By FAWN GERMER

First off, you’ve got to want “it.”
“It” being the operative “it” in “Go for it” or “Just do it,” “Do what it takes” and “Give it all you’ve got.”

“It” is significant because it isn’t always definable, but it is ever-present in the mindset of the people who actually combine talent + drive + brains + ability to come up with a level of success that eludes 99.9 percent of the rest of the world. They might sense they can do great things and they might know full well they have superior skills, but a lot of super achievers admit they did not lay out a plan that would get them as far as they went. Essentially, they went for “it” without knowing what “it” was.

So there is a lesson there.

It’s about making a decision about achieving a level of performance that will accomplish what others can’t or won’t dare try, then following through with such forceful, determined effort that you rightfully deserve the exceptional success you will ultimately and inevitably build.

You can’t win if you don’t perform. But, there is that critical caveat, which is that you must perform and build the proper relationships that will advertise and advance your performance. Networking and self-marketing are so important, but you have nothing to market if you don’t perform.

So perform.

The first step is to decide to go beyond average, above average, excellent and extraordinary.

The choice to go beyond—and the belief that you can—lets you do what others can’t or won’t.

So the first step in moving on this fast track is deciding to get on it. The second step is realizing you belong there.

The third step is making your engine perform harder, faster and stronger than you ever imagined any engine could perform.

It is so easy to slow yourself down by comparing yourself to everybody else. If everybody performs at one level, and you perform above that level, aren’t you doing extraordinary work? Well, maybe.

To be honest, that is the zone where I operated for most of my career as a journalist. I delivered more front-page investigative stories than anybody else at the paper, my work was excellent, and I was treated like a star. But the truth is, I could have done much, much more. I just didn’t feel like it. I had other priorities and distractions. That is perfectly okay, too. I set my priorities and honored them.

But when you hear that I was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize four times, you should also note that it also means that I did not win the Pulitzer Prize four times. Granted, some of that comes down to newspaper politics, but let’s get real. If I had pushed as hard on my work as the women who are making headlines for truly making history for what they are accomplishing, I’d have won it. I had the ability. I didn’t have the drive. I will never minimize what I accomplished as a journalist because I know it was extraordinary. But I always will know that I gave it 96 percent of my energy. That last 4 percent is what makes the difference.

And that is the 4 percent you need to commit to give if you wish to attain and sustain yourself at the highest levels of business. If you want to go where these women have gone, you have to commit to an exhausting level of performance that pushes you every day. The only thing stopping you from getting there is your own mind-set.

Make conscious decisions to advance yourself without waiting to be advanced. Numerous leaders have told me they get a bad taste in their mouth when they hear someone coming right out and asking for a promotion or a raise. Promote yourself, and the raise will come. You do that by raising your hand and taking on challenges that expand your value to the company and showcase the breadth of your experience and abilities. If you are constantly taking on more responsibility, the promotion or raise should come. If it doesn’t, you should talk to your boss and say, “What else can I be doing in order to advance to the next level?” Then do it.

Oh, and don’t forget the most important thing. Make sure you advertise your performance. There are all these different terms for it. Market yourself. Self-promote. Toot your own horn. Whatever. What good is stellar performance if you are the only one who knows about it?

The biggest mistake women make is assuming that their hard work will be recognized and rewarded. Bosses are busy. They have a lot of things to worry about. Their attention generally goes to what they are worrying about, instead of the things that are going well. They might notice what you are doing, but they might also forget it as soon as something bad distracts their attention. They aren’t keeping running lists of all your accomplishments that they can review before they sleep at night just so they can feel good about the world.

Performance alone will not make you the CEO. But you will not become the CEO without CEO-worthy performance. And you do belong at the highest level if you think you do.

I love what former Chicos/FAS CEO Shelley Broader once told me. We assume that people at the top are more naturally brilliant and possess far greater brainpower than the rest of us, but Broader said that assumption is just plain wrong. Granted, it may be easier for some people to operate in that realm than others, but we do have far more control over our own destiny than we acknowledge.

We can exercise that control by making the decision to perform, learn, and deliver results.