MESSAGE #964 WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER YOU WIN WIMBLEDON?

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Do people sing to get to the end of the song?

Do people play sports to get to the end of the game?

Do people read to get to the end of the book?

No. No. No.

Life is not about doing as many things as you can. It’s not about getting to the end. It’s not even about making a lot of money (I know a lot of miserable rich people).

Life is to be lived. To do what matters to you. To do what you’re passionate about. To make a difference in the world.

We play sports because we enjoy the process. If winning was everything, wouldn’t we ONLY play people we knew we could beat? That would get old quick.

After Mats Wilander became number one in the tennis world (something he worked his whole life for), he said, “Is that it?” It got to a point where he would look forward to mowing his lawn more than playing tennis. So it’s not about the trophy. It’s not about the money. It’s not about materialistic objects.

1. Do what you love.

2. Stay in the present moment and savor it all.

3. Work hard but have fun.

4. Don’t let anyone tell you what you CAN’T do (how do THEY know?)

5. Make a difference and help others.

Think about what you want to have accomplished at the end of your life.

Now go and do it.

MESSAGE #963 THE WAY OF LIFE

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A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and the strong will fall.
The soft and the weak will overcome.
-LAO TZU

MESSAGE #961 MEETING OF THE MINDS

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We all know that sports are about 80 percent mental, so doesn’t that mean we should practice our mental game 80 percent of the time?

I met with meditation teacher, Jonathan Star yesterday and he explained his theory of “The Art of Being On” to me. It was very intriguing. An average tennis match lasts about 90 minutes and only approximately 18 of those minutes are actually playing. So Star developed a meditation to help you win “the game between points.”

Nobody can do it all on their own. Use all the brains you have and all that you can borrow. (Woodrow Wilson) I have a feeling Mr. Star and I will be collaborating on several projects in the near future. We have already begun planning a joint seminar.

Jonathan sought me out from the Princeton Peak Performance Meetup Group I started (see sidebar). The secret to success is to have a growth mindset and strive for constant improvement, but remember you don’t have to do it all on your own.

Ideas are the best currency – If you exchange dollar bills with someone, you both have one dollar bill. But if you exchange ideas, you both have TWO ideas.

Author’s note: Day 3 of my 21-Day Challenge is in full-force with being on court and hitting lessons. I will be sure to break a sweat and even do some running with my students.

I’d love to hear your comments. Leave them below.

MESSAGE #958 HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

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Playing it safe in any form is a recipe for disappointment, frustration, and stagnation.
-JEFF GREENWALD

The quote above is from my friend, Jeff Greenwald, noted sports psychology consultant and author of The Best Tennis of Your Life. Greenwald believes that most people play it safe because they “fear missing and giving up a free point.”

Most people have this mindset. They want to stay in their comfort zone. The problem is that when you are scared of losing the point, you are training yourself to hold back. That is not peak performance. It doesn’t matter whether your weapon of choice is a racquet, pen, paintbrush or frying pan – you have to GO ALL OUT.

I recently had a mental coaching session with a young baseball, basketball and tennis player. He’s only in the 4th grade, but he gets it. Since working with me, he focuses on going all out every time he steps on the court or field. He’s even using my techniques and applying them to school. Not only is he getting better results, he’s also having more fun!

It’s better to go all out and lose than it is to hold back and win.

Leave your comments below.

MESSAGE #955 TENNIS TRYOUTS

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In this video blog, Ed talks about how to make the most of your tryouts and how you can overcome your nervousness.

 

What makes YOU nervous? Leave your comments below…

MESSAGE #954 PRINCETON INDEPENDENT AUTHOR EVENT

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In this video blog, Ed Tseng reports from the Independent Author Event at the Princeton Public Library.

MESSAGE #952 THE PROBLEM…

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I know what the problem is…

YOUR FEELINGS.

I know what the solution is…

YOUR ACTIONS.

Any questions?

 

Leave your comments below.

MESSAGE #951 DR. SEUSS

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Yesterday was my father’s birthday. Do you know who else had a birthday yesterday?

Dr. Seuss.

He’s the childrens book author, right?

Wrong.

Everyone can learn from his words.

Here are some great quotes…

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.

Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.

And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed.

Happy Belated Birthday, Dr. Seuss.

What’s YOUR favorite quote? Leave your comments below…

MESSAGE #949 ACTING OUT

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The key to mental toughness is staying in the present moment. Whenever we are not performing well, we are usually focused on either the past or the future, but the power is in the present. Below is a great excerpt from a great book…

The people who bother us most often reflect aspects of ourselves that we haven’t yet allowed into our present-moment awareness. These aspects reside in what psychologists refer to as the “shadow.” Pretending to be the people who bother us, and acting out those people’s worst qualities, is a powerful way to bring what’s in shadow to light.

The Practice:

Pick someone who really bugs you, who has a behavior so annoying that it makes you cringe. Now act out this person’s behavior. Don’t just make a timid attempt–exaggerate the quality until you can really feel it. Continue acting this way for at least a few minutes. When you’re done, investigate whether even a trace of this annoying quality exists in yourself. If so, are you willing to accept it? Keep in mind that complete acceptance is always the first step toward positive change.

(From “How Now” by Raphael Cushnir)

MESSAGE #948 FROM THE BEATLES

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There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game. It’s easy.
Nothing you can make that can’t be made.
No one you can save that can’t be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time. It’s easy.
-THE BEATLES

The Beatles are no different from you and me.

“There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.” It’s easy, just find successful people and do what they’re doing.

John, Paul, George and Ringo had a growth mindset, but they also knew the value of hard work.

In fact, in his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about how instead of playing one hour sets, once in a while in Liverpool, The Beatles went to Hamburg and played 7-8 hour sets seven days a week! Supposedly they were terrible on stage at first, but improved by putting in the time.

Everyone wants be an overnight success, but it takes ten years to become an overnight success…or 10,000 hours, according to Gladwell.

I know what you’re thinking, 10,000 hours is a long time!

I can help make it easier:

1. Instead of focusing on 10,000 hours, focus instead on one good hour…then do it 10,000 times.
2. Enjoy the process and those 10,000 hours will fly by.
3. Remember that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

Also from Outliers…

“The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert–in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. … No one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.”

There’s no short-cut…now get to work.

What are you trying to master? Leave your comments below…