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MESSAGE #1001 HOW TO WIN MORE

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the boys tennis team at Bolsa Grande High School in California.

 

Many players and teams go into a match thinking, “that team is really good; we have no chance of winning.”

The problem with this mindset is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way, you’re right.”

The best team doesn’t win.

The team that plays best wins.

The Davids beat the Goliaths all the time.

The fastest horse does not always win the race.

If you go all-out, you’re a winner. If you hold back, you’re not.

Any questions?

MESSAGE #998 THE TAO

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From the Tao Te Ching (written around 500 B.C.)…

A great misfortune comes about
With the feeling, ‘I have an enemy’
For when ‘I’ and ‘enemy’ exist together
There is no room left for my treasure

Thus, when two opponents meet
The one who does not see an enemy
Will surely triumph (69)

MESSAGE #997 HOW ‘BOUT THESE APPLES

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Laura Mosiello.

One of my all-time favorite quotes is, “Anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple; no one can count the number of apples in a seed.”

What does this quote mean?

You have unlimited potential. Don’t let what others say affect what you are capable of. NOBODY knows what you are capable of. The sky’s the limit.

Here’s another type of Apple – I recently got an iPhone and I absolutely love it. I know many Apple users and they all agree that their customer service is by far the best. Below is a great quote, this time by Apple co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs.

Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what yo truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

MESSAGE #994 OPPORTUNITY

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Every game is an opportunity to measure yourself against your own potential.
— Bud Wilkinson

 

MESSAGE #993 THE MENTAL GAME: A SNEAK PREVIEW

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There is an amazing book coming out soon and I had the pleasure of getting my hands on the first draft of the manual. The book is called Game “On”: The Flow, the Zone, & the State of “On,” in Sports and Life by Jonathan Star. Here is an excerpt…

You are not your thoughts

A major step in the mental game is coming to the understanding that you are not your thoughts (or emotions). You are not your mind or your self-image. So, the first step involves changing the relationship you have with your thoughts and emotions. (The mere fact that you have a relationship with your thoughts , and that you can change your relationship, tells us rather clearly that you are something different from your thoughts). You must make a distinction between you (the one who is aware of your thoughts) and your thoughts (which you are aware of). There is a very clear distinction between these two, yet most people are not cognizant of it; they fully identify with their thoughts and somehow believe that they are their thoughts, and that life is about reacting to every thought and emotion that comes into their awareness. This is living life like a puppet – where your thoughts and emotions pull the strings and you dance. Shouldn’t you be the one controlling the strings?

Stay tuned for more, as well as workshops with me and the great Jonathan Star.

MESSAGE #992 CAESARS TENNIS CLASSIC

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In this video blog, Ed reports from the Caesars Tennis Classic in Atlantic City, New Jersey with Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Pete Sampras and Venus Williams.

MESSAGE #991 A PEAK PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLE: HOW TO CREATE GREATNESS

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to Manon Bollegraf in the Netherlands, Ash Kulkarni in New York City, Candice Carlin in Philadelphia and Kimberly Slater in Cherry Hill, NJ. Happy Birthday to you all!

 

Before you set foot onto the tennis court next time, ask yourself this question…

Am I going to let how I play determine my attitude, or am I going to let my attitude determine how I play?

Think about it – most people react to how they play, but the great ones CREATE how they want to play; it’s a choice.

Act as if it were impossible to fail.

 

For those of you going to the Caesars Tennis Classic in Atlantic City today, look for me in the press box. I will be taking photographs and shooting videos. Find me and you win a prize.

MESSAGE #990 MENTAL TOUGHNESS: BE COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Diane Stevenson in the UK.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. -NEALE DONALD WALSCH

Admit it, you like to be comfortable. But if you’re comfortable, you’re not growing.

When I give mental toughness coaching sessions, I have people perform mental cross-training. For example, I had a college tennis player sing happy birthday to me at the top of his voice, in a crowded restaurant. He didn’t feel like it but did it anyway and felt great afterwards. And I do it in my own life, as well. Six hours after I solved my first Sudoku puzzle, I competed in the National Sudoku Championships (Beginner level).

The more you put yourself in uncomfortable situations, the more comfortable you will be when they arise.

Sports are mostly mental, but when was the last time you worked on that aspect of your game?

Homework: For the next week, do one thing each day that puts you out of your comfort zone.