The Code of the Exceptional, Vol. 1

By Dr. Brian Epperson

Abraham Maslow, a pioneer and sage in the field of psychology, once said, "In any given moment, we have two choices: step forward into growth or step backward into safety." In one sentence, he aptly defined one of the prominent differences between the average and the world-class. The tribe that makes up the world-class are different for one very simple reason, they "step forward" more often than not. After coaching and working with some of the world's top performers, Dr. Brian Epperson, professor, executive coach, and founder of Human Performance Advisors, an executive development firm gives a snapshot into the world-class.

The Code of the Exceptional is a step-by-step summary of these exceptional people's code and their practices. These are their lessons, their teachings. We don't stand on the shoulders of giants to worship or venerate, we stand on the shoulders of giants to accept what they have gifted us and then utilize their contribution to fashion and expedite our mark in history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DaVinci Burning
• Release date: May 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393539681

Dr. Brian Epperson

Dr. Brian Epperson is a professor, executive coach, and founder an executive development firm. With over two decades of researching exceptional leadership and coaching thousands of leaders, Dr. Epperson offers a relevant, resounding voice that speaks boldly and clearly on what separates the world-class from the average. Brian has a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of Oklahoma, is the Founder of Human Performance Advisors, a boutique executive development firm and although he spends a good amount of his time on the road, he feels most at home on a college campus or running the outdoors. 

Book preview

Mental Game

The Strength of the Mind

All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts. In a justly ordered universe, where loss of equipoise would mean total destruction, individual responsibility must be absolute. A man’s weakness and strength, purity and impurity, are his own, and not another man’s; they are brought about by himself, and not by another; and they can only be altered by himself, never by another. His condition is also his own, and not another man’s. His suffering and his happiness are evolved from within. As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.

-James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts; for the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.

-Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius (121 AD-180 AD), Emperor of Rome, philosopher, and the definitive warrior-poet lived and ruled in the second century. Aurelius had very little scientific research to back his claims or undergird his perspective that our Minds will be like its habitual thoughts. Despite his impressive mentors and the education they provided, peer-reviewed journals were not the currency of the intellectual class. It did not matter. Aurelius knew men; he intuitively understood the psychological disposition of soldiers, the trials of battle, and the machinations and manipulations of the ruling class. As a result, he keenly grasped the nuances of executive leadership and accurately discerned a truth that is still being confirmed by psychological research today. Research verifies that an individual’s mental discourse, whether functional or dysfunctional, is the original mover and genesis of any individual’s endeavors. The mind will inevitability dictate external outcomes and serves as the supreme architect of any individual’s life.

Despite modernity’s scorn of the positive-thinking movement and the healthy mind gurus of the early 1900’s, no serious researcher or sports psychologist, championship coach, Olympian, or world-class musician will fail to attribute a significant part of their success to the astute management of the mental game. These one percenters know better than anyone that an individual cannot operate out of a dysfunctional mind and expect a wholly functional life. It is a logical inconsistency.

Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.

-Robin S. Sharma

The mind and its concentrated attention or focus on an area of interest cannot be disregarded in any serious discussion of optimal achievement. To do so would be to argue against a mountain of psychological research. As go your thoughts, so go your future outcomes.

Application:

Take 30 minutes and focus intently on the mental dialogue going on within your mind. Pay particular attention to thoughts regarding yourself, your future, your performance, and potentiality. Take note of where your mind goes when you fail or when you experience fear or anxiety about what could go wrong. After the exercise is complete, observe the common themes found and determine if this mental activity will lead you to where you ultimately want to go.

Sample Questions:

What thoughts come to mind when you consider your personality and disposition? Do you like those thoughts? Or do they bother you?

Are you a dreamer who believes your dreams are impossible, or maybe a dreamer that believes hard work will achieve those dreams?

What qualifies you to obtain your goals and visions for your future? What disqualifies you?

On a scale of 1-10 (1 being seldom), how much emotional and cognitive energy is spent daily on the future?

What are your thoughts about the future?

On a scale of 1-10 (1 being seldom), how much emotional and cognitive energy is spent daily on the past?

How often are you revisiting past mistakes or unpleasant stories?

What do you do with your unpleasant or negative thoughts?

Write a small excerpt of something you think about often. Really listen to the words used, the attitude displayed, and the repetition—now, how would you describe your thought process?

Mental Game

The Greats Think Differently

What separates the top few from the many in a sport? Mentality. The importance of the mental side of athletics was once brilliantly summed up by basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. ‘Your mind is what makes everything else work.’ Tennis great Novak Djokovic further explains: ‘[Among the] top 100 players, physically there is not much difference...It’s a mental ability to handle the pressure, to play well at the right moments.’

-Dr. Jim Afremow, The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

During the most sensitive and teachable time of my life, I was profoundly impacted by the writings of James Allen. Allen’s 1903 work, As a Man Thinketh, revolutionized the way my 20-something-year-old mind understood the impact of our thoughts on the visible results we created in our lives. My aspirations progressed from taking societally prescribed steps to finding the right people and the right situations to ensure my success by changing the way I thought.

It began like so many of my other lessons. Alone one late evening, I opened Allen’s book and read the following, Mind is the master power that molds and makes, and man is mind, and evermore he takes the tool of thought, and, shaping what he wills, brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills. He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass. Environment is but his looking-glass. Fortunately, I was naïve enough to believe what Allen was attempting to communicate—that my world and my future would be a direct by-product of my