Hawaiian Word of the Day:
Akamai: ah-kah-my
Smart, clever
What does it mean to be smart?
Does it mean having a PhD?
Does it mean getting good grades?
It might, but being akamai to me means taking the right action.
Doing what needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not.
Be akamai today!
Well here I am, steps away from the beach and blogging on my iPad2. I can hear the sounds of the waves crashing down and smell the sweetness that only an island can provide. A tiny green lizard just jumped up on the table.
Now, I am not blogging to make you jealous, I am blogging because I can’t NOT blog.
Let me explain…
I blog every single day. It has gotten to the point that it is more difficult to NOT blog, than it is TO blog.
To put it another way, it’s better to do a little a lot, than a lot a little.
It’s better to blog every day than it is to blog once in a while.
It’s better to study a little bit every day than cram the night before.
It’s better to eat healthy (almost) every day than to diet.
So I will be with you for the next week, from Maui, to keep you motivated and mentally tough, and also because I simply can’t NOT do it.
Here is a brief, but great video I did with gold medal skier, Lindsey Vonn…listen to EVERY word she says…
The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
—PAUL VALERY
In four days, I leave for my honeymoon to Maui, Hawaii. Many people have said to me, “I’m sure you just can’t wait!”
The truth is, I CAN wait.
Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to it, but it’s not like I can’t function until that day comes. I can honestly say that I love what I do, and my life, so much that I feel like I’m in Hawaii every single day.
The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
The best thing I ever did was I stopped dreaming and started taking action. I began creating the life of my dreams. And now, life is better than my dreams.
What would you rather do, “live” for the weekends and your two weeks of vacation every year…
Or would you want to do what you love and create the life you imagined?
Sounds like an alarm clock to me.
Good morning to the new you.
Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.
-Chinese proverb
As a coach, I see many players “cursing the darkness.”
“The referee made a terrible call!”
“It was so windy!”
“Why can’t I make a shot today?!?”
The losers in life curse the darkness, or focus on the negatives.
The winners, on the other hand, light a candle (even if it is a small one), and focus on the positives, and the lesson learned.
“I can’t serve!” —Bad
“I am not a good test-taker!” —Bad
“I don’t have any money!” —Bad
“I missed that shot, so what? It’s in the past and I can’t change that, so let’s focus on this point—you’re still in control.” —Good
“Tests are difficult for me, but I am going to relax and trust all the hard work I put into it.” —Good
“Money may be tight, but this is a great excuse for me to think outside the box and creatively make more money—there are many options.” —Good
What you say to yourself affects what type of results you get. You don’t have to win the US Open to think like a winner.
Stop whining, start winning. And the next time adversity hits, don’t curse the darkness, light a candle instead.
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great David and Summer Platt.
Every once in a while I hear a great saying. The most recent one was told to me by one of the top motivational speakers and experts in sports psychology, Rob Gilbert.
During our phone conversation today, he mentioned the phrase, “Success on purpose.”
I really liked that.
Most people either think that success is only attainable by a select few, or that it has to do with luck.
The truth is, that you can create success…on purpose.
“How do you do that, Ed?” you ask?
1. Figure out what you want.
2. Write down specific steps you need to take to get there.
3. Talk to others who have done what you want to do.
4. Learn from their successes and from their failures.
5. Get to work and do whatever it takes.
You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.
-BABE RUTH
Do you go all out?
If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I always say, it’s better to go all out and lose than it is to hold back and win. Because when you hold back and win, you are training yourself to hold back.
Most people just do the minimum. So think about it, if you gave your full effort, all the time, whether you felt like it or not, wouldn’t you win more? Wouldn’t you get better results?
Of course you would.
Do the winners always feel like going all out in practice and competition?
No, but they do anyway.
Your actions create your destiny.
What actions are you going to take today?
What are you feeding your brain?
Negative thoughts or positive intentions?
It’s your choice what type of mental diet you have, but be mindful that you will reap what you sow.
I once knew someone who didn’t take chances and who didn’t have high expectations due to the fact that he didn’t want to be disappointed. He was right, he was rarely disappointed, but he also didn’t do much with his life.
Let me tell you a story.
There once was a young man who said, “I want to do great things in this world, and I know I can!”
Then there was an old man who said, “I wish I would have done great things in this world, and I regret that I didn’t.”
End of story. To me, this is the saddest story. Why?
Because it was the same man.
You see, you may be living, but are you ALIVE?
Are you counting the days, or are you making the days count?
Recently, I got a message on Facebook from a young man in Toronto who was determined to help others…after he received his medical degree. I said that he didn’t have to wait to get his degree to make a difference in others’ lives. He could pay someone a sincere compliment. He could volunteer his time to people in need. He could just be a good listener.
So take a look at your goals. And take a look at your mental diet.
Someone once said that the beauty of life is that you need not wait another moment to make a difference in the world.
Yes, I’m talking to YOU.
Recently, I gave some advice to a young friend of mine, Madison (above). She had a test in school the next day and I told her to just relax while taking it and give it her all. Well, I saw Madison yesterday and asked her how her test went. Her response was, “I got a 100!”
We all want to achieve greatness, but the problem is we often put too much pressure on the results.
The best way to get the best results is…
Not worrying about the results!
Focus instead on staying loose and concentrating on the task at hand.
If you put the time in studying (or practicing), you are ready. Trust the work you put in, take a deep breath and go for it.
When you focus on HOW you can perform well, instead of IF you can perform well, your world changes. Your results change.
Too many people worry about what parents will think or what friends will think…if they perform poorly. This is a recipe for disaster. Don’t worry about the past or the future…the power is in the present. The best performers in the world from athletes to students to business owners, know the secret.
Relax and go all out!
One question at a time. One point at at time. One meeting at a time.
Gandhi put it best…
“Full effort is full victory.”
Thank you, Madison, for reminding me of this very important lesson and inspiring me to be better at everything that I do!
Learn to let go. That is the key to happiness.
-The Buddha
Learn to let go. That is the key to success.
Thinking too much—Bad.
Putting too much pressure on results—Bad.
Letting go and trusting your game—Good.
You can think during practice, but during competition, just trust your hard work and have fun.
Take a moment and think about a past peak performance you had. Didn’t you play loose? Weren’t you just playing?
The more you can let go, the better your results.