MESSAGE #672 THE STREAK IS OVER…

/0 Comments/in /by

“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 #671 PRINCETON REUNIONS…

/0 Comments/in /by

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nick Deeb, in the US Army.

This weekend was Reunions weekend at Princeton University. This event is not your typical college reunion. Instead of every 5, 10, 25 years, Princetonians have one every year. This year marked the 150th anniversary of the first class-based reunion in Princeton’s history from 1859 (Class of 1856).

Many people think of “reunions” as one big party. With 15 huge tents spread out all over campus, each representing five graduating classes. Every tent has their own band. It was definitely the biggest party I’ve ever attended, with about 20,000 alum and over 20,000 guests and hundreds of local high schoolers that sneak in (a wristband is needed for admittance).

But it’s not just a weekend of partying – there are actually events all weekend, such as, An Afternoon of Magic, the Princeton Entrepreneurs’ Network Conference, sporting events, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, tours and workshops. Some of the graduates in attendance were Pete Carry ’64, Retired Executive Editor, Sports Illustrated, Mark Shapiro ’89, General Manager, Cleveland Indians, and Chris Buja ’84, of Google, Inc. I spoke with a wonderful young man from the class of 1959. After leaving Princeton, he worked in the field of law and he comes back every five years. This year was his 10th time back. “My favorite part is the P-rade. It starts with the oldest living alum and ends with the youngest.”

“Watching the oldest alum bravely leading the charge with the silver cane (usually in a golf cart) with tens of thousands of people cheering him on is easily the most incredible moment in all of Reunions. It reminds everyone there how important it is to take moments to celebrate life, which, when it really comes down to it, is what Princeton Reunions is all about. ” (From Princetonreunions.com)

“Taking moments to celebrate life.”

I like that.

We live in such a microwave society that we are constantly looking to what we’re doing next. Speeding up so we can get to the next red light. Looking towards the weekend, the end of the school year, or our next vacation. We want everything, including success, at light speed.

It is very important to set goals, and work towards them, but you need to enjoy the journey. Take moments every day to celebrate life. That’s meditation. Take moments to enjoy playing your sport or the education you are getting. Celebrate the relationships in your life.

Every morning I wake up, meditate, and workout. I always start with jumping rope outside and while I’m doing that, I focus on everything around me. Everything in my life, big and small. I appreciate it all. It sets the tone for my day.

Remember, people don’t sing to get to the end of the song. They sing because they enjoy the process of singing.

Don’t play a tennis match to get the trophy or a ranking. Play for the enjoyment of it. The enjoyment of pushing yourself. The enjoyment of getting fit. The enjoyment of constant improvement.

That’s life. Celebrate it.

“We have only ONE chance on this earth at that fantastic adventure called life.”
-DALE CARNEGIE


Thanks for reading.


MESSAGE #670

/0 Comments/in /by


Stop majoring in minor things!

MESSAGE #669 BEE GREAT…

/0 Comments/in /by

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Melissa Sapio and Robert Perrine. A special Happy Birthday to you both!

So yesterday was the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. There were 293 spellers from all over the country, ages 9-15. Speller 250 was Gabriela Diaz, of Corpus Christi, Texas, who practices spelling while jumping on her trampoline.

One of my favorite words is humuhumunukunukuapuaa.

While watching the spelling bee, I noticed the focus of some of the spellers, and the nerves of others. I noticed techniques, from asking specific questions about the word to writing it on their hand with their finger. This was competition in the true sense of the word, just like sports, music, school and work. These young men and women were there to win.

Kavya Shivashankar, Speller 110 was the eventual winner. Was she born to win the spelling bee?

No, she was trained to win the spelling bee. Even the judges, after a someone would correctly spell a word, said, “He/she has certainly put in the time.”

It’s not about talent. It’s about hard work. Hard work and the right strategy.

The problem is, nobody wants to put in the work. Everybody wants to be an overnight success. Do you know how long it takes to become an overnight success? Ten years!

Me? I like to think that I work hard. I work hard on become a better coach, player, speaker and person. I work hard promoting my book and blog. But I make sure I have fun too. I try to stay balanced.

I put in the time, but I also make time for things I enjoy doing, like eating good food.

I guess you could use a spelling bee word to describe me – lickerish, one who likes eating.

Work hard, have fun…every day.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #668 CAN’T IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD…

/0 Comments/in /by

“Nobody cares about what you can’t do.”
-GREG HICKMAN

Starting today, I want you to eliminate the word “can’t” from your vocabulary.

I continued my 21 day program this morning as I meditated and worked out as soon as I got out of bed. I didn’t let myself negotiate with myself to say “I can’t do it.” I knew I could do it, but would I?

I didn’t really feel like it, but I did it anyway.

Exceptions shatter dreams.

What are you putting off?

What is it that you think you “can’t” do?

Recently, I was teaching an 8-year old beginner girl. She was doing great and having fun, but then she started missing and getting discouraged. She started using the “can’t” word. It got worse. Finally, I said, “Okay, let’s not use the word can’t.” So she would miss another shot and start to say, “I can’t…” but then, stopped herself, smiled, and said, “I can!”

Guess what? She started hitting the ball well again, she became more energetic, and become more hopeful.

So eliminate that four-letter word from your vocabulary when you’re on the field, on the court, in court, at work, at school, and in relationships.

It CAN make a difference.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #667 YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE…

/0 Comments/in /by

“Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.”
-BALTASAR GRACIAN, 1601-1658

How many times have you seen an upset in sports? The underdogs beating the favorites. It happens all the time. If you have nothing to lose, you go all out. If you are supposed to win, many times you are tentative.

It’s better to go all out and lose than it is to hold back and win. If you are the favorite, don’t ease up.

This applies to life also. Go all out in relationships. Go all out in your job. Your musical instrument.

If you give your best, how can you do any better?

At the end of the day, ask yourself, did I go all out, or did I hold back? Did I win, or did I learn?

Be happy with your effort, not your result.

That’s all you need to know and do.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #666 POTENTIAL ENERGY…

/0 Comments/in /by

“I am just a regular guy, and I’ll show you what a regular guy can do”
-LANCE ARMSTRONG

It’s French Open time.

The red clay at Roland Garros is definitely slower than the courts at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, but that ball will still be hit over 100 miles per hour.

It will be hit with different spins, at different heights over the net, and all over the 78 foot long court.

But look at the tennis ball photograph above. That ball only has potential energy. Nothing will happen until its state changes. Nothing changes until that player picks it up, tosses it in the air and puts it in play.

You are like that tennis ball.

You are potential energy. You could have all these great ideas. You could say you’re going to do all these great things. But unless you actually change states and take action, nothing will happen.

Take action today.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #665 PERCEPTION

/0 Comments/in /by

“People only see what they are prepared to see.”~ RALPH WALDO EMERSON

There is no good or bad.
There is no right or wrong.
Our perception is our reality.

Two people can experience the same event and walk away with two different perspectives.

If you lose a tennis match, you can walk away saying…

“I lost. I’m a terrible player.”

Or you can say…

“Even though the score wasn’t to my liking, I actually learned quite a bit and next time I will do better.”

If you lost your job, you could feel sorry for yourself or you could look at it as a blessing in disguise to do something that you really love.

Look at the image above for a few moments.

What do you see?

There is no correct answer. You might see a giant corkscrew. Look at it from another angle and you might see smoke from a chimney, or a giant clam opening. It may remind some people of Rapunzel’s long hair.

So there are different ways to see things. Try to look at things from different perspectives and remember, there is no right or wrong and there is no good or bad.

It is your choice whether you see things as positive or negative.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #664 WITHIN OR WITHOUT – THAT IS THE QUESTION…

/0 Comments/in /by

“If you do not have success within, you have success without.”
-ED TSENG

The quote above is all you need to know if you want to be successful.

It’s all you need to know if you want to be happy.

If you truly want to become successful and happy, stop focusing on the external riches, like money, status, and material things, and start focusing more on the internal riches, like inner peace, love, and compassion. Effort and attitude are more important than outcome.

Incorporate meditation, relaxation, and self-improvement into your daily life and you will enter a new world.

We’re all so busy that we feel that we don’t have time to meditate, relax or read. But the truth is, if you’re too busy to better yourself – you’re too busy. That’s like saying you don’t have time to stop for gas because you’re too busy driving. Eventually it will catch up to you.

So here’s your homework…

Right after you read this blog, go for a walking meditation. Notice and appreciate everything around you, like the trees, the cars, the sounds, and the smells. Take deep breaths and have gratitude for all the big and little things in life. The good and the not so good.

Let me know how it goes.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #663

/0 Comments/in /by

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
~DR. SEUSS


Thank you to Michelle Frias in Los Angeles.