Hey, I’m James. Thanks for being here!
You probably visited this site because you want to crack the code on how to Win the Day in your own life. But, before we do that, I want to share a bit about where that mentality came from and what got me here today…
I grew up in beautiful Brisbane, Australia. I had a successful corporate career where I managed a team of 30 financial advisers for a company with $2 billion under management. We had a great team, wonderful clients, and it’s a chapter I remember fondly.
However, I began to get more attuned to a voice deep inside me that quietly whispered, “This is not your path.” Perhaps you’ve had a similar moment in your career.
I suspect this voice had called to me many times before – but I couldn’t hear it because I wasn’t listening. I was too busy ‘going with the flow’ which, as it turns out, is almost certainly a horrible blueprint to follow.
Let me take you right back — before my corporate career — so I can tell you a little more about how I know that’s true…
Toward the end of high school and the start of university, ‘going with the flow’ left me physically weak and mentally sick, including being held prisoner by a debilitating anxiety disorder that had a stranglehold on my life – and almost took my life.
Many of my advantages, like being born to a loving family and having a good education, left me feeling worthless and led to the conclusion that I was a malfunctioned human destined for the scrapheap. And since a picture tells a thousand words...
One day, at 23 years old, that all reached a boiling point when I had a complete mental breakdown. It took a lot of soul-searching to understand what was wrong and, most importantly, how to make it right. But, finally, for the first time in my life, I decided to never feel like a victim again – and to help as many people as possible to do the same.
From that moment, I began to upgrade my life in every way possible. I consumed everything I could find on peak performance, relationships, and resilience; I began writing down my goals; I got a dietitian to prepare a personalized meal plan; I stopped the late night partying; I completely overhauled my daily routine; and I started reaching out to successful people to find out what they were doing that I wasn’t.
While any true progress takes time, and there's certainly been some speed bumps along the way, it wasn’t long before I realized that I was creating a happy and productive life even faster than I had created a miserable and destructive life. Finally, I began to receive – and enjoy – the health, meaning, and growth that I thought was simply not on my path.
Fast forward a few years into my financial career, like I mentioned earlier, when I approached a crossroads: do I stay in Brisbane (where I had lived my entire life) in a corporate role, or do I answer the call to adventure and test myself in an entirely new environment?
Making the biggest leap yet out of my comfort zone, I moved to Boston to study an MBA. That new environment exposed me to entrepreneurship, where I saw people my age and younger who were pitching ideas, raising money, and going after their dreams. It gave me a thrill like nothing I’d ever experienced, but the real benefit was recognizing that I could do it, too.
Fast forward to today, and the Win the Day mentality has become my life…
I’ve written three bestselling books (translated into 15+ languages), interviewed some of the world’s most successful people, and produced a multimillion-dollar film. I’ve personally coached Olympic gold medallists, billion-dollar CEOs, and special forces operators, and my Win the Day content reaches 2M+ people each month — and is growing fast.
Yet, I still shake my head when I think about how close I came to never experiencing this journey at all.
You see, most people cruise through life on autopilot or reach a point that becomes their final destination. In doing so, they completely ignore the extraordinary abundance and opportunity that awaits, if they only make a few simple tweaks.
Through it all, I’ve realized that always being crystal clear on a) Who you are, and b) Where you want to go, provides the ultimate filter for making decisions. Today, whenever I am met with a decision, I simply ask, “Does this help me win?” as in, does it harmonize with my values and the direction I want to go in.
When you live with that filter, you live in alignment and integrity with who you are…
Not only will you be happier, more fulfilled, and more productive, but people will be drawn to you. Opportunities will find their way to you, rather than you needing to chase them – and the value of those opportunities gets exponentially larger over time.
I’ve also realized that the three greatest assets you can have are:
• Health: The more energy you’ve got, the more you can give.
• Relationships: The most powerful accelerant, amplifier, and antidote (plus, it's the most significant way to enjoy life); and
• Adversity: The gift that turns you into the person worthy of the success you desire.
As I’ve continued this journey of growth, that quiet voice inside me is now a loud and thunderous supporter that keeps me focused on the mission at hand: to help as many people as possible to adopt the Win the Day mentality, so they can inspire others to do the same.
So, if you’re ready to Win, you’ve come to the right place. I look forward to serving you...
Onward and upward always,
James Whittaker
#WinTheDay
PS — If you'd like to meet some of the people I've worked with and helped, click here.