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MESSAGE #906 I SAY I WANT A REVOLUTION…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to tennis greats, Jordan Kolb and Kevin Shi. Happy Birthday to two peak performers!

“You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world.”
THE BEATLES

I like to think that I’m changing the world.

And anyone can do it – it’s a choice.

That was my main message yesterday when I spoke at a local juvenile detention center.

These inmates have obviously made mistakes in their lives…

But who hasn’t?

Your past doesn’t affect your future, unless you let it.

Everyone wants a revolution, we all want to change the world.

But nobody’s doing anything about it.

We all want to get more fit, be more organized, quit smoking but nobody’s taking action.

Many people have already broken their New Year’s Resolutions.

You don’t need to be great at the start, but you need to start to be great.

And if you fall off the horse, just get back on.

Here’s a quote I shared yesterday with the inmates…

“You don’t drown by falling in water. You drown by staying there.”

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Start today.

MESSAGE #905 A TOUGH CROWD

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“Approach the game with no preset agendas and you’ll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts.”
-PHIL JACKSON

Today I’m giving a talk at the Mercer County Juvenile Detention Center.

Talk about a tough crowd.

Someone asked me, do you know what you’re going to talk about?

I said, “Nope.”

That’s not entirely true. I have given close to 50 talks in the past year or two and they have all been pretty much the same talk. So I do know what I’m going to talk about, but I’m not going to have a set agenda.

My philosophy is that you should speak from the heart, instead of speaking mindlessly. When you do this, the message is more real and many times you figure out new ways to deliver it.

If you go into a tennis match thinking, “This is the ONLY way to win,” you’re setting yourself up for failure.

There is no “one way” but many options.

MESSAGE #904

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Jeron Baker, head tennis coach at Hesston College in Kansas.

A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strode through his backyard, baseball cap in place and toting ball and bat. “I’m the greatest baseball player in the world,” he said proudly. Then he tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed. Undaunted, he picked up the ball , threw it into the air and said to himself, “I’m the greatest baseball player ever!” He swung at the ball again, and again he missed. He paused for a moment to examine bat and ball carefully. Then once again he threw the ball into the air and said, “I’m the greatest baseball player who ever lived!” He swung the bat hard and again missed the ball.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “What a pitcher!”

STAY POSITIVE

MESSAGE #902 CAN ONE PERSON MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

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“Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
-author unknown

Do you think that one person can make a difference?

I do.

What if one car broke down in the Lincoln Tunnel?

Traffic would be backed up for miles.

But I challenge you to do something positive. Something that makes a difference.

Last night I went to an amazing benefit concert, Wintermezzo, at Princeton University, celebrating the 96th birthday of William H. Scheide, featuring the Wiener KammerOrchester, conductor, Maestro Mark Laycock and George-Emmanuel Lazaridis on piano.

There were fifty musicians in the orchestra, and if one of them made a mistake, it would have ruined the whole show.

Do you still think that one person cannot make a difference?

What can you do today to make a difference on your sports team…in school…at work…or in your relationships?

Compliment.
Give an all-out effort.
Lead by example.
Win or learn.
Just do it (whether you feel like it or not)
Smile.
Change the world.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
-NELSON HENDERSON

MESSAGE #901 ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS…

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“Many people think we need to motivate ourselves before we take action, but the opposite is true-by acting we can motivate ourselves.”
-TAL BEN-SHAHAR

I remember hearing about Tom Fleming, one of the greatest marathon runners of his day. When Fleming was in training, he would run between 150 and 175 miles per week.

Pretty amazing.

He was twice the New York City Marathon winner and runner-up in the Boston Marathon.

Someone once asked Fleming, “Did you ever NOT feel like running?”

Fleming responded, “EVERY DAY I didn’t feel like running…until I started running. Then I got into it.”

MESSAGE #900 MENTAL CROSS-TRAINING…

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William James said, “Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.”

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

Ed Tseng says, “Do one thing every day that is distracting to you, to improve your focus.”

Recently, I practiced yoga, while my girlfriend, Sarah was doing a pilates video. It was yoga that I was doing, but it was really mental cross-training. I knew that it would test my focus, and it certainly was challenging. I caught myself a few times listening to the pilates video, but I accepted it and re-focused on my yoga practice. I felt an inner calm and didn’t let the external factors affect me.

When we’re on the tennis court, at work, in school or in line at the grocery store, there will be distractions. They may be spectators, co-workers, friends or an annoying stranger.

We can’t control those things.

We can only control our reactions to those challenges.

So the next time you feel yourself getting distracted, do the following exercise:

Take a deep diaphragmatic breath (from the stomach vs the chest), in through the nose for four seconds, then exhale out through your nose for four seconds. Continue for several breaths. This will bring you back to the present moment and help you re-gain your focus.

What will you do today (intentionally) that will distract you?

MESSAGE #872 SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!

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MESSAGE #869 WHAT I LEARNED YESTERDAY…

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Yesterday I called in to a teleseminar with marketing guru, Seth Godin.

Seth is one of my favorite authors and he has written about 14 books. His blog has well over 500,000 hits a month.

Here’s what I got from Mr. Godin…

“Do something that other people think is stupid.”

“Make a lot of mistakes.”

Carly Simon had stage fright, but she went up and performed anyway.

And my favorite was…

“How much can you make an influence on the world?”

Read the above ideas again and then let them marinate today.

And if you want to get an A+, start taking action.

MESSAGE #868 MAKE A SANDWICH…

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“3 out of 4 kids stop playing sports by age 13 because of the pressure from parents and coaches.”
-RICK WOLFF, sports psychologist and host of Sports Edge on WFAN

Last night I attended a lecture at the Princeton Academy given by Rick Wolff.

His talk focused mainly on parenting young athletes, but I figured, if I could learn one thing from his talk, it would be worth it.

Not only did I learn something, but I had a nice chat with him afterwards and gave him a copy of my book.

During his lecture, Wolff talked about the Sandwich Praise Principle when dealing with young athletes.

What you do is wait until a quiet time, just before bed, for instance.

You start with a slice of praise (I really liked your effort today).

Then you add a slice of constructive criticism (If you add more spin to your serve, you will be more consistent).

Then you add another slice of praise (You really are coming together nicely as a player).

That’s the Sandwich Principle. Pretty simple, but effective.

And the beauty is, you can make this type of sandwich in all areas of your life.