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MESSAGE #834 CHANGING THE WORLD…

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“We can do no great things in this world, only little things with great love.”
-MOTHER TERESA

I’m going to do something little today.

The Tseng Performance Academy @ the brand-new, beautiful Monroe Sports Center opens its doors today. Tennis. Fitness. Nutrition. Mental Training.

I love what I do.

Do I teach tennis? No, I teach life.

Very few of my students will go on to become successful in professional tennis, but the lessons they learn can help them become successful in other areas of life.

Many people that have enjoyed my book, “Game. Set. Life.” are not even athletes, so there’s more to it.

I have given lectures to CEOs, mothers of pre-schoolers, inmates at juvenile detention centers and equestrian riders, among others.

My goal is not just to create great athletes, but to create great people.

I love what I do and my new academy is just another way for me to help change the world, in my own “little way.”

Tennis is not a matter of life and death, it’s much more important than that.

Come checkout the new club today and say hi. I’ll be there from 9am-3pm…you might get a free shirt or a signed book!

FREE TSENG ACADEMY WORKSHOP TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 8TH AT 6PM. MONROE SPORTS CENTER.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #833 CHANGE THIS AND YOU WILL WIN MORE…

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“The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”
-CARLOS CASTANEDA

I heard a profound statement recently.

When I went to hear Dan Millman speak at the Mind Body Spirit Expo in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, he said something that stuck with me.

“It took me 25 years of marriage to realize that all this time, my wife wasn’t criticizing me, she was improving me.”

I think this is brilliant.

We all have our own perception of conditions. You can have the same situation and two totally different views.

What if we looked at our opponents as people who are improving us?

What if we looked at our teachers/coaches as people who are helping us become better students/athletes? (Especially when they’re tough on us and make us do fitness)

What if we looked at our parents as people who are teaching us to become better human beings, with only the best intentions?

What if we looked at our difficult clients as people who are making us better salespeople?

When you change your perspective, you change your world.

When you change your world, you change your results.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #832 YANKEES WIN!…THEEEEEE YANKEES WIN!

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“I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee.”
-JOE DIMAGGIO

Well, the Bronx Bombers did it – they won their 27th World Championship.

You have to admit, the Yankees get a bad rap for having the highest payroll, but obviously that’s not a guarantee for success because this is their first World Championship since 2000.

And Andy Pettite, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera have all been (for the most part) part of the team since 1995. How many teams can say that, nowadays?

You know what I like about the Yankees?

Not that they have the most championships, but because they are a team.

When you watch the news today or read the papers (and by read the papers, I mean click on Yahoo! News)…listen to the interviews with the Yankees. It’s all about a team effort.

We can all learn from the new World Champions.

And remember what team stands for…

TEAM…Together Everyone Achieves More…as long as there’s a Total Effort from All Members.

Have a great day everyone!

The Tseng Performance Academy opens this weekend at the brand new Monroe Sports Center. Come check it out! http://monroesportscenter.com

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #831 ZENNIS…

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“In Zen it is said that the gap between accepting things the way they are and wishing them to be otherwise is ‘the tenth of an inch of difference between heaven and hell.’ If we can accept whatever hand we’ve been dealt – no matter how unwelcome – the way to proceed eventually becomes clear. This is what is meant by right action: the capacity to observe what’s happening and act appropriately, without being distracted by self-centered thoughts. If we rage and resist, our angry, fearful minds have trouble quieting down sufficiently to allow us to act in the most beneficial way for ourselves and others.”
-From “Sacred Hoops” by Phil Jackson

MESSAGE #830 THE GREAT ONE…AIR JORDAN

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“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
-PAUL VALERY

When I was younger, I idolized Michael Jordan. I remember watching him fly through the air in the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest, with my mouth wide open. And I didn’t even like basketball.

Is Jordan the greatest ever?

Probably.

Anyone can tell you that Jordan has the highest scoring average (30.6) in the regular season and post-season, in NBA history.

He was the leading scorer 10 times, also a record.

He won 6 Championships with the Bulls, and was named Finals MVP…6 times.

There’s no question that Jordan’s physical abilities were out-of-this-world, and even though that is what initially drew me to him, that’s not why I am one of his biggest fans.

I’m a Jordan fan because…

He had fun playing basketball.

He had a will to win.

He got cut from his high school basketball team, but instead of giving up, he worked harder.

He goes all out, physically and mentally.

Money means nothing to him…”I just love playing.”

He divided his $12,500 prize for winning the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest among his teammates.

He played every game like it was his last.

He came out of retirement 2 weeks after 9/11 and donated his entire season’s salary (approx. $1 million) to the post-9/11 cause.

Greatness isn’t just about physical talent and results.

It’s okay to want to be the best in the world, as long as you also want to be the best for the world.

Be like Mike today…

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #829 WHAT AM I DOING?!?

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“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
-ALBERT SCHWEITZER

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Rob Gurden in Orange County, CA.

It’s 2:52am…

I am awake and motivated.

To my defense, I did go to bed early, at 9:30pm.

I didn’t even watch the end of the Yankees game. Anyone that knows me, knows that I bleed pinstripes. But it’s just a game, isn’t it?

Yesterday, I gave a three-hour workshop with the great Naime Jezzeny at Yogaphoria in New Hope, PA.

There were athletes and coaches there. Some were runners, some were swimmers, some were tennis players and some were equestrian riders. Some were there for the game of life.

During the workshop, Naime talked about caring.

“If you care too much in sports and life, you’re weak. If you care, but not too much, you’re powerful,” Jezzeny said.

I care about the Yankees, but if they don’t win, I know that it’s not the end of the world.

When I compete, I like winning, but when I don’t, I make sure that I learned something.

I care about my new Tseng Performance Academy, and was up writing down ideas, but it’s not a “have to,” it’s a “want to.”

When you’re competing, strive for relaxed focus, or as my friend, noted-sports psychologist, Jeff Greenwald says, playing loose.

Go all out, but be a little relaxed…like Bruce Springsteen in Message #807.

Remember the quote above.

Do what you love and you will work harder.

If you work harder, you will have a greater chance at success.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #828 A RIDDLE…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Erin Crandall in New York. Happy Birthday to a true peak performer!

Here’s a riddle for you…

What gets wetter the more it dries?

The answer will be at the end of this message.

I love riddles – some are easy, some are difficult, some are funny and some are not.

Sport and life are the best riddles of all. You never know what is going to happen, and it helps to think outside the box.

If you’re competing in a sporting event, or in life, and the strategy you are using isn’t working, you should try a different strategy. If that doesn’t work, try another one.

The worst thing you can do is continue to do the same thing and expect a different result.

If you’re playing a tennis match, it’s probably not a good idea to be losing 0-6, 0-5, and say, “Maybe I should do something different.”

Here’s the answer to the riddle…

What gets wetter the more it dries?

Answer: A towel.

Enjoy the riddle of life today.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #826 CLEAR YOUR MIND…

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“I believe you make your day. You make your life. So much of it is all perception, and this is the form that I built for myself. I have to accept it and work within those compounds, and it’s up to me.”
-BRAD PITT

I remember a story that one of my yoga masters told me…

Once upon a time in India, there was an old wise man. And this old wise man would spend time near the Ganges River, which was a place of worship. It was sacred, but it was very dirty. One of the dirtiest rivers in the world, in fact.

And one day a woman came to visit the Ganges and noticed that it was extremely dirty. As she stood standing there, she saw the wise man and asked, “I thought this was supposed to be a beautiful sacred river? It looks dirty to me.”

The old wise man looked at the woman and responded, “Your mind is dirty.” And walked away.

It is your perception of things that create your reality.

Two people can have totally different perceptions on the same exact thing.

It is your choice whether you win or you learn.
Whether you consider it failure or feedback.
Whether you’re positive or you’re negative.

Your perceptions are your reality.

Bottom line.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #825 HAVE YOU EVER FAILED?

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“It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.”
-HAVELOCK ELLIS

I’m very excited about today.

I’m going back to Rider University, where I started college, to speak to Professor Cordonnier’s Sport and Gender class.

I really like going back to Rider to speak to the current students and help out the professors, but what I like most about going back to Rider is the fact that I failed out of there…twice!

Yes, you heard that correctly.

I failed out of Rider twice and then went back and was MC of their Leadership Day, was a facilitator for an athlete-musician workshop and spoke to another Sport and Gender class.

So what happened?

It turns out that failing out of Rider was the best thing that ever happened to me. I had a choice whether to continue with computers, which was my father’s field, or follow my passion. I did some soul searching and decided that if I didn’t follow my passion, I would regret it.

So I “transferred” to Ferris State University and their Marketing/Professional Tennis Management program. The funny thing is that once I started that program, my grades skyrocketed.

Did I get a brain transplant?

No, I became “into” school. Then I graduated and was named the USTA Pro of the Year in 2005.

Most people are just in their sport or job.

But the great ones are “into” their sport or job.

Do what you love, love what you do.

Then you’ll work harder.

Then you’ll get better results.

Then you’ll have more fun and reach peak performance.

Everyone fails, but not everyone gets back on the horse.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #824 SIMPLY PUT…

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“I have a simple philosophy:
Fill what’s empty.
Empty what’s full.
Scratch where it itches.”
-ALICE ROOSEVELT LONGWORTH

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Angie Holmberg in Oklahoma.

Well tonight’s the night. New York Yankees versus the Philadelphia Phillies. The Turnpike Series begins. Bragging rights for the tri-state area.

These are the two best teams in the Major Leagues this year.

And they’re going to be nervous.

That’s normal, and inevitable – they can’t control that.

What they can control is how they react under those conditions.

Derek Jeter has a simple approach. He just focuses on staying in the present. He stays in his own world. He’s the eye of the hurricane, calm and focused, no matter what’s going on around him.

In the New York Times yesterday, they were talking about how Jeter didn’t even know Yankee-rival and former Red Sox player, Pedro Martinez was slated to pitch Game 2.

“Is he pitching Game 2?”

“…Jeter’s approach works for him. He is focused on baseball, focused on what he must do to get prepared for games. At some point on Tuesday, he would have learned in a scouting meeting that Martinez was pitching on Thursday. So he would have two days to get ready to face a pitcher he knows intimately. Possessing that knowledge any earlier would not have mattered to Jeter, who said that his success was based on simplifying things.

‘As players, you can try to over analyze,’ he said. ‘You can over analyze things so much that you can put yourself in a funk. This is baseball. Whether you’re 8 years old playing Little League or you’re playing out there in the World Series. It’s still the same game.’ ” (NY Times, October 27, 2009)

It’s no wonder why Derek Jeter is the guy that any manager would want up at the plate when the game is on the line.

You may not be able to hit, throw and run like Derek Jeter, but you can instantly be just as mentally tough as him.

Good luck to the Yankees and Phillies; let’s hope the weather cooperates.

Thanks for reading.