GET BETTER - Step 1

You can't improve what you can't see

To enhance anything, you must first understand it. If you want to elevate your performance, you need to know where it comes from, how it arises, and what drives it. 

Performance isn’t one-dimensional; it's not just about achieving results. It's not just about skill or fitness.

Most people focus on visible outcomes—goals scored, records set, deals closed. It's a results driven business. Those are ouctomes, but performance lies in understanding what’s below the surface: the layers of skill, expression, and environment that shape your results.

Skill is the starting point. Developing it is important—no question. But as you navigate your development the true edge comes from something deeper: your ability to use that skill effectively within the environment you’re in. It’s about instinct, decision-making, and confidence—how well you can tap into your bag of tools, your skill, and your mind when it matters most.

Think of it like managing money. It’s not just about how much you have in the bank; it’s about how much you can withdraw and use. Performance works the same way. Skills are the wealth you accumulate, but skill expression is your ability to spend it where it counts.

Acquiring skill is one game, expressing skill is another game, and making the most of your environment—although a bit out of our control—is another game.

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The Formula of Performance

You can’t reduce performance to a simple equation. But if you could, it might look like this:

Physical skill × Useful skill × Skill expression = Performance.

• Physical skill: Strength, speed, endurance, athleticism—the foundation.
• Useful skill: Repetition and technique, building the tools you need most.
• Skill expression: The ability to tap into your skills when it matters, shaped by confidence, beliefs, and your instinct.

The better your skills, the more you have to draw on. The more those skills fit the moment, the more effective they are. And the better you can express those skills, the higher your performance.

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The 4 Games of Performance

Great performers master four interconnected games:

1. Physical Performance: Genetics, nutrition, strength, endurance, recovery.
2. Skill Level: Repetitions, technique, and tactical execution of moves.
3. Skill Expression: Confidence, mindset, instinct, flow, adaptability.
4. Environment: Coaches, ice-time, teammates, culture, opportunity, politics.

Every game matters. Some are more in your control than others. But the best performers find ways to navigate all four.

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Mastery Through Skill and Mind

Look at the greatest athletes. Connor McDavid has the full stack menu - raw skill, expression of skill, and physical ability. He may not consciously know which parts of his mind fuel his confidence or even explain where it comes from. But it’s there, shaping how he plays, how he decides, how he dominates.

Peak performance isn’t just what you do on the ice. It’s what happens in your mind. The confidence, the instincts, the beliefs—whether developed or natural, conscious or not—are the hidden gears driving your moves.

Performance is where skill meets expression, where preparation meets instinct. It’s not just repetition. It’s how you adapt your skill to the game, moment by moment.

Greatness lives in that balance.