Master the 6 Pillars of High-Performance Writing

Successful nonfiction writers master six key areas known as the Pillars of High Performance. By doing so, you achieve heightened and sustained levels of energy, clarity, courage, productivity, and influence, all of which affect your ability to become a high-performing nonfiction writer.

The six Pillars of High Performance are:

1. Physiology
2. Psychology
3. Productivity
4. Persuasion
5. Presence
6. Purpose

Let’s take a quick look at each pillar and how it relates to high performance and your nonfiction writing career.

Physiology

How you treat your body affects every area of your performance, including your ability to do your job. If you don’t feel strong, energetic, and flexible, you won’t have the stamina to work the necessary hours to achieve your goals. Nor will you be able to focus on your work. When you make exercise, healthy eating, and sleep a priority in your life, you function at your best professionally. Your body an your brain can do the tasks required of them.

Psychology

Your mind provides a powerful tool—if you train it on the thoughts and beliefs that serve you. If your mind is filled with negative thoughts and limiting beliefs, though, you’ll have a difficult time creating a successful writing career. Mastering your psychology means learning to focus your thoughts on what you want (not on what you don’t want) and changing limiting beliefs to unlimited ones. Your mind then supports your efforts to succeed as a nonfiction writer.

Productivity

Productive writers earn more money because they churn out more work. The more productive you are as a writer—the more you get done in less time—the higher your earning potential. Also, productive writers have time for their passion projects. They aren’t stuck writing to get paid. If you structure your time, handle priorities first, and focus your attention in the time you have, you gain the freedom to focus on the writing projects that interest you most. And you gain the ability to serve your target market in a larger way.

Persuasion

As a nonfiction writer, you can use your influence in positive ways. Persuasion is necessary for selling your books and or getting visitors to subscribe to your blog, but as you develop the “know, like, trust” factor with your target audience, you become a positive role model. That allow you—and your work—to inspire others or help people. You need persuasive skills to land assignments, interviews, blurbs, and forewords for your work as well as to gain an author platform.

Presence

Your ability to be present in any situation dictates to a large degree your outcome. Become present—conscious, aware, interested, and focused in the moment—and all your results change for the better. Your relationships with coworkers, followers, and readers improve. You complete your work more efficiently and produce higher quality products. You make the most out of each day because you aren’t living in the future or the past.

Purpose

When you know your Big Why, your passion drives you forward to achieve your writing goals and dreams. High performers revolve all their actions and decisions around fulfilling their purpose. When you stay “on purpose,” you move closer to achieving your goal of becoming a successful nonfiction writer every day. Plus, it’s easier to perform necessary tasks when you know doing so moves you closer to fulfilling your mission. When you feel called or compelled to take action, you do so. In the process, you fulfill your purpose and potential—and you produce amazing work.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), how do you rate yourself in these six areas of high performance? If you don’t score a 9 or 10 in each area, it’s time to level up! Work to achieve heightened and sustained levels of performance for each of the six pillars so you become a high-performing writer.

Tell me in a comment below how you scored. And if you need help becoming a high-performing writer, click here or here.

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