1. Welcome to Success James Vardaman, PhD

2.  The New York Times reports that the income disparity between “superstar” performers and average performers is at an all time high.  Average employees salaries have stayed flat, while superstar performers have seen their salaries skyrocket.

3. Magic Johnson’s annual salary, 1985 (in 2011 dollars): $7 Million Kobe Bryant’s annual salary, 2011: $30 Million

4. Why are superstars earning such a higher proportion of total income than they have in the past?

5. 1970

6. 2011

7.  One firm can market it’s products, services, etc. to a worldwide market ◦ Fewer Vice-Presidents ◦ Fewer HR professionals ◦ Fewer Accountants ◦ Fewer Sales Reps  MORE COMPETITION FOR YOU IN THE JOB MARKET!  You have to be more skilled than your parents to have the same success.

9. 1. Become self-aware

10. 2. Build your personal brand

11. Just documenting your fabulous life on facebook doesn’t build your brand…

12.  What is your personal brand?  Ask yourself some questions 1.What am I known for? 2.What do I WANT to be known for? 3.What do I want people to say about me? 4.What do they say now?

13.  Do your facebook posts match the answers to questions 2 and 4?  Or do they look like this?

14.  Or this?

15.  Do you look, act, and dress the way that reflects your personal brand?  If the answer to this is no, your first step is to take action to correct these issues.  Once you’ve established your brand and attained congruence between your brand and your look, actions, and dress, the next step is to work on your skills.

16. Developing your talent and engaging in hard work through deliberate practice will make you a high performer

17.  Is it talent? (IQ, personality in intellectual jobs; speed, strength in athletics)  Is it hard work? We all know washouts who are super smart or super gifted. We also know plenty of people who work really hard and are only mediocre. We also know lots of people who are smart and seem to work hard but still don’t get ahead.

18.  So if it’s not just talent, and it’s not just hard work, what is it?  The answer is hard work with deliberate practice.  Deliberate practice is hard work done to emphasize the specific skills necessary to succeed.  Deliberate practice requires coaching and mentoring

19. Performance w/ Deliberate Practice Without Deliberate Practice Performance Repetition Previously thought ‘Max Performance’

20.  This explains why certain schools or academies produce high performers in certain fields over and over again. ◦ Juliard School of Performing Arts ◦ 2 nd City Comedy Troupe ◦ Penn State “Linebacker U”  Why? ◦ Because the key to deliberate practice is identifying the behaviors that are key, and are to be improved, as well as the techniques for improving them. ◦ This is not an easy task. Those who’ve figured it out tend to produce excellent performers over and over again. ◦ This is why coaches are valued.

21.  Does talent matter? ◦ Of course, if an individual with more natural inclination engages in hard work and deliberate practice, they will succeed.  Is talent overrated? ◦ Of course. Most people don’t engage in deliberate practice. Most people also don’t work hard. Even fewer both work hard AND engage in deliberate practice.

22.  Is Tiger Woods the most talented person to ever play golf? Does he look like a great athlete? http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/tigerr- woods-teen-not-interested-girls-9887085  Tiger is 6’0” tall – only slightly above the national average for a U.S. man.  He clearly has a naturally slight build.

23.  Childhood friends describe him as “gawky” and a “bit of klutz”.  So how did he become the best golfer ever? ◦ His father was an excellent teacher who spent 25 years training recruits in the Army. ◦ His father took up golf in adulthood and became obsessed with learning everything he could about the game. ◦ His father began training him at 16 months old.

24.  He practiced different aspects of the game religiously  The effect was cumulative  He engaged in deliberate practice!

25.  Engage in introspection and figure out who and what you want to be.  Decide on a brand  Look, act, and dress in a way that is congruent with your brand.  Engage in deliberate practice to develop your skills ◦ Find a coach, a mentor, someone who knows what it takes to achieve excellence ◦ LISTEN to them-you know a lot less than you think you do!