More Excerpts from "The 417 Rules of Awesomely Bold Leadership": The Enemy of Awesomely Awesome is Pretty Awesome

Rule #84:  The Enemy of Awesomely Awesome is "Pretty Awesome"

...and as I ascended the feared north face of K2, without climbing equipment, I couldn't help but notice:  There are some frozen dead people up here.

Friend, let me tell you something:  When you see some frozen dead people, life comes into focus.  I realized right then:  These people were pretty awesome, to make it that far.  But they were entombed in ice.  They were also deceased.

I skipped ahead -- onward, and upward! -- listening to an old speech of mine on my iPod.  And I heard myself say, right then and there:  For awesomely bold leaders, the real enemy of being truly awesomely awesome was being "pretty awesome."

To get to the peak of K2, you must be awesomely awesome.  Not pretty awesome.  Pretty awesome is the enemy of awesomely awesome.

Once, at a conference, I sat behind another speaker as he finished.  The person next to me leaned in and whispered, "That was pretty awesome."  Pretty awesome.  I shivered as I pictured that other speaker entombed in ice, and...

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Rule #401:  Awesomely Bold Leaders Know How to Breathe

...and, as I said in that infomercial, the key is breathing.

I've successfully taught awesomely bold leaders for years:  When under pressure, under stress, you must breathe.  You must inhale, then exhale, repeatedly.

How successful is it?  Friends, as my wonderful, God-fearing grandmother used to say, the proof is in the pudding!

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady employs this "in-and-out" breathing method, as does NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson and the last five U.S. Presidents, except Ronald Reagan, who no longer employs this breathing method.  What do they know that you don't?

I lack space here to explain it all.  Suffice it to say, science is confirming what Awesomely Bold Leaders in my seminars already know:  When we're under stress, our brains require oxygen.  Think of it this way:  When we're PERspiring, we must be REspiring. 

It's breathing, friends.  If you do not do this, people will not attend your conferences.  I unpack this in my new tape series...