4 Non-Obvious Skills You Need As An Entrepreneur

Key Takeaways: 

• Mastering the Non-Obvious: These four skills—selective attention, psychological flexibility, nervous system regulation, and flow states—were crucial in my swift career leap from architect to private equity director in just 30 months. Using these skills strategically prevented burnout and boosted performance.
• Selective Attention: Focus on what matters by filtering out distractions through mindfulness and meditation.
• Psychological Flexibility: Adjust your thoughts and emotions to respond effectively to challenges.
• Nervous System Regulation: Balance stress responses with practices like meditation, cold showers, and breath work.
• Flow States: Find the right level of challenge and stay engaged to enter peak performance states.

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Four Essential Skills to Transform Your ‘Hustle’ Into Peak Performance

When I first started my career, I believed the only path to success was through relentless hustle. So, I committed to working harder, taking on more, and trying to outrun failure. At first, it worked. But soon enough, the cracks started to show, and I found myself burning out and missing opportunities that could have propelled me forward.

It took me a decade to realize that there's a smarter, more sustainable way to perform at your best. That's when I discovered these four non-obvious performance skills. They’ve changed the way I work, and they've helped the entrepreneurs we train at Selfmastered build sustainable, high-performing businesses. Let’s dive in.

Skill 1: Selective Attention

The first skill to master is selective attention. In our hyper-distracted world, we’re constantly inundated with notifications, messages, and information. Selective attention is the art of managing where your awareness goes and directing it toward what truly matters.

Mastering selective attention involves training your mind to filter out distractions and focus deeply on tasks. This is often achieved through mindfulness and meditation practices, where you sit in a quiet space and teach your mind to stay calm and collected despite external stimuli. As you develop this skill, you’ll notice a significant reduction in distractions and an increased ability to enter deep states of focus and flow.

Essentially, selective attention rewires your brain, reducing its response to frequent stimuli and minimizing dopamine-driven distractions. Many of our clients come to us overwhelmed, spending four to five hours daily on their smartphones, which hampers their ability to engage in meaningful work. We begin by assessing their current level of selective attention and then work on techniques to enhance it.

Skill 2: Psychological Flexibility

The second skill, psychological flexibility, is crucial for high performance and closely linked to selective attention. It involves recognizing that your thoughts and emotions are separate from your identity and evaluating their usefulness. This skill allows you to quickly adjust your mindset if your initial thoughts or feelings aren’t helpful.

Psychological flexibility prevents you from getting stuck in unproductive mindsets. Instead of reacting negatively to setbacks, you learn to pause, assess, and choose the most constructive response. For example, rather than letting negative thoughts like “You’re not good enough” derail you, you can recognize them as unhelpful and focus on evidence that counters them.

Mastering psychological flexibility helps you respond effectively to challenges, promoting long-term resilience. By refining your ability to manage your reactions, you enhance your overall performance and decision-making.

Skill 3: Nervous System Regulation

The third crucial skill is nervous system regulation. Your mind is incredibly powerful, but it can’t override an imbalanced body. If you're constantly stressed, exhausted, and your nervous system is out of sync, maintaining calm and control becomes nearly impossible. Achieving balance between the parasympathetic (rest and digest) and sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous systems is essential for peak performance.

I learned this firsthand during my time in consulting and private equity, where relentless stress and excessive caffeine took a toll on my well-being. Despite my youthful resilience, I found myself constantly drained by the weekends, impacting my focus and decision-making. Through extensive research, I discovered several practices to help regulate my nervous system.

Meditation became a cornerstone of my routine, offering both mental control and physiological benefits by reducing anxiety and shrinking the amygdala, the brain's fear center. I incorporated cold showers and walks in nature to alleviate stress, and explored heat therapy like saunas for quick relief. However, the most transformative practice has been breath work, particularly heart rate variability (HRV) training, which helps me maintain peace and relaxation even under extreme pressure. This skill has been pivotal in keeping me calm, collected, and in control.

Skill 4: Flow States

The fourth skill, and one that has gained considerable popularity, is mastering flow states. Flow is a unique state of consciousness where you feel and perform your best. Unlike a simple on-off switch, flow is a state of being that emerges under specific conditions: you need to create an environment that fosters focus and tackle tasks that push your abilities just enough to challenge you without overwhelming you.

Flow is not a task you can directly control; it's a state you enter. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the leading researcher on flow, while the precise mechanisms in the brain remain unclear, we know the conditions necessary for flow to occur. It involves working on a task with the right level of challenge and maintaining that focus for an adequate duration. If the task is too easy, you'll get bored; if it's too difficult, you'll feel anxious. The key is to find that "Goldilocks zone"—the perfect balance where you remain engaged without slipping into either boredom or anxiety.

Mastering the Non-Obvious: Your Path to Elite Performance

These four skills were pivotal in my rapid ascent—from architect to private equity director in just 30 months, a journey that typically spans 15 years. Initially, I worked tirelessly, but the real game-changer was strategically applying these performance-enhancing protocols. By mastering selective attention, psychological flexibility, nervous system regulation, and flow states, I climbed the ladder without burning out.

I encourage you to start integrating these skills into your own life. While IQ, talent, and connections are valuable, performance is what truly sets winners apart. Based on six years of training founders and entrepreneurs, these non-obvious performance skills have proven transformative.

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