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THE BIG IDEAS Executive Toughness

10 Fundamentals
The Mental-Training Program to Increase Your Leadership
Of mental toughness.
Performance
BY JASON SELK · MCGRAW-HILL EDUCATION © 2011 · 224 PAGES
Your Self-Image
Turn up the thermostat.

Write Down Your Goals

Increase success by NINE times! “What you are about to read is intended to be a holy grail of developing mental
toughness as it pertains to your high-level success as either an executive or
Product vs. Process Goals
What and why and how. someone who aspires to become one. Although this book is specifically geared
100 Second Workout toward improving your achievement in business, the tools and principles it
For your mind. provides mirror the same methodology I use to enhance performance for anyone—
PCT vs. RSF from some of the world’s finest athletes to the everyday individual trying to lose
Problems vs. Solutions. weight, stop smoking, or improve his or her personal relationships. The 10 mental
Executive Toughness toughness fundamentals presented in this book will work for you whether you are
The top 3 keys.
a high-level executive, entrepreneur, midlevel staffer, or independent contributor,
because they translate Coach Wooden’s simple, time-tested philosophy of
identifying and training the correct fundamentals needed for success.”

~ Jason Selk from Executive Toughness

Jason Selk is the director of mental training for the St. Louis Cardinals and one of the world’s
leading peak performance coaches.

The tagline on his site captures the essence of his work: “The relentless pursuit of greatness.”
<— I like it!

We featured another one of his great books, 10-Minute Toughness.

“MENTAL TOUGHNESS:
The ability to focus on and
execute solutions, especially
in the face of adversity.”
~ Jason Selk
I really enjoyed 10-Minute Toughness and I liked Executive Toughness even more. It’s REALLY
good. (Get the book here.)
Selk does a masterful job of helping us identify our purpose, connect that to our most important
“product goals” and then connect *that* to our most important “process goals” so we can most
effectively (and relentlessly!) pursue our greatness.
Tons of Big Ideas. Let’s jump straight in!

10 MENTAL TOUGHNESS FUNDAMENTALS

“The three characteristics of executive toughness are accountability, focus, and optimism. You
will develop your executive toughness through daily practice of these 10 mental toughness
fundamentals:

• Define your win.

• Create your vision of self-image.

• Set product goals; emphasize process goals.

• Prioritize priorities.

• Complete daily performance evaluations.

• Control your arousal state.

1 PhilosophersNotes | Executive Toughness


“Self-image is essentially
how you view yourself—what
strengths and weaknesses
you believe you possess and
what you believe you are
capable of achieving.”
~ Jason Selk
2 PhilosophersNotes | Executive Toughness
• Know your scripts.
• Prepare mentally every day.
• Develop a relentless solution focus.
• Adopt Gable discipline.”
Those are the 10 mental toughness fundamentals that support the three characteristics of
executive toughness (Accountability + Focus + Optimism). They’re also the 10 chapters of the
book.
Let’s look at a few of my favorites and see how we can apply them today!
YOUR SELF-IMAGE THERMOSTAT
“Essentially, the self-image governs how successful any individual becomes because it motivates
and shapes work ethic and effort.
In this way, self-image is like a thermostat. If you set the thermostat at 72 degrees Fahrenheit
and the room drops to 71 degrees, the thermostat then sends a message to the heater to get to
work. Warm air rushes into the room, and the room warms up to 72 degrees. When the room
reaches 73 degrees, the thermostat tells the heater to stop working. All day long, the thermostat
governs the temperature in the room and won’t allow the room temperature to rise or drop from
the desired temperature for long. Human beings are the same way: we neither outperform nor
underperform our self-image for long. That’s why it is so important to set your self-image gauge
high enough to achieve your life goals. Set your self-image gauge too low, and by definition,
you’ll underachieve, because your mind won’t call for the motivation to achieve more.”
Self-Image. It’s huge.
Here’s how Jason defines it: “Self-image is essentially how you view yourself—what strengths
and weaknesses you believe you possess and what you believe you are capable of achieving.”
Think of it like a thermostat. Just as a room is going to stay at whatever temperature you set,
YOU will stay at whatever level you see yourself—you won’t under or overperform the image you
have for yourself.
Earlier in the chapter Jason quotes Henry Ford to bring the point home: “Whether you think you
can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
Begs the question: How’s your self-image? When you talk to yourself, are you consistently telling
yourself you’ve got what it takes to achieve your potential or not so much? We want to get this
right. The cornerstone of Jason’s mental toughness training protocol is helping us do that.
He tells us we need to “CREATE YOUR VISION OF SELF-IMAGE: Take 30 seconds every
day to visualize who you want to be and how you want life to turn out, and dramatically increase
the likelihood of achieving your win.”
So, who do you want to be? How do you want your life to turn out?
DO YOU WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS?
“David Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech University, has found that individuals who
write down their goals will have nine times the success of those who don’t put their goals on
paper. Yet Dr. Kohl’s research suggests that only 20 percent of our population has goals and less
than 10 percent take the time to write their goals down. So why is it that so few of us take the
time to develop and make note of clear and concise goals? After researching this question for 10
years, I have come to the conclusion that the reason is, quite simply, we are lazy.”
 “Remember that you are
likely to be nine times more
successful if you actually
write down your goals, so
it’s really important to grab
a pen and actually put it
to paper instead of just
thinking about them.”
~ Jason Selk
“SET PRODUCT GOALS
AND EMPHASIZE
PROCESS GOALS:
To achieve greatness, you
must set end goals and
place significant emphasis
on what it takes to
accomplish them.”
~ Jason Selk
PhilosophersNotes | Executive Toughness
First, I want to caveat this with the fact this is ANECDOTAL evidence, not peer-reviewed
scientific reseaarch evidence.
Having said that, let’s repeat that in case you missed it. According to David Kohl, “Individuals
who write down their goals will have nine times the success of those who don’t put their goals
on paper.”
NINE times. *rubs eyes*
Not one or two or three or four times more success. NINE!!!!
(!!!!)
That’s nuts.
Let’s burn that stat into your brain so you (and your kids, colleagues, staff, etc.) never go into
another project without a clear sense of goals.
—> “Individuals who write down their goals will have nine times the success of those who don’t
put their goals on paper.”
That’s step #1 of mental toughness: Defining our win.
Let’s take a moment to do that. What’s YOUR #1 goal over the next 12 months?
This is my #1 goal over the next 12 months: ____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Awesome.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the types of goals we want to set for optimal performance:
PRODUCT GOALS VS. PROCESS GOALS
“PRODUCT GOALS: Product goals are result-oriented and are potentially attainable within
the next 12 months.
PROCESS GOALS: Process goals focus on what it will take on a daily basis to achieve the
product goals.
Product goals are all great end points, and writing them down is an important first step. But the
truth is that setting product goals is the easy part, and that is precisely where most individuals
stop short. The real key is to develop two or three process goals for each of your product goals.
Remember, the process goals are ‘what it takes on a daily basis’ to achieve the product goals.
Sometimes, a process goal may happen less frequently than every day, but it still needs to occur
on a regular basis to drive the achievement of the product goal.”
We talk about process goals, systems and all that jazz quite a bit. But Jason has the best
methodology I’ve seen to help us put it all together. (Seriously. It’s that good.)
Get the book for more on the details but here’s the basic idea: Identify the three most important
aspects of your life. For example, for me, it’s my creative work, my family and my personal
vitality.
Then pick the #1 “Product” Goal for each of those three aspects of your life. Remember, a
Product Goal is an outcome you can achieve in the next 12 months.
So, for me, I’d have:
Creative: Get to 150 new Notes in 2015 by the end of 2015. (I’m at 103 as I type on August 31st.)
Family: Go from 7 to 9. (Jason is all about quantifying intangible goals.)
Vitality: Go from 7.5 to 9+.
3

“Simply put, 30 minutes
a day of cardiovascular
exercise is quite possibly
the single greatest activity
OK. Those are my basic 3 Product Goals. (Yours?! :)
Super important to set a target, write it down (remember: NINE!!), etc. Now, we need to set
PROCESS GOALS—the stuff we’ll do on a daily basis in support of those Product Goals. Jason
wants us to have THREE Process Goals for each Product Goal.

that you can do to improve
your mental, physical, and
emotional health. If 30
minutes of cardio isn’t
currently one of your
daily activities, I strongly
encourage you to consider
adding it in as one of your
nine process goals.”
~ Jason Selk
So, for me, I’d have something along these lines:
Product Goals Process Goals
#1: Creative +150 Notes in 2015 • No internet before AM1 time block
• 1 more time block for reading/writing/teaching
• Read 1+ page/day (go mini habits!)
#2: Family 7 —> 9 • 8-9 am = time w/Emerson; Mom gets to medi-
tate, exercise, etc.
• Done with work at 4:30 = Family time!
• 3 Saturdays/mo. w/E; Mom gets day to herself!
#3: Vitality 7.5 —> 9+ • Digital sunset (sets up great night of sleep which
is my #1 self-care practice)
• 1 + 10 + 100 + 1,000 + 10,000 (1 sun salutation +
10 pull-ups + 100 burpees + 1,000 meters rowed
+ 10,000 steps = basic movement commitment)
• 1 pure fun activity per week (movie, hike, mas-
sage, etc.)

You? Here’s a super simple little grid you can use to get some more clarity!

Product Goals Process Goals

#1 Product Goal:
#1: ________ ____________
#1 Product Goal:
#2: ________ ____________
#1 Product Goal:
#3: ________ ____________
• Process Goal #1: ____________
• Process Goal #2: ____________
• Process Goal #3: ____________
• Process Goal #1: ____________
• Process Goal #2: ____________
• Process Goal #3: ____________
• Process Goal #1: ____________
• Process Goal #2: ____________
• Process Goal #3: ____________

“One of the little-known
secrets of successful
individuals is that those
who are most successful
evaluate themselves daily.
Daily evaluation is the key
to daily success, and daily
success is the key to
success in life and career.”
Remember: Start with a Product Goal. Set your target. (And write it down! :)
Then figure out what you need to do on a daily basis (Process Goals) to make that outcome a
natural by-product of your consistency on the fundamentals. (And write it down!)
THE 100-SECOND MENTAL WORKOUT
“The Mental Workout
Step 1: Centering breath (15 seconds): Breathe in for 6 seconds. Hold for 2 seconds.
Breathe out for 7 seconds.

~ Jason Selk Step 2: Identity statement (5 seconds): Recite your identity statement in your head.

Step 3: Vision and integrity highlight reel (60 seconds): Run in your head your vision of
self-image video and then your integrity video clip:

• Your vision of self-image, as developed in Chapter 2

• Your integrity video in which you visualize yourself doing the tasks you need to do within
the next day to make your vision of self-image become a reality

Step 4: Identity statement (5 seconds): Repeat your identity statement to yourself.

Step 5: Centering breath (15 seconds): Breathe in for 6 seconds. Hold for 2 seconds.
Breathe out for 7 seconds. Know that your mind is focused and ready to perform.”

4 PhilosophersNotes | Executive Toughness

 “Take 30 seconds every day
to visualize who you want
to be and how you want life
to turn out, and dramatically
increase the likelihood of
achieving your win.”
~ Jason Selk
“Let me be clear in leaving
much of modern clinical
psychology practice behind:
Talking about your problems
will lead to more problems,
not to solutions. If you
want solutions, start
thinking and talking about
your solutions.”
~ Jason Selk
PhilosophersNotes | Executive Toughness
100 seconds of pure mental toughness goodness.
Quick re-cap:
1. Breathe in. 6 + 2 + 7.
2. Say your identity statement in your head. (Remember our self-image thermostat? We need
to turn it up. This is one powerful way to do that. My identity statement? “I’m one of the
greatest teachers in the world and I’m an equally great husband and father. I’m confident
and energized.” You?)
3. Play your 5 year ideal vision out in your head AND connect that to you rockin’ your ideal day
TODAY. (This is another *really* cool way to connect the big picture to what you’ll do today
to bring it to life.)
4. Repeat your identity statement.
5. Another deep, centering breath. 6 + 2 + 7. Ready to rock!
Bam. Done. 100 seconds of magic.
Obviously Jason walks us through each of those components in more detail in the book. Really,
really cool stuff.
PCT VS. RSF
“The number one reason mental toughness is so difficult is a tendency I call problem-centric
thought (PCT). PCT is the polar opposite of RSF [relentless solution focus]. While RSF is rare,
PCT is somewhat biologically inevitable. For whatever reason, our brains are built in a way that
PCT comes more naturally than RSF. It’s natural to focus on mistakes, the past, barriers, and
what you don’t have rather than on what you do have. It’s easier to think about problems such
as not having enough money or success than it is to acknowledge good fortune and abundance.
Think of our relationship to oxygen, the most valuable resource known to humankind. Without
it, we die quickly. But when was the last time you thought, ‘Wow, this is terrific! This is great!
I have an abundance of the most important resource known to humankind!’ We all have a
tendency to take the positive for granted. We allow it to become the faint background for the
problems we draw in intricate, larger-than-life detail.”
PCT = Problem-centric thought. RSF = RELENTLESS (key word!) solution focus.
We’ve evolved to be more sensitive to threats than to appreciating goodness. Leading
neuroscientist Rich Hanson (see Notes on Buddha’s Brain) describes this fact by saying that our
brains are like Teflon for the good stuff and Velcro for the bad while Daniel Amen describes the
PCT challenge as ANTs—we have automatic negative thoughts running around in our head.
To deal with this and shift from PCT to RSF, Jason tells us to make it a game: “Within 60
seconds, replace all problem-focused thought with solution-focused thinking to dramatically
improve your health, happiness, and success.”
Imagine a chalkboard in your head. Problems on the left. Solutions on the right.
To move from left to right, ask yourself: “What is one thing I can do differently that could make
this better?”
NOT “How do I completely solve this problem *right (!!) now*?” but, again, “What is ONE thing
I can do differently that could make this better?”
Got a problem in your life right now?
Let’s go RSF on it: What is one thing you can do differently that could make this better?
(Awesome. Go do it! :)
5

“It won’t be easy—greatness
isn’t supposed to be easy—
but you can do it. Choose
to be great, every day!”
~ Jason Selk
If you liked this Note,
you’ll probably like…
10-Minute Toughness
Psycho-Cybrnetics
With Winning in Mind
What to Say When You
Talk to Yourself
6 PhilosophersNotes | Executive Toughness
EXECUTIVE TOUGHNESS: THE TOP THREE
“I can boil executive toughness down to the following top three action items, in order of
importance:
1. Complete your process goals every day . . . no excuses! Assuming you have taken
the time to develop your vision of self-image and product goals as well as the process goals
needed to get there, completing the process goals every day will have an unbelievably
powerful impact in your ability to perform at a leadership level and thereby achieve personal
and professional greatness.
2. Commit to replacing all negative or problem-focused thought with solution-
focused thinking within 60 seconds (RSF). Use RSF to once and for all train yourself
to become more optimistic, and watch not only your success but also your health and
happiness increase significantly.
3. Complete mental workouts and success logs five days per week. Mental workouts
and success logs will greatly enhance your ability to stay focused and accountable to process
goal completion and RSF.”
There we go.
The 1, 2, 3 of executive toughness: 1. Crush your process goals ever day (no excuses!!) + 2. Be
RELENTLESSLY focused on solutions + 3. Rock your 100-second mental workouts and success
logs to track progress!
Hope you enjoyed that super quick look at a great book and here’s to relentlessly pursuing your
greatness, my friend.
Brian Johnson,
Chief Philosopher
About the Author of “Executive Toughness”
JASOK SELK
Jason Selk is the director of sport psychology for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is
also the director and owner of Enhanced Performance Inc., a sport psychology
and business consulting firm. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Connect:
enhancedperformanceinc.com.
About the Author of This Note
BRIAN JOHNSON
Brian Johnson loves helping people optimize their lives as he studies, embodies
and teaches the fundamentals of optimal living—integrating ancient wisdom
+ modern science + common sense + virtue + mastery + fun. Learn more and
optimize your life at brianjohnson.me.