MESSAGE #1420 A MESSAGE FROM A PARALYMPIAN
You can change your life. You don’t wait for someone else to do it for you.
—Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, 11-time gold medal paralympian
MESSAGE #1419 EAT LIKE A BIRD, POOP LIKE AN ELEPHANT
I’m reading a great book right now by one of my favorite authors, “Rules for Revolutionaries” by Guy Kawasaki.
In this book, Kawasaki talks about a concept elegantly named, “eat like a bird, poop like an elephant.”
Most people have it wrong, Kawasaki says, referring to the fact that when someone says you eat like a bird, you don’t eat much. But the truth is, compared to their body weight, birds DO eat a lot. A hummingbird, for example eats about 50% of its body weight in one day.
Poop like an elephant. This one needs no explanation, elephants have about 165 pounds of poop a day.
How does this apply to sports and life?
Eat like a bird—take in a lot of information about your sport, business or major in school. Read, watch videos, talk to experts, etc. The more you know, the better off you will be (as long as you take action).
Poop like an elephant—disperse the information you acquire. Share with your teammates, co-workers and fellow students. If you do this, everybody wins (and you are forced to learn even more).
And while we are on the topic of animals, do what the title of Brian Tracy’s book says…
Eat That Frog!
This means, do the thing that you don’t feel like doing first! Make the important thing the important thing.
You may KNOW that you should eat like a bird and take in as much knowledge as you can…but that doesn’t mean you WILL.
You may KNOW that you should poop like an elephant and spread your knowledge to others…but that doesn’t mean you WILL.
A true champion does what he needs to do, when he needs to do it, whether he feels like it or not.
MESSAGE #1418 I’M A GOLD MEDALIST!
Another successful Special Olympics Summer Games has been completed. There was no shortage of inspiration as over 2,500 athletes participated and over 3,000 people volunteered to help make this event a great one.
My team of Brad Abouchedid, Joey Clawson, Joe Bodner, Alex Armour, Mike Capone, Laura Kasper, and Chrissy Acton gave it their all! Many of them even got medals! I enjoyed playing Unified Doubles with Joey Clawson (above) and we defended our gold medal from last year!
The focus of our athletes is having fun and giving a full effort. As a by-product, they won medals. Win or lose, it doesn’t matter, it’s how you play the game. And if you play the game with fun and the right attitude, you win more. Not the other way around.
Take the philosophy of these special athletes and start winning some medals in your own life!
Thanks for reading.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
MESSAGE #1417 SPECIAL OLYMPICS SUMMER GAMES DAY 2
Today was Day 2 of the Special Olympics Summer Games and it was a wet one. Before matches even began, we went indoors for the event. And we went from having eight tennis courts to four courts. In addition, volunteers, coaches, and college staff had to help out to set up the adjustable tennis nets and net posts.
It was a team effort.
Sometimes in sports and life, you need to make adjustments. And if you focus on being a team player, everybody wins.
One of my favorite Special Olympics stories is from track and field. The event was the 100M dash. All of the special athletes lined up, ready to give it their all to the finish line. The gun was fired and they were off! All except one little boy, who fell at the starting line. The other special athletes noticed, and went back to check on the little boy. One girl bent over to the boy crying, and gave him a kiss on the head and said, “There, that will make it feel better.” And then the most amazing thing happened…
All of the athletes linked arms, and walked to the finish line.
Sometimes in sports and life, you need to make adjustments. And if you focus on being a team player, everybody wins.
MESSAGE #1416 SPECIAL OLYMPICS SUMMER GAMES
Today was Day 1 of the Special Olympics Summer Games 2011 here in New Jersey. It was a great day full of inspiration. In fact, the Special Olympics motto is “Inspire Greatness” and these special athletes certainly do that. During the tennis matches today, I heard a couple special athletes talking to each other…
“Did you win?” one athlete asked.
“No, but I did my best,” was the optimistic response.
Wow, I think all of us coaches, athletes and parents can learn from these amazing athletes.
Here’s another quote from the Special Olympics…
“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
Stay tuned, tonight I will be at Opening Ceremonies for some more inspiration.
MESSAGE #1414 HOCUS-POCUS
It’s not about hocus-pocus, it’s all about focus-focus.
I may not know you, but I know something about you—you want to be great at something. How do I know this? Because you’re reading this blog. It doesn’t matter what you want to be great at, it could be sports, business, school, a musical instrument, or cooking. The strategy is the same.
Most people think success has to do with magic. They think that “one day” success will come to them. But the truth is, it’s not hocus-pocus, it’s focus-focus.
What are you focusing on?
You might have a great idea, but a great idea is nothing if you don’t take action.
Here’s a secret formula: K – A = 0 (Knowledge minus Action equals Nothing).
You probably know what to do, but you are not doing what you know.
1. Take a piece of paper, an index card, post-it note, anything to write on.
2. Write down one goal you would like to attain today, e.g. practice, workout, make 10 sales calls, send your best client a free gift.
3. Then write down exactly where, when and how you are going to do it.
4. Just do it.
5. Remember, motivation is not a feeling, it’s an action.
Thanks for reading.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
MESSAGE #1413 A QUOTE FROM “GAME. SET. LIFE”
Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Work is the most fun of all. —author unknown
MESSAGE #1412 LESSONS FROM AN NCAA CHAMP
Recently, Lauren Embree clinched the NCAA title for the University of Florida Gators women’s tennis team. She beat Mallory Burdette, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) after losing a 5-1 lead in the first set and overcoming a 0-4 deficit in the final set.
I caught up with Embree after her incredible win.
“I had different thoughts racing through my mind when I was down 4-0 in the third. I kept fighting. I knew I still had a chance no matter what the score was.”
“I just told myself, ‘one point at a time,’ ”
“I kept telling myself positive thoughts.”
Embree’s goal was to fight her way back and instead of focusing on the situation, she focused on the process and just tried to get the ball back deeper.
So what did Embree do?
1. She went all-out.
2. She played in the present moment (not the past or the future).
3. She told herself affirmations to keep her performance, focus and energy levels high.
She could have easily fallen apart after losing the lead in the first set, but she didn’t—she fought back. Even when she was down 0-4 in the final set, she went all-out until the very end.
And we can all do that…it’s a choice.
You may not be an NCAA champion, but you can use Embree’s strategies to succeed in sports, sales or school. And you can begin today.
Thank you Lauren and congrats again.
MESSAGE #1411 ROGER, OVER AND OUT!
Today, in the French Open Men’s Final, Roger Federer was leading his nemesis, Rafael Nadal 5-2 in the first set and ended up losing the set, 7-5. All he had to do was hold serve once and the set was his. Instead, Nadal won seven games in a row and gained a tremendous amount to momentum, and eventually won, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1.
This happens all the time in sports.
Recently, I began giving one-on-one mental toughness sessions to a competitive female tennis player. One of her biggest challenges is that she cannot close out a set or match. When she has a lead, she tends to ease up, lose focus, and/or celebrate victory before it actually happens.
What happened to Roger Federer today?
Only Roger knows that.
But, for the most part, there is no excuse when you lose a 5-2 lead.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Most people play better when they are losing, so…pretend that the score is 2-5.
2. Focus on your strategy (placement, effort), not your situation (so close to winning the set).
3. Play one point at a time.
4. If you feel the momentum shifting to your opponent, SLOW the game down; take your time between points to minimize the length of the rally for your opponent.
5. Go all-out and do what got you to 5-2.
Is finishing a set or match simple?
Yes.
Is it easy?
No.
You cannot control results, but you can certainly do things to help put yourself in the best possible position to win. Focus on those things and you should be pleased with the results.
MESSAGE #1410 A MESSAGE FROM A YANKEE
Recently, I was talking to Dellin Betances, the #3 Yankees prospect (above). He is currently having a great season at Double-A Trenton and I asked him what the secret was to staying focused and consistent. “You just have to keep working on the things you need to work on. Now is the time for me to do it, not when I get called up to the majors.”
It’s true, most people like to work on things they are already good at, which leaves their weaknesses, well…weaknesses. If you don’t work on them in practice, when will you work on them, in competition? Remember the quote from former US Navy SEAL, Stew Smith? “Work on your weaknesses so much that they are as close to a strength as possible.”
If you think it would be difficult to work on your weaknesses, IMAGINE how difficult it would be to compete against someone who IS, when you’re not.
Can you apply this to sales, school or music?