MESSAGE #762 PICTURE THIS…
“We are what and where we are because we have first imagined it.”
-DONALD CURTIS
Today’s message is especially dedicated to yoga masters, Sue Elkind and Naime Jezzeny in Bucks County, PA.
The thoughts that you have are the results that you get.
Tiger Woods visualizes every shot before he takes it.
Roger Federer visualizes every shot before he hits it.
Anthony Robbins visualizes every seminar he gives before he gives it.
Do you think that they visualize negative events?
No way.
We are what we continuously think about, so if we keep thinking that we are not good at golf, guess what?
We’re not going to be good at golf.
Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The great athletes, students, business professionals and performers imagined themselves great before they became great.
Today I will be taping a segment for the “Let’s Talk with Gary Gellman” television show. Zig Ziglar has been on the show. Eli Manning (NY Giants), Nadia Comeneci (Olympic Gold Medalist), Dorothy Hammill (Olympic Gold Medalist), and Thomas Kinkade (International Artist), have as well.
I’m excited.
And I’m nervous.
Before I give a talk, I’m always nervous. But I don’t act nervous. I always visualize myself being successful and confident before I begin.
Today, while I’m driving to the studio, I will visualize myself on the show, in front of the cameras and being confident. I will mentally rehearse the main points of what I want to say. I will make the visualization as real as possible, imagining sounds and smells, as well as the surroundings. I will take deep diaphragmatic breaths to stay relaxed.
Anyone can use this technique.
Use it before a match.
Use it before asking someone out on a date.
Use it before taking a big exam.
But the key is, you have to USE IT.
Thanks for reading. Wish me luck today…
MESSAGE #679 HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ENERGY…
Last night I was a guest on the Essential Tennis Live radio show discussing the French Open Finals with Ian Westermann and Royce Sternquist. Bob Ryland, the first black pro also called in to the show. I had a great time. Listen to the recording here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/EssentialTennis/2009/06/08/Essential-Tennis-LIVE
Yesterday I started teaching at 8am and finished at 7pm. A long day by any standard, but I paced myself, took breaks, drank plenty of water and brought snacks. I had just enough time to go home, eat, shower and prep for the hour-long radio show. And I wasn’t even tired afterwards! I was energized.
I love what I do. I like to think that I’m making a difference. It’s not work to me. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and start writing down ideas. Most people don’t have energy because they are not doing what they love or focus on all the negatives or things that might go wrong.
Should we just look forward to our summer break, or our two weeks of vacation? Should we just “live” for the weekend?
Or should we do what we love and enjoy the rest of the year?
Do what you love and you won’t work a day in your life.
If you don’t want to change careers, try adding several activities during your week, including meditation and yoga to start enjoying every day.
At the beginning of every day, try appreciating everything around you. Be aware of everything you are doing. Be aware of your body. This will help you stay in the present instead of immediately turning the television or radio. We are on information overload nowadays. We are bombarded with information from the television commercials, radio, billboards, the internet and spam. Technology is great, but we need to consciously take time to get back to our true nature.
Take a deep breath right now…then begin.
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #678 HE DID IT, SHE DIDN'T…
“In the long run, the sword is beaten by the mind.”
-NAPOLEON
Roger Federer was seeded #2 and won the French Open.
Dinara Safina was seeded #1 and lost.
What was the difference?
The difference is how they handled the pressure. Even though Roger had never won the French Open, he has had more experience playing in pressure situations. And he knows that negative emotions produce negative results. This was Safina’s third Grand Slam final and she wanted it badly. She wanted it so she could say she truly was #1.
But as it turns out, Roger was calm and cool and Dinara self-destructed. She even double-faulted on match point.
Physically, there was very little difference between Federer/Soderling and Safina/Kuznetsova, so it all came down to the mental side.
If Safina focused on her game plan, her attitude and effort instead of the outcome, the result may have been different.
How you deal with pressure is up to you. You choose how you react. And your reaction/perception will affect your results.
Will this match make or break Safina’s career? Probably not, unless she lets it. If she learns from her experience and gets back to work, she’s young enough to still reach her prime. Much of what we think becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What do you think?
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #672 THE STREAK IS OVER…
“When you’re hanging in there against a team you were supposed to lose to, there’s a belief that you can win.”
-RICHARD LUSTBERG, sports psychologist
Well, the impossible happened yesterday in Paris at the French Open.
Rafael Nadal was finally beaten.
It was his first EVER loss at Roland Garros.
He had a 31-match winning streak and 32 consecutive sets won.
Amazing.
And he lost to…
Robin Soderling?
Soderling has never beaten Nadal. In fact, they played just weeks ago in Rome and Soderling won only one game. Oh, and Soderling has never gotten past the third round in a major tournament either.
So what happened yesterday? Soderling was in the zone. Nadal was not. There is not much difference in physical ability, so that means, on any given day, anyone can win. The difference is in the mind.
Soderling went all out.
He hit twice as many errors as Nadal, but he also hit twice as many winners. By being aggressive, he did not let Rafa take charge. He did not let Nadal play his game.
I like Soderling’s mindset: “I said to myself, ‘This is just another match. I won one set, why can’t I win two or three?’ I had to play aggressive against Nadal. You can’t just push the ball back.”
After one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, the giant-killer said, “I don’t want to get too excited, I still have another match.”
Nadal, surprisingly, during his interview, didn’t seem crushed. He even made a joke.
“You can’t win all the time. I have to lose with the same calm that I win with. This just shows that I need to prepare better, physically and mentally. I just have to work harder. My next preparation is the pool at my house. Give me three days, then I’m back to work.”
I am convinced that this will only be a minor setback for Rafa. After his match, he walked out of the locker room and instead of quickly exiting, he made a point to visit the tournament’s player support and transportation desks to say, “Ciao, merci.”
That’s a class act.
Now the question remains, will Roger (Federer) prevail?
Will he relax too much and possibly lose, or will he take advantage of this huge upset and win the only grand slam that has eluded him?
Only time will tell…
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #445 HOW TO STOP PERFORMANCE KILLING THOUGHTS…
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Robert Greene.
You can make or break a performance by the thoughts that arise in your mind. The winners and losers feel the same feelings but they take different action. Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, and Roger Federer all get negative, so it’s alright if you do. But it’s what they do when those thoughts arise that make the difference.
Here’s a tip to stop those performance killing thoughts from the book, “Good to GREAT GOLF,” by Dr. Rob Gilbert and John Sikes, Jr…
The Rubber Band – Put an elastic band on your wrist, and every time you become aware of a negative thought, snap the band against your wrist. The sudden quick pain will “snap you out” of the negativity and remind you to get your focus back on track.
You’ll never totally get rid of negative feelings, just make sure you accept those feelings, and then “snap” out of it.
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #410 BEST SELLER???
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great James Tillinghast in Delaware.
Well, it’s official – my new book, Game. Set. Life. is currently ranked higher than Roger Federer’s book, Billie Jean King’s, Gone with the Wind, Oprah’s, and Tennis For Dummies on Amazon.com.
I extend much gratitude to everyone that purchased my book on Amazon yesterday. It really helped bump me up from #386,000 to #4,988. Not a bad start.
Let’s have a contest…
Whoever can tell me (in as many words as you like) why you need a copy of Game. Set. Life., you win a free copy signed by myself and one of my friends, students and heroes, who wrote the forward to my book…Brad Abouchedid, Special Olympics, Gold Medalist in Tennis.
Let’s give it until Monday, September 15th at noon. Email me at ed10s26@yahoo.com and good luck!
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #408 US OPEN WINNERS
Congratulations to Serena Williams and Roger Federer for winning this year’s US Open tennis championship.
I have to admit, I’m quite impressed with both Serena and Roger. There is no doubt that they are elite athletes, but I know their secret.
Two words…
HARD WORK
Everyone sees their results on TV, but nobody sees how hard they work. Serena even talked about how hard she has been working in her interview after the match. Roger Federer trains in extreme conditions so that everything else will be easy. When you look at Serena, do you think, “Wow, she was blessed with a great body,” or do you think, “She must work out.” Of course she works out.
Nothing beats hard work.
“Diligence beats intelligence.”
Thanks for reading.
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