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Author: John Kenworthy

Aptitude + Attitude = Altitude. Part 1 of 3

Copyright © 2008 GainMore Advantage

Technical aptitude alone is insufficient

Jimmy Conners, winner of 109 professional singles tennis titles says "There's a thin line between being #1 or #100 and mostly it's mental."

In his well-researched book, Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman shows that it's our attitude more than our aptitude that determines our altitude. Whilst our society lauds intellectual giants and power, Goleman's research concludes, "At best, IQ contributes about 20 percent to the factors that determine life success, which leaves 80 percent to other forces." Other EQ researchers, Robert Cooper and Ayman Sawaf consider this too conservative. In their book, Executive EQ: Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Organizations, they write, "- IQ may be related to as little as 4 percent of real-world success - over 90 percent may be related to other forms of intelligence - it is emotional intelligence, not IQ or raw brain power alone, that underpins many of the best decisions, the most dynamic and profitable organizations, and the most satisfying and successful lives. Malcolm Higgs and Vic Dulewicz set out to disprove this "faddish idea" relenting after their own research that actually, Emotional Intelligence is of far greater importance than IQ and something they term "management quotient".

There's a growing consensus in the academic and popular literature that our attitude and our mindset are more important than our technical capability that make a difference to our success. As Zig Ziglar puts it, "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude." Difference makers have a better attitude

Consider all the things that Tiger could use as an excuse at the 2008 US Open:

Hadn't played in a competition for 2 months. Recent knee operation - reduced fitness. Further damaged knee on swing during the tournament. Highly skilled and determined competitors. Poor first round. Pressure of historical wins. Expectations very high on his performance. Does not need the money.

After blowing a three shot lead with 8 holes to play, Woods rallied and came to the 18th hole and stood over a birdie put to avoid an infamous defeat. He came through. Sudden death on the 7th saw an end to his fierce competition and Woods again took the trophy.

How many of us would find that sort of resilience within us? Three steps to achieving your success

It's all very well understanding and believing that our attitude is more important than our aptitude, but exactly what can we do about it? What makes the difference that you can develop?

There appears to be three major differences between those that achieve great success in their field, and those who remain in the obscurity of mediocrity.

Successful people know what they want to achieve. They have a clearly defined goal. They are constantly seeking ways to learn and improve. They consistently present a positive attitude.

This isn't intended to be an exhaustive and comprehensive list of must haves, but to highlight key difference makers that anyone is able to adopt. Clear goal you are pulled toward

There's plenty of discussion on setting goals for yourself and how important it is to have a clear vision, a picture of your future.

Rather than go through all of that now, I'd refer you back to a couple of other articles I've written on the subject. Here though, I'd like to explore three different modes of how you get to your goal:

Push mode, Pull mode and Drift mode which I'll discuss in Part 2.

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