MESSAGE #1022 INTERVIEW WITH NEHA UBEROI
In this video blog, Ed Tseng interviews former professional tennis player, Neha Uberoi, as they talk about her toughest opponent, mental toughness and Princeton University.
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MESSAGE #1021 WHAT CHAMPIONS DO IN PRACTICE…
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Didi Fisher Weinreb.
What determines if a player becomes a champion?
Part of it is practice.
A lot of practice. 10,000 hours in fact, according to most performance experts.
But practice does not make perfect.
Perfect practice makes perfect. Some call it “deliberate practice” or “purposeful practice.”
Either way, the road to becoming a champion needs the following ingredients:
1. A lot of practice (20 hours per week for 10 years = 10,000 hours).
2. Practice sessions must focus on progress (instead of results).
3. Practice sessions must be focused on improving your weaknesses (AND improving your strengths).
“When most people practice, they focus on the things they can do effortlessly. Expert practice is different. It entails considerable, specific ,and sustained efforts to do something you can’t do well – or even at all. Research across domains shows that it is only by working at what you can’t do that you turn into the expert you want to become,” said psychologist, S.W. Tyler.
Matthew Syed says that “…the practice sessions of aspiring champions have a specific and never-changing purpose: progress. Every second of every minute of every hour, the goal is to extend one’s mind and body, to push oneself beyond the outer limits of one’s capacities, to engage so deeply in the task that one leaves the training session, literally a changed person.”
How will YOU practice today?
MESSAGE #1019 TEDx NJ LIBRARIES VLOG
In this video blog, Ed Tseng reports from the TEDx NJ Libraries Conference in Princeton, New Jersey.
MESSAGE #1018 TEDx
This message is especially dedicated to the great Janie Hermann.
Today is the day I’ve been waiting for…the TEDx Conference in Princeton, NJ.
If you don’t know about my favorite resource check it out here.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. Every year the TED conference in California has a line-up of some of the most amazing speakers and thought-leaders in the world and the videos are on the TED website.
Now, all over the world, there are TEDx (Independently run) events and I was thrilled to hear one was coming to Princeton. I could not pass up this opportunity, especially since it increases my chances of speaking at a future TEDx event.
Culture and Community is the theme for this year’s event and there will be a great lineup of speakers and attendees.
This topic is an important one for me because I have been in this tennis community for nearly my whole life and have experienced people from all different cultures. But to me, it’s not about tennis. It’s not about creating great players. It’s about creating great people who can perform under pressure, set goals, have confidence, enjoy the process and overcome adversity.
There will be some great leaders at the event today but they won’t be there to attract new followers, they will be there to attract new leaders.
MESSAGE #1017 EAT THIS!
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the coolest yoga instructor on the planet, Tara Stiles. Happy Birthday!
As promised, here are the Top 10 Flat Belly Foods to get you ready for beach weather…
1. Guacamole! Try this recipe: mash one ripe avocado and add diced red onion, cilantro, loads of lime juice, a little salt and fresh pepper and a squeeze of a Thai chili sauce called China Blue (you can get it at many big chain grocery stores). A chip is really just a vehicle for guac anyway, so use raw veggies instead to save calories (Try fennel and crisp romaine boats).
2. Salad with real vinaigrette Try experimenting with different vinegars and add a tablespoon of a healthy oil like olive, walnut or canola. Season with salt, pepper, mustard and a minced garlic clove.
3. Lean chicken breast with a “crust” Most crusty coatings have a lot of butter, white flour and breadcrumbs. Try egg whites and crushed almonds.
4. PB & J Just apply the cardinal rule of healthy eating: whole grain bread and natural (read: less sugar) peanut butter and fruit spread rather than jam (make sure it’s free of high-fructose corn syrup). For a healthy Elvis-y twist, spritz with a little non-fat cooking spray and grill.
5. Mixed Olives Nicoise, Picholine, even the kind with pimento inside.
6. Vietnamese Beef Salad Great takeout; better homemade
7. Light and hearty pasta Capellini, pine nuts, sun-dried tomato, plus chicken and basil make a meal somehow both summery and satisfying.
8. Macadamia nuts These are high in fat and calories so use sparingly, but crushing a few and sprinkling on fat-free yogurt or fruit tastes really decadent.
9. Pesto, Pesto, Pesto Try roasting sweet grape tomatoes and mix in a teaspoon of basil pesto – a little goes a long way, and roasting transforms tomatoes from a garnish to meal (or at least a very tasty side dish).
10. Chocolate pudding with bananas and graham crackers. ‘Nuff said.
Thanks to Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, PREVENTION magazine!
MESSAGE #1016 BE INFLUENTIAL (If you want)
I am currently reading the latest issue of Time magazine, entitled, “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.”
I like to think that I will be in that issue one day; not because I want to say that I have that title, but because I truly want to make as big of a difference in the world that I can.
And you can too.
I know what you’re thinking, “What if I don’t want to be an influential figure? What if I’m happy with what I have?”
Then by all means, continue with what you are doing.
But the wrong mindset is that it is not possible. It is possible.
It won’t happen overnight, but if you figure out the right strategy, put in the work and truly have a passion for it…the sky’s the limit.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a tennis player, musician or accountant; you have unlimited potential.
My friend Bob Ryland, the first black professional tennis player used to coach the Williams sisters, and the first thing I ever asked him was, “Were they more talented than everyone else?”
“No, in fact I didn’t think they were talented at all at first, but they worked harder than anyone else (from 6am-6pm, with breaks of course).”
Yes, talent and physicality help, however, they are not the determining factors.
Remember, ANYBODY can count the number of seeds in an apple; NOBODY can count the number of apples in a seed.
Your potential is unlimited.
MESSAGE #1015 ROGER FEDERER VERSUS YOU
Today’s message is especially dedicated to all of you who think that Roger Federer was born with more tennis talent than you. And Happy Birthday to tennis great, coach John Carrigan in the UK.
I’m currently reading a great book, “Bounce – Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success” by Matthew Syed.
The premise of the book is that hard work, not talent determines success. Syed talks about the iceberg illusion. This is when we see a Roger Federer and only see the end result (tip of the iceberg). What we don’t see is the thousands of hours of hard work that he put into this “end product of a process measured in years…What we do not see is what we might call the hidden logic of success.”
Now here’s the interesting thing…
In 1984 Desmond Douglas, the greatest ever UK table tennis player, was placed in front of a screen containing a series of touch-sensitive pads at the University of Brighton. He was told that the pads would light up in a random sequence and that his task was to touch the relevant pad with the index finger of his favored hand as soon as he could, before waiting for the next pad to light up…After a minute, the task ended and Douglas’s teammates gave him a round of applause. Douglas grinned as the researcher left the room to collate the results. After five minutes, the researcher returned. He announced that Douglas’s reactions were the slowest in the entire England team: he was slower than the juniors and the cadets; slower even than the team manager…Douglas was universally considered to have the fastest reactions in world table tennis…
When Roger Federer returns a service, he is not demonstrating sharper reactions than you and I; what he is showing is that he can extract more information from the service action of his opponent and other visual clues, enabling him to move into position earlier and more efficiently than the rest of us, which in turn allows him to make the return – in his case a forehand cross-court winner…
…Federer’s advantage has been gathered from experience: more precisely, it has been gained from a painstaking process of encoding the meaning of subtle patterns of movement drawn from more than ten thousand hours of practice and competition…It is his regular practice that has given him this expertise, not his genes.
Interesting…
MESSAGE #1014
I’m reading two amazing books right now – “Bounce” by Matthew Sayed and “The Genius in All of Us” by David Shenk.
Here is a great quote that starts “The Genius in All of Us”…
Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources…Stating the thing broadly, the human individual lives far within his limits. -WILLIAM JAMES
What a great quote. And tomorrow, as promised, I will talk about how Roger Federer does not have faster reflexes than you and me…
MESSAGE #1013 ANGER
Today’s message is especially dedicated to all the players out there who have anger management issues.
I once had a student who would often get angry at himself after losing a point. And by once, I mean, I “often” have students who get angry and negative during competition.
Negativity and anger are common challenges for competitive players, but here’s the good news…
This can be overcome with training (just like fixing your backhand).
What do you say to yourself after you lose a point?
“I can’t believe you missed that shot!”
“You stink!”
“What’s wrong with you?!?”
Let’s analyze this voice for a second…
Does this “inner coach” help you perform better?
Of course not. What if a real coach spoke like this to their player? Wouldn’t you find a new coach?
If this is an issue for you, you need to find a new “inner coach.”
This inner coach should say something like…
“No problem. How can I make an adjustment? Good, now let’s focus on the next point.”
“That point is in the past, let’s focus on the next one.”
“You’re still in control. Let’s go!”
What you say to yourself between points will determine how you play and what kind of results you get.
How do YOU want to play and what kind of results do YOU want to get?
Remember this secret formula: S + A = R (Situation plus Attitude equals Result).
MESSAGE #1012 VIDEO BLOG FROM ORLANDO
In this video blog, Ed Tseng spends 2.5 days at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Florida for a mental toughness certification.