MESSAGE #1075 YOUR ABC’S…
Always remember your ABCs…
Ability, Breaks and Courage
and…
Always Behave Confidently.
Have a great Saturday, everyone!
MESSAGE #1068 TALKIN’ BASEBALL
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Brandon Laird, 3B for the Trenton Thunder (Double-A, New York Yankees).
Brandon Laird currently leads all of professional baseball with 77 Runs Batted In in 72 games.
He was named Eastern League Player of the Week and Player of the Month.
He was only the second Thunder player to hit for the cycle on May 26, including a walk-off home run.
Two nights ago, he hit a grand slam and a three-run home run (for the second time this season).
Did I forget any impressive stats? Probably.
I have been fortunate to spend some time with Laird over the past month. His numbers are amazing and his attitude is even better. He is truly a class-act and is mentally tough beyond his years.
After last night’s game, I spoke with Laird and he was telling me how he was in a bit of a “funk” last week.
I asked him how he got out of it and he said, “At first I thought, ‘What am I doing?’ then I thought about what I was doing well before and tried to focus on that. I just trusted that it would come around because failure is part of baseball.”
Laird was persistent in his approach and stayed optimistic. As most great athletes do, he focused on his effort, not his results.
I had to ask Laird about his streak and having the most RBIs in professional baseball.
“You know, I’m just taking it one day at a time. I have a plan, I try to hit the ball hard and have a good at bat,” commented Laird.
Tonight is exactly one month since I first spoke to Laird, which was the same night he hit for the cycle with a walk-off home run.
I will be talking to #29 again before the game and we’ll see if he can continue to stay hot with his bat. I have a strange feeling he will.
Play ball!
MESSAGE #1063 I’m NOT Teaching Tennis Today
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nic Cecan.
Summer Tennis Camp 2010 officially begins today.
Though numbers are down, I am very excited.
I’m sure there will be some new faces, which will bring new opportunities.
I look at every session as a way to positively affect our youth. It’s life lessons through tennis. Sure, the campers will improve their tennis game, but more importantly, they will learn confidence, teamwork, how to perform under pressure, focus and much more.
Honestly, I don’t look at Tennis Camp as a way of making money, or getting a nice tan. I look at it as contribution.
Helping others become healthier, mentally and physically.
Teaching them that effort and attitude are more important than results and materialistic objects.
Making the world a better place.
What if everyone on the planet had this mentality?
MESSAGE #1060 FIXED VS GROWTH MINDSETS
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Carol Dweck, Ph.D. at Stanford University.
I just finished listening to and interview with Carol Dweck, Ph.D. and author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.”
I talk about Dr. Dweck in my book, “Game. Set. Life.” and her research on fixed versus growth mindsets.
In a fixed mindset, people worry about their skills/talent and think that you only have a certain amount.
People with growth mindsets feel that the sky is the limit and that it takes challenges for you to grow and improve.
With a growth mindset, setbacks are opportunities to grow and improve.
I asked Dr. Dweck what an athlete can focus on when they are not playing their best game, or when the pressure is on.
She said that instead of beating yourself up after a loss, you should think about what you can do to improve next time and what you can work on in practice. The key is effort and practice, not results. Don’t worry about talent.
Dweck talked about her own career and said that “Everything involves setbacks.”
It’s true.
And I always say, “A setback is a setup for a comeback.”
Thanks for reading.
MESSAGE #1051 WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM A KID
Last night was the major league debut of baseball phenom, Stephen Strasburg, age 21.
He is a right-handed pitcher for the Washington Nationals, who selected him with the first pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. Strasburg signed for a record $15.1 million contract on August 17, 2009. ESPN called him the “most-hyped pick in draft history” and Sports Illustrated called him the “most hyped and closely watched pitching prospect in the history of baseball.”
Now, there are many top prospects, but many of them never make it.
I think, if Strasburg stays healthy, he will make it.
Why? Because he works hard. And he’s humble. He goes all-out in every start.
So what did Strasburg do last night in his major league debut?
He struck out 14 Pittsburgh Pirates (a Nationals single-game record) over seven innings in a 5-2 victory. Oh, and his last pitch was faster than his first – 99 miles per hour.
“They didn’t really talk to me about a game plan or how to attack certain hitters,” the 21-year-old Strasburg said. “They just told me to go out there and enjoy it.”
I will be certain to follow this young man’s career over the next few years and I have a good feeling about it.
In his post-game interview he said the 5 most powerful words…
“I definitely think anything’s possible.”
MESSAGE #1048 FLORIDA DAY 3
Greetings from Florida, Day 3. I am having a great time and my talk yesterday in Key Largo was very well received. I sold many books and connected with some great Florida coaches.
Sarah and I then had a great lunch at the Conch House, which was featured on the Food Network.
Today we are in Dania Beach/Hollywood.
As I blog here at Starbucks, I can’t stop thinking about the late, great Coach John Wooden.
Much of my coaching and life philosophy came from John Wooden. And much of John Wooden’s coaching and life philosophy came from his father.
His father used to say:
“You should never try to be better than someone else.
Always learn from others.
Never cease trying to be the best that you can be – that’s under your control.”
Here are some other great quotes from Wooden…
“Never mention winning – you can lose when you outscore somebody in a game and you can win when you are outscored.”
“Give your best effort and your results will be what they should. The score of a game is a by-product and not the end itself.”
“The journey (practice) is better than the end (game). The game is to see if they did a decent job (in practice) during the week.”
Success is…“Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.”
“Character is what you are, your reputation is what you are perceived to be.”
“We hope that things will turn out the way we want them to, but we don’t do the things that are necessary to make those things become reality.”
Wooden’s 3 Rules (From his father):
Never be late
Never use profanity
Never criticize a teammate
“Never mistake activity for achievement.”
“He just used sports as a means to teach us how to apply ourselves to any situation.” -KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
In the 1930s, a poem stuck with Wooden that helped shape his philosophy. Watch the vlog below to see me recite the poem.
MESSAGE #1036 TEAMWORK
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Rob Polishook, performance coach and founder of Inside the Zone.
Trust is key ingredient in any relationship, whether it’s on a sports team, a business team or a relationship team. I know when I coach tennis players and when I coach people in mental toughness, trust is the key. Nobody can do it on their own – and trust is essential to success. Let me tell you a story…
Once upon a time, Fire, Water and Trust were walking in the woods.
They started planning what they would do if they got separated.
Fire said, “Look for the smoke – that’s where I’ll be.”
Water said, “Look for the green grass and flowers – that’s where I’ll be.”
Trust said, “You’d better not lose me because if you do – you might never get me back again.”
MESSAGE #1032 ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
I recently started working with a high school tennis player who had low self-esteem and negativity issues.
His father called me to ask if I could work with his son to overcome his challenges.
Well, I did one long session with him and then gave him some homework.
I saw him a week later and I immediately noticed that his body language and attitude was completely different.
I said, “How’s it going?”
He replied, “Great! I am not negative anymore.”
I was skeptical.
I found out that he lost a couple matches during the week, but was extremely happy with his attitude. He was a new person, and he had a winning mindset. He wasn’t perfect, but this was a great start, nonetheless.
I was extremely proud of him.
What did I give him?
HOPE.
Hold On Possibilities Exist.
What’s the point?
Mental skills are just like physical skills – they are trainable.
This young man is striving to become a little bit better every day, and I am confident that as our coaching sessions continue, he will eventually become the player, and person he wants to be.
Afterall, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
“The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.”
MESSAGE #1028 TALKING WITH A LIFE COACH
I recently spent some time with life coach, Dolores DeGiacomo.
I asked Dolores what some common challenges were for her clients. She said that many times people have unrealistic expectations for themselves and others. They focus on external things that are out of their control and then get upset or angry.
When we focus our energy on things we cannot control, we are wasting energy. It’s a losing battle.
Instead, DeGiacomo says, “We should focus on things we can control, like our perspective on situations and people, being kind to ourselves and never give up.”
“How can we do it differently next time?” is better than “What’s wrong with me/them?” DeGiacomo added.
One of her clients was complaining that her mother-in-law was not treating her the way she wanted to be treated.
DeGiacomo asked, “Does she know how you would like to be treated?”
“No,” here client responded.
That’s like if I’m a tennis coach and I expect my students to practice between lessons, work on their fitness, have proper nutrition and work on their mental toughness…but I don’t tell them to, and then get angry at them when they don’t. That’s just silly.
Dolores also recommends that we stay in “learning mode.” When we strive for constant improvement instead of results, we actually start getting better results, as a by-product.
I like that.
For a free 10-minute consultation with Coach Dolores DeGiacomo, email: