I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field.
-WALTER PAYTON, football player
Can you have the same attitude as Walter Payton in what you do?
Sports, sales or school?
Of course you can.
But the real question is, WILL YOU?
My friend, Dr. Rob Gilbert is a sport psychologist who once asked the great boxing trainer, Teddy Atlas how he taught boxers how to overcome fear. Atlas said that boxing is like war. There are two types of soldiers: heros and the cowards. The difference between them is not fear itself, but how each deal with the fear.
The hero feels the fear and moves towards it.
The coward feels the fear and moves away from it.
The key is doing what you need to do, when you need to do it, whether you feel like it or not.
The more you move towards your fear, the more comfortable you will be with it.
Fear has no control over you, unless you let it.
Zeke Bonura was a first baseman in the major leagues. He had one of the top fielding percentages in pro baseball during his playing days.
The reason why Bonura’s average was so good was because he didn’t go for anything he thought he might miss.
In fact, he was known for giving the ball the “Mussolini Wave” with his glove as he let it go by. Eventually, Bonura got traded.
Zeke Bonura didn’t go all-out.
Is that what you want to be known for?
Someone who didn’t make mistakes?
The most successful people in the world made the most mistakes.
Why would you want to train yourself to hold back?
As you go through your day today, remember what Zeke Bonura did…
And do the opposite.
You can’t give up in this game. You never know what can happen.
-MICKY WARD, professional boxer played by Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter
You may not be a boxer, but whatever game it is you are playing, you can’t give up either. Persist and anything can happen.
I only have one tip for you today:
Drink more water.
There are many benefits of drinking water, among them are:
1. It can help you lose weight.
2. It can help prevent and relieve headaches.
3. It can help you look younger and have healthier skin
4. It can help you be more productive at work.
5. It can prevent you from getting sick.
6. It can put you in a better mood.
7. It can reduce the risk of cancer.
Our bodies are made up mostly of water, therefore when we are more properly hydrated, we will run faster, hit harder and focus like never before.
Absolutely, positively, guaranteed.
Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it is the lightning that does the work.
-MARK TWAIN
You might be able to talk the talk, but can you walk the talk?
Some people love to say that they are talented or skilled, but that doesn’t impress me.
Talk is cheap.
Here’s what I care about…
1. How hard are you working?
2. What actions are you taking to help you attain your goals?
3. Are you making the necessary adjustments if your current plan is not working?
I don’t care if you SAY you are going to start working out, or quit smoking or start practicing more.
I only care about what actions you are taking.
You get results by action, not by words.
So impress me, I dare you.
The other day, I was teaching a private lesson to two ladies, who happen to be good friends. We began our normal warmup at the service line and for some reason, they were extremely chatty this particular morning. I gave them some tips, but my voice seemed to get drowned out by their voices. For a moment I was frustrated. They are not competitive players…should I just let them talk and have fun?
I gave them about a minute to chat and then I brought them up to the net and said:
“Okay, here’s what we are going to do. (Puts a target on the court). For the next few minutes, I want you to focus on aiming for this target.”
The chatting instantly stopped and I saw focus in their eyes. They even began hitting better.
Then, I said, “Now you have a new focus, aim high over the net.”
They did it quite successfullly and the focus remained.
After that, I told them to focus on exhaling at contact.
Same great result.
These two ladies ended up having a great session.
So what’s the moral of the story?
It’s not the student. It’s the teacher.
It’s not the customer. It’s the salesperson.
I think you get the point.
If you are not getting the results, change your approach. Focus is not good enough, you need to focus on the right things.
It’s not whether you can focus or not, it’s whether you CHOOSE to or not.
Suppose you are down at the beach and you catch a crab. If you put it in a bucket, you need to cover the bucket or the crab will climb out. But if you catch more than one crab, you don’t need to put a cover on the bucket. Why?
Because when one crab tries to climb out of the bucket, the other crabs will grab it and pull it back in. It doesn’t matter how many crabs are in the bucket.
Now what does this have to do with you?
You’re not a crab and other crabs will not bring you down.
But other people might bring you down by things that they say or things that they do. Certain events or situations might bring you down.
But don’t let them.
You choose how you react to different people and different situations. There are some things that you cannot control, but you can control your actions. And your reactions. Here’s my recommended action:
Keep climbing.
The only pressure I’m under is the pressure I’ve put on myself.
-MARK MESSIER, hockey great
Recently, there was a football kicker training at my sports center. He is only 13 but has “phenom” written all over him. He has been working hard, doing all the right things and developing quite nicely.
This past week he was training for a pro event, which is a very big deal and only a few days away.
Then something happened.
He started missing kicks he was making easily the weeks prior. He started looking and feeling nervous. He was not the same person.
What changed?
Nothing physically, but mentally he started over-thinking. He was focusing on how important this upcoming pro event is. He started trying too hard. The little negative voice inside his head began getting louder and louder.
This happens all the time in sports and life.
When the pressure’s on, many people fold.
But it is not pressure, it is perception.
There are two ways to look at pressure–you can either get frustrated or fascinated by it.
The choice is yours.
What would be my advice to this young kicker?
1. Understand that nerves are normal. Everyone gets nervous.
2. Take a deep breath to lower your heart rate and stay in the present moment.
3. Focus on the target, not the outcome.
4. Act as if it were impossible to fail.
5. Cultivate gratitude and have fun!
For a free 10-minute mental toughness consultation, email: or call 609.558.1077
Today’s message is especially dedicated to my sister, the great Lucy Perrine. Happy Birthday!
“Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are.”
-JULIUS CHARLES HARE