High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way

This book gives you a basic guide for life and having a successful career which is a monumental achievement after years of research and coaching by Burchard. This book is the real deal. The summary of the entire book, which is only 4 pages, should have been put at the beginning but is at the very end. The book explains that you need to have the habit and skill of 1.) clarity, i.e. goal setting, 2.) Energy, i.e. maintaining physical and mental health through positive psychology, 3.) Necessity, i.e. psychological drive or motivation through identity, 4.) Productivity, i.e. efficient work on your most important field of interest, 5.) Influence, i.e ability to persuade other people or social skills, 6.) Courage, i.e. the ability to control fear and 7.) Confidence, i.e. optimism about your abilities. Burchard goes through and gives his take on the key to each of these skills, but you can get a lot more information from other sources, i.e. this book is just a roadmap to professional development (and Burchard says so much at the end of his book). High Performance Habits (HPH) has a number of bonuses that will exceed your expectations. First, you can log in and take a 5 minute test to find which HPH you need to work on the most. Second, the book goes through the three traps that will ruin your career and/or life, i.e. superiority, dissatisfaction, and neglect, despite your best habits. (Honestly, this section of HPH was truly original and worth the price of the book alone.) Third, you get tons of free online courses on all the High Performance Habits. Finally, you get the skills to acquire confidence, i.e. competence, congruency, and connecting. High Performance Habits (HPH) does not have all the answers, and I would recommend you look to experts in the individual habits for really in depth knowledge. I would recommend "Succeed" by Heidi Halvorson for "clarity." I would recommend "Fully Charged" by Tom Rath and "Positivity" by Barbara Fredrickson for "energy." I would recommend "Find Your Why" by Simon Sinek for "necessity." I would recommend "Deep Work" by Cal Newport for "productivity." I would also recommend "The Talent Code" and "The Little Book of Talent" by Daniel Coyle. I would recommend Tony Robbins program "Influence" for the "influence habit." Finally, I would recommend "Agency" by Paul Napper and Anthony Rao and "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway" by Susan Jeffers for "courage." I would recommend "The Confidence Gap" bye Russ Harris for more information on gaining confidence. This book is a must read and well worth the money. You probably can go and get HPH for free by purchasing the book directly from Brendon Dot Com. Competitive corporations are paying to have their employees trained in these habits so you need to read this book just to stay competitive and up to date. This book was so good I read the endnotes and I never do that. A lot of people criticize the book because a lot of the habits have received attention from other authors but this book integrates and synthesizes all of the self help and professional development work into one cohesive plan to succeed professionally which is new. If you ever wondered whyother people were succeeding around you and what you were missing then this book is for you. Postscript: Burchard has automated the 7 Habits into a new app called "growthday" where you are prompted to stick to the program. There are training videos from experts on the 7 Habits. Burchard has added 3 more habits that you need to be successful. One of them is "Resilience," i.e. psychological resilience, and that is covered in detail by the book "Build Your Resilience" authored by therapist Donald Robertson. If you find out what the other two are then please leave me a note in the replies below.

Great book! I'll admit I really did not know what to expect from this book so I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked this book. First, let me just say that Brendon Burchard is a great writer! I say that because I believe a book written on what some would call a boring topic is brought to life by his style of writing. It was so encouraging and inspiring to read. Now let me give you specifics on what I liked about the book. The book starts off with the first habit which is to seek clarity. This may be a bit obvious but when you look at the quote he uses in the book, it really highlights the importance of clarity. He says..."achievement is not the issue-alignment is"....this is very true. Out of the 3 practices he suggests for this habit, I liked the one on defining what's meaningful for you. He asks the readers to write down activities which you do that bring you the most meaning in your life and especially the ones that do not give you meaning. He makes the point that you'll be more productive doing things that matter to you. Secondly, I LOVED Habit #2 which is to generate energy. Out of the 3 practices for this habit, I liked the one about setting intention. He talks about using transitions between your daily activities. I guess I already do this but I think he just put this into words for me. You see, I take breaks between activities but I don't set intentions. So I will send out an important email and then go straight into working on a different project without a beat. He suggests to perform deep breathing activities, release tension from your last activity and then go to the next one with a different intention. This makes sense to me because the activities that I do require different feelings and of course a different intention. This tip is a keeper for me. Lastly, I really liked Habit #3 which is to raise necessity. Out of the 3 practices I liked the one about knowing who knows your A game. For me, this one hits home because when I thought about all the people that need me to start a public speaking club, it became more real to me. I'm working harder because I know it will help so many people. I also work in a hospital and I know our staff and patients need our help so I want to bring my A game. I could say so much more but I'll leave it there and really encourage you to buy this book. Listen, this book doesn't just talk the talk...as we say...it seems like Brendon forces you to walk the walk. And I love it. Many books will tell you a lot of good information and then you're left wondering how to implement those ideas so you can live your best life. This book makes you take action towards your dreams. You want it...then go get it! This book is a classic for me!

First up, I've been a reader of Brendon's books for years so I'll state my biases up front. However, on the other hand, I'm not an easy person to impress when it comes to informative books and research. But oh how I loved this book! As a researcher myself, I can appreciate the hours (and years) that have gone into writing it. The commitment and conscientiousness behind the words are alone impressive and inspiring. The book is densely packed with useful information on how to behave and think like a high performer. With Brendon there is no fluff, no superfluous words, no deadwood. The writing is lean and tight, yet somehow retains a conversational, chatty tone like listening to an old friend. This is the most scholarly book Brendon has written so far. I appreciated that he defined his main terms up front; the extensive citations and references; and the original research with robust methodology (although more detail here in an Appendix would suit people like me). I also liked how the science is tempered by personal anecdotes that at times were so moving they brought tears to my eyes. This blending of original research, literature reviews, and heartfelt stories makes for a unique writing style that is very engaging. I'm also grateful to Hay House for supporting such a unique book. Too many self-help books take a formulaic approach, and it is refreshing to see such a departure from the norm. I'm glad that the editor obviously worked with Brendon's vision for the book. I know this is a book that will become a reference guide that I'll revisit many times over the years. I've already got so much out of it (e.g., "the transitions" are going into effect immediately, and I've identified gaps in my clarity of what I am seeking to achieve). I'm very pleased this book was published and admire and respect the thought and care that has gone into compiling it. It is a very accomplished piece of work that will be helpful to multitudes of people for many years. You've done it again, Brendon. Thanks so much!

I was not prepared to like this book. I’ve never met the author or heard him speak, but I admit to having a bias against the premise that is at the heart of all consulting—that everything can be taught. It’s not a false assumption; it’s just not a complete one. Context is everything, which is why history often has less to teach us than we may think. Too many books of this genre are written by people who have been drinking the Kool-Aid and come to believe they have discovered the true essence of water. Burchard, thankfully, is not that author. You may not agree with everything he writes, but you will ultimately conclude that he is authentic, and that’s about the highest compliment I can pay a person. Every good consultant will start their session with their objective. Brendon is no exception. “This book is about how people become extraordinary, and why others block themselves from that possibility. It will show clearly and unmistakably why some excel, others fail, and far too many never even try.” A few pages later he adds, “It will reveal what it takes to become not just an achiever but a high performer—someone who creates ever-increasing levels of both well-being and external success over the long term.” Then comes the hook. Every consultant knows the old saying, “Them that can, do; those that can’t, teach.” That’s why they always give you the pièce de résistance, the handful of words that describes why their idea is different. It can normally be shown as a geometric shape or simple graph. In this case, it is, “High performance is not achieved by a specific kind of person, but rather a specific set of practices, which I call high performance habits.” At this point, I admit, my expectations were being met. And then things went from bad to worse. “Taken together, the six habits you’ll learn here won’t just get you to excellence, they’ll make you happier—and the data proves it. The positive emotions of engagement, joy, and confidence that define the high performer’s emotional state can be yours.” Happier? I am a sexagenarian who has known modest success and far less modest failure. If there is one thing I’ve learned it is that happiness will not give your life meaning or you contentment. Having the world by the tail is not the path to a purposeful life. But I persevered through the book. I am a curious person and do not give up easily. And the author has achieved more success in high performance coaching than most of us will ever achieve in much of anything. He has a Rolodex (an outdated term, for sure) of the most powerful and influential people on the planet, from Oprah to past presidents and Olympians. I read the book pretty much straight through although I have long practiced one of the tidbits of advice the author offers. I refuse to multi-task and believe it is the scourge of inefficiency and incomprehension. But I do believe in taking breaks, in changing the scene, and augmenting the primary objective (in this case, reading) with the indulgence of a good coffee or a piece of chocolate. I won’t share the six habits of high performance (HP6) that are the heart of the book. And the reason is that we don’t learn if we don’t learn in context. And that task is up to the author, not me, a reader. I will tell you that one thing all six habits have in common is that they are deliberate. They require conscious effort. There are no little green pills. The book, in fact, might have been called The Power of Being Deliberate. Burchard is also not a therapist. “I’ll remind you, I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist, neuroscientist, biologist, or any other title I’m aware of that ends in ‘-ist.’ I am a professional high performance coach and trainer who is paid for results, not discussion or theory.” Fair enough. That’s probably what most people who will consider this book are looking for. Otherwise you’d be in the religion or philosophy sections. There is some jargon but it’s admittedly modest for a book of the genre. There is talk of prolific quality output (PQO, of course), and “performance necessity,” and you will have to get your head around, “They [high performers] remember that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” It’s a central theme. The HP6, as I was reading the book, did remind me of a variant of cognitive behavioral therapy but that’s not a criticism. It’s a function of the very deliberate nature of the process and practices described. In the end, high performance, as Brendon describes it, is a verb, not an achievement. “Connection [for example] is less about comfort than about challenge.” (I personally think it’s about trust.) And, “…it’s so thoroughly obvious that high performers are generating the feelings they want more often that taking the emotions that land on them.” My biggest pause came with the quote: “The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe to it.” It’s a quote from Joseph Campbell, an American writer known for his work in comparative mythology. He’s probably most often remembered for the counsel, “Follow your bliss.” It’s a quote that is often misinterpreted but is a little too nihilistic for my taste. And when he writes, “There are only two narratives in the human story: struggle and progress,” my first thought was that Camus would disagree. But that’s too much of a digression to get into here. The money line for me was, “Superiority draws us off track a quarter inch at a time.” This is a man who believes in his mission. It is a quality that resonates throughout the book and is, perhaps, the book’s greatest contribution. Too many “successful” people, in my experience, talk humility, but walk superiority. Humility is not an attitude. It is a way of living. It was here that the author earned my 4 rating. The book is probably longer than it needs to be but, in the end, I found it worth the journey. It’s an ambitious work by a man that obviously believes in what he does. And that is undoubtedly why he has known such success.

I don't write a ton of reviews here on Amazon. I will write them if I feel that I can add something helpful for others, and that is why I am writing this. To start out, I will be blunt: this book has changed my life. I don't say that as a person who has never encountered a book with this type of content. Actually, I have read more leadership and self development books than I can count - it is an area that has always deeply interested me AND it is part of my job. The reason this book is different is that it does two things simultaneously where most leadership/self development books do only one (or only one well). Most books like this lean either into the theoretical and talk about principles (but miss tangible ways to implement things practically) OR they lean into tools and talk about practices (but miss the bigger ideas and how it actually fits into a larger picture conceptually). This book establishes a strong basis for "theory" or principles (see the description of the habits) AND it also gives you "tools" or practices in each area of principle to grow and develop (see the crazy amount of practical practices in each chapter). This combination is absolutely dynamite. Some people have said "get to the point" or that the chapters are too long or repetitive. I understand why they would say that, it takes some work in some of the chapters (at least it did for me) to focus and bore in, but the content there is gold. Go through the book. Wrestle with the theory and principles and then use the tools and practices. It is an excellent principle based leadership book but also gives you ways to flesh out those principles in the everyday routines we all live. Lastly, so many people are giving the book one star because they don't like how he is "selling his products" throughout the book. I acknowledge he absolutely does this, but why does this both anyone? If this book offered no value to the reader (me), and was then selling additional products, then have your beef, BUT if he is wanting to offer additional content or learning opportunities (none of which I can comment upon because I have not actually purchased any) WHILE offering amazing perspectives and practices in the book itself, why would one complain? Overall, don't let his style (if you don't like it) steal the gold in this book. I felt like this book was a rich dessert. So good, but I can only handle so much at one time. I have to keep going back again and again to go deeper. One piece at a time. Our leadership team has been processing and practicing the content in this book for about a year and there is still much here to be digested. Heck of a good book. Highly recommended. Get the book. Think about the principles. Implement the practices. Ignore what you don't like about his salesmanship. AND go live a different kind of life! Hopefully this helps someone reading all the poor reviews actually purchase the book and not miss the value here. It is potentially life changing.

This book is packed with lots of good information if someone is willing to apply it. I listened to the book and then went back through it again doing the questions. I learned years ago if I stop to answer the questions I may get side tracked and not get back to it because I start doing the work in that one area. This doesn’t sound bad but as I learned another section may make the work easier. Here the author goes through my lessons which will help the reader in their lives. Just by working on one of these areas in my life I saw change which impacted other areas as the author said. Enjoy the book even if you read it all the way through without the lesson or you do all the work it will impact your life regardless. As I’ve done many times before and listened to the teachings of my college professor. He said to read a book every three months for a year to learn it. In this case I believe it will be much more flexible since this book brought up a lot I have to work through. The author caused me to look at things very differently than I had looked at them before. Be prepared for a change in thinking as you go through this book in your life.

When I received this book, I was expecting a work of high quality from Brendon and reflective of his commitment to deliver. And I was certainly not disappointed. The book is a practical manual of behaviors when deliberately practiced day in and day out become habits that result in high performance. The clear and concise writing style, undoubtedly resulting from very careful crafting by Brendon and several editors, makes it easy to read and digest the information. The performance pointers at the end of each chapter are a useful sign post and help implement the suggestions in the chapter. The most powerful chapters for me were the ones on clarity and energy- knowing whom or what I was serving, and realizing how I could transition from one activity to the next using the deep breathing and “release” technique allowed for a tremendous breakthrough at work and at home on the day I finished the book!! Drawback of a Kindle edition is that it is not possible to utilize the worksheets that Brendon gives out at the end of the chapter to enable implement the ideas in the chapter. I will be buying the hardcover edition soon. Who is this book for- for all Brendon fans this is a bible of high performance, and for those who have not had the privilege of working with Brendon, it is an excellent insight into how a good coach can guide you along the path of high performance.

If you only purchase one personal growth book this year, make it High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard. The bookshelves in my home are lined with books about personal growth. However, not one of them can compare to the practical, applicable, and powerful advice offered by this NYT bestselling author and high performance coach. High Performance Habits is research-based and results-oriented. All the information, tips and strategies included in its pages are easily understood and applied. Each chapter provides clearly defined habits—ones discovered through scientific studies—and action steps to help you develop new behaviors and mindsets. Each chapter also includes an anecdote to illustrate the need for and application of a particular habit. This gives the reader context and a deeper level of understanding. I highlighted most of this book; I had a hard time identifying anything I didn’t want to highlight! And its pages are decorated with an entire package of Post-It notes so I can find the most important sections easily. I’ll be referring High Performance Habits regularly and checking on my progress. As a Certified High Performance Coach, I’ll be recommending this book to all my clients and just about anyone I know. I know it will transform their lives and help them step into the people they know they can be. Plus, it will help them achieve their goals. Brendon Burchard is a trusted source for information on high performance and personal growth, and he spent many years researching this topic. You won’t find a more solid or compelling argument to level up and step into your best self than this book. Nor will you find a better person to help you apply these concepts to your life and develop the habits you need to succeed. If you want to level up personally and professionally, this is just the book you need. Read High Performance Habits every year…it’s that necessary, especially if you want to reach your potential and make a greater impact in the world.