If you want to become successful (which I know you do because you’re reading this blog), cut these three words out of your vocabulary.
CAN’T
NEVER
IMPOSSIBLE
You CAN’T win if you use the word CAN’T.
You will NEVER succeed if you use the word NEVER.
It will be IMPOSSIBLE to reach your goals if you use the word IMPOSSIBLE.
Homework: Today, use words and phrases that will motivate you, not words and phrases that will de-motivate you.
William James is known as the father of American psychology. He once said:
“Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.”
I call this mental cross-training.
There will always be things you dislike doing–laundry, homework, making sales calls, practicing, or eating healthy, for instance. But what if we didn’t feel like doing these things and did them anyway? How would that make us feel? I would guess that it would make us feel pretty good; it would make us feel proud. That would give us confidence. And it would give us momentum. That’s part of mental toughness.
Winners do what losers don’t feel like doing.
In other words…
You have to get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Begin today.
Gandhi said:
“Full effort is full victory.”
What does this mean?
Here’s how I see it:
1. Go all-out.
2. Focus more on your effort.
3. Focus less on your results.
4. Most people don’t give it their all.
5. When you focus on the “process,” (effort) you get the “product” (winning) that you want.
Anthony Kelly (above) likes to catch arrows with his bare hands. In fact, he also likes to catch paint balls. Kelly holds five Guinness World Records and supposedly has the fastest reactions on the planet. I caught up with Anthony recently and below is what I unearthed.
ET: What inspired you to do what you do?
AK: I was brought up watching Mohammed Ali and Bruce Lee and wanted to be like them (or better). I was amazed with their speed and power, also their strength of character.
ET: How do you train?
AK: I train and coach everyday both martial arts and Reaction Training from the beginners through to Olympic level athletes. This is important as our brains work in the same way but on different levels and I have found a way to open the channel between advanced and unexperienced athletes by the use of using basic learning skills and by building a strong foundation of learning to get the brain to reacting faster and faster as their training progress. Learning to react to stimuli, basically people on all levels enjoy learning and playing fast skills and are always happy to compete with others to gain extremely fast skills. One example I can give is play knuckles with me and you will quickly learn to respond faster. So to answer the question is I train by teaching and interacting with athletes on all levels of competencies.
ET: How do you cross-train?
AK: I am a coach of several sports and believe that training in many different sports is important, but the single most important aspect is to keep sharp by incorporating reaction action skills into every part of my life, like slipping through a door that’s about to shut, trying to catch things at ridicules speeds and enjoying the challenge of being as fast as I can be.
ET: How many other people do what you do?
AK: I hold many very unusual Guinness World Records and some have never been challenged, so that means that people are not interested or unwilling to achieve what I have. And as far as I know I am the only Specialist Reaction Coach. I introduced the World’s first electronic training device in 1995.
ET: What is your typical event like? Do you speak? Demo? Both?
AK: Training as I Coach is the best way for me to demonstrate the level that I work at and the level that athletes can achieve if they follow my Reaction training programme. Also once people are in the zone during training it is easier to communicate my ideas and philosophies about being super fast.
ET: Can reaction time be improved?
AK: Yes. Some people are born with ‘faster’ twitch fibre muscles then others, but I am a firm believer that you can improve any skill that you put your mind and body into learning. Through the correct training including:
A) Dedicate your life to being as fast as YOU can be. That means try and do the impossible like slipping into an automatic door before it closes play games with kids, but most importantly have fun.
B) Dream, visualize and create an awareness that you are the best that you can be and that you can even be better
ET: Do you work with athletes? How?
AK: I coach many local, state and national teams each year and individuals that what some training that is out of the ordinary.
ET: Were you “born” to do this?
AK: I have just been tested in some of the world’s best Universities and the conclusion is that I am 10 times faster than the average human and this is contributed to my genetics, (my father was very fast and strong and my grandfather was an famous bushman with extraordinary abilities, like grabbing a red-belly blacksnake and creaking (like a whip) their heads off and also my diet, which consists of just meat, potatoes, rice, bread and chocolate, I have NEVER eaten fruit or vegetables. Also my intense training resume.
ET: How has this helped you in other areas of life?
AK: Well I have a lot of fame but not much fortune. But training in martial arts and delving into the works of what goes on in our minds and body, it has shown me that we can all achieve what we want if we really want it.
My motto is ‘practice is the key to success’ so if I have a message it is find out what you want out of life and start training hard. Will you see results? Yes, but it will take time. Do not give up and you will achieve greatness.
For more on Anthony Kelly, visit: http://www.anthonykelly.com.au/
Obviously I like sports.
I like playing sports and I like watching sports.
But I’m not one of those guys that has Sports Center on at my house 24/7.
There is, however, something that I can’t watch enough of…
Upsets in sports.
The Davids beating the Goliaths.
I love watching the little guys beat the big guys.
Why?
Because it shows that anything can happen.
It’s not the better player or team that wins, it’s the player or team that plays better that wins.
Yesterday at the Australian Open, fourth-seed, Robin Soderling of Sweden lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
On paper, Soderling should have won, but he didn’t.
Upsets are part of sports (and life) but many people are defeated before the competition even begins. They think, “Oh, he will probably win.” or “There is no way that team will lose.”
There is a way and it is possible.
So the next time you are the underdog and you come up against a tough opponent, a tough customer, or a tough situation, remember that anything can happen.
And go all-out!
Once upon a time a young boy said to his family, “I want to do great things in this world; I know I can.”
Then, an old man said to his family, “I wish I had done great things in this world; I wish I did.”
End of story.
Why is this story so sad?
Because the young boy and the old man were the same person.
At the end of your life, do you want to say, “I wish I had” or “I’m glad I did”?
I think we all know the answer.
You can also apply this mindset to each and every day. Each and every practice. Each and every game.
At the end of the day, or at the end of the game, take the mental toughness test.
You pass the test if you say:
“I’m glad I did.”
Today’s message is especially dedicated to Nate Kunnen and Dan Beedle in Michigan.
How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never’.
-MARTIN LUTHER, German priest
By request, I was asked to blog about how to sustain motivation and how to persist and have inner strength. Two separate requests which are actually related.
It’s that time of year where people are looking to become more fit, get better grades, be a better romantic partner or save more money. I don’t know if I am a fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but I do know that most people don’t stick with them.
Do you want to be like most people?
Today, one of my students told me that in school they were making New Year’s Resolutions. The teacher said that most people don’t stick with their resolutions, so this year they were going to make resolutions they definitely couldn’t break, like:
1. Ice skate with the Queen of England.
2. Eat a live frog.
3. Date a Sports Illustrated model.
When I heard this assignment, I said to myself, “NO! This teacher doesn’t get it.”
It’s not about just keeping your resolution, is it?
To me, resolutions are made to better yourself, to kick-start a new you. And to lead by example so that everyone around you wants to become better as well.
It’s January 3rd…Everyone is motivated right now. But by the last week of January, most resolutions will be broken.
So how do you sustain motivation?
How do you persist and gain inner strength?
1. Understand that motivation is not a feeling, it is an ACTION. Do what you need to do, when you need to do it, whether you feel like it or not.
2. Understand that you already have inner strength, but you have to make your goals important enough. Think of it this way, if someone knew that if they smoked a cigarette today, they would get lung cancer tomorrow, would they still do it? Of course not. So we have the will-power, we just have to exercise it.
3. Use my 15-minute rule when you don’t “feel” like persisting. Whatever it is you have to do (work out, study, make calls, clean the house), just do it for 15 minutes and then you can stop. But you won’t. Once you start you get into it and you will keep going. But most people don’t even begin.
I planned on going to the gym tonight after work at 9pm, but I didn’t feel like it.
I did it anyway.
Why?
Because anyone can do something when they feel like it. I like doing things when I DON’T feel like it.
So tonight, I not only worked out my body, I worked out my mind.
You can too.
Final words:
Don’t quit, can’t fail.
Nothing changes on New Year’s Day.
-BONO, rock star
Does anything really change on New Year’s Day?
I suppose change is possible, but is it lasting change?
Doing something once is not impressive.
Doing something consistently is impressive.
Don’t make resolutions, set goals and make lifestyle changes.
I’ve working out in gyms for most of my life and it amazes me how so many people start the new year off with amazing INTENTIONS by joining a gym and deciding to work out like they never worked out before, but don’t stick with it.
Their good intentions usually last only a few weeks.
By the end of January, those “motivated” people fall by the wayside.
Why does this phenomenon occur?
Because most people don’t know how to set goals.
Here’s what most people are doing wrong:
1. They don’t set specific goals; they said “I want to get in shape” versus “I am going to lose 10 pounds by March 1, 2011 at 8am.”
2. They let their goals too low. Michelangelo said, “It’s not that we set our sights too high and we don’t reach them; it’s that we set our sights too low and we DO reach them.” Set your sights high!
3. They think they can do it on their own. Get a trainer. Get coach. Get an accountability partner. Tell everyone about your goals. THEN you will be more likely to stick with it.
4. They don’t make their goals important enough. If something is important enough, you will stick with it.
5. They try their best, instead of DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES. There will be days you don’t “feel like” sticking to your goals. But those are the days you HAVE TO. Winners and losers feel the same feelings, but winners take the right action.
What are YOUR New Year’s Goals?
Leave your comments below.
Want a jump-start to a new you? Email to schedule a free 10-minute mental toughness consultation, or to request information on one-on-one mental toughness coaching via telephone/skype.
Well, Christmas Day is almost over.
I am a little under the weather, so I spent most of it resting.
Laying in bed, I remembered that I had not blogged yet today.
I didn’t feel like getting up, but I did it anyway.
In my head, I recalled one of my favorite quotes:
“Exceptions shatter dreams.”
I know it’s a holiday.
I know I’m not feeling well.
But I also know that there could be one person out there reading my blog for the first time, and I owe it to them to give it my best.
After all, Lou Gehrig played 2,130 consecutive games for the New York Yankees, all while breaking 17 bones in his hands and suffering many injuries, including concussions.
One day Gehrig got hit on top of the head and was unconscious for five minutes.
Guess what?
The next day, he was in the lineup wearing one of Babe Ruth’s caps that had been cut at the seams so the enormous bump on top of his head could fit in it.
If Lou Gehrig could tough it out, I surely could write a blog entry.
“Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.”
– VINCE LOMBARDI
I really like this quote from the great Vince Lombardi.
And does it really stop at sports?
Of course not.
If you have a job (or even a job interview), the best thing you can do is go longer, work harder and give more than anyone else.
Do you have to be gifted to do this?
Of course not.