MESSAGE #1362 ARE YOU A THERMOMETER?
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nick DiPillo, former WNBA assistant coach of the New York Liberty.
I had a meeting of the minds today with Nick DiPillo. We were talking about mental toughness in basketball…and life.
I asked him what the biggest challenges were for basketball players.
One common challenge was that some players lacked focus. They were thinking about the wrong things at the wrong time.
Many young basketball think about homework, other sports or other external factors when practicing or competing.
The pro basketball players think about the commercial they need to shoot or other commitments they may need to tend to after practice or the game.
The specific distraction may be different for young and pro basketball players, but the challenge is the same—they have the wrong focus.
The average or below average players are thermometers—they focus on what’s happening on the outside, other than basketball.
The great basketball players are thermostats—they can change their internal temperature, re-focus and kick butt on the task at hand.
Mental Toughness Tip: Before practice or competition, make a list of specific issues that may be concerning you. Write them down. Keep them in your locker and forget about them until the end of your session. Stay focused on the present moment, that’s where the power is.
MESSAGE #1216 ACTION
Today’s message is especially dedicated to all the great basketball/tennis players, coaches and parents that attended my “Mental Edge” seminar.
In my seminar today, in conjunction with the great Micah Lancaster’s basketball session, I talked about how to get the mental edge in sports and life. I shared some of the mental secrets of the world’s greatest athletes.
One of the keys I stressed was that knowing the mental secrets was not good enough–you need to APPLY them.
Information is nothing without implementation.
Everyone knows what they need to do, but most people don’t do it.
And here’s the secret…
A real champion does what they need to do, when they need to do it, whether they feel like it or not.
You don’t have to feel like a champion to act like a champion. It’s a choice, and it can begin right now.
A special thanks to Brian Klatsky for making “The Mental Edge” possible today.
MESSAGE #1115 SECRET EQUATION
This morning I was listening to a great speaker and coach, Micah Lancaster. He said something I thought was brilliant…
2+2=0
Too negative plus Too lazy equals Nothing.
I like that.
More on Micah coming soon…
MESSAGE #924 LEARN FROM BASKETBALL
“I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.”
-MICHAEL JORDAN
Mike Cavallo is a basketball coach from Staten Island, NY. Cavallo attended St. Peter’s High School and scored the most points in a playoff tournament (78 points in three games). He then went on to play at Susquehanna University and is now coaching the stars of tomorrow.
I recently caught up with Mike and asked him what it took to reach peak performance in basketball. Here’s what he said:
#1 Dedicate yourself – You have to commit to a growth mindset and constant improvement. The sky’s the limit.
#2 Have fun – If you enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll work harder. If you work harder, you’ll get better results.
#3 Be confident – No matter what the score is, stay confident. The key is believing in yourself even when nobody else does.
Great advice. Thank you, Coach Cavallo.
MESSAGE #588 THE POWER OF FOCUS…
Today’s message is especially dedicated to all the student-athletes trying out for high school spring sports this week.
One of my favorite things to do is study extremely successful performers – elite athletes, CEOs, musicians, presidents, doctors, and students. I have found that one thing they have in common is this…
FOCUS
Last night I was on a tele-seminar on focus with Dr. Rob Gilbert and Mike Schwartz. Physical skills take a while to develop, on the field, in the classroom and at the office, but you can instantly become better by changing your focus.
What are you focusing on?
Basketball players, while taking a foul shot, should focus on a specific part of the rim. However, the ones that miss are focusing on something else, like the crowd or that they may miss the shot.
Many people tend to focus too little and think too much. This is called paralysis by analysis.
We need to focus, but we need to focus on the right things, such as the process versus the product. The process is your effort, strategy and attitude. The product is winning.
When you focus less on winning, you actually win more.
When practicing, studying or reading, do it for 15 minutes, then take a break. Repeat. We can only focus for a certain period of time and by taking regular breaks, we can stay focused for longer periods of time.
Multi-tasking was also a topic of discussion. We can do between five to eight things at one time, but we can only do ONE thing well.
Focus on one thing. The right thing. And go all out.
So good luck to all of you trying out this week and remember what FOCUS stands for…
Follow One Course Until Successful
Thanks for reading.
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