Evidence matters. Informed by over 370 academic references and 100+ interviews with the world's most inspiring and iconic people, we understand what it really takes to achieve extraordinary things.
To achieve something extraordinary is to accomplish what once felt out of reach - whatever that means for you. For some people, that's climbing Everest or winning an Olympic gold medal. For most of us it's building a career we love, supporting a family or overcoming the odds we were handed. These goals are equally extraordinary. By definition, very few people will reach the very top of their chosen pursuit or career. But every one of us can improve. The truth is that there is no limit on human potential. We all have the capacity to learn, to improve and taken to its extremes, to achieve truly extraordinary things.
But what does it really take? Why do some people and teams become world-leading time and time again where others fail? Is it simply motivation? Tennis legend Roger Federer doesn’t think so. Is it just hard work and dedication? Oscar winner Julia Roberts says this is far too simple. Is it just resilience or 'grit'? Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes thinks not. Self-confidence then? Bear Grylls says ‘no’ to that as well.
What it takes to achieve at the highest levels is rarely understood - but as our research demonstrates, it is identifiable, codifiable and learnable.
X. The secret sauce. The transcendent quality. The defining, mystical factor that's said to separate the best of the best. It's too easy to believe some people are simply born with a genetic disposition to high performance. The evidence says otherwise: beyond biological factors affecting physical size and strength, this simply isn't true. In the right environment, with the right support, any of us can become a high performer - building the skills, knowledge, attitudes and relationships needed to thrive.
To understand what it really takes, we interview the world's most inspiring and iconic people. Drawing on the one million words of interviews we've transcribed and analysed to date, alongside years of research and practical experience, we developed the 'X model' to capture the success factors and personal attributes we consistently see in high performers and teams. This model is the foundation of all our personal development programmes, helping people build the skills, knowledge, attitudes and relationships needed to succeed.
To demystify what it takes and help people achieve more than they thought possible, we believe you have to show the way, and share the real stories of those who've done it. We interview the world's most inspirational and iconic people to reveal what truly lies behind extraordinary achievement, and to help others build the skills and confidence to match it. We've interviewed Presidents, Nobel Peace Prize winners, Olympic gold medallists, CEOs, Oscar winners, astronauts, humanitarians, sports icons and adventurers, creating films with some of the most well-known people in history. But that's not enough.
Our aim is to turn understanding into actionable insight for others, so we also interview many people you won't recognise. People who have achieved truly extraordinary things despite a tough start in life. People who were homeless. Who were abused. Who grew up in care, or spent time in prison. It's often in these stories that we find the greatest lessons.
We tell real stories - not the curated fiction of social media, but the authentic accounts that change how people think about their own potential. Our interviewees aren't perfect. None of us are. But where it can be measured, they are among the very best in the world at what they do, and we believe they have something valuable to pass on.
“If you do your best, at least you'll have no regrets, and you can look back and you can be proud of what you achieved.”
What it takes to achieve extraordinary things can be learned - but it's far from simple. It's seldom down to individual performance alone, and the relative importance of the factors in our X Model shifts by country and context. Environment matters enormously: safety, education, visible role models, and access to opportunity all play their part.
For a deeper insight into human potential and high performance, we've gathered a series of books we recommend to anyone who wants to understand more about what it really takes.
