MESSAGE #1280 WHAT I LIKE TO WATCH

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Obviously I like sports.

I like playing sports and I like watching sports.

But I’m not one of those guys that has Sports Center on at my house 24/7.

There is, however, something that I can’t watch enough of…

Upsets in sports.

The Davids beating the Goliaths.

I love watching the little guys beat the big guys.

Why?

Because it shows that anything can happen.

It’s not the better player or team that wins, it’s the player or team that plays better that wins.

Yesterday at the Australian Open, fourth-seed, Robin Soderling of Sweden lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

On paper, Soderling should have won, but he didn’t.

Upsets are part of sports (and life) but many people are defeated before the competition even begins. They think, “Oh, he will probably win.” or “There is no way that team will lose.”

There is a way and it is possible.

So the next time you are the underdog and you come up against a tough opponent, a tough customer, or a tough situation, remember that anything can happen.

And go all-out!

MESSAGE #1278 TEACHERS

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I recently speaking to a coach and he was complaining that his students were not listening.

He simply was not enjoying coaching this particular group of athletes.

They were not good students.

I told him that there were no bad students, only bad teachers.

What I meant was that if students were not performing up to the teachers’ standards, the students don’t need to change, the teachers do.

If students are not grasping what we are teaching, we need to teach in a different way.

There is no “one way” to learn something. There are many ways. If one way doesn’t work, we need to try another.

As teachers, if we give up too soon, so will our students. And that doesn’t help anyone.

MESSAGE #1277 MENTAL BLOCKS

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We all get mental blocks. And we all need to overcome these blocks.

Imagine driving across the country from New York to California…with your emergency break on.

Many athletes go through their entire careers like that.

The problem is most people want to win, but they don’t want to get out of their comfort zone.

For all you athletes, amateur and professional, here’s my tip:

The best way to win more is to forget about winning.

During practice you need to THINK.

During competition you need to DO.

Play your game and trust your game.

MESSAGE #1275 HOW TO PERFORM UNDER PRESSURE

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Recently, a tennis coach asked me for some advice. He said there was a student of his who wanted to win, but was afraid to play tournaments. She was uncomfortable under the pressure. In practice, she was great.

I told him that in order to be more comfortable being uncomfortable, she needed to put herself out there. She needed to play more tournaments. You can run from fear (it will chase you), or you can face fear (it will lose power). And I told the coach that Pete Sampras love it more when the pressure was on, so it is not the pressure, but your perception of the pressure that makes or breaks you.

When I spoke to gold medalist, Lindsey Vonn at the US Open last year, she told me that the reason why she was able to perform so well under pressure was because she put herself in those situations over an over again.

You may not be able to ski like Vonn, or serve like Sampras, but you can have the same attitude towards pressure as them.

MESSAGE #1274 J-E-T-S

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If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?
-JOE NAMATH

For the past few days, I’ve been seeing a lot of green and white due to the big upset the Jets pulled on the New England Patriots. The Jets clearly played to win (versus playing to not lose).

Why would you compete if you are only going to give it half an effort? You might as well not even compete.

But if you are going to play the game, play full-out, on the field, in the classroom and in the boardroom.

When you have this mindset, you’re playing a game you can’t lose.

MESSAGE #1273 HOW TO WIN MORE

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to Quinn Martin and his high school basketball team in Washington State.

What happens when you are in a slump?

If you are like most athletes, your body language is poor, you begin thinking too much and you get down on yourself.

Most people begin thinking about the past (we haven’t won a game in weeks), or the future (what if we lose again tonight?). But the great performers focus on the present moment (your effort, energy level and adjustments).

Last night the Jets beat the Patriots when they should not have. On paper, the Patriots were the better team.

But the Jets played better.

The better team never wins, the team that plays better always wins.

So when you are in a slump, act like you are on a streak.

Go all-out and focus on the things you can control (your effort) and don’t worry about the things you cannot control (winning/losing). I think you will be pleased with the results.

MESSAGE #1272 A MESSAGE FROM ZIGGY…

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I have a cartoon of Ziggy in my home office. In the cartoon, Ziggy has a sad face and is walking away from a building with a sign which reads, “Optimists Club.” The thought balloon above his mouth says…

“…i KNEW they wouldn’t let me join!!”

There is truth in this cartoon.

Negative thoughts equal negative results.

Positive thoughts equal positive results.

Many games are lost before they even begin.

MESSAGE #1271 DON’T BE NORMAL

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Do you fit in with the pack?

Do you WANT TO?

If you do what everyone else does, you will get what everyone else gets.

Society frowns upon people that are abnormal.

I WANT you to be abnormal.

I was once speaking to a coach of the great Pete Sampras.

He was getting Pete ready for a clay court tournament in Europe.

They played a few groundstroke games and Pete lost.

As my friend thought about how to console Sampras on his loss, Sampras came up and said, “That was great! I feel like my game is really coming along and I am looking forward to playing in Europe.”

My friend thought, “That is not normal thinking.”

Don’t be normal today.

MESSAGE #1270 BE LIKE WALTER

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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?

MESSAGE #1269 HOW TO OVERCOME FEAR

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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.