AIM FOR 4%

The difference between the Nr. 1 athlete and the Nr. 2 athlete is minimal.

#StephenKotler writes in The Rise of Superman, "If you want to trigger flow, the challenge should be 4% greater than your skills."

Tiny shifts have the highest impact if you are already achieving and creating close to or at world-class levels.

I am fascinated by this. My coach Rich Litvin has built a whole program around this idea. It’s called 4PC. I am proud to be a part of it and see small shifts make massive differences.

It sounds so small. And yes, if I want to make a change, I’d aim much higher than 4%! And yet it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.

My friend shared with me how they got their 5-year-old who woke up 8x a night to sleep through again for most of it. How did they achieve THAT? Because a kid that gets up 4-8 times means you’re becoming increasingly unable to do anything. Fatigue is such a killjoy. They got a sleep expert on board. What did they do? “Oh, tiny things really”.

Taking half an hour just with mummy before bedtime. Having a book read in bed afterwards. Leaving the door open instead of closing it. Such small things. But the boy had jealousy issues about his baby brother. And was afraid of being alone. So these tiny changes made ALL the difference!

I suffer from acute overwhelm and stress quickly. Raising 2 small children really stretches me to the limit. And I could give you the extra add-on of complex medical needs too. And yet... a tiny shift - a 20min self-care morning yoga routine is making a huge impact on my entire day, my sense of well-being, and my ability to breathe.

The difference is I’m not shouting at them, I have a grip on my anger, I can actually be present rather than lost in reactivity. It’s massive, but the shift? So small.

In business, tweaking that one little thing might make ALL the difference in your success. Following up on an unanswered email that one time more may make the difference between client and non-client.

It’s so easy to shoot past our 4%. Dream big, but move forward with a small step again. And again. And again. What’s your next little shift?