What I took away from a private retreat with a room full of high performers.
Recently I had the privilege of attending a private retreat with several other highly productive entrepreneurs.
We talk about the usual things, family and business, but we also work through life models that our moderator shares with the group. Below are two mental models I took away this time.
You may find them useful, or at least interesting, and you might consider applying them in your own life and circumstances.
Model 1: Victim, Villain, or Hero
The first model is a simple framing and a single question.
Every story has a Victim, a Villain, and a Hero. Which one are you being?
That question creates clarity almost instantly, for you or for someone you are working with, the moment they start telling themselves a story. It myth-busts within seconds and creates awareness. And awareness is the first step to change.
Model 2: Achievement vs. Fulfillment
The second model is about figuring out whether you are operating out of a need for validation or a need for fulfillment.
Most people operate from a quiet sense of not being good enough. That drives them to prove how good they are, to earn external validation, to feed the ego. Over time, that frequency of performance becomes an unfulfilling cycle: you constantly need to do more just to feel a sense of self-worth.
If you are a high achiever, you can probably relate.
But a segment of those achievers transcend it. They start operating at a higher frequency, backed by purpose-driven work that actually leads to fulfillment. That kind of work is usually connected to serving others or making a meaningful change in the world. The energy behind the two looks similar, but it is fundamentally different.
The high achievers who need external validation make it all about themselves.
The high achievers on the fulfillment path make it all about others.
For me, this is the model I come back to when making big decisions and asking why I am really doing the things I do. It is the same thinking behind why we built Momentum the way we did.
Try It
Next time you catch yourself deep in a story, ask which role you are playing. And next time you are weighing a big move, ask whether it is coming from validation or fulfillment.