Motivation is one of the keys to mental toughness.
But most people don’t know what motivation is.
Most people think that motivation is a feeling. They wait until they feel motivated to act motivated.
It doesn’t work that way.
The athletes I work with know that motivation is an action.
If you start acting motivated, you will begin feeling motivated.
I know a lot of marathon runners. Do you know what the hardest part of running is?
Putting on your shoes.
Think about it.
Today’s message is especially dedicated to all the great basketball/tennis players, coaches and parents that attended my “Mental Edge” seminar.
In my seminar today, in conjunction with the great Micah Lancaster’s basketball session, I talked about how to get the mental edge in sports and life. I shared some of the mental secrets of the world’s greatest athletes.
One of the keys I stressed was that knowing the mental secrets was not good enough–you need to APPLY them.
Information is nothing without implementation.
Everyone knows what they need to do, but most people don’t do it.
And here’s the secret…
A real champion does what they need to do, when they need to do it, whether they feel like it or not.
You don’t have to feel like a champion to act like a champion. It’s a choice, and it can begin right now.
A special thanks to Brian Klatsky for making “The Mental Edge” possible today.
One thing we all look for is happiness.
Happiness may be in the form of sports, business, finances, hobbies, spirituality, school or relationships.
But most people have it all wrong–they think that happiness is something to be found.
The truth is, happiness comes from within.
You may not be the athlete you want to be…YET. It is your choice whether you are happy with where you are. My feeling is that regardless of what level you are, if you strive for constant improvement, work hard, set goals and believe that anything is possible, that is success. And that should make you happy.
You don’t have to be satisfied, but you could (and should) be happy right now. It’s a choice.
Recently, I was speaking to a friend of mine, Ernie, who played football for Notre Dame in the 1940s. In fact, Ernie spent a whole year eating breakfast at Vince Lombardi’s house.
On November 3, 1945, one of his teammates, Elmer Angsman, a fullback got an elbow right in the mouth. They had leather helmets at the time. Well, after the play, Ernie said that Angsman called time-out, jogged over to the sideline and spit out four teeth (he ended up losing 11 teeth total from the play). Elmer stayed in the game. After the game, the Notre Dame coach walked up to Angsman and said…
“Why did you call a time-out?!?”
That’s being tough.
Many times I work with an athlete on strategy. For example, I will tell a tennis player to come to net so he/she can finish off the point.
As a response, they often say, “But they might lob over my head!”
I tell them not to worry about it until it happens.
I know many business owners that don’t take risks because of the dreaded, “What if?”
Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t prepare for these situations. You should.
The bottom line is that you need to get out of your comfort zone.
You need to take risks.
You need to what you’ve never done so you can get the results that you’ve never gotten.
Preparation…YES.
Worry…NO.
Tomorrow is the New York City Marathon.
Guess who is running?
Ex-pro tennis player, and tennis analyst, Justin Gimelstob. See my interview with him at the 2010 US Open here.
Andy Roddick bet Gimelstob that he couldn’t finish the marathon in 4:45. Justin took the bet and the loser gives $10,000 to the other persons charity.
I remember recently when Justin was downloading motivational videos onto his iPod for the race. He was getting ready.
Well, he also got a little bit of luck. Laura Skladzinski, the youngest female to run a marathon in all 50 states volunteered to help Gimelstob out.
She will be running alongside Justin to make sure he finishes and wins the bet.
Brilliant.
That’s accountability.
We all need that.
I have a feeling Justin Gimelstob is going to win this bet.
I have a new hero.
His name is Edison Pena.
Edison Pena was one of the 33 men trapped underground in the Chilean mines for 69 days.
And this Sunday, he will be running in the New York City Marathon.
While trapped, Pena, known as miner No. 12, ran up to 6 miles a day in underground black tunnels with a flashlight and often dragging a wooden pallet behind him. He ran in work boots. He ran in 86 degrees.
Before the miners got trapped, Pena’s daily commute was nearly two hours each way…on bicycle.
And then he became trapped underground. During this time, Pena fought with his own mind.
“I became two people: the weak person who wanted simply to give up, and the person who chose to be strong – to run and to survive,” he said. “Eventually, I chose to live.”
“I ran to forget that I was trapped.”
And even though he has never run more than 10 miles, he will be giving his all this Sunday in the marathon.
“I know it will be very hard, but I have no fear,” Pena said.
Edison Pena said he is an athlete, “not a grand champion.”
He’s wrong.
As for the rest of you reading, the next time you don’t feel like running, going to work, or studying…
THINK OF EDISON PENA.
When you talk about success, I think it all starts in your mind.
It starts with that little voice inside your head.
And if you’re asking yourself right now, “Do I have a little voice inside my head?”…that’s the voice I’m talking about.
In order to be successful, you need to have the right mindset.
1. You need confidence–believe anything is possible (even if you have to fake it).
2. You need to accept and let go of negative thoughts (yes, they will arise).
3. You need to set goals (specific mastery goals).
4. You need to add value and help others (then you will get what you want).
5. You need to focus on the process (attitude and effort) instead of the product (winning/losing, making the sale, final grade, etc.)
Once you make this paradigm shift, you world will change.
And your results will change.