Why the Top 1% Win at Everything | #86

By Armaan Athwal

Traits of the Elite

I’ve always been curious about what separates the great from the good.

In any discipline. Whether it's business, scientific research, education, music, writing, or athletics, there’s a small group of people who seem to win at everything they touch. It’s easy to say they got lucky, but when you look closer, you start to see a pattern.

What stands out is how they carry themselves. How they think, how they respond, how they show up. And over time, I’ve noticed five traits that consistently show up across top performers, regardless of their personality or field.

What’s interesting is that these traits don’t require you to be like them. Kobe Bryant and Steve Jobs were intense and aggressive in their pursuit of excellence. They were relentless, vocal, and driven by fire. Tim Duncan and Warren Buffett, on the other hand, built greatness through quiet consistency and methodical leadership. Totally different personalities, yet all at the top of their game. There’s no one mold for success. What matters is committing fully to your own style and mastering it.

But underneath the surface, the operating system is often the same.

1. Emotional Intelligence
This is the foundation. If you can’t regulate yourself, everything else eventually collapses. Elite performers know how to bring themselves back to baseline, even in chaos. They’re not immune to stress or pressure, but they recover faster. They can separate the signal from the noise, reflect without spiraling, and make decisions without letting ego lead the way. They manage their emotions, automatically adjusting while keeping poise.

2. Resilience
You can’t rise without setbacks. The best don’t just bounce back, they adapt. They shift direction without losing momentum. I’ve seen people fail publicly, burn out, get rejected, and still come back better, because they don’t let failure become identity. Resilience isn’t about being unaffected. It’s about how fast you can recalibrate, rethink, and reengage.

3. Focus
The ability to lock in, truly lock in, is a game changer. Deep work, full presence, no tab-hopping, no half-assing. They’re not just busy, they’re immersed. Most people lose hours to shallow focus. Elite performers multiply time by eliminating distraction and going deep. The results speak for themselves, because intense focus compounds.

4. Consistency
This is where 90% of people fall off. The top 1% don’t just work hard once. They work hard every day. They treat progress like stacking bricks. Small, boring, and repetitive.

5. Playmaking
This is the trait I admire most. It’s the ability to create opportunities instead of waiting for them. Top performers know how to move the pieces. They initiate, they connect dots, they influence outcomes. Whether it’s launching a new project or elevating the people around them, they’re not waiting on the sidelines. They’re facilitators. They play offense. They make the moves.

You don’t need to be loud. You don’t need to be cutthroat. You just need to build a system that actually works for you and hold onto it long enough for it to work.

Quote of the Day

“Being relaxed, at peace with yourself, confident, emotionally neutral, loose, and free-floating. These are the keys to successful performance in almost everything.” - Wayne Dyer