MESSAGE #1068 TALKIN’ BASEBALL

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Brandon Laird, 3B for the Trenton Thunder (Double-A, New York Yankees).

 

Brandon Laird currently leads all of professional baseball with 77 Runs Batted In in 72 games.

He was named Eastern League Player of the Week and Player of the Month.

He was only the second Thunder player to hit for the cycle on May 26, including a walk-off home run.

Two nights ago, he hit a grand slam and a three-run home run (for the second time this season).

Did I forget any impressive stats? Probably.

I have been fortunate to spend some time with Laird over the past month. His numbers are amazing and his attitude is even better. He is truly a class-act and is mentally tough beyond his years.

After last night’s game, I spoke with Laird and he was telling me how he was in a bit of a “funk” last week.

I asked him how he got out of it and he said, “At first I thought, ‘What am I doing?’ then I thought about what I was doing well before and tried to focus on that. I just trusted that it would come around because failure is part of baseball.”

Laird was persistent in his approach and stayed optimistic. As most great athletes do, he focused on his effort, not his results.

I had to ask Laird about his streak and having the most RBIs in professional baseball.

“You know, I’m just taking it one day at a time. I have a plan, I try to hit the ball hard and have a good at bat,” commented Laird.

Tonight is exactly one month since I first spoke to Laird, which was the same night he hit for the cycle with a walk-off home run.

I will be talking to #29 again before the game and we’ll see if he can continue to stay hot with his bat. I have a strange feeling he will.

Play ball!

MESSAGE #1065 WHO ARE YOU?

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How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.
-LOU HOLTZ

Do you play to get a lot of trophies?

Do you work to make a lot of money?

Do you study to get a lot of A’s?

Don’t get me wrong, trophies, money and A’s are desirable things to have, but they should not be the ultimate goal.

I think that what really matters is what kind of person you become.

Trophies, money and A’s will not last forever. But your character will.

Training yourself to go all-out, striving for constant improvement and enjoying the process is success to me.

What do you think?

MESSAGE #1063 I’m NOT Teaching Tennis Today

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nic Cecan.

Summer Tennis Camp 2010 officially begins today.

Though numbers are down, I am very excited.

I’m sure there will be some new faces, which will bring new opportunities.

I look at every session as a way to positively affect our youth. It’s life lessons through tennis. Sure, the campers will improve their tennis game, but more importantly, they will learn confidence, teamwork, how to perform under pressure, focus and much more.

Honestly, I don’t look at Tennis Camp as a way of making money, or getting a nice tan. I look at it as contribution.

Helping others become healthier, mentally and physically.

Teaching them that effort and attitude are more important than results and materialistic objects.

Making the world a better place.

What if everyone on the planet had this mentality?

MESSAGE #1061 HOW TO FAIL LESS…

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I have a feeling that someone reading this has been disappointed before – unhappy with results in sports, sales or school.

Perhaps you tried to do something but failed, like ask someone out on a date.

Here’s how you can get different results…

Either change your perception of the situation or change your approach.

Let me explain.

Say you are playing tennis and you keep hitting the ball into the net. You may start to think that you stink and are not a good tennis player.

Changing your perception would be: even though you are hitting many balls into the net, you are still a good player, still in control and will make adjustments.

You can also change your approach. This would be aiming higher over the net next time.

When you change your perception and/or change your approach, you get different results.

That’s the bottom-line.

MESSAGE #1060 FIXED VS GROWTH MINDSETS

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Carol Dweck, Ph.D. at Stanford University.

I just finished listening to and interview with Carol Dweck, Ph.D. and author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.”

I talk about Dr. Dweck in my book, “Game. Set. Life.” and her research on fixed versus growth mindsets.

In a fixed mindset, people worry about their skills/talent and think that you only have a certain amount.

People with growth mindsets feel that the sky is the limit and that it takes challenges for you to grow and improve.

With a growth mindset, setbacks are opportunities to grow and improve.

I asked Dr. Dweck what an athlete can focus on when they are not playing their best game, or when the pressure is on.

She said that instead of beating yourself up after a loss, you should think about what you can do to improve next time and what you can work on in practice. The key is effort and practice, not results. Don’t worry about talent.

Dweck talked about her own career and said that “Everything involves setbacks.”

It’s true.

And I always say, “A setback is a setup for a comeback.”

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #1057 PAIN MANAGEMENT

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I recently received an email from a psychology student at UCLA asking, what is your favorite “pain management” technique that you would share with a marathon runner to help get through “the wall”?

As a runner, pain is part of the process and as long as you are not risking injury, you have to push through it.

Too often, our mind gives up before our body.

In yoga, when you feel you cannot hold a pose any longer, the secret is to shift your focus to another body part, your breathing or anything besides the fact that you cannot hold it any longer. Once you fight through that pain, it becomes easier. Running (and life) is the same way.

If you don’t feel like working out anymore, or if you don’t feel like making more sales calls, or you don’t feel like studying anymore…FIGHT THROUGH IT.

And remember…

Don’t Quit. Can’t Fail.

MESSAGE #1051 WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM A KID

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Last night was the major league debut of baseball phenom, Stephen Strasburg, age 21.

He is a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Nationals, who selected him with the first pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. Strasburg signed for a record $15.1 million contract on August 17, 2009. ESPN called him the “most-hyped pick in draft history” and Sports Illustrated called him the “most hyped and closely watched pitching prospect in the history of baseball.”

Now, there are many top prospects, but many of them never make it.

I think, if Strasburg stays healthy, he will make it.

Why? Because he works hard. And he’s humble. He goes all-out in every start.

So what did Strasburg do last night in his major league debut?

He struck out 14 Pittsburgh Pirates (a Nationals single-game record) over seven innings in a 5-2 victory. Oh, and his last pitch was faster than his first – 99 miles per hour.

“They didn’t really talk to me about a game plan or how to attack certain hitters,” the 21-year-old Strasburg said. “They just told me to go out there and enjoy it.”

I will be certain to follow this young man’s career over the next few years and I have a good feeling about it.

In his post-game interview he said the 5 most powerful words…

“I definitely think anything’s possible.”

MESSAGE #1050 ONE EASY MENTAL TOUGHNESS TIP

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Here’s a an easy mental toughness tip that you can instantly start to use.

1. Stand or sit up straight.
2. Stick your chest out.
3. Bring your shoulders back.
4. Lift your chin up.

Now feel negative.

You can’t do it, can you?

I can tell you to try to feel confident, happy and positive, but you may not be able to.

But I can say smile, or act like the most confident person in the whole world and you can. The beauty of this is that even if you have to fake it at first, soon you will feel it.

Congratulations to Rafael Nadal and Francesca Schiavone and a special thank you to the great Angie Holmberg who snapped some great shots of Game. Set. Life. on her recent trip to London and the French Open. See below.



MESSAGE #1048 FLORIDA DAY 3

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Greetings from Florida, Day 3. I am having a great time and my talk yesterday in Key Largo was very well received. I sold many books and connected with some great Florida coaches.

Sarah and I then had a great lunch at the Conch House, which was featured on the Food Network.

Today we are in Dania Beach/Hollywood.

As I blog here at Starbucks, I can’t stop thinking about the late, great Coach John Wooden.

Much of my coaching and life philosophy came from John Wooden. And much of John Wooden’s coaching and life philosophy came from his father.

His father used to say:

“You should never try to be better than someone else.

Always learn from others.

Never cease trying to be the best that you can be – that’s under your control.”

Here are some other great quotes from Wooden…

“Never mention winning – you can lose when you outscore somebody in a game and you can win when you are outscored.”

“Give your best effort and your results will be what they should. The score of a game is a by-product and not the end itself.”

“The journey (practice) is better than the end (game). The game is to see if they did a decent job (in practice) during the week.”

Success is…“Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.”

“Character is what you are, your reputation is what you are perceived to be.”

“We hope that things will turn out the way we want them to, but we don’t do the things that are necessary to make those things become reality.”

Wooden’s 3 Rules (From his father):

Never be late

Never use profanity

Never criticize a teammate

“Never mistake activity for achievement.”

“He just used sports as a means to teach us how to apply ourselves to any situation.” -KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

 

In the 1930s, a poem stuck with Wooden that helped shape his philosophy. Watch the vlog below to see me recite the poem.

MESSAGE #1047 RIP JOHN WOODEN

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The greatest basketball coach in history passed away last night. He was also one of my inspirations. Here’s his definition of success…

Success is…

“Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.” -JOHN WOODEN