The Perspective Paradigm: Unlock the secret performance tool for greater fulfillment–and profits

One of the members of my global platinum performance circle is a successful Asian business owner who has broken several business records in his country. He still felt inadequate and unsuccessful.

Life is a balance between the art of achievement and the art of fulfillment. They complement and support each other. Over my many years of experience advising and working closely with many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and even billionaire business leaders, I’ve found that mastering perspective is one of the least discussed but most powerful tools at your disposal.

Without it, leaders feel unsatisfied even if they achieve much—and still fall short of their full potential in business. With it, they often unlock fulfillment, balance and next-level clarity. Your perspective shapes where you invest your time, what you prioritize, how you measure progress and how you define success. Here are some of the secrets. ‍

Is the grass really greener?

One of the quickest ways to feel inadequate is to compare yourself to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or some hyper-publicized business icon. You’ll always come up short and you’ll likely miss the cost of their success—broken relationships, missed moments or chronic stress.

When people look at Elon or Bezos or whoever they admire, and quietly say to themselves: “I wish I was him,” what they actually mean is: “I would love to have as much money as he does (or fame or attention or whatever).” They pick out only one quality, not the whole package. This is a road to misery.

They forget one important truth: The grass is always greener on the other side, but it is fertilized with sh*t. You do not see the sh*t sandwich they have to eat every day. Sure, it would be nice to have several hundred billion dollars, but would you sleep on the factory floor of Tesla for months like Elon, work insane hours, have almost no personal life and rarely spend any quality time with any of your 14 children (in the case of Elon at the time of this writing)? Probably not.

Compare yourself only to yourself

What I advise CEOs and business owners to do instead is compare themselves to their former selves. Why? Because this unlocks the right questions and starts the right propulsion system in your performance: You will compare yourself to where you were before and how far you have come. This leads you to analyze your performance and learnings.

Then you compare yourself to the ideal version of you, to your full potential. How much more could you do/ achieve/ accomplish, etc? How much happier could you be, how much more fulfilled, etc? What steps could you take to get there?

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This works for business leaders as well as for world-famous athletes. This is precisely the same feedback loop they apply to achieve world records.

Reframe how you define success

I have spent a fair amount of time in the South of France and Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo is a place of utter misery for many because it is a constant comparison game. I remember I was on the yacht of a friend of mine who just bought a new boat. And next to him another friend was pulling into the harbor with a yacht that was a bit longer, and that is all he could talk about. It never ends.

Your bigger successes are built on the shoulders of your smaller ones. Constantly remind yourself of your successes. Shift your perspective: Learn to celebrate progress. Did you hire a world-class executive? Did you carve out an hour of undisturbed time with your spouse or child? Did you cut through a complex strategic issue with clarity? These are wins worth recognizing.

The act of recognizing these milestones recharges motivation and prevents the emotional depletion that comes from feeling like you’re always behind.