MESSAGE #1331 PLAY THIS GAME…

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What game are you playing?

Are you trying to beat your opponent? Do you have anger towards the other team? Do you want to crush the competition at work?

If so, stop it.

When you start with a negative intention, you are limiting yourself. Negative intentions create negative results. You may get some positive results with negative thoughts, but they are not lasting.

Instead, begin with positive intentions. Love—love the game, love the learning and constant improvement. Love everything about the game.

You see, it’s not about beating your opponent, it’s all about mastering yourself. Mastering the game.

This is a game that very few people are playing.

The ones that are playing this game, say things like, “I’d like to thank everyone for their support; I couldn’t have become world champion by myself.”

The ones that are not playing the self-mastery game say things like, “Would you like fries with that?”

MESSAGE #1330 HOW TO PERFORM UNDER PRESSURE

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Golfer, Jack Nicklaus (above) once said…

When fear starts to hit me, my best chance of overcoming it lies in facing it squarely and examining it rationally. Here’s what I tell myself. ‘OK, what are you frightened of? You’ve obviously played well or you wouldn’t be here…Well, go ahead and enjoy yourself. Play each shot one at a time and meet the challenge.’

Pressure is created in your mind. It is your choice whether you look at a situation as pressure or as a challenge. Who doesn’t love a challenge?

The next time you are in a “pressure” situation, coach yourself like Jack Nicklaus and react rationally. If your thoughts are irrational, accept them, let them go and then go out and kick some butt.

MESSAGE #1329 HOW TO BE UNSTOPPABLE

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Manny Banuelos, New York Yankees, Spring Training 2011

Have you ever been nervous before a big game?

Have you ever tightened up at a crucial point in a game?

Have you ever doubted yourself?

Of course you have, you’re human.

One thing I have unearthed by talking to some of the greatest athletes in the world is that the world champions and the weekend warriors feel the same feelings. They think the same thoughts. So what sets them apart?

Their perception of the situation.

The actions that they take.

Yankee pitcher, Manny Banuelos just turned 20 years old on Sunday. And on Monday, he was slated to pitch on ESPN versus the Boston Red Sox. The biggest game of his life.

What did he do?

He pitched 2 and 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits, 3 walks and striking out 2.

Pretty impressive for someone who was a teenager just two days before.

What’s more impressive is how Man-Ban reacted to the pressure.

His perception was excitement, not pressure.

Banuelos admits he gets nervous, but it doesn’t last long.

In the second inning, Banuelos got into a jam, having the bases loaded and only one out. He stepped it up and forced the next two hitters to ground out.

Then, on his last pitch, the pressure was on again with a 3-2 count. He threw a change-up to Kevin Youkllis and struck him out.

Wow.

The bottom line is that you can either let pressure hurt you or you can let it help you. It’s your choice how you react, and if you are able to do your best when it means the most.

It is then that you will be unstoppable.

Speaking of being unstoppable, I shared my new mental skills workbook, “How to be Unstoppable” with some of the Yankees players when I was down at Spring Training last week. You can pick up your own copy by clicking HERE.

MESSAGE #1327 KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL

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In the image above, Derek Jeter is keeping his eye on the ball.

In your life, whether in sports, sales or school, you need to keep your eye on the ball. Stay focused on what you are doing, and do one thing at a time. When you are eating…eat. When you are practicing…practice. When you are studying…study.

Let me tell you a story…

A young boy traveled across Japan to the school of a famous martial arts master.

“What do you wish from me?” the master asked.

“I wish to be your student and become the finest karateka in the land,” the boy replied.

“How long must I study?”

“Ten years at least,” the master answered.

“Ten years is a long time,” said the boy.

“What if I studied twice as hard as all your other students?”

“Twenty years,” replied the master.

“Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all my effort?”

“Thirty years,” was the master’s reply.

“How is it that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?” the boy asked.

“The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the Way.”

MESSAGE #1324 DAY 2 IN TAMPA

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Today didn’t go as planned—it was BETTER.

I woke up here in Tampa to heavy rain. It threw my schedule off. I had meetings planned and wanted to go checkout the Yankees game at the Phillies’ stadium in Clearwater. Due to the weather, I needed to rearrange and cancel some meetings. Then, the weather broke and it looked like the game would be played after all. So again I had to change some plans. But I stayed flexible and figured out the best strategy, and the day went extremely well.

What does this have to do with you, and mental toughness?

In sports and life, we need to be flexible. If you go into a game thinking there is only one way to win, you may be greatly disappointed. Instead, there are many options. Obstacles will always pop up, that’s not the problem. The problem is how we react.

I always tell the following to the athletes I work with: “Every strategy works for someone—NO strategy works for everyone.”

MESSAGE #1321 SECRET FORMULA

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I recently sent this secret formula to a pitcher on the New York Yankees via Facebook message:

T + T + T + T + T = C

Today + Today + Today + Today + Today = Your Career

The best way to have a Hall of Fame career is to ACT like a Hall of Famer TODAY. Then do it again tomorrow. And the next day and the next day…

Focusing on the past and the future is weak.

Focusing on the present moment is powerful.

MESSAGE #1320 ACE!

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Julie Martin-Kolb. Happy Belated Birthday to a passionate tennis mom!

I love hitting aces while playing tennis, but there is an ACE I like even more…

ACE—Acting Changes Everything

The other day I was watching some tennis players and when they hit a good shot, they had great body language and looked extremely confident. But when they missed a shot, they had terrible body language and looked extremely negative.

Here’s what Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer know…

You don’t have to act how you feel. You can feel tired, negative or not into it, but you can still ACT like you are energetic, positive and totally into it. The best part is that when you start acting like the player you want to be, you start feeling like the player you want to be.

Most people have it reversed.

MESSAGE #1319 MORE ON FOCUS

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Try this exercise:

1. Find three red things in the room you are in.
2. Close your eyes and quickly think of something green in the room.

If you are like most people, it was difficult to think of something green. This is because you were focused on the red items in the room. How does this affect you?

You get what you focus on.

During peak performances, athletes focus on the right things: their target, strategy or game plan.

During poor performances, athletes focus on the wrong things: results, bad calls, bad conditions, spectators or the score.

Focus is important, but make sure you focus on the right things.

 

FOR A COPY OF MY NEW MENTAL SKILLS WORKBOOK, CLICK HERE: https://edtseng.com/purchase-game-set-life-the-book/mental-skills-workbook

MESSAGE #1317 FIFTY OUT OF SEVENTY-THREE

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Greg Maddux was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.

Maddux once left a game with a 2-1 lead, in the seventh inning. The reliever gave up a run to tie the game, which ruined Maddux’ chances of getting the win; frustration for any pitcher. But when Maddux was asked after the game, “How did it go out there tonight?” his reply was, “Fifty out of seventy-three.”

What does this mean?

It means he threw fifty strikes out of seventy-three pitches.

Maddux knows the secret. The key to being a successful is to focus on your execution, not the results. If you stick with your plan and execute properly, your job is done. The beauty of this is, you will get better results. On the other hand, if you focus on things out of your control, like results, the media, or the approval of others, you will decrease your chances of getting the results you want.

What was Maddux’ mantra?

“One at a time.”

How can you argue with someone who won 355 games in his career?

*BONUS FACT*
Greg Maddux faced 20,421 batters in his career and only 310 of them saw a 3-0 count (approximately one in every three starts).

MESSAGE #1314 HERE’S TO YOU, BOB RYLAND

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Speaking with Bob Ryland at Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education in Philadelphia

As we close out Black History Month, my thoughts are with a good friend of mine, Bob Ryland, the first black professional tennis player.

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that Bob was Arthur Ashe’s hero. In fact, when Arthur Ashe was 14, he said, “I only want to be good enough to be able to beat Bob Ryland.”

Bob has taught tennis to the Williams sisters, Barbra Streisand, Bill Cosby and many others in his career. I recently had lunch in New York City with the living legend and every time is like the first time. What impresses me about Ryland is that even though he lived through segregation, he stays one of the most optimistic people I know.

You think it’s hard to play tournament tennis nowadays?

I remember when Bob told me about a time when he got accepted into a tournament in California because of his high ranking. But once he arrived, and the tournament director saw that he was black, Ryland was told to “Go get some lunch and come back.”

When he returned, the tournament director said that his opponent showed up and Ryland wasn’t here, so he was disqualified. Of course, this was intentional because of the color of his skin.

Ryland also frequently was pulled over by the police for no reason. There were blacks strung up on trees and also dragged down the street when he was a young boy. He lived through hell.

Bob Ryland could easily be bitter and angry at those situations, but he isn’t. According to him, “It is what it is.”

Much of life is not what happens to us, but how we react.

I am proud to say that Bob Ryland is a dear friend, hero and role model. Bob will be 91 years young this June 16th and you can be sure he will be around the Central Park Tennis Courts once the weather warms up.

Many people say, “Be like Mike.” Today, I say, “Be like Bob.”

Thanks for reading.