MESSAGE #1051 WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM A KID

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

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

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

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

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

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

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

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

MESSAGE #1046 NEXT STOP: KEY LARGO

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Well, I leave for the airport in a few minutes to hop a flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Tomorrow morning I will be speaking at the USPTA Florida Convention to tennis coaches, directors, club owners and administrators at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo.

I will be nervous.

Being nervous is good – it means you are about to do something important. Being nervous is much better than not caring.

Do you get nervous before a big match? A presentation at work? Asking someone out on a date?

Pete Sampras used to get nervous all the time. In fact, he used to get so nervous before finals that he would throw up in the locker room.

But why was Sampras able to perform the way he did?

Because he didn’t act how he felt.

So tomorrow morning at about 9:30am I will be getting nervous.

But at 10am, I am going to ACT like I’m going to rock the house.

Next message from sunny (hopefully) Florida.

MESSAGE #1041 A QUOTE FROM JEFFERSON

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , /by

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.
-THOMAS JEFFERSON

MESSAGE #1032 ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

I recently started working with a high school tennis player who had low self-esteem and negativity issues.

His father called me to ask if I could work with his son to overcome his challenges.

Well, I did one long session with him and then gave him some homework.

I saw him a week later and I immediately noticed that his body language and attitude was completely different.

I said, “How’s it going?”

He replied, “Great! I am not negative anymore.”

I was skeptical.

I found out that he lost a couple matches during the week, but was extremely happy with his attitude.  He was a new person, and he had a winning mindset. He wasn’t perfect, but this was a great start, nonetheless.

I was extremely proud of him.

What did I give him?

HOPE.

Hold On Possibilities Exist.

What’s the point?

Mental skills are just like physical skills – they are trainable.

This young man is striving to become a little bit better every day, and I am confident that as our coaching sessions continue, he will eventually become the player, and person he wants to be.

Afterall, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

“The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.”

MESSAGE #1031 FOUR WORDS…

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

 

DON’T QUIT, CAN’T FAIL

 

MESSAGE #1025 BE A BLACK SWAN

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , /by

A BLACK SWAN is “the existence and occurrence of high-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare events that are beyond the realm of normal expectations.” (Wikipedia)

Roger Banister breaking the four-minute mile was a BLACK SWAN event.

David beating Goliath was a BLACK SWAN event.

Ed Tseng failing out of Rider College twice and then going back to speak (twice) at their Leadership Day was a BLACK SWAN event.

BLACK SWAN events happen all the time in sports and life. The fastest horse doesn’t always win the race. The students with the best grades don’t always become successful.

So why then, do so many people count themselves out before the competition begins?

Why do people think that success is only for the lucky few?

What you believe, you achieve.

Be a BLACK SWAN.

*CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GREAT JOEY CLAWSON, SPECIAL OLYMPICS GOLD MEDALIST, WHO GRADUATES FROM THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY TODAY. WAY TO GO, JOE!*

MESSAGE #1024 HOW TO WIN MORE PART II

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great tennis coach, Javier Perez Cigoj in Argentina.

So yesterday I talked about negative reactions on the court and why they can hurt your performance and results.

Soon after, I received a message from Javier, a tennis coach in Argentina and he said, “Great message, but how should you act instead?”

Well, Javier, the key is to let the point go – you can think about how to make an adjustment, but then, keep it in the past.

1. Take a couple deep breaths (to stay in the present and to lower your heart rate).
2. Project a confident image.
3. Think about where you want to hit your next shot.
4. Focus on the things you can control (your energy, attitude, strategy and effort).
5. Cultivate the feeling of winning the next point (even before the point begins).

The best way to increase your chances of winning is to not focus on winning.

Focus on the process instead of the product and as a by-product you will win more.