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MESSAGE #787 A GOOD WEEKEND…

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“A true champion is someone who does their best when they feel their worst.”

Today’s message is especially dedicated to Patricia Koznick.

This weekend I was coaching and speaking to some of the top 10-year old tennis players in the country at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the USTA Northeast Cross-Sectional Training Camp.

Here’s what I noticed on Day 1…

1. They all have great strokes.
2. They all need work on their mental game.

At the end of Day 1, I gave a seminar to the players, coaches and parents on the mental side of sports and life. I talked about effort and attitude and how it’s less about being the best and more about giving your best.

Well guess what?

Here’s what I noticed on Day 2…

1. They all had better attitudes.
2. They were using the techniques that I talk about the day before.

I saw increased energy levels.

I saw positive body language, even when the score was not in their favor.

I saw players taking action and improving.

See, many people learn techniques, but then the go and do what they normally do.

Knowledge is nothing without action.

You can’t just take a class and then assume that it will help you.

You can’t just take a piano lesson and assume that you will become good.

You have to take action. Use what you know.

What are you going to do today?

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #786 OOPS!!

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“Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.”
-author unknown

I had a very important talk yesterday.

I forgot my notes.

Yesterday was Day 1 of the USTA Northeast X-Sectional Training Camp at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. There were sixteen of the top 10 and under players from the Middle States, Eastern and New England sections of the USTA.

I was one of the coaches for the singles and doubles play. At the end of the day, I gave a talk to the players, parents and coaches, but I had a little bit of a challenge.

As I was being introduced, I was getting organized and looking for my notes, and then I heard, “…and here’s Ed Tseng.”

I had to go on; no time to find my notes.

So I had to make a decision.

Was I going to freeze up, or trust my instincts and do what I’ve done over thirty times in the past year?

I went with my instincts.

I think it went well. Very well.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. You can’t control that. You can only control your reaction. Sometimes you have to improvise.

If I relied on my notes during my talks, I probably would have been in big trouble. But I try to be more mindful and speak from the heart. That is why I was able to confidently go on and give my talk.

What do you do? What potential challenges might you face?

But more importantly…

How will you react?

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #785

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“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.”
-BRUCE BARTON

I leave in about six minutes to head into New York City for a weekend USTA training camp for the top players in the northeast at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

I will be coaching at this camp, as well as giving a talk to the players, coaches and parents.

Part of my message will have to do with the quote above.

It’s not about your circumstances.

It’s about your perceptions.

How you perceive your situations is directly related to your performance.

All of the ability is already inside of you.

Do the right things, get the right results…

Do what champions do and before you know it…

YOU WILL BE A CHAMPION.

Next blog message from NYC.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #784 IT’S ABOUT OTHERS…

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“If you want happiness for an hour – take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day – go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month – get married.
If you want happiness for a year – inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime – help someone else.”
-From the Federal Palace Restaurant in Hong Kong (Thanks, Guy Kawasaki!)

Last night I attended a benefit for HomeFront, an organization that helps families “break the cycle of poverty.”

Every single night, HomeFront helps…

-Over 450 children and parents sleep soundly in a safe place

-171 people reside in HomeFront’s permanent, affordable, service-enriched housing

92% of their funds go directly to their programs, and they have just started a Women’s Initiative, empowering women.

I went to show my support and to donate a signed copy of my book. I also spoke briefly and shared a story on how the key to true happiness is helping others.

I remember a story about two men standing at their friend’s funeral and one of them asking the other, “How much did he leave?”

The other responded, “He left…everything.”

See, many of us go through life trying to accumulate as many things as we can – homes, cars, electronics, but we can’t take any of that with us.

At the end of our lives, it doesn’t matter how much we have.

All that matters is what we leave behind. How much of a difference we made. How we treated others.

I don’t get paid to blog every day, but it motivates me to motivate others. It’s my way of making a difference, in my own little way.

Am I perfect?

Not even close.

But I’m doing what I love and appreciate every single day – I’m just like you – trying to become a little bit better every day.

I have been fortunate to realize that external riches are nothing without internal riches. Now go make a difference today!

Have a super day, everyone.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #783 KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL…

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“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
-ANTHONY ROBBINS

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Kari Adams in Princeton, NJ.

When we play sports, we need to focus. We need to keep our eyes on the ball.

But focus is not enough.

We need to focus on the right things.

1. Focus on your strengths, but focus on your weaknesses too.
2. Focus on where you want to go, not where you don’t.
3. Focus on the things you can control and forget about the things you can’t.

Goal setting is a major component. Write down your goals. Make them specific. Set a time frame in which to reach them. “You can’t hit a target you cannot see.”

My friend, Jeff Greenwald, author of “The Best Tennis of Your Life,” has an interesting perspective on focus. He says that when you’re playing a point, you need to have laser focus. Pretend that your eyes are a camera lens and you are zoomed in. But after the point, have the lens go to wide-angle and relax. Take in nature, have gratitude.

I really like this technique because most people think you have to focus all the time. This isn’t true…or possible. Focus and then relax. I have parents tell me that their child has no focus and that they’re looking at the other courts during a tournament. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that if they can re-gain their focus for the next point.

You can use this at work or school too. My friend and mentor, the great Dr. Rob Gilbert, Professor of Sports Psychology at Montclair State University and author of “How to Have Fun without Failing Out” talks about the 15-minute rule. If you’re doing work (business or school), go all-out for fifteen minutes and then take a quick break. Then get back to work. Keep alternating between your work and breaks. This will keep you fresh and focused.


Thanks for reading.

For all you athletes out there, don’t miss my workshop with internationally known yoga master, Naime Jezzeny at Yogaphoria in New Hope, PA on October 4th from 10am-11am. The free session will focus on the mental side of sports and the power of yoga to improve focus, gain strength and prevent injuries.

MESSAGE #782 HOW TOUGH ARE YOU?

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“Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it’s a small price to pay for living a dream.”
-PETER MCWILLIAMS

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Sarah McLoughlin.

Anyone can perform well when they are feeling good.

But the true winners perform well, even if they are not on top of their game; when things get uncomfortable.

The problem is, when things get tough, people give up. They run away. The great ones stick with it. They actually enjoy it more.

You can’t avoid challenges, but you can decide how you react to them (right, Serena?).

Watch the video below https://www.edtseng.com (thanks to Sarah McLoughlin for sharing this) to see what tough people do….

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #781 DON’T COUNT ON IT…

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“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
-ALBERT EINSTEIN

Kim Clijsters won.

Juan Martin del Potro won.

They weren’t supposed to.

Clijsters had only played two tournaments since coming back from a two and a half year layoff.

del Potro had never won a Grand Slam or ever beaten Roger Federer.

Not everything that can be counted counts.

On paper, Clijsters was unseeded. An unseeded woman had never won the US Open.

Roger Federer had not lost a match in the US Open since 2004. But he lost to del Potro.

There comes a point in a match (and life) that you start to believe that something is possible.

It is then that anything is possible.

“When I broke his (Federer’s) serve for first time, I start to believe in my game,” del Potro said.

There is no statistic for belief. There is no statistic for desire.

Not everything that counts can be counted.

del Potro started off the match obviously nervous. He did not play to his potential in the first set. Federer won 6-3. I posted a comment on Facebook…

“Fed vs del Potro…Fed is too tough, but you NEVER know, esp if del Pot goes all out…”

No one believed me.

Am I psychic? No, so what happened?

At the beginning of the match, del Potro was not playing his game. He was nervous and he looked nervous. He was holding back.

The worst thing you can do on the tennis court is to hold back. I knew if del Potro fought through his nerves and went all out like in his other matches, he had a chance.

Even if he went all out and lost, that would be better than holding back and winning.

Take a moment and think about something that you’re holding back in; something that you don’t want to do.

I don’t feel like going to the gym before work.
I don’t feel like doing the bills.
I don’t feel like studying.

Now go and do it anyway…go all out today!



Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #780 THERE’S NOTHING YOU CANNOT DO…

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There’s nothing to fear –
you’re as good as the best,
As strong as the mightiest, too.
You can win in every battle or test;
For there’s no one just like you.
There’s only one you in the world today;
So nobody else, you see,
Can do your work in as fine a way:
You’re the only you there’ll be!
So face the world, and all life is yours
To conquer and love and live:
And you’ll find the happiness that endures
In just the measure you give;
There’s nothing too good for you to possess,
Nor heights where you cannot go:
Your power is more than belief or guess –
It is something you have to know.
There is nothing to fear –
you can and you will.
For you are the invincible you.
Set your foot on the highest hill –
There’s nothing you cannot do.

-Author Unknown

MESSAGE #779 WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN…

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From Arthur Ashe on Tennis…

“It is not just the more talented player who wins. Some players may try a little harder. Some players may be a little smarter with strategy and tactics. Some players may be in better shape. Some players may have a better temperament for the game. All of those things, added up, can negate a talent advantage. For instance, if you ask who was more talented in his prime, John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors, it’s no contest: McEnroe. But if you look at the number of pro tournaments each has won, there is no comparison: Connors has one hundred and nine, McEnroe has seventy-seven. (Connors also leads in Grand Slam singles titles, eight to seven.) To be a winner, you must be a fierce competitor as well as a shot maker.”

Desire wins. Want it more than you’re afraid of it….

It doesn’t matter if it’s on the field, in the classroom or in the boardroom.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #777 9/11 ANNIVERSARY

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“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”
-JOE TORRE

I miss the Twin Towers.

There isn’t a time when I look at the New York City skyline and don’t think about the World Trade Center.

Yesterday, I attended a lecture on success by Bill Boggs, four-time Emmy Award-winning talk show host at the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce Business Luncheon. Boggs has interviewed some of the most successful people of the last century. He shared some of their tips on success.

It was interesting to hear that Sinatra said, “Sometimes you have to scrape bottom in life to understand how really wonderful life can be.”

And that Donald Trump said you cannot achieve great things in life without developing mental toughness.

Boggs said Mario Cuomo talked about the value of hard work.

Bill also interviewed Philippe Petit, the Frenchman who walked on a wire across the Twin Towers. Boggs spoke to him the day after he accomplished “The Artistic Crime of the Century” (Time Magazine). Petit said that it didn’t matter if that wire was two feet off the ground or two hundred feet; he was attached to that wire.

The documentary, “Man on Wire” was about Philippe Petit’s amazing feat on August 7, 1974, including his planning and philosophy on “living life on a tightrope.”

It was a sign that Boggs mentioned this movie that I had been meaning to see. So last night I rented the documentary and realized I would be watching it on the eve of 9/11. I got chills.

I had mixed emotions watching shots of the Twin Towers. There was sadness, appreciation of beauty and sheer awe.

This was an amazing film on many levels. And there were so many life lessons throughout.

I loved how Petit practiced in France with friends bouncing on the wire, simulating the potential wind and swaying of the towers. (Practicing Perfect)

“If you want something, nothing is impossible.”

Philippe Petit planned the 1,340 foot-high walk for six years and said that he never once thought about the walk. He was focusing on the planning of it. (Process versus Product)

“Improvisation and intuition should be taught in school. That brings intense joy and expression.” (Mindfulness)

“To me it’s really so simple that life should be lived on the edge of life. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to taper yourself to rules. To refuse your own success. To refuse to repeat yourself. To see every day, every year, every idea, as a true challenge. And then you are going to live your life on a tightrope.”

And finally…

“If you are passionate, you are going to do what you love to do all day long and you are going to be the best at it.”

Today, take a moment to remember 9/11. It’s okay to be sad, but remember what Joe Torre said, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”

Torre’s former player, Derek Jeter may make history in New York tonight, on the anniversary of 9/11, as he tries to surpass the great Lou Gehrig, and become the Yankees all-time hit leader with 2, 722 hits in the pinstripes.

Have a great day, everyone.

Thanks for reading.