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MESSAGE #1200 MINER #12

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I have a new hero.

His name is Edison Pena.

Edison Pena was one of the 33 men trapped underground in the Chilean mines for 69 days.

And this Sunday, he will be running in the New York City Marathon.

While trapped, Pena, known as miner No. 12, ran up to 6 miles a day in underground black tunnels with a flashlight and often dragging a wooden pallet behind him. He ran in work boots. He ran in 86 degrees.

Before the miners got trapped, Pena’s daily commute was nearly two hours each way…on bicycle.

And then he became trapped underground. During this time, Pena fought with his own mind.

“I became two people: the weak person who wanted simply to give up, and the person who chose to be strong – to run and to survive,” he said. “Eventually, I chose to live.”

“I ran to forget that I was trapped.”

And even though he has never run more than 10 miles, he will be giving his all this Sunday in the marathon.

“I know it will be very hard, but I have no fear,” Pena said.

Edison Pena said he is an athlete, “not a grand champion.”

He’s wrong.

As for the rest of you reading, the next time you don’t feel like running, going to work, or studying…

THINK OF EDISON PENA.

MESSAGE #1196 MAKE UP YOUR MIND

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When you talk about success, I think it all starts in your mind.

It starts with that little voice inside your head.

And if you’re asking yourself right now, “Do I have a little voice inside my head?”…that’s the voice I’m talking about.

In order to be successful, you need to have the right mindset.

1. You need confidence–believe anything is possible (even if you have to fake it).

2. You need to accept and let go of negative thoughts (yes, they will arise).

3. You need to set goals (specific mastery goals).

4. You need to add value and help others (then you will get what you want).

5. You need to focus on the process (attitude and effort) instead of the product (winning/losing, making the sale, final grade, etc.)

Once you make this paradigm shift, you world will change.

And your results will change.

MESSAGE #1194 MJ

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I’m a big Michael Jordan fan.

Everyone knows that MJ got cut from his high school basketball team.

But here’s something that nobody knows…

Michael was cut from his varsity team but was allowed to play on junior varsity.

Well, on the last day of the season, MJ asked the varsity coach if he could just ride on the bus with the varsity squad.

The coach said yes, as long as he carried the varsity players’ uniforms.

He agreed.

So not only did Michael Jordan get cut from his high school basketball team, Michael Jordan carried the varsity team’s uniforms.

Then, the next school year, he worked harder than anyone else and eventually became the Michael Jordan that we all know.

Be like Mike.

MESSAGE #1193 MOTIVATION

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I know something about you.

You want to get better.

You want to get to the next level.

Do you know how I know that?

Because you wouldn’t be reading this blog if you didn’t.

I work with a lot of athletes and a common challenge is motivation.

Many people just can’t get motivated.

But they have it wrong.

They wait until they FEEL motivated.

It doesn’t work this way.

Motivation is an action.

Start acting motivated and then you will start to FEEL motivated.

If you have to practice, study, clean the house or make phone calls…

Don’t wait until you feel motivated, just start doing it!

The other day I decided I was going to wake up, go for a run and do some yoga.

Well, I woke up and wanted to go back to bed for a little while, but I didn’t. I got dressed, put on my running shoes and headed out the door.

As I got out the door I noticed that it was raining and that little voice inside my head asked me, “Should I still run?”

Before I could negotiate with myself to NOT run, I just went.

After I got home, I practiced some yoga and then started the rest of my day.

It was a good one.

It doesn’t take talent to take action, but it does take mental toughness.

MESSAGE #1192 I’M A THIEF!

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Someone once said, (and that someone may have been me), that good teachers borrow and GREAT teachers steal.

Well, today’s message was stolen.

My good friend and mentor, the great Rob Gilbert, Ph.D, one of the top sports psychologists in the world shared something with me recently.

He said that Lou Holtz, the former head coach of the Notre Dame football team once said that there are four types of people in the world…

The cop-outs.

The hold-outs.

The drop-outs.

And the all-outs.

The cop-outs make excuses.

The hold-outs hold back.

The drop-outs give up.

And the all-outs go all-out all the time.

Which category do you fall into?

MESSAGE #1188 EMBARRASSING

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I once had a student who hated being embarrassed. During lessons and during competition, he would just drive himself crazy thinking about what people thought about how he was playing, and what they would think if he lost, or missed a shot.

Guess how he played?

Poorly!

The reason why this type of focus hurts your performance is because when you focus on external factors, you are not focusing on what is going to help you play your best game.

The way to play your best game is to focus on your strategy, your effort, your attitude. If your strategy isn’t working, make an adjustment.

The key is to NOT let anything external have any influence over you.

Is it hard?

Sure.

Is it a choice?

Definitely.

MESSAGE #1187 A TIP FROM JOHN MCENROE

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There are scores of players who can hit every shot in the book who never make it into a Grand Slam event. Those who make it are there because they are mentally tougher. They wanted it more.
-JOHN MCENROE

MESSAGE #1186 WHEN TO STOP

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I always tell people, you can stop as many times as you want, just don’t stop moving your feet.

Too many people stop.

Too many people quit.

Too many people give up.

Those who persist are the ones who make it.

You don’t have to be great to persist.

HANG ON UNTIL YOU CATCH ON.

As everyone else is giving up, guess who will be left?

YOU.

MESSAGE #1184 THE MICK

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Happy Birthday to the best switch-hitter of all time, Mickey Charles Mantle of the New York Yankees.

The Mick was the most popular player of his generation. He hit tape-measure home runs.

He ran from home to first in 3.1 seconds.

He made spectacular catches in centerfield.

And he played basically on one leg.

In his first season in the big leagues, Mantle got his spikes stuck in a drain in the outfield, trying to avoid the great Joe DiMaggio, in his final season. Mickey would never be the same. It was the beginning of a career filled with injuries.

Last week, I was at the Yogi Berra Museum and Jane Leavy was doing a talk and book signing on “The Last Boy, Mickey Mantle.” She once asked Mickey when the last time he played without pain was.

Mickey said, “When I was 18.”

He basically played his entire career injured.

And I know what you might be thinking, “Mickey was a great ballplayer, but he was an alcoholic.”

What most people don’t know is that Mickey was sexually abused as a child.

He thought he was going to die young, like the rest of the men in his family (he was the only one who lived past age 45).

So he lived every day like it was his last.

Nobody knows what he was going through.

One of my favorite photos is of a home run that Mickey hit 18 inches shy of clearing Yankee Stadium. It was 118 feet above field level and was said to have been still rising.

His home runs were legendary.

But so was his courage.

At the end of his life, he became sober. He wanted others to learn from his mistakes. He was helping others. They say he left this world in peace.

That may have been his greatest accomplishment.

A true role model.

None of us are perfect, I know I’m not.

So as I think about Mickey Charles Mantle on this day, I think of one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game, but I also think of one of the bravest and most honest people, as well.

I never met Mickey, but I have done my share of research on him.

One thing is for sure, he had courage; on and off the field.