and trust in my ability to be at my best for myself and my team.

JF Menard, a performance psychology specialist, joined the internationally acclaimed entertainment company Cirque Du Soleil at the age of 25, fresh out of graduate school. "They didn't hire me for my experience. They hired me for my passion." In this interview, he talks about how being around the best athletes in the world helped him elevate his game. He provides several lessons learned (one from a clown) and how his work at Cirque lead him to start Kambio Performance in 2013. Over the years, he is helped athletes win gold medals in the 3 biggest major sporting events: Commonwealth, PanAms and Olympic Games. He discusses how he helps his athletes handle pressure, perform their best at the Games, and how he prepared himself as a sport psychologist to go to the Games in Rio. He also shares what he sees as the mental attributes of the World's best one of those attributes being that "World champions are not fearless – they just fear less." You can reach JF Menard at kambioperformance.com as well as on Twitter @JFMenardKambiop and on Facebook.

High Performers have clearly written goals that are slightly difficult to stay hungry and excited for their sport, business and life. They work hard every day to reach their goals and are deliberate with their daily activities. They go the extra mile to achieve their goals because they are gritty. Week's Affirmation: I know what I want and every day I work towards my goals. I go after my goals with passion and excitement. I stay focused and gritty.

In this interview, researcher and lecturer, Dr. Mustafa Sarkar, describes his powerful and cutting-edge findings on resilience with high achievers and Olympic champions. He defines resilience as the "the ability to use personal qualities to withstand pressure." He discusses 6 personal qualities that resilient people have which include: 1) positive and proactive personality, 2) experience and learning, 3) sense of control, 4) flexibility and adaptability, 5) balance and perspective and 6) perceived social support. Dr. Sarkar provides practical tips including "learning your ABCs" on how to build resilience in yourself, your clients, or your team.