There’s a quote in Hamlet I’ve always loved:
“To thine own self be true.”
The advisor to King Claudius, Polonius, stated those words to his son before leaving on a trip.
Okay… cool, Todd. Why are you sharing?
Well, that quote perfectly maps to the core of your approach to creating A Peak Life.
Which is:
You must always consider the specific needs, abilities, and life situations when formulating a plan, making a decision, or playing your game.
In one word, it’s:
Individuality
So what I want to share with you today, and in future newsletters, are the key principles that have always made up my approach to creating breakthroughs for clients.
What’s important about these principles is they’re rooted in nature.
Which means they’re universal and can be applied to anything.
Today’s principle, Individuality, has to be a part of our filtering system. If it’s not, we end up clogging our life with wasted time, energy, money, and more without it.
Let me give you a quick example from sports.
It’s fairly easy to argue that Michael Phelps is one of the greatest swimmers ever.
When motivational articles are written about him to inspire you, you’ll hear about resilience, discipline, and consistency. And each of those elements was there. However, it’s a bit simplistic.
What if there’s another part of the equation people overlook?
If you were to design a sport for the specific anatomy of Michael Phelps, it would be swimming.
Long torso. ✅ (Why is that important? Because a long torso helps a swimmer glide through the water.)
Long arms. ✅ (Longer arms = more velocity when he pulls his body forward.)
Shorter legs. ✅ (Phelps’ legs were shorter for his body proportions, creating less drag in the water.)
Abnormally large lungs. ✅ (His lung capacity was basically twice that of a normal human.)
Now, to be clear, that doesn’t dismiss his accomplishments. He still needed to go and ‘apply’ his individual characteristics to the pool. However, it begs the question…
How many Michael Phelps’ have been competing on the wrong field?
Or more importantly…
What’s unique about you, your genetics, skills, disposition, and current life circumstances you’re fighting against?
I’ve encountered many fish trying to dig holes on dry land.
Why?
Because they’re playing someone else’s game.
Which brings me back to Polonius sharing advice to his son:
“To thine own self be true.”
That statement wasn’t the only part of his advice. He continued:
“And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
Which the entire thing translates in good ol’ 2024 speech to:
When you’re true to yourself, then it’s natural for you to be true to others.
And from a performance perspective, it translates to:
When you know what you’re made of and live through it unapologetically, everyone else gets to experience your capabilities.
So, as you move through your week, a simple exercise to reinforce your ‘Individuality Muscle’ is to ask yourself:
Does this (whatever ‘this’ may be) still serve me? Or,
Is this still what I want? Or,
What am I custom-built to do?
Who knows what kind of answers you’ll come up with, but the side effects will lead you closer to your peak life.
Fun fact:
I started reading Shakespeare at twelve because his books were some of the few I could read. Why? I didn’t get diagnosed with dyslexia until 21, and his iambic pentameter (rhyming style) was a rhythm my brain could follow. #Individuality
See you next week, when we dive into another principle of sports performance you can apply to make your world your own.
Be Bold. Take Action. Leave a Mark.
Todd Herman
P.S. If someone forwarded you this newsletter, you can subscribe to my weekly ‘A Peak Life’ newsletter below. Every week I’ll share one idea, framework, or perspective that will help you lead a life you’re excited for.