MESSAGE #679 HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ENERGY…

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Last night I was a guest on the Essential Tennis Live radio show discussing the French Open Finals with Ian Westermann and Royce Sternquist. Bob Ryland, the first black pro also called in to the show. I had a great time. Listen to the recording here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/EssentialTennis/2009/06/08/Essential-Tennis-LIVE

Yesterday I started teaching at 8am and finished at 7pm. A long day by any standard, but I paced myself, took breaks, drank plenty of water and brought snacks. I had just enough time to go home, eat, shower and prep for the hour-long radio show. And I wasn’t even tired afterwards! I was energized.

I love what I do. I like to think that I’m making a difference. It’s not work to me. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and start writing down ideas. Most people don’t have energy because they are not doing what they love or focus on all the negatives or things that might go wrong.

Should we just look forward to our summer break, or our two weeks of vacation? Should we just “live” for the weekend?

Or should we do what we love and enjoy the rest of the year?

Do what you love and you won’t work a day in your life.

If you don’t want to change careers, try adding several activities during your week, including meditation and yoga to start enjoying every day.

At the beginning of every day, try appreciating everything around you. Be aware of everything you are doing. Be aware of your body. This will help you stay in the present instead of immediately turning the television or radio. We are on information overload nowadays. We are bombarded with information from the television commercials, radio, billboards, the internet and spam. Technology is great, but we need to consciously take time to get back to our true nature.

Take a deep breath right now…then begin.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #678 HE DID IT, SHE DIDN’T…

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“In the long run, the sword is beaten by the mind.”
-NAPOLEON

Roger Federer was seeded #2 and won the French Open.

Dinara Safina was seeded #1 and lost.

What was the difference?

The difference is how they handled the pressure. Even though Roger had never won the French Open, he has had more experience playing in pressure situations. And he knows that negative emotions produce negative results. This was Safina’s third Grand Slam final and she wanted it badly. She wanted it so she could say she truly was #1.

But as it turns out, Roger was calm and cool and Dinara self-destructed. She even double-faulted on match point.

Physically, there was very little difference between Federer/Soderling and Safina/Kuznetsova, so it all came down to the mental side.

If Safina focused on her game plan, her attitude and effort instead of the outcome, the result may have been different.

How you deal with pressure is up to you. You choose how you react. And your reaction/perception will affect your results.

Will this match make or break Safina’s career? Probably not, unless she lets it. If she learns from her experience and gets back to work, she’s young enough to still reach her prime. Much of what we think becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

What do you think?


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #676 PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE…

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Once, Sinclair Lewis, the novelist, was supposed to give an hour long talk to a group of college students aspiring to become writers. He started his presentation with this question: “How many of you really intend to be writers?”

All of the hands went up.

Lewis responded…

“In that case, my advice to you is to go home and write.”

And then he left.

MESSAGE #675 RISK

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No risk, no reward.

I know something about you.

You don’t like taking risks.

You like to be comfortable.

I like Seth Godin’s take on it from his book, “Tribes”…

Possibility of Risk

I was listening to a talking head on the radio, and he was prattling on about a “probability of risk” related to some course of action in the future. People are so afraid of risk they can’t even use the word. Risk, after all, is a probability of failure, right? So this guy was warning us of a probability of a probability. He couldn’t even say it.

It’s all a risk. Always.

That’s not true, actually. The only exception: it’s a certainty that there’s risk. The safer you play your plans for the future, the riskier it actually is. That’s because the world is certainly, definitely, and more than possibly changing.

Think of it this way, what if you used the same strategy every time, against a certain opponent you knew you could beat? Do you assume that you will always get the same result? Just because you beat them before doesn’t guarantee that you will always beat them. They may be improving. They may be changing their strategy. And there may be tough weather/court conditions.

Nothing stays the same, so neither should your strategy attitude or mindset.

Take risks – you won’t regret it.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #674 PREPARATION…

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“Talent alone won’t make you a success. Neither will being in the right place at the right time, unless you are ready. The most important question is: ‘Are you ready?’ “
-JOHNNY CARSON

When you go into a tennis match, you need to be prepared.

You need to have your racquets strung, extra grips, a towel, plenty of water, energy bars, sunscreen, hat, motivational quotes, etc.

You also need to be physically and mentally prepared.

Do you learn CPR when someone is drowning?

No, you learn it first, so you can use it when you need it.

Sports are the same way.

If you have a presentation at school, it is in your best interest to prepare by doing research, writing an outline, and practicing.

If you have a job interview, you should do your research on the company, practice interviewing and get a good night’s sleep.

If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

Positive thinking helps, but you also have to put in the work.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #673 THE BETTER PLAYER DOESN’T ALWAYS WIN…

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Does the fastest horse always win?

Does the team with the best record always win?

Does the player ranked higher always win?

The answer is no.

It doesn’t matter who is better…

All that matters is who PLAYS BETTER.

GO ALL OUT!



Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #672 THE STREAK IS OVER…

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“When you’re hanging in there against a team you were supposed to lose to, there’s a belief that you can win.”
-RICHARD LUSTBERG, sports psychologist

Well, the impossible happened yesterday in Paris at the French Open.

Rafael Nadal was finally beaten.

It was his first EVER loss at Roland Garros.

He had a 31-match winning streak and 32 consecutive sets won.

Amazing.

And he lost to…

Robin Soderling?

Soderling has never beaten Nadal. In fact, they played just weeks ago in Rome and Soderling won only one game. Oh, and Soderling has never gotten past the third round in a major tournament either.

So what happened yesterday? Soderling was in the zone. Nadal was not. There is not much difference in physical ability, so that means, on any given day, anyone can win. The difference is in the mind.

Soderling went all out.

He hit twice as many errors as Nadal, but he also hit twice as many winners. By being aggressive, he did not let Rafa take charge. He did not let Nadal play his game.

I like Soderling’s mindset: “I said to myself, ‘This is just another match. I won one set, why can’t I win two or three?’ I had to play aggressive against Nadal. You can’t just push the ball back.”

After one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, the giant-killer said, “I don’t want to get too excited, I still have another match.”

Nadal, surprisingly, during his interview, didn’t seem crushed. He even made a joke.

“You can’t win all the time. I have to lose with the same calm that I win with. This just shows that I need to prepare better, physically and mentally. I just have to work harder. My next preparation is the pool at my house. Give me three days, then I’m back to work.”

I am convinced that this will only be a minor setback for Rafa. After his match, he walked out of the locker room and instead of quickly exiting, he made a point to visit the tournament’s player support and transportation desks to say, “Ciao, merci.”

That’s a class act.

Now the question remains, will Roger (Federer) prevail?

Will he relax too much and possibly lose, or will he take advantage of this huge upset and win the only grand slam that has eluded him?

Only time will tell…


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #671 PRINCETON REUNIONS…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nick Deeb, in the US Army.

This weekend was Reunions weekend at Princeton University. This event is not your typical college reunion. Instead of every 5, 10, 25 years, Princetonians have one every year. This year marked the 150th anniversary of the first class-based reunion in Princeton’s history from 1859 (Class of 1856).

Many people think of “reunions” as one big party. With 15 huge tents spread out all over campus, each representing five graduating classes. Every tent has their own band. It was definitely the biggest party I’ve ever attended, with about 20,000 alum and over 20,000 guests and hundreds of local high schoolers that sneak in (a wristband is needed for admittance).

But it’s not just a weekend of partying – there are actually events all weekend, such as, An Afternoon of Magic, the Princeton Entrepreneurs’ Network Conference, sporting events, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, tours and workshops. Some of the graduates in attendance were Pete Carry ’64, Retired Executive Editor, Sports Illustrated, Mark Shapiro ’89, General Manager, Cleveland Indians, and Chris Buja ’84, of Google, Inc. I spoke with a wonderful young man from the class of 1959. After leaving Princeton, he worked in the field of law and he comes back every five years. This year was his 10th time back. “My favorite part is the P-rade. It starts with the oldest living alum and ends with the youngest.”

“Watching the oldest alum bravely leading the charge with the silver cane (usually in a golf cart) with tens of thousands of people cheering him on is easily the most incredible moment in all of Reunions. It reminds everyone there how important it is to take moments to celebrate life, which, when it really comes down to it, is what Princeton Reunions is all about. ” (From Princetonreunions.com)

“Taking moments to celebrate life.”

I like that.

We live in such a microwave society that we are constantly looking to what we’re doing next. Speeding up so we can get to the next red light. Looking towards the weekend, the end of the school year, or our next vacation. We want everything, including success, at light speed.

It is very important to set goals, and work towards them, but you need to enjoy the journey. Take moments every day to celebrate life. That’s meditation. Take moments to enjoy playing your sport or the education you are getting. Celebrate the relationships in your life.

Every morning I wake up, meditate, and workout. I always start with jumping rope outside and while I’m doing that, I focus on everything around me. Everything in my life, big and small. I appreciate it all. It sets the tone for my day.

Remember, people don’t sing to get to the end of the song. They sing because they enjoy the process of singing.

Don’t play a tennis match to get the trophy or a ranking. Play for the enjoyment of it. The enjoyment of pushing yourself. The enjoyment of getting fit. The enjoyment of constant improvement.

That’s life. Celebrate it.

“We have only ONE chance on this earth at that fantastic adventure called life.”
-DALE CARNEGIE


Thanks for reading.


MESSAGE #670

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Stop majoring in minor things!

MESSAGE #669 BEE GREAT…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Melissa Sapio and Robert Perrine. A special Happy Birthday to you both!

So yesterday was the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. There were 293 spellers from all over the country, ages 9-15. Speller 250 was Gabriela Diaz, of Corpus Christi, Texas, who practices spelling while jumping on her trampoline.

One of my favorite words is humuhumunukunukuapuaa.

While watching the spelling bee, I noticed the focus of some of the spellers, and the nerves of others. I noticed techniques, from asking specific questions about the word to writing it on their hand with their finger. This was competition in the true sense of the word, just like sports, music, school and work. These young men and women were there to win.

Kavya Shivashankar, Speller 110 was the eventual winner. Was she born to win the spelling bee?

No, she was trained to win the spelling bee. Even the judges, after a someone would correctly spell a word, said, “He/she has certainly put in the time.”

It’s not about talent. It’s about hard work. Hard work and the right strategy.

The problem is, nobody wants to put in the work. Everybody wants to be an overnight success. Do you know how long it takes to become an overnight success? Ten years!

Me? I like to think that I work hard. I work hard on become a better coach, player, speaker and person. I work hard promoting my book and blog. But I make sure I have fun too. I try to stay balanced.

I put in the time, but I also make time for things I enjoy doing, like eating good food.

I guess you could use a spelling bee word to describe me – lickerish, one who likes eating.

Work hard, have fun…every day.


Thanks for reading.