Everyone endeavors to be a champion; to be a leader in their field. Many people get frustrated when they simply do not see that process involving as expeditiously as they would have anticipated. But the fact is that many people are already in the top 1% of their field. And, if they would simply expand their horizons and look at alternate ways of viewing their successes, they may see that.

Below are three ways that you may consider as pathways to viewing yourself in the top 1% of your chosen field:

1. Know your category

There are many measurements that can be utilized in most chosen professions to gauge success. We tend to only look at the end result, the finish line, but there are many baton handoffs that occur between the gun sounding at the start and the flag at the finish line. For example, in sales we tend to look at percent of quota as a method of gauging success.

Closing sales and percent of quota is one way of assessing your level of success in the field of sales, but think for a moment of other gauges of success that will move us toward a greater percent of closing the sale. For example, if you are in a high cold call sales environment, the number of calls you make may be above the average, significantly so that it places you in the top 1% of all callers.

“The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.” – Colin R. Davis

This behavior must ultimately lead to the more macro measurement of percent of quota. However, your calling behavior should be celebrated as you being in the top individuals who place calls. Perhaps it is your closing on appointment stats or maybe it’s referrals received?

In my field, that of training and keynoting, most individuals look at income as being the top 1%. I have no illusions over the fact that I am not earning what Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, or other luminaries in the field earn. However, my statistics on LinkedIn at the very top of the LinkedIn food chain. My social selling index places me in the top 1% of individuals in management consulting. So, guess what? I am the top 1% at least of something! And that will lead to higher income.

What about you? Think about what criteria you can use to measure yourself that will lead you to an elevated level of status in your chosen field? And here’s a bonus, that status elevation may lead to an increase in self-confidence. That may lead to an increase in the overall macro measurement you are looking to attain.

2. Never stop learning

The old saying, “you are either green and growing, or ripe and rotting” holds true. The fact is that to be in the top 1% of any field requires constant and continuous focus on learning both within the field, and outside of the field. The notion of learning outside of your chosen field is important as you begin to take ancillary information and incorporate it into your daily activities. The end result is new and exciting ways of managing yourself in your business by taking what people have done outside of your business and applying it within.

May I suggest a formalized and structured time for daily learning. It could be as simple as 15 minutes a day. Choose a time when you will be uninterrupted or have the ability to set up your environment where you will not be interrupted. Then think about what knowledge you want to acquire. It may be a book that you buy, a video that you watch, or feed that you read. But the constant repetitive pattern of the behavior called “acquiring knowledge” must lead you to the top 1% of your chosen field.

3. Have fun on the way to the top

You may have heard that success is a journey and not a destination. That is also true of entering the top 1% of your chosen field. If every day you wake up with a sour stomach and a grimace on your face wondering how you’re going to claw your way up the wall of success, when you get there chances are the first emotion you will feel is resentment for the arduous journey that brought you to the pinnacle of your field.

“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn

But when every day is a joy because you enjoy what you do, the people you do that with, and your inevitable ascension, each day becomes a wonderful thread woven into the fabric of a joyful and successful career.

I have seen many people over the years in my training and consultancy become so obsessed with the goal that they lose focus on the path. I have also seen individuals climbing with unbridled enthusiasm and doing whatever they can to bring others along with them. That brings me to a question you may want to answer:

Can I really make it to the top 1% of my chosen field if I do not bring other people along with me?