The Worlds Quickest Way to Peak Performance

There is so much talk about peak performance — how to reach it and what rewards it brings.

My background as a professional athlete, and now as the owner of a busy futures brokerage, has taught me a lot about what it truly takes to operate at your best. For years, I worked relentlessly to improve — reading the books, going to seminars, meditating, training — yet I ignored the elephant in the room: alcohol.

Take a look around any office on a Friday morning.

Does it look like a room full of people performing at their peak?

Of course not.

Half the room can barely string a sentence together.

We love to talk big — winning, outperforming, getting promoted. But we also cling to a culture where “business socialising” is nothing more than getting drunk in a suit. And when you combine alcohol with poor sleep — another massively overlooked pillar of performance — you get someone who is nowhere near their best.

And the ripple effect is huge.

Everything we do to improve ourselves gets wiped out overnight:

• Motivation to exercise? Gone.

• Meditation routine? Gone.

• Healthy diet? Replaced by junk.

• Clear mind? Buried under anxiety and exhaustion.

Yet nobody wants to acknowledge this obvious performance killer.

Sport worked this out decades ago — why hasn’t business?

Top athletes stopped drinking years ago.

Ignore the occasional headline about one star falling out of a nightclub — the reality is that most elite performers drink very little or not at all. Don’t fool yourself into thinking your idols are slamming pints every weekend.

In elite sport and in business, the margins between success and failure are razor-thin. Athletes figured this out a long time ago. Why is the corporate world so slow?

You might say:

“Well, I don’t need to run like Bolt or bend it like Beckham. I only need my brain.”

But that’s simply not true.

Mind and body are one.

You cannot come close to peak cognitive ability when you’re exhausted, inflamed, dehydrated, and recovering from a toxin.

Peak performance isn’t just for athletes — it’s a professional expectation.

Sir Dave Brailsford’s “marginal gains” philosophy transformed cycling: tiny improvements stacked up to create a winning edge.

Athletes:

✔ eat well

✔ train hard

✔ sleep deeply

✔ avoid alcohol especially near competition

Now compare that to the corporate world — where the competition is just as fierce.

Every day:

• You’re competing for deals

• Competing for promotions

• Competing for bonuses

• Competing to stay ahead in an industry moving at breakneck speed

And yet many still prepare like amateurs.

Peak performance demands a thriving body and a thriving mind — they’re a team. Your team.

If you want to operate at your best, you need to treat yourself like an office athlete.

The secret is already out — the top performers have moved on.

Look around your industry.

There are now thousands of highly successful professionals who don’t drink or drink very little. They’ve figured out what others haven’t yet:

If your goal is peak performance, alcohol isn’t an option.

Cutting it out isn’t restrictive — it’s a competitive advantage.