MESSAGE #961 MEETING OF THE MINDS

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We all know that sports are about 80 percent mental, so doesn’t that mean we should practice our mental game 80 percent of the time?

I met with meditation teacher, Jonathan Star yesterday and he explained his theory of “The Art of Being On” to me. It was very intriguing. An average tennis match lasts about 90 minutes and only approximately 18 of those minutes are actually playing. So Star developed a meditation to help you win “the game between points.”

Nobody can do it all on their own. Use all the brains you have and all that you can borrow. (Woodrow Wilson) I have a feeling Mr. Star and I will be collaborating on several projects in the near future. We have already begun planning a joint seminar.

Jonathan sought me out from the Princeton Peak Performance Meetup Group I started (see sidebar). The secret to success is to have a growth mindset and strive for constant improvement, but remember you don’t have to do it all on your own.

Ideas are the best currency – If you exchange dollar bills with someone, you both have one dollar bill. But if you exchange ideas, you both have TWO ideas.

Author’s note: Day 3 of my 21-Day Challenge is in full-force with being on court and hitting lessons. I will be sure to break a sweat and even do some running with my students.

I’d love to hear your comments. Leave them below.

MESSAGE #960 DAY 2 OF ED’S 21-DAY CHALLENGE

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In Day 2 of Ed’s 21-Day Challenge, he works out on the basketball court with Coach Mike Cavallo. Here’s the video blog. Enjoy!

MESSAGE #959 DAY 1 OF ED’S 21-DAY CHALLENGE

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In this video blog, Ed kicks off his 21-Day Challenge to get in shape and inspire others to do the same.

MESSAGE #958 HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

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Playing it safe in any form is a recipe for disappointment, frustration, and stagnation.
-JEFF GREENWALD

The quote above is from my friend, Jeff Greenwald, noted sports psychology consultant and author of The Best Tennis of Your Life. Greenwald believes that most people play it safe because they “fear missing and giving up a free point.”

Most people have this mindset. They want to stay in their comfort zone. The problem is that when you are scared of losing the point, you are training yourself to hold back. That is not peak performance. It doesn’t matter whether your weapon of choice is a racquet, pen, paintbrush or frying pan – you have to GO ALL OUT.

I recently had a mental coaching session with a young baseball, basketball and tennis player. He’s only in the 4th grade, but he gets it. Since working with me, he focuses on going all out every time he steps on the court or field. He’s even using my techniques and applying them to school. Not only is he getting better results, he’s also having more fun!

It’s better to go all out and lose than it is to hold back and win.

Leave your comments below.

MESSAGE #956 I KNOW YOU KNOW

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Everyone knows what to do, but nobody does what they know.

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Lewis Howes, founder of Sports Networker and author of LinkedWorking.

Lewis Howes is my friend, and he is a rock star. He is an ex-pro athlete, author, speaker and entrepreneur. Howes travels all over the world educating and connecting people in sports and social media. He has networked with some of the top minds on the planet…and he’s just getting started.

The difference between Lewis Howes and everyone else is that Lewis is taking action…MASSIVE ACTION. In fact, he’s doing a webinar tomorrow from the beach in Argentina (I’m not happy about that).

See, you know what to do, but you’re not doing it.

You know you need to:

-practice more
-quit smoking
-study more
-spend more time with your family
-do your taxes
-de-clutter your house

But ARE YOU?

K – A = O (Knowledge minus Action equals NOTHING)

Recently, I was teaching and one of my students kept hitting the ball into the net. I asked, “How can you make an adjustment?” She said, “Aim higher over the net.”

“Very good, but ARE YOU trying to aim higher over the net when you’re hitting?”

The response was “No.”

We all know what to do, but the great ones are actually doing it.

 

What are you NOT doing? Leave your comments below…

 

MESSAGE #953 HOW TO BE A LEADER

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Recently, I was teaching on a court next to another instructor. All of a sudden I heard, “Watch this…” as the teacher stood with three tennis balls in his hand. The ball cart was on one side of the net and the he was on the other side, pretty far away. He threw the first tennis ball high and far…and missed. Then he threw another, high and far…and missed, all while his students watched. The final ball, he threw and actually made it. Everyone on his court celebrated.

Pretty cool, right?

WRONG.

We lead by example. Our students respect us. They want to use the same racquet that we use. They want to wear the same clothes that we wear. They may even start to walk like us.

When we (coaches, teachers, parents, managers) throw balls when we should be picking up, we are conditioning our students (employees, children) to do the same.

Sure enough, the next time his class was picking up balls, two of the four students attempted to throw balls into the ball cart.

Do you know what the instructor said?

“COME ON guys…you should be picking up.”

MESSAGE #952 THE PROBLEM…

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I know what the problem is…

YOUR FEELINGS.

I know what the solution is…

YOUR ACTIONS.

Any questions?

 

Leave your comments below.

MESSAGE #951 DR. SEUSS

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Yesterday was my father’s birthday. Do you know who else had a birthday yesterday?

Dr. Seuss.

He’s the childrens book author, right?

Wrong.

Everyone can learn from his words.

Here are some great quotes…

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself, any direction you choose.

Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.

And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed.

Happy Belated Birthday, Dr. Seuss.

What’s YOUR favorite quote? Leave your comments below…

MESSAGE #948 FROM THE BEATLES

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There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game. It’s easy.
Nothing you can make that can’t be made.
No one you can save that can’t be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time. It’s easy.
-THE BEATLES

The Beatles are no different from you and me.

“There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.” It’s easy, just find successful people and do what they’re doing.

John, Paul, George and Ringo had a growth mindset, but they also knew the value of hard work.

In fact, in his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about how instead of playing one hour sets, once in a while in Liverpool, The Beatles went to Hamburg and played 7-8 hour sets seven days a week! Supposedly they were terrible on stage at first, but improved by putting in the time.

Everyone wants be an overnight success, but it takes ten years to become an overnight success…or 10,000 hours, according to Gladwell.

I know what you’re thinking, 10,000 hours is a long time!

I can help make it easier:

1. Instead of focusing on 10,000 hours, focus instead on one good hour…then do it 10,000 times.
2. Enjoy the process and those 10,000 hours will fly by.
3. Remember that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

Also from Outliers…

“The emerging picture from such studies is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert–in anything. In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. … No one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.”

There’s no short-cut…now get to work.

What are you trying to master? Leave your comments below…

MESSAGE #947 A GREAT STORY

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In this video blog, Ed Tseng, Pro of the Year USTA 2005 and author of “Game. Set. Life.” shares a great story about “acting as if” and peak performance in sports and life.