MESSAGE #1377 MINDFULNESS EXERCISE

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You hear a lot of people talking about staying in the present moment in sports and life, but when was the last time someone taught you HOW to stay in the present moment?

Here is a mindfulness exercise you can use and practice to help you be more present-minded on and off the court.

1. Notice your posture—are you sitting up, slouching over or leaning back?
2. Notice the area within a five foot radius around you—perhaps there is a desk, pens, paper, your couch, a cup of coffee, etc.
3. Now notice what sounds are present—you may hear people talking, a television, or complete silence.
4. Notice the colors around the room you are in—really notice them.
5. Finally notice your breath—is your breathing deep or shallow? Are you breathing from your stomach or your chest?

How do you feel? If you are like most people, you feel more aware and present. Did you notice that when you were performing that mindfulness exercise there were very little other thoughts going on in your head?

That’s the key to peak performance—focusing on the task at hand. The more you practice being mindful, the more likely you will do it when you need it most.

MESSAGE #1369 THE EASTER BUNNY AND THE ENERGIZER BUNNY

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Children and families love the Easter bunny because it brings colored eggs, candy and toys.

I love the Energizer bunny because it brings motivation and inspiration.

The pink Energizer bunny, used in commercials for Energizer batteries is known for its ability to “keep going and going and going.”

You don’t have to have Energizer batteries in you to persist, to do what you need to do. You just have to choose to keep going and going and going.

Is it easy?

Not always, but the pain of persisting goes away and you will always have the pride of accomplishment.

Muhammad Ali said, “Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”

Let me put it another way…

If you persist in sports, sales and school, you will be one of the few left standing after everyone else gives up.

See you at the top, and Happy Easter to everybody celebrating.

MESSAGE #1368

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My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.
-HANK AARON

Think this message is only about baseball?

Think again.

MESSAGE #1366 THE 8 MOST POWERFUL WORDS

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Today on Success Hotline, my friend and mentor, Dr. Rob Gilbert shared a great quote, the eight most powerful words…

“Do the thing and you’ll have the power.”

-RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Today, I also gave a workshop on mental toughness at Nick DiPillo’s basketball skills camp. Afterwards, I spent some time with Nick and Hamady Ndaiye, the 7′ 0″ center for the Washington Wizards (above).

Hamady Ndaiye, or “H” as I now call him, did the thing and now he has the power.

“H” only started playing basketball six years ago and now he’s in the NBA. He admits there are challenges and that he has negative thoughts, but in his mind, there are no limits regarding how far he can go.

According to DiPillo, nobody works harder than “H.” As a matter of fact, DiPillo said, “He’s had nothing handed to him. He’s worked for every minute of playing time, and every spot on every team he’s played on. His work ethic is unmatched, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He’s the epitome of a team player.”

That’s the “thing” and “H” is doing it. And he wasn’t even a starter for Rutgers University until the end of his senior year!

The other thing that impresses me about “H” is that he is determined.

Hamady Ndaiye does not strive to do his best…

Hamady Ndaiye strives to DO WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Everybody knows what to do, but very few people do what they know.

“Do the thing and you’ll have the power.”

MESSAGE #1365 SCORE!

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Ryan Freeman in Denver, Colorado.

You can’t score without goals.

No, I’m not talking about soccer or hockey.

The most successful people in the world are not necessarily the most talented, best looking, or smartest.

The most successful people are the ones who WANT to become successful.

They know where they want to go and set goals to help them get there.

If you don’t have goals, you are just spinning your wheels.

What good is it if you are the fastest runner in the world if you are running in the wrong direction?

Write down your goals, read them daily, and don’t stop until you reach them.

That’s it.

MESSAGE #1363 SETBACKS

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Hollie Holcombe.

Earlier today, I spoke to about 40 young basketball players at Nick DiPillo’s Spring Break Skills Camp. A key point I brought up was that failure was inevitable. Everyone fails. It’s part of the process.

Michael Jordan got cut from his basketball team in high school, but he didn’t give up.

Thomas Edison failed over 10,000 times when trying to invent the lightbulb.

Babe Ruth hit the most home runs, but he also had the most strikeouts. And each time The Babe failed, he said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”

How does this relate to you? Let me put it to you this way…

A SETBACK IS A SETUP FOR A COMEBACK.

Bounce back today!

MESSAGE #1362 ARE YOU A THERMOMETER?

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nick DiPillo, former WNBA assistant coach of the New York Liberty.

I had a meeting of the minds today with Nick DiPillo. We were talking about mental toughness in basketball…and life.

I asked him what the biggest challenges were for basketball players.

One common challenge was that some players lacked focus. They were thinking about the wrong things at the wrong time.

Many young basketball think about homework, other sports or other external factors when practicing or competing.

The pro basketball players think about the commercial they need to shoot or other commitments they may need to tend to after practice or the game.

The specific distraction may be different for young and pro basketball players, but the challenge is the same—they have the wrong focus.

The average or below average players are thermometers—they focus on what’s happening on the outside, other than basketball.

The great basketball players are thermostats—they can change their internal temperature, re-focus and kick butt on the task at hand.

Mental Toughness Tip: Before practice or competition, make a list of specific issues that may be concerning you. Write them down. Keep them in your locker and forget about them until the end of your session. Stay focused on the present moment, that’s where the power is.

MESSAGE #1361 PLEASE FAIL

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Recently, I was speaking with a club manager and he mentioned that many parents today are too protective of their children. Parents want their children to be perfect—they don’t want them to fail.

Is this really helpful to the child?

Is this the mindset we want our children to have?

First of all, there’s no such thing as perfect. In fact, successful people fail the most.

If you’re not failing, you’re not taking risks. You’re not working hard enough.

Remember Zeke Bonura back in Message #1268? If not, click here.

Zeke Bonura had one of the highest fielding percentages in pro baseball, but that was because he didn’t try for any balls that he might miss.

Is this how we want to live?

There is a reason why you didn’t recognize the name Zeke Bonura.

Henry Ford went bankrupt five times while trying to develop businesses…eventually the Ford Motor Company was built.

Soichiro Honda applied for a job as an engineer for Toyota Motor Corporation but did not get the job and was unemployed for quite some time…eventually he began making scooters out of his home and started his own company.

Bill Gates failed out of college, and his first business, Traf-O-Data failed as well…eventually he started Microsoft.

Ever heard of the name Walt Disney?…he was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

So all of you parents, future parents, coaches and athletes…

Embrace failure, for it is where we learn the most. In fact, don’t even call it failure, call it feedback.

I hope you fail today.

MESSAGE #1359 IT’S NOT TOO LATE

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Well here I am back in good ole New Jersey, and as wonderful a time I had on my honeymoon in Hawaii, it’s great to be back. I love traveling, but there’s something I love even more—real life.

Most people “live” for their vacations.

Most people “can’t wait” until the weekend.

Why is that?

1. Many people don’t do what they love.
2. Many people don’t cultivate gratitude for what they already have.
3. Many people don’t think success in sports and life is possible.

Some say that I am successful.

I don’t look at myself that way. I look at myself who is doing what he is passionate about, truly wants to make a difference in the world, and believes that anything is possible.

Did you know I failed out of college—twice?!?

Anything is possible if you believe you can achieve. All you have to do is start taking the correct action.

TODAY.

It’s not too late to be what you might have been.

MESSAGE #1355 INSANITY IN HAWAII

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Hawaiian Word of the Day:

Pupule: poo-poo-lay
Crazy, insane

Pupule reminds me of Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity-doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Often we keep doing the same thing and we complain that we are not getting the results that we want.

We want to get fit but we keep eating the same foods and stay sedentary.

We want to get better grades but we don’t change our study habits.

And we want to become a professional athlete but we don’t train like the way we should.

So in many ways, we are pupule.

Take different actions and get different results.

This rule applies, no matter what language you speak.