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About Me — James Bellerjeau
What globetrotting and high performance have in common
Moving from upstate New York to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia when I was eight was just the first transition of many.
It was on to Holland for five years, then Massachusetts for four, then Germany for one. Back to New York for five years before a couple more years in Germany and then a long stay in Switzerland (23 years!). Right now, I’m in the U.S. again, mostly in South Carolina.
These transitions came to define how I think about myself. Sure, I learned a lot on the ground in each place. But moving from place to place itself taught me something more.
Because I wanted to fit in each place we moved to, I became a keen observer of the culture, people, and rules of play in each location. I soon came to ask the question why. Why do some people succeed in this setting while others fail, despite similar talents and effort?
Thus began my lifelong quest to understand high-performers on the way to becoming one myself.
- It’s not just brains, although intelligence helps a lot.
- It’s not just working hard, although being able to work hard is necessary.
- And toughest of all, our fate is never entirely in our control, although there’s a lot we can do to…
