I am on a special diet in which I am doing my best to eliminate unhelpful carbohydrates. One of my favorite places to eat is Mimi’s café. The problem with Mimi’s is that they have such wonderful breads, muffins, and potatoes that usually come with every meal. When I go to Mimi’s I have to be very intentional about what it is I order.

I have negotiated an arrangement with the manager. I now have a special dish that I pre order over the phone. It is not on their menu. I have 3oz of carved turkey, ½ order of baby green lettuce, some cilantro, and a ½ of sliced avocado. They charge me less than $6.

Everyday that I am at home I go to Mimi’s for my “special lunch”.

All of the ingredients for my special lunch are found somewhere on their menu I just re organized the items so that it could work for my dietary intentions.

Peak performers might have similar data as lower achievers: A missed putt, a strikeout, a traffic jam etc. It is how that data is organized in our minds that determines the meaning we ascribe to the situations we face. The meaning ascribed will drive our subsequent behavior and attitudes which will produce a particular kind of result.

The Peak performer might interpret the missed putt as an opportunity to be more diligent in their putting practice later that evening. The lower achiever might interpret the missed putt as evidence that they really do suck at golf.

When I have the opportunity to speak to sales groups I mention that high performing sales people look at the results they achieve as data points. Lower achieving sales people tend to look at their results as defining points.

Results are just results. Data is just data. Ingredients on the menu at any restaurant are just ingredients. It is how we choose to organize this information in our minds that determines our joy, success, fulfillment, and especially a custom designed meal at Mimi’s.