MESSAGE #801 BE LIKE MO…

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“Don’t be well-rounded…be sharp-edged.”

Well, it’s one of my favorite times of year again – the Major League Baseball Postseason. And my New York Yankees are looking to win their first World Series ring since 2000.

I just finished reading the most recent Sports Illustrated article on Yankee closer, Mariano Rivera.

I want you to be like Mo.

He only throws one pitch. And he throws it well – better than anybody.

Many people go through life trying to do everything well. They try to be “well-rounded.”

Would you like to be pretty good at many things, or would you like to be great at one thing? Only you can answer that.

Let me tell you about Mo…

In the postseason, “his 0.77 ERA is the lowest among all pitchers with at least 30 innings. He is the only man in history to get the last out of the World Series three times. No one is close to his record 34 postseason saves.” (Verducci, T. October 2009. Mariano Saves. Sports Illustrated, 46.)

Mariano only throws one pitch.

Well, he throws it 92% of the time.

It’s the cut-fastball, or the “cutter.”

“You know what’s coming, but you know what’s coming in horror movies too. It still gets you,” says former Kansas City Royals first baseman, Mike Sweeney.

And he does it under pressure. How?

Focus. The right mindset. Nothing bothers him.

“My mental approach is simple: Get three outs. As quick as possible. If I can throw three, four pitches, the better it is. I don’t care how I get you out. As long as I get you out. The quicker, the better. And that’s the only thing I have on my mind.”

Rivera is nearly 40 years old and his stats are better now, towards the end of his career.

He takes it seriously because he knows one day he won’t be able to stand on that mound of dirt surrounded by the Merion Bluegrass. He doesn’t go out and party. He believes in taking care of himself.

“I have bad games, but my confidence doesn’t change. Right after the game I will ask, ‘What happened?’ I go through the game. After that, it doesn’t hurt me at all,” says the Yankee closer.

In September, when Rivera blew his first save since April 24, he walked out of the clubhouse enjoying a chocolate ice cream cone.

Win as if you expect it and lose as if you enjoy it.

“I don’t want to second-guess myself when I retire. I want to know that I did everything that I could possibly do for my teammates to give us a chance win. If it didn’t happen, I don’t want it to be because I didn’t give it my best.”

Be like Mo today…


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #800 DO YOU HEAR THAT??

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“Don’t die with your music still in you.”
-DR. WAYNE DYER

Last night I attended a lecture at Westminster Choir College delivered by Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Zander is a conductor but it’s not about the music – it’s about life. The talk centered around the topic of The Art of Possibility, which is also the title of his best-selling book.

There are two worlds, according to Zander…the downward spiral and radiating possibility.

The downward spiral is a hopeless world of limiting beliefs, while the world of radiating possibility is filled with glorious opportunities.

What determines which world we live in?

The choices we make. Our perceptions of the situations we are in. Here’s a secret – all of us can change what world we live in at any time. And Zander says all life unfolds from that.

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.”

I know something about you…

You don’t like to go outside of your comfort zone.

Read the quote at the top of this message again.

Are you going to die with music still in you?

Are you going to finish a match with shots still left in you?

Go all out.

And know that you have unlimited potential.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #799 LOOK INSIDE…AND ALL AROUND YOU

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“All of the ability is already inside you.”
-Rob Gilbert, Ph.D., Professor of Sport Psychology, Montclair State University

Look inside.

Look all around you.

It’s never been easier to succeed. No longer is it about talent. It’s all about having the right strategy and putting in the work.

Look at all of the resources around you – books, DVDs, podcasts, workshops, the internet and more.

You can have your own private pitching coach. Your own private nutritionist. Your own private strength and conditioning coach.

But here’s the kicker…

You have to put in the work.

If you work hard, you will surpass those with talent that do not work hard.

I know what you’re thinking, that it’s not cool to try. But do you want to be cool or do you want to be great?

As you’re working hard, some people may call you a nerd or loser…

But later on, those same people are going to call you…

BOSS.



Thanks for reading.

Don’t forget…tomorrow, Sunday, October 4th at Yogaphoria in New Hope, PA, I will be giving a free workshop with the great Naime Jezzeny on Peak Performance for Athletes. 10am.

MESSAGE #798 THIS DETERMINES SUCCESS…

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From the holykaw.alltop.com site…

Recently, Stanford scientists replicated a classic experiment from the 60s, in which they tested kids’ ability to delay gratification. Researchers gave each child a marshmallow and told them that they would receive a second marshmallow — if they were able to wait until the researcher left and returned.

Two important conclusions were drawn from this work:

1. Kids who were able to delay gratification succeeded more in life.
2. This kind of experiment makes for ADORABLE kid footage. See what I mean, and watch the clip!

MESSAGE #797 ARE YOU NEEDY??

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“The less we need, the richer we can be.”
-a Zen master

I know tennis players who always want the latest tennis gear.

I know business professionals who always want the latest cell phone.

I know people who always want to wear the coolest outfit.

Is money important?

Yes and no.

Obviously we need money to survive, but it’s not everything.

If I put $10,000 in cash in front of my dog, she would sniff it and then go look for some crumbs on the floor.

Lama Surya Das said, “The value of anything is always the value we vest in it.”

$10,000 cash and crumbs on the floor are both neutral. Their value, or lack of it depends on our desires and importance we place on them.

The problem occurs when we think we need more than we actually do. We accumulate things like we’re going to live forever, or that “things” will be our source of happiness.

A good friend asked me yesterday what I wanted for my birthday this year and I said, “Nothing. You can donate to a charity for me.”

I have everything I need.

I still have goals and dreams, but every day I try to keep things in perspective. I have gratitude for all of the big and little things I have in my life.

Should the miserable millionaire strive to be a miserable billionaire?

Perhaps we should focus more on the things that have no monetary value.

Appreciating nature.
Our family/friends/pets.
Helping others.
Our health.

You cannot put a monetary value on those things.

Someone once said, “Contentment is true wealth. Success will not be found through the gratification of desire, but in the end of desire – which is contentment. Wealthy is he who enjoys what he has.”

In sports, athletes, coaches and parents put a large emphasis on the results, or winning. That’s not success.

Success is giving your all. Success is having fun. And success is striving for constant improvement.

Character goes a long way. Do the right thing. Everyone says nice guys finish last.

Nice guys are winners before the race even begins.

We all know the name Johnny Appleseed, right? But what did he do?

Johnny Appleseed travelled throughout the Midwest in the early nineteenth century sowing apple seeds. He tended to them, with the knowing that they would someday produce apples, even if he wasn’t around to see them.

He didn’t care about getting a bigger house or wearing the coolest outfit. He was making a difference.

What are you doing today that will make a difference tomorrow?



Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #796 FUTURE COACH?

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WATCH 4-YEAR OLD RIZZO PERFORM HERB BROOKS’ PRE-GAME PEP TALK BEFORE THE FAMOUS 1980 “MIRACLE” GAME AGAINST THE SOVIET UNION. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CdJTfGiRCI

MESSAGE #795 I KNOW YOU…

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“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.”
-FERRIS BUELLER

I know something about you.

I know that many times you focus on either the past or the future.

You focus on what you did wrong in the past or what you don’t want to happen in the future.

The key to mental toughness in sports is to stay in the present moment. That’s called the zone, flow, or the ideal performance state.

I remember working with a young, up-and-coming player that had all the talent in the world, but he was losing often in competition.

He was such a perfectionist and was focused mainly on results.

“I haven’t won a match in weeks!”

“All I keep thinking about is what people are going to think if I lose.”

So I said to him, “Let’s try a little experiment. For the next two tournaments, just focus on your strategy/placement, energy level, and having fun.”

Nothing else.

It worked. He started getting better results and even said, “Hey, this is fun!”

The beauty of focusing on the present moment is that not only are you enjoying the process, but it also makes it impossible to think about negative thoughts. That’s peak performance.

Be fully present today.

Turn off your cell phone during lunch.

Give your full attention during class.

Really listen to that speaker during your meeting.

Actually taste your food.

Appreciate nature.

Be kind.

I tell my students to play every point like it’s the only point they are going to play that day. If you’re going to play the game, play all out.

Life is the same way.


Thanks for reading.



MESSAGE #794 AN INCREDIBLE STORY…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Kate Miller, of Food Network.

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee, inspected the elephant’s foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teen-aged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man. Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing, and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn’t the same elephant.



Lessons:
1. Don’t push your luck.
2. Use your brain.
3. Sometimes you learn the hard way.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #793 DON’T TRY TO BE PERFECT…

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“They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they’d make up their minds.”
-WINSTON CHURCHILL

Are you a perfectionist?

Do you wait for perfect conditions to take action?

Nobody is perfect.

Does Roger Federer hit a winner on every shot?

Of course not, so if Federer can’t be perfect, then neither can we.

You can strive for perfection, but don’t expect to be perfect. If you have this mindset, you may run into excellence, according to Vince Lombardi.

But if you’re waiting for perfect conditions, stop waiting and start doing.

Conditions will never be perfect.

There is no perfect time to start that company.

There is no perfect time go on that diet.

There is no perfect time to take up the guitar.

All you have to remember is this…

The quickest way to hit a target is to start firing and then make adjustments.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #792 THE TRUTH…

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“You’re never as good as you think you are, and you’re never as bad as they say you are.”
-author unknown