#53: Tiny Steps For Success

James was 15 when it happened – it was just a regular school baseball game. His teammate took a big swing, the bat slipped from his grasp and James was caught right between the eyes. In that moment, everything changed.

His nose and eye sockets shattered instantly and in a state of shock, James was ushered down to the school nurse’s office. Struggling to answer basic questions, it wasn’t long before he lost consciousness, and was whisked to hospital.

The situation continued to deteriorate and with James unable to breath for himself, doctors made the decision to airlift him to a larger facility in Cincinnati, where a team of 12 were waiting to operate. By this stage James was having multiple seizures and had to be placed in a medically-induced coma before he was fit enough for surgery. His parents had a rough night waiting on their son to turn the corner.

Thankfully by morning, his vital signs had improved enough to allow surgery, and the healing process began. It was a long journey – 9 months of physical therapy, learning to walk in a straight line again and dealing with double vision. 

James had always wanted to play pro baseball like his dad, but when he tried out for the team a year later, his play had unsurprisingly deserted him and he was cut. As a senior, things weren’t much different and he struggled to get any game time. 

He did start to build a few habits though – working out consistently and going to bed at a similar time. For the first time in 2 years, this gave him a sense of having some control back over his life.

He squeaked onto a college team as a bench player, then was a starter in his sophomore year. Inch by inch, James was learning how to improve, and things were starting to come together. 

By junior year his steady form propelled him to captain, and he crowned an amazing comeback by making Academic All-American team as a senior.

In 2012, after a couple of years career experimenting, James wrote an article on personal development. It came easier to him than other things, perhaps because he had first-hand experience of taking small steps towards a comeback, when small steps were the only option.

Subscribers quickly followed and after a few years a book deal did too. The name he dreamt up encompassed the tiny steps that we all make. 20 million copies later the fantastic ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear has truly gone nuclear.

WISDOM 💎

“The seed of every habit is a single tiny decision.”

James Clear

Tip 1 - A SMART PLAY ✅

The 2-minute rule: Whatever you’re trying to introduce make it easy and quick. Read one page each night. Walk round the block. Do one set in the gym.

Consistency beats intensity or duration when forming habits.

Tip 2 - AVOID 🚩

Never Miss Twice:

"Missing once is an accident, missing twice is the start of a new habit."

James Clear

Tip 3 - ACTION 💪

Start your habit streak. Pick one behaviour you want to introduce in your life today. Start small and see how many days you can string together.

P.S. We’ve now started the second half of the year – a great time for a little reset. The Peak Mind Program which starts in 4 weeks can help you get there. 

Better Thinking. Better Mindset. Better Performance.

Message to change things up.