Becoming A Champion

Dr. Alan Zimmerman Shares Six Steps To Becoming A Champion

Today we have a very special guest, Dr. Alan Zimmerman, who, at the age of seven, started selling greeting cards door-to-door. By 14, he owned a small international import business and by 21, he was teaching at the University of Minnesota. After spending 15 years at two universities, Dr. Zimmerman retired from teaching and opened his own speaking and training company, ultimately delivering more than 3000 keynotes and seminars in 49 states and 22 countries. You may be familiar with him after seeing him on CNN, the “CBS Morning Show,” or through his conferences and bestselling books. Today, Dr. Zimmerman lets us in on his newest book, “The Champion Edge,” slated for a February 2021 release.

Dennis Postema: In your next book, “The Champion Edge,” you give insight about why some people will accomplish more than others and why they do it so much quicker than most. What can you tell our readers about this frustrating phenomenon? think those are two critical questions, and there’s nothing in [existing] research that accounts for that. You can’t attribute that to age, gender, education, nationality, political philosophy— nothing accounts for that disparity in success. What does make the difference? I’m convinced from my years of research, those who achieve the most have what I call the Champion Edge.

In other words, they have adopted and mastered certain practices that result in them making a huge difference in their success level.

Dennis: Can you explain what the Champion Edge actually is and how people can get it?

Dr. Zimmerman: There are six practices that make up the Champion Edge. The first is steadfast confidence—so not the kind of confidence that some jerk can rip apart in 20 minutes. It’s confidence that you have all the time, despite difficulties, circumstances or other people. We know this kind of confidence is critical because you perform exactly as you see yourself. If you see yourself as so-so, a loser or going nowhere, that’s where you’ll be stuck. You cannot outperform your own selfconfidence level.

Dennis: Steadfast confidence seems so much easier said than done. You mention in one of your videos that people can be told countless times that they’re doing great, but if somebody criticizes them, it can knock them completely down. What do you tell people to keep that from happening in this world of social media?

Dr. Zimmerman: When a single negative comment can knock you down, it’s a sign that your confidence needs some work. When I began my career as a professional speaker, the same thing would happen. I’d have a hundred folks in the audience, 99 saying “this is great, it’s changing my perspective, my life, thanks so much, it’s wonderful.” Then one person might write that it was a waste of time and that they shouldn’t have come. And I’d be focused on that one person for a long time afterward, until my wife finally confronted me and said, “Get off it, buddy. Ninety-nine out

of a hundred is about as good as you’re ever going to get.”

One way you can help build your confidence is to stop what I call the mind binders. This is our selftalk. If you’re saying things like, “I’ll never get ahead, I can’t save money, I won’t get that promotion. I can’t stop smoking. I can’t stick to a diet,” that’s exactly where you’ll be stuck. You cannot rise above your own self-talk. So if you catch yourself thinking or saying those things, talk back to yourself. Say, “Stop it now, just stop it.” By firmly, repetitively talking back to yourself, you can stop that kind of input.

Another method of confidence improvement is to survey your strengths. We’ve all got tremendous gifts, talents and abilities, some that we are tapped into, some we don’t even recognize. I would strongly advise anybody to sit down and write down everything they’re good at. And over the days, weeks, months, get 50, 100, 200 things you’re good at. When you’re feeling down or beating yourself up, pull out the list, read it again and remind yourself that you’re not a bad person, [you’re] Dennis: The second practice in “The Champion Edge” is a compelling purpose. Can you explain what that is?

Dr. Zimmerman: I find a lot of people spend their entire lives never quite figuring out their purpose. There’s a lot more to life than having a job, getting your paycheck and paying off the mortgage. That’s survival; it’s not purpose. Purpose is a deeper driving force that makes us want to accomplish something and make a difference. That compelling sense of purpose is the deepest, strongest motivator there is. Identifying yours might be as simple as writing out something like, “My purpose in life is to what?” Then fill in the blank. Your answer might be to:

• Improve • Advance • Encourage others

There is almost always a component of making a

difference you feel good improve my marriage,” say, about for people in the “My marriage is getting world. It’s not just you, it’s stronger and stronger not just me, me, me. Well, every day because I do X, what is the difference I’m Y and Z.” In other words, making in a larger scope? state your goals in the In my work, in my family, present tense, and keep in my world? A compelling repeating them till they purpose. come true. One of two Dr. Zimmerman: goals, but without defined you that direction. And things will happen: you’ll Dennis: Tell us about the either achieve the goals, third practice, defined or you’ll stop saying the goals. affirmation. You cannot Unfortunately, there are Dennis: How do you feel many people who don’t about writing down your really have any goals, or goals and speaking them very clear goals. They may versus just saying, “Oh, have somewhat vague I’ve got some goals.” goals, you tend to wander Dr. Zimmerman: I’m a and not achieve. strong proponent of You’ve only got so much little more time, which, time and so much energy. first of all, is an act of You have to know where commitment. If you’re not to focus, what will make even willing to take the the biggest difference in time to write them down, your life, your world, your you’re not all that serious work. Defined goals give about them. live in dissonance forever. written goals. It takes a it has an awful lot to do Secondly, once you with affirmations. Once write them down, it you know what you want sends a message to your to achieve, put that into subconscious mind of an affirmation statement all those things in the set in the present tense. world out there, all the Instead of saying, “I would possibilities, these are like to be promoted to VP the few you would like. of my company,” say, “I’m And once you write them enjoying my new position down, your mind starts as VP.” to work on those things. Instead of having a vague Instead of saying, “I’d like to focus on a million things, now you’ve got five, 10 things you want to achieve.

Write them down. Put them on a card. Look at them. You’ll eventually have them memorized in a few days after repeating over and over again. But it’s a visual and physical reminder of what you want to achieve.

It’s the same with affirmations. We all have days when we get down, depressed, negative, discouraged and don’t feel like doing affirmations. But that’s when you need to do them the most. If you’re going to do them today and then skip a few days, try it again and skip a few days, then forget this part of the program. You don’t displace years of negative mind binders by a minute here and a minute there. Saying them three times a day is not a big deal. Get up in the morning and, as you’re showering, say your affirmations—that’s one set. Get in the car, drive to work, say them again. Just find a simple way to say them three times a day, every day.

Dennis: That’s a great point—if you’re not committed enough to write your goals down,

how are you really going to achieve them?

Dr. Zimmerman: Another peg you can put on the commitment is to tell somebody else what your goals are so there’s accountability. All those 12-step programs or selfimprovement programs have an accountability element. If nobody knows you have a goal, it’s all secret and private. If nobody knows it, nobody asks you about it. It’s really easy to let that slide and never get accomplished.

Now if someone asks you every week or two, “How’s it going? I know you’re working on such and such, what steps have you taken?”—chances are you will do something.

Dennis: Tell me a little about unwavering attitude.

Dr. Zimmerman: Unwavering attitude is the fourth practice for the Champion Edge. Attitude is a force to be reckoned with. It’s not just positive thinking and everything’s wonderful; it’s a sense of energy, a force. You can buy some wonderful car, like a Maserati or a RollsRoyce, and spend a half a million dollars, but it won’t go an inch without gasoline or fuel.

People are the same way. You can give them all kinds of degrees, certifications, education, but they don’t go anywhere to use that information without the fuel to push them forward, and that fuel is an unwavering attitude. have it.” If you want to be positive thinking and selfdon’t believe in positive It’s interesting that those who say they’re just being realistic are almost always negative.

The way I look at that is to think instead, “It just might work.” We have something like 50,000 thoughts and ideas that they bring to

Dr. William James, the So it stands to reason father of American that many of our psychology, wrote this a ideas are innovative. hundred years ago, and They’re creative, they’re it’s the central point of all blockbusters. What does psychology even today: a negative thinker tell “If you want any quality in themselves when they get your personality, all you a new idea? “That’ll never have to do is act as if you work.” our minds. more positive, enthusiastic, They throw it away. And energetic, you act that then two years later, [they] way. And eventually you open up their Facebook, will feel that way and be LinkedIn, whatever, see that way. somebody selling their product, making millions. If you wait for your In this sense, every attitude to change, you positive thing in our world will wait forever. It doesn’t was created by somebody work that way. who thought it just might Dennis: What do you negative thinkers have say to people who mock never been right. talk? Dennis: Talk to me about Dr. Zimmerman: When a strategy of leaving your person is cynical and they comfort zone. work. In that regard, the positive change and the thinking, they’ll often say Dr. Zimmerman: The fifth things like, “I’m just being practice of the Champion

Edge is what I call positive change.

If you want more of anything in life, it always requires leaving your comfort zone. You can’t do the same thing the same old way and expect things to get better.

It’s okay to rest in the comfort zone, but if you want to achieve something, you’ve got to learn to work outside that comfort zone and take some constructive risks. And the unfortunate thing is, a comfort zone for other people as they get older, it gets smaller and smaller.

No longer risking anything, maintaining the same job, same policies, same procedures, same friends, same hobbies, same routines—the zone gets smaller and smaller. Champions do what I call the risk of departure. They leave the comfort zone and try something different.

No matter what happens, they’re guaranteed some growth. Whenever you try something new and grow through it, you grow in terms of energy, selfesteem, confidence; you live by courage, not by fear. Dr. Zimmerman: To me, process. It doesn’t make every dimension of life. It’s not balanced to permission to be human.

I want you to achieve, to Dennis: Let’s talk about strive, to be a champion, the sixth Champion Edge but there’s no need to practice, thriving balance. burn out in the process. it doesn’t make sense Dennis: What final to achieve all your goals thought would you like and burn out in the to leave our readers with? sense to have a great job Dr. Zimmerman: I think that pays well and have people need to realize a lousy relationship at that we have tremendous home. My definition of amounts of untapped thriving balance is simple. potential. People think I use a wheel with eight they can’t do better. dimensions of life: physical, They’ve been conditioned recreational, financial, to think that way. When occupational, social, they lose that promotion mental, [and] spiritual. The or get a setback in a secret is, you must have relationship, they think it something positive in wasn’t meant to be. physically have your We’re conditioned to body in great shape and think we can’t do better be mentally stupid. It’s sometimes, and that’s not balanced to make a almost always false. Be good income, but hate careful putting limiting your job. You must have beliefs on yourself. something positive in Take the Olympics, for every dimension of life. example. Almost all the One strategy to keep tremendous stories yourself somewhat of overcoming great balanced is to accept difficulties. Nobody the fact you’ll never be thought they could be finished, and that’s okay. a winner, but they used No matter how hard you these practices we talked work, how fast you work, about today and ended on the day you die, there’ll up at the top. So don’t still be a few things left in be tripped off guard by a your inbox. Give yourself simple setback. We’re too smart for that. No. gold medalists have

That’s a time for a lesson, not a quitting session.

To find out more about Dr. Zimmerman, visit www. drzimmerman.com. Make sure to sign up for his free Tuesday Tip!

I asked Dr. Zimmerman to discuss the 3Ps mentioned in his book, “The Payoff Principle.” Here’s what he had to say:

Dr. Zimmerman: To give you a simple structure, and a simple way of visualizing it, think of a three-legged stool. Each leg represents a different question.

The first question is, what are you good at? Second, what excites you? What turns you on, motivates you? People are sometimes afraid of discovering their purpose because it might be something they don’t want to do. Third, what difference do you want to make? Do you want to change perhaps the success of your children, the people that you’re leading and organizing?

When you know the answers to those three questions, where they intersect, you get the top of the stool: your purpose.

To get a free, 10-page white paper with each of these questions and room for you to give your answers, email alan@drzimmerman.com.

(855) 694-4426