MESSAGE #532 BE LIKE MIKE…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Michael Jordan.

We all know that Michael Jordan was cut from his basketball team in the 10th grade. He then went home and cried for the rest of the night. Many people would have given up and tried a different sport, but Michael went to work. The next school year, Michael arrived at school every morning at 6am to worked out with the coach.

Size-wise, many people had the same physical build as Jordan, some more so. So how then did Michael Jordan become MICHAEL JORDAN?

He certainly worked hard. VERY hard. But Jordan also had something inside. DESIRE. He says he was “hungry.” He also had the mindset of a champion BEFORE he became the Michael Jordan that we all know.

Jordan once said that if he ever woke up and thought that he couldn’t get any better than the day before, he would give up basketball. He had a growth mindset.

He was never satisfied. He never said, “I’ve made it.” In his eyes, he never got to the top of the mountain, he was always climbing.

I try to be like Mike. I try to get better every day in all areas of my life. It’s a process, and I’m enjoying the process. Someone once said that there are no limits, just plateaus and we need to continue to go higher and higher.

I agree.

Homework: Be like Mike…today.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #531 DON’T WAIT!

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Jim Mulligan in Orlando, Florida.

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.”
-BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

MESSAGE #530 THE ONLY FORMULA YOU NEED TO KNOW…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Grant Williams in Cape Town, South Africa.

Do you have a voice inside your head?

Of course you do-we all do.

It is your choice, though, whether you use it in a positive or negative way.

Let me explain…
If you’re in a match situation and you hit two forehands into the net, do you say to yourself…

A) WHY am I hitting everything into the net?!
B) WHY am I so terrible?!
C) HOW can I fix this?
D) Maybe I should try golf…

These are different reactions to the same situation.

Hopefully your answer was C).

Winners ask “HOW?”
Losers ask “WHY?”

The only formula you need to know is this…

E + P = R

Event plus Perception equals Reality.
Write it down on an index card and keep it in your tennis bag, book bag or briefcase. Look at it and think about it often.
A winner says “I can do this better,” and a loser says, “That’s the way I’ve always done it.”

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #529 READ TODAY…WIN TOMORROW…

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So yesterday I played at the brand new USTA Indoor Training Center at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (US Open).

The facility is about 80 percent complete and is already amazing. As you walk up to the building, you see the beautiful glass front and as you step inside, all the past champions are looking at you from above. The courts play beautifully. Currently they have nine indoor courts with a viewing platform above. Three more courts will be soon completed in a different part of the building. The immaculate locker rooms are identical to the ones used by the pros in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Being on these historical grounds truly motivated me. Now let me try to motivate you…

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
-MARCEL PROUST

“When a thing is done, it’s done. Don’t look back. Look forward to your next objective.”
-GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze, than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”
-JACK LONDON

“Nothing can work me damage except myself; the harm that I sustain, I carry about with me, and never am a real sufferer but by my own fault.”
-ST. BERNARD

“Happiness comes to those who are moving toward something they want very much to happen. And it almost always involves making someone else happy.”
-EARL NIGHTINGALE

“Purpose channels everything else…Without the sense of purpose, the spirit of adventure can go in many different directions, and the capacity for growth probably would not be realized as completely.”
-JIM NEWTON
“Come to the edge!
(It’s too high!)
Come to the edge!
(We might fall!)
Come to the edge!
And he pushed them…and they flew!”
-CHRISTOPHER LOGUE, poet
Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #528 I’M PLAYING IN THE US OPEN TODAY!

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It is many a child’s dream to play in the US Open.

Today, I will be playing at the US Open, Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in their brand new indoor facility.

Am I playing for money?
No.

Is it a tournament?
No.

I am hitting with sports agent, Ian Rubel.

I work hard, but I play hard. See, success is not about money. There is nothing wrong with making money, but many people think that in order to be happy, they need a lot of money. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Success is about enjoying the journey.
Working hard and playing hard.
Making a difference in the world-every day.
Making the best of every situation.
Being nice.
Having gratitude for all the big and little things in your life.

In these tough economic times, it’s easy to say, “Why me?” but it’s all perception. Even though you may be out of a job, there are people in the world that don’t even know if they will live long enough to have their next meal. Bob Ryland, the first black tennis pro, went through hell, but if you look at him, he is always smiling and laughing.

Don’t look for success in money or material things.
Don’t look for success in the future…

Success is already inside you. Enjoy today, it’s all we have right now.


Thanks for checking in.

MESSAGE #527 HAVE A GREAT DAY…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to Bernie in the UK…safe trip to Zimbabwe.

A young woman successfully achieved a considerable weight loss-here is what she did: She pictured explicitly the weight she wanted to reach by a certain age. Each time she was tempted, she estimated how long it would take her to eat the gooey desserts, chocolates, or other rich food. Then she thought how happy she would feel after those few minutes she had not eaten it. For the first time she began to experience the thrill of self-mastery. At bedtime, she ran over her temptations mentally and added up all the fattening things she had not eaten that day. Eagerly, she looked forward to topping her record the next day. She achieved her weight goal. And she held it, too.

From Have a Great Day by Norman Vincent Peale.

Do you think this only applies to weight loss?

Of course not. Apply this strategy to sports, sales or school and you will get closer to peak performance.

Listen to Ed Tseng on Heal Yourself Talk Radio with Rebbekah White and top sports psychologist, Dr. John F. Murray… http://www.blogtalkradio.com/healyourselftalkradio/2009/01/07/Improve-Your-Mental-Performance

MESSAGE #526

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I had a bad day yesterday. Let me rephrase that…Nothing went my way yesterday.

Hmmm…

How about this?

I learned a lot yesterday.

YES!

I could sit here feeling sorry for myself, or I could change my perception of the situation. What do you think I’m going to choose?

LET’S GO!!

A setback is a setup for a comeback.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #525 YOU GET WHAT YOU FOCUS ON…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nick Scozzari.

Perhaps the most impressive and memorable quality of leaders is the way they responded to failure. Like Karl Wallenda, the great tightrope aerialist-whose life was at stake each time he walked the tightrope…

Shortly after Wallenda fell to his death in 1978 (traversing a 75-foot-high wire in downtown San Juan, Puerto Rico), his wife, also an aerialist, discussed that fateful San Juan walk, “perhaps his most dangerous.” She recalled: “All Karl thought about for three straight months prior to it was falling. It was the first time he’d ever thought about that, and it seemed to me that he put all energies into not falling rather than walking the tightrope.” Mrs. Wallenda added that her husband even went so far as to personally supervise the installation of the tightrope, making certain that the guide wires were secure, “something he had never even thought of doing before.”

…It became increasingly clear that when Karl Wallenda poured his energies into not falling rather than walking the tightrope, he was virtually destined to fail.

Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, Leaders (New York: Harper & Row, 1986), 69-70.

MESSAGE #524 HOW TO USE SELF-TALK…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to my sister, the great Lucy Perrine…Happy Birthday!

I know you talk to yourself. It’s okay, don’t worry. That is normal. But my question to you is how do you talk to yourself when things aren’t going your way?

There are two ways to talk to yourself. Permanently or temporarily.

Permanent self-talk:
I always crack under pressure.
I can’t beat players ranked higher than me.
I am so mentally weak.
All referees are unfair.
Why should I even try, I’m not making any more money.
I just can’t do this.

Temporary self-talk:
I had a chance to win today but just made too many errors.
I tried my best, next time I’ll do better.
I can’t do that…yet.
I lost focus towards the end today.
My energy level was low today, probably because I didn’t eat properly.

Words are powerful. Many times we don’t even realize what we are saying to ourselves. Be mindful of how you are speaking to yourself…it is the difference between winning and losing.

Don’t call it failure, call it feedback.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #523

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Melissa Thurston in Boston.

“Success is not due to some genius or some magic. It is generally due to holding on, failing to let go. You decide to learn a language, to become a pianist, to reach a goal in business, to become a better human being.

Will you succeed or fail? It depends on how much pluck and perseverance you put behind your decision. The decision that nothing can conquer, the grip that nothing can detach brings success. The Chinese have a saying for it: With time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes satin.”
-author unknown


Thanks for reading.