Who are the peak performers?

Not some obscure group. They make up 10 to 15 percent of the men and women in any organization or walk of life.

The difference between peak performers and "everybody else" is much smaller than "everybody else" thinks.

Many other people could become peak performers if they learned the same skills that peak performers have developed naturally or discovered on their own. Peak performance traits are learnable skills.

What is the basic idea behind optimal performance training?

What makes some people so successful while others with similar levels of intelligence, education and talent rarely come close to reaching or expressing their potential?

Why do some people become top achievers?

The method that is used for discovering the answers to these questions is a 2-step process:

First there is the identification of the key characteristics that are associated with top performance;

Then training programs are created to teach people to develop these traits.

Peak performance training opens up the possibility of tapping more of our human potential, recruiting more of our capacity.

What are some of the mental characteristics associated with excellence and top performance?

Goal setting
Mental rehearsal (visualization and imaging)
Risk taking (performing under pressure)
Relaxation
Concentration
Directing beliefs toward success

Isn't it the case that athletes either have or don't have certain traits such as poise, mental toughness, and drive?

An important conclusion in optimal performance is that the mental qualities associated with top performance are learnable skills. Certain athletes have the optimal performance characteristics naturally.
They are naturally high risk takers or excellent visualizers. Others, however, can acquire these traits by learning them. Because these characteristics are skills, they can be learned and developed intentionally. By developing the mental characteristics associated with top achievement and excellence—goal setting, relaxation, visualization, risk taking, concentration, and directing beliefs toward success—athletes accelerate their development and further the performance level that they can reach.

Can you describe some of the optimal performance characteristics, such as goal setting, visualization, risk taking, relaxation, and concentration?

Goal Setting

Passionate commitment expressed by top performers constitutes a critical factor in how far an individual will develop in any field. Passionate commitment creates drive and determination.
The passionate commitment of peak performers comes from their goal orientation. They set goals which create a sense of direction and purpose in life. They act strategically and intentionally and pursue their goals with vital interest. They focus on the big picture and on results. Their goal orientation means that they are continually developing their chosen goals. Work produces a powerful sense of purpose, even a feeling of mission.

Visualization

Visualization is the art and skill of creating a mental model of an event or situation. It is controlled, directed, and purposeful. Visualization is a natural, common mental behavior, particularly as a response to challenging events.
Everyone has experienced having a complex move or a correction in behavior "click in" after seeing the action in a detailed and graphic picture in the mind's eye. This experience can be made to happen by applying the skill of imagination and imaging.
Peak performers visualize more and better than do others. They may have learned spontaneously to visualize events in vivid detail.

Risk Taking

Top performers are risk takers. Risks faced by athletes may involve physical danger. More often, risk is psychological: fear of failure, fear of losing ranking or reputation, or the fear of success.
Risk-taking ability represents a critical part of optimizing performance. Risk takers leave the comfort zone and drive themselves beyond the limits that others set. They override natural internal stops that set the boundaries of performance, stretching those boundaries beyond the ordinary.
High risk takers and low risk takers respond differently to the stress that risky situations produce. Effective risk taking means that a person controls the fear associated with risk. He or she performs proficiently in the face of fear.

Relaxation

Peak performers and top achievers know how to relax. Typically, Type A personalities peak early. Their pattern is a lesson in how to reach burnout.
Leading a well-rounded life and having balance are the hallmarks of the peak performer. They may work hard but it is done within limits. A common trait of outstanding achievers in every walk of life is that they lead a well-rounded life. They do not become addicted to work itself. High performers are willing to work hard but within strict limits. Work is not everything. They believe that people come first and their roles second. A basic part of their life is family and friendship ties. They spend time sharing recreation and relaxation activities with their family and friends. Peak performers know how to take time to relax, reflect and pull back on a regular basis. They know how to maintain perspective so that they handle or deflect stress better than low or average achievers.

Concentration

Concentration can be defined as the focus of attention on a selected target. Concentration or selective focus of attention can vary in intensity. The more complete the focus of attention, the greater the level of concentration.
Attentiveness can be directed toward internal or external targets. The attention area can be broad (as it might be for a hockey player keeping track of opponents and simultaneously scanning for an opportune pass), or narrow (as it would be for a dart shooter, focusing on the bull's eye of the target).
Skills involved in concentration fall into two major categories: First, focus of attention on targeted, relevant information, and second, dissociation from nontargeted, irrelevant, and, potentially distracting, information. By examining your own experience, you can confirm that concentration involves both focus of attention and dissociation from potential distractions, simultaneously.
Top performers are able to achieve and maintain a consistently higher level of focus and concentration than others. Fortunately, because concentration is a skill, others can learn to direct their attention and achieve an unruffled mind even in the face of distractions, if they are willing to undertake the necessary training.

Directing Beliefs Toward Success

Top achievers hold beliefs that are consistent with their achieving success. Many people subscribe to the idea that a positive mental attitude is helpful for reaching to high level performance. Less well understood is that beliefs shape attitudes. Beliefs can heighten or dampen a person's performance in any field. Beliefs play a vital role in reaching full potential.
A number of beliefs are etched into the mental outlook of peak performers. High performers recognize their potential. This outlook may be displayed as confidence or self-esteem. Frequently, those who become champions or leaders see themselves as potential champions and leaders before they arrive. This view allows them to ignore artificial barriers and obstacles, including the opinions of people who tell them that they cannot do something.
Peak performers have an edge because their beliefs enhance their success. Notably, peak performers have few self-limiting beliefs. Adopting this mental characteristic furthers success. This trait requires learning to change beliefs.