MESSAGE #1546 WHO’S IN CONTROL, YOU OR YOUR DAY?

The other day, I overheard someone saying, “I wish I had more time in my day.”

Well, today, I’m going to show you how to do just that. It’s called time management, or being efficient. Instead of “seeing what today brings,” after today, you will be able to CREATE your day and get more done in the process. Not only will being efficient buy you more time in your day, you will be better at your job, your school work, your sport…everything. Ready? Here we go…

Ed’s Efficiency Exercise

1. Create a to-do list: Write down three to five things you want to accomplish today.

2. Prioritize your list: Rank your tasks in order of importance (A = most important, B = very important, C = Not very important).

3. Just do it: Begin with your most important task. Focus all your energy on it, and do it until completion, or until you choose to stop.

4. Repeat: Continue doing “A” tasks, then move to “B” and finally to “C.”

5. Break it up: Don’t forget to take breaks throughout your day so the quality of your work/practice/study time is not compromised.

6. Make it a game: At the end of the day, see how many tasks you checked off. Your goal should be to have all of them checked off. This is also a great way to build confidence. Don’t be afraid to reward yourself.

7. Remember: Spend more time on your important tasks and less time on unimportant ones. In other words…Make the important thing the important thing…that’s the important thing.

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1543 I HAD A NIGHTMARE

Last night I had a nightmare. I dreamt that I was at an event and my iPad, camera and laptop were missing. I was getting pretty stressed since they are not cheap items. I woke up and was relieved when I realized it was just a dream, but I wondered why I had such a stressful dream.

I now know why.

Last night, before going to bed, I was looking for a used book I recently purchased. But I couldn’t find it. I checked everywhere it could be including my car. No luck. I was disappointed and it obviously affected my sleep.

Now I know what you are thinking, what does this blog entry have to do with me?

A lot.

Research has shown that what you think about in the 30 minutes before bed gets replayed in your mind over a dozen times while you are sleeping.

Do you watch the news with crimes and world tragedies? Do you watch scary movies? Do you think about all the work you have to do when you get to work in the morning?

What I normally do before bed is read some inspirational books and/or meditate.

Oprah said, “Your focus is your future.”

Focus on positive things and you positive results.
Focus on negative things and you get negative results.

PS Happy Birthday to one of my she-roes, the great Rayna Dubose. Checkout my video with her here.

MESSAGE #1541 NEVER GIVE UP

At a certain point, if he’s going to get to the top of the boxing profession, a fighter has to learn the difference between the truth and a lie. The lie is thinking that submission is an acceptable option. The truth is that if you give up, afterward you’ll realize that any of those punches that you thought you couldn’t deal with, or those rough moments you didn’t think you could make it through, were just moments. Enduring them is not nearly as tough but having to deal with the next day and the next month and the next year, knowing that you quit, that you failed, that you submitted. It’s a trainer’s job to make a fighter understand about difference, that the parts of a fight that are urgent last only seconds; seconds during which you have to stave off the convenient excuse- “I’m too tired” or “I hurt too much” or “I can’t do this” or even simply “I’m not going to deal with this.” Sometimes it just comes down to not floating- just being there and understanding that if you give in, you’ll hurt more tomorrow. Maybe there is no more important lesson to learn from boxing than that.

From: Atlas: From the streets to the ring: A son’s Struggle to become a man.

MESSAGE #1538 10 POWERFUL WORDS AND 10 WORDS TO AVOID

I have observed and spoken to thousands of athletes from all over the world. I know powerful words that help athletes and I know weak words that will hurt athletes.

The 10 Most Powerful Words

If it is to be, it is up to me.

The 10 Most Devastating Words

What will other people say…what will other people think?

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1536 AROUND ME

I love what I do.

As I look around my office, I see books like these…

Body Mind Mastery
Sports Slump Busting
Heads-Up Baseball
The Golfer’s Mind
The Fighter’s Mind
Mind Gym
Mindset
Secrets of Mind Power
Clutch
Awakening the Giant Within
Hypnotism
The Inner Game of Tennis
Success
The Tao of Bruce Lee

This is just a small sampling of my library.

Why did I share this with you? Because I wanted to show you that I’m totally INTO peak performance and the mental game. I can’t get enough of it.

How INTO it are you with your sport, job, academics or relationships?

Many people say that you should be well-rounded.

I feel differently.

I say that you should be sharp-edged.

Be REALLY, REALLY good at one thing.

MESSAGE #1532 THE ORIGINAL AMERICAN IDOL

Back in 1948, Ted Mack started the original American Idol on radio and television with his “Original Amateur Hour” to find up-and-coming artists.

Frank Sinatra was one of the contestants.

But in 1953, in Tupelo, Mississippi, a young man failed to make the cut. His name?

Elvis Presley.

Did Elvis give up? Of course not.

In fact, after The King made it, he wrote a letter every year to Ted Mack, saying, “Thank you.”

Don’t quit, can’t fail.

Be like Elvis today.

MESSAGE #1530 HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

Some of you may be in sales, some of you may be in sports and some of you may be in music.

Whatever it is you do, remember the following anecdote to make the best out of all of your relationships.

Once upon a time, Fire, Water and Trust were walking in the woods.

They started planning what they would do if they got separated.

Fire said, “Look for the smoke – that’s where I’ll be.”

Water said, “Look for the green grass and flowers – that’s where I’ll be.”

Trust said, “You’d better not lose me because if you do – you might never get me back again.”

MESSAGE #1527 THE MENTAL GAME VIDEO

I’m a Yankee fan, but I have to respect this guy:

E:60 Evan Longoria from E60 on Vimeo.

MESSAGE #1525 ARE YOU A PEAK PERFORMER?

Yesterday, at 4pm, I told my PDS girls tennis team something very important just before their match. And then at 10:30 last night, I told the Lawrence Township Police Department the same thing just before their shift. And now I’m going to tell you.

The biggest decision you have to make is are you going to go all-out, or are you going to hold back?

As a peak performance coach, I don’t care about results. Okay, I’m lying. I DO care about results, but they are not the most important thing.

The most important thing is our effort.

Are you going to go all-out or are you going to hold back…in sports, in school, in your job, in your relationships?

At the end of the day, only YOU will know if you gave your full effort.

When you put your head on the pillow tonight, you are going to say one of two things to yourself about your day…

1. I’m glad I went all-out.

2. I wish I had.

Which one can you live with?

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077