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MESSAGE #928 TO DO LIST…

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Please put this on your To Do List today…

“Be so happy that when others look at you they become happy too.”

The best way to be happy is to make someone else happy.

The best way to be motivated is to motivate someone else.

So it goes both ways.

The quote above is from my teabag this morning, but there’s something that the teabag failed to mention.

It’s difficult to make yourself feel happy.

But you can act happy.

Smile. Act like the happiest person in the whole world. Then, after a while, you will feel happy.

Remember, it’s easier to act yourself into a way of feeling than it is to feel yourself into a way of acting.

This applies to sports, sales or school.

Give it a try.

I’m sure the New Orleans Saints were nervous before last night’s Super Bowl, but they sure didn’t look nervous.

Even when they went for it on 4th down early in the game and didn’t convert, I knew that they were going all-out and playing to win. And as a by-product, they were pleased with the result.

Congrats to the Saints and the city of New Orleans.

MESSAGE #688 THE REVEREND JUST MADE ME HAPPIER!

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“The journey is the Thing.”
-HOMER

I wish I could start every day like I did today.

At 7:15AM I pulled into the parking lot of the Nassau Club for a breakfast meeting for the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce. Today’s speaker was Reverend Peter Stimpson, director of Trinity Counseling Service, and author of “Map to Happiness.”

I love listening to speakers. And I love learning about happiness. And I love networking. I did it all this morning.

Reverend Stimpson used the quote above by Homer in his talk. He spoke about how it’s not the product (money, status, power) but instead, it’s all about the process (your journey, your attitude and your relationships).

The Reverend said that the key is to learn to love and be loved, in every interaction we have. This is so true in relationships, work, school and sports. He talked about how someone he knew was miserable at the end of his career because he only accumulated five million dollars versus his business partner who made fifty million. Guess what? If you have five million dollars and you’re miserable, you’re just a miserable rich person. It’s about the journey.

Stimpson said not to worry about external opinion, but to focus on internal worth.

The three main points in his talk were:
1. Everyone is insecure – it’s okay to make mistakes
2. We give power to other people – why? Power comes from within
3. Success is who you become not what you attain

Stimpson also talked about depression and how it occurs when there is a big gap between our ego and ego ideal. If we feel we need to or have to or should accomplish this goal or that goal and we don’t achieve it, depression sets in. The cure? Love yourself for who you are, as you are. Separate actions and results from worth.

The Reverend ended by saying “Remember, everyone is insecure. It’s okay if you are too. Just be patient with your growth.”

This applies to all areas of life.


Thanks for reading.

Be sure to checkout my interview on Global Village Tennis News: http://globalvillagetennisnews.com/2009/06/16/seven-questions-with-game-set-life–peak-performance-for-sports-and-life-author-ed-tseng.aspx

MESSAGE #683 IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR…

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“Programmed into our very human nature is the desire to push limits. Here is the proof.”
-Message painted on a Special Olympics van

Today’s message is especially dedicated to all of the inspiring special athletes, organizers and volunteers at this weekend’s Special Olympics Summer Games at The College of New Jersey.

Well, it’s my favorite time of year again – Special Olympics Summer Games.

This amazing annual event gives me a true sense of pure joy and inspiration. I have been a volunteer coach for nearly ten years now and am enjoying every minute of it!

These athletes have mental disabilities.

But I look at it differently…

They are truly special.

Where else can you get an all-out effort and a huge smile and sense of accomplishment with a last-place finish?

All of the athletes, parents, friends, supporters and volunteers experience unconditional love and support during these games.

And everyone is so polite, saying thank you to the ball boys and girls. Cheering each other on, even if they are competing against each other.

Most of these players cannot even keep score, and you think that YOU are not cut out to play sports?

It’s not about winning. It’s about pushing yourself, giving your all, and having fun.

I don’t get paid a dime to work with these special athletes.

I’m lying.

I have gotten unlimited internal riches from my experience. And that will always be with me.

I volunteer because I love it and I feel that it is my way of making a difference.

And the only reason why I tell you about my work with the Special Olympics is that I hope that this may inspire you to do something equally gratifying.

Make a difference however you can.

That’s success. And that’s wealth.

So come out this weekend to support these great athletes. The first person to find me at the tennis courts gets a free copy of my book, “Game. Set. Life.” signed by yours truly and my entire Special Olympics tennis team!


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #664 WITHIN OR WITHOUT – THAT IS THE QUESTION…

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“If you do not have success within, you have success without.”
-ED TSENG

The quote above is all you need to know if you want to be successful.

It’s all you need to know if you want to be happy.

If you truly want to become successful and happy, stop focusing on the external riches, like money, status, and material things, and start focusing more on the internal riches, like inner peace, love, and compassion. Effort and attitude are more important than outcome.

Incorporate meditation, relaxation, and self-improvement into your daily life and you will enter a new world.

We’re all so busy that we feel that we don’t have time to meditate, relax or read. But the truth is, if you’re too busy to better yourself – you’re too busy. That’s like saying you don’t have time to stop for gas because you’re too busy driving. Eventually it will catch up to you.

So here’s your homework…

Right after you read this blog, go for a walking meditation. Notice and appreciate everything around you, like the trees, the cars, the sounds, and the smells. Take deep breaths and have gratitude for all the big and little things in life. The good and the not so good.

Let me know how it goes.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #653 A MESSAGE FROM THE BUDDHA…

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“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.”
-BUDDHA

MESSAGE #640 KILL WITH KINDNESS…

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“Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
-GENE BEDLEY

The best way to make yourself happy is to make someone else happy…

Compliment somebody.

Ask someone how they are doing and really mean it.

Call a family member and say you love them…

Do it today!


Thanks for reading.

*TENNIS ANYONE?*
TENNIS. FITNESS. NUTRITION. MENTAL TRAINING.
With Ed Tseng, Pro of the Year USTA/NJD 2005

MESSAGE #628 DON’T LIVE YOUR LIFE BACKWARDS…

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“Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier.
The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.”
-MARGARET YOUNG

MESSAGE #620 HOW TO BECOME HAPPY…

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“Look up and not down. Look forward and not back. Look out and not in, and lend a hand.”
-EDWARD EVERETT HALE

“When you cease to make a contribution,you begin to die.”
-ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

“Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”
-DANNY THOMAS

They say that the quickest way to become happy is to make someone else happy.

I agree.

Last night I took my mentee, Amish to the Trenton Thunder (Yankees AA affiliate minor league team) game. Before we went, I called the Thunder and told them that I was bringing my mentee, who lost his mother in 9/11 and was wondering if he could meet the team before the game. A very nice young lady called back and said that they didn’t do that sort of thing, but that they could make him “Fan of the Game” and he would be able to throw out the first pitch, get on the diamond vision, and be in the Trenton Times this week! Wow.

We started at the offices, and walked past the clubhouse, where a couple players were walking to the field, so Amish asked them to sign his baseball. We then walked under the stands and out the tunnel to the dugout. As we waited on the field, all of the players started coming into the dugout to warm up for the game. My mentee politely asked them for autographs. I think he left with 18 autographs, including the mascots’! Well, they announced his name, and we walked out to the pitcher’s mound and my main man threw a perfect strike to catcher. The Thunder game him a free hat and the game ball! After that, we thanked everyone and proceeded to our seats in Section L, Row 1 to enjoy America’s Pastime. A great night!

You should have seen Amish’s face – he was so happy. That made me happy. So remember, the quickest way to make yourself happy, is to make someone else happy. You don’t need to have a lot of money, you can give your time and energy.

Homework: Make someone happy today!

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #488 BE HAPPY…INSTANTLY!

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“If you observe a really happy man,
you will find him building a boat,
writing a symphony,
educating his son,
growing double dahlias,
or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert.

He will not be searching for happiness
as if it were a collar button
that had rolled under the radiator,
striving for it as the goal itself.

He will have become aware
that he is happy in the course of living life
twenty-four crowded hours of each day.”
-W. BERAN WOLFE

That’s the secret to happiness in life. Enjoying the process. Every moment. Staying in the present. Immersing yourself in everything you do.

Sports are the same way – once you start enjoying every aspect of your sport, the winning, the losing, the sun, the wind, your opponent, the hard work and performing under pressure, you will become happy and win more.

Now, I know what you’re thinking…WHY would I enjoy the sun, and wind?

Put it this way, most people hate playing in the sun and wind don’t they? Well, if you practice in those conditions, you will not only perform better when the conditions are ideal, but when there is sun and wind, you will be used to it and your opponent won’t. Advantage you.


Thanks for reading.