Here's a counterintuitive truth: you must learn speed before accuracy.

If you always wait for the perfect words, you'll never develop the speed you need. At West Point, speed readers start by reading books upside down - training speed before comprehension. The same applies to decisions and speaking up.

As you practice acting faster, you'll notice yourself falling into old habits. That's actually great news - noticing your patterns is the first step to changing them.

When you catch yourself doing the old thing:

• Don't beat yourself up
• Acknowledge it
• Move forward

Being too hard on yourself creates shame spirals, which are just ego in disguise.

Finally, never underestimate your body's impact on your mind. Proper sleep, food, and exercise can improve your performance 5-6 times across every area of life.