One of the experiences I talk about in the book is my experience with a sports psychologist, Dr. Nick Molinaro. He’s a licensed clinical psychologist who coaches everyone from the world’s greatest athletes to C-level executives to highly acclaimed artists. If his name sounds familiar, chances are you’ve seen him on The Golf Channel giving performance tips to professional golfers. What insight could I possibly share with professional golfers? More than I ever thought.

Throughout Dr. Molinaro’s career, he has discovered common threads that run throughout all human performance – whether you’re standing on the green facing a ten-foot putt to win the game or sitting in the executive chair formulating a business plan.

Truly focus on the task at hand.

Attention drifts all the time – even at critical moments. It might be anxiety building up on the green or a sense of insecurity in the boardroom. Performance in the office and on the field means you’re able to concentrate and focus on the essential task at hand without being distracted by fears or other negative thoughts. What can you do when you feel your focus begin to shift? Make a mental note of the factors that are interfering with your concentration and make a plan to stop them from getting in the way.

Tolerate – better yet, thrive – in stressful situations.

The most successful athletes are not always those who can hit the ball the farthest – and the most successful executives aren’t always the smartest people in the room. If you’re unable to handle the stress that comes with your risk/reward-heightened endeavors, none of that matters. Does that mean if you and stress don’t mix well you’re doomed for failure? Not at all. But it does mean you need to find ways to deal with stress that work for you. Dr. Molinaro suggests mediation – not only to clear your mind but also to envision the success you want to achieve.

Be decisive.

Decision-making skills are essential to success. Whether you’re making decisions – or delegating decisions – knowing how and when to do both are important. There are a lot of things that can get in the way of being decisive – for me, it was perfection. I wanted perfection in everything, which was impossible. My pursuit of perfection led to self-reliance and a decision-making struggle. Becoming aware of my perfectionist tendencies and letting go of that unrealistic standard set me free in this area.

I believe that great improvements are possible to anyone who is willing to make an effort to examine themselves in each of these areas. A great place to start is by taking an honest inventory of yourself from childhood to today. I was shocked at how many of the traits and characteristics I developed as a child has shaped my life as an adult – and I’m confident many of you would discover the same. The reality is, we can’t all hire a Dr. Moilinaro – but making an effort to become more self-aware is something we can all achieve.