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MESSAGE #1366 THE 8 MOST POWERFUL WORDS
Today on Success Hotline, my friend and mentor, Dr. Rob Gilbert shared a great quote, the eight most powerful words…
“Do the thing and you’ll have the power.”
-RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Today, I also gave a workshop on mental toughness at Nick DiPillo’s basketball skills camp. Afterwards, I spent some time with Nick and Hamady Ndaiye, the 7′ 0″ center for the Washington Wizards (above).
Hamady Ndaiye, or “H” as I now call him, did the thing and now he has the power.
“H” only started playing basketball six years ago and now he’s in the NBA. He admits there are challenges and that he has negative thoughts, but in his mind, there are no limits regarding how far he can go.
According to DiPillo, nobody works harder than “H.” As a matter of fact, DiPillo said, “He’s had nothing handed to him. He’s worked for every minute of playing time, and every spot on every team he’s played on. His work ethic is unmatched, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He’s the epitome of a team player.”
That’s the “thing” and “H” is doing it. And he wasn’t even a starter for Rutgers University until the end of his senior year!
The other thing that impresses me about “H” is that he is determined.
Hamady Ndaiye does not strive to do his best…
Hamady Ndaiye strives to DO WHATEVER IT TAKES.
Everybody knows what to do, but very few people do what they know.
“Do the thing and you’ll have the power.”
MESSAGE #1363 SETBACKS
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Hollie Holcombe.
Earlier today, I spoke to about 40 young basketball players at Nick DiPillo’s Spring Break Skills Camp. A key point I brought up was that failure was inevitable. Everyone fails. It’s part of the process.
Michael Jordan got cut from his basketball team in high school, but he didn’t give up.
Thomas Edison failed over 10,000 times when trying to invent the lightbulb.
Babe Ruth hit the most home runs, but he also had the most strikeouts. And each time The Babe failed, he said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
How does this relate to you? Let me put it to you this way…
A SETBACK IS A SETUP FOR A COMEBACK.
Bounce back today!
MESSAGE #1362 ARE YOU A THERMOMETER?
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nick DiPillo, former WNBA assistant coach of the New York Liberty.
I had a meeting of the minds today with Nick DiPillo. We were talking about mental toughness in basketball…and life.
I asked him what the biggest challenges were for basketball players.
One common challenge was that some players lacked focus. They were thinking about the wrong things at the wrong time.
Many young basketball think about homework, other sports or other external factors when practicing or competing.
The pro basketball players think about the commercial they need to shoot or other commitments they may need to tend to after practice or the game.
The specific distraction may be different for young and pro basketball players, but the challenge is the same—they have the wrong focus.
The average or below average players are thermometers—they focus on what’s happening on the outside, other than basketball.
The great basketball players are thermostats—they can change their internal temperature, re-focus and kick butt on the task at hand.
Mental Toughness Tip: Before practice or competition, make a list of specific issues that may be concerning you. Write them down. Keep them in your locker and forget about them until the end of your session. Stay focused on the present moment, that’s where the power is.
MESSAGE #1361 PLEASE FAIL
Recently, I was speaking with a club manager and he mentioned that many parents today are too protective of their children. Parents want their children to be perfect—they don’t want them to fail.
Is this really helpful to the child?
Is this the mindset we want our children to have?
First of all, there’s no such thing as perfect. In fact, successful people fail the most.
If you’re not failing, you’re not taking risks. You’re not working hard enough.
Remember Zeke Bonura back in Message #1268? If not, click here.
Zeke Bonura had one of the highest fielding percentages in pro baseball, but that was because he didn’t try for any balls that he might miss.
Is this how we want to live?
There is a reason why you didn’t recognize the name Zeke Bonura.
Henry Ford went bankrupt five times while trying to develop businesses…eventually the Ford Motor Company was built.
Soichiro Honda applied for a job as an engineer for Toyota Motor Corporation but did not get the job and was unemployed for quite some time…eventually he began making scooters out of his home and started his own company.
Bill Gates failed out of college, and his first business, Traf-O-Data failed as well…eventually he started Microsoft.
Ever heard of the name Walt Disney?…he was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
So all of you parents, future parents, coaches and athletes…
Embrace failure, for it is where we learn the most. In fact, don’t even call it failure, call it feedback.
I hope you fail today.
MESSAGE #1338 YOUR MENTAL DIET
What are you feeding your brain?
Negative thoughts or positive intentions?
It’s your choice what type of mental diet you have, but be mindful that you will reap what you sow.
I once knew someone who didn’t take chances and who didn’t have high expectations due to the fact that he didn’t want to be disappointed. He was right, he was rarely disappointed, but he also didn’t do much with his life.
Let me tell you a story.
There once was a young man who said, “I want to do great things in this world, and I know I can!”
Then there was an old man who said, “I wish I would have done great things in this world, and I regret that I didn’t.”
End of story. To me, this is the saddest story. Why?
Because it was the same man.
You see, you may be living, but are you ALIVE?
Are you counting the days, or are you making the days count?
Recently, I got a message on Facebook from a young man in Toronto who was determined to help others…after he received his medical degree. I said that he didn’t have to wait to get his degree to make a difference in others’ lives. He could pay someone a sincere compliment. He could volunteer his time to people in need. He could just be a good listener.
So take a look at your goals. And take a look at your mental diet.
Someone once said that the beauty of life is that you need not wait another moment to make a difference in the world.
Yes, I’m talking to YOU.
MESSAGE #1337 LET GO #2…
Recently, I gave some advice to a young friend of mine, Madison (above). She had a test in school the next day and I told her to just relax while taking it and give it her all. Well, I saw Madison yesterday and asked her how her test went. Her response was, “I got a 100!”
We all want to achieve greatness, but the problem is we often put too much pressure on the results.
The best way to get the best results is…
Not worrying about the results!
Focus instead on staying loose and concentrating on the task at hand.
If you put the time in studying (or practicing), you are ready. Trust the work you put in, take a deep breath and go for it.
When you focus on HOW you can perform well, instead of IF you can perform well, your world changes. Your results change.
Too many people worry about what parents will think or what friends will think…if they perform poorly. This is a recipe for disaster. Don’t worry about the past or the future…the power is in the present. The best performers in the world from athletes to students to business owners, know the secret.
Relax and go all out!
One question at a time. One point at at time. One meeting at a time.
Gandhi put it best…
“Full effort is full victory.”
Thank you, Madison, for reminding me of this very important lesson and inspiring me to be better at everything that I do!
MESSAGE #1290 HOW TO PLAY YOUR BEST GAME
Let’s face it, most people play a reactionary game.
When they play well, they react positively.
When they play poorly, they react negatively.
The champions create how they play.
Here’s a great exercise to help you play your best game more often:
1. Think of a past great performance.
2. On an index card, write down what you did well during that performance.
3. Write down what you were focusing on.
4. Write down how you were feeling.
5. Write down what type of body language you had.
6. Keep that index card in your bag.
7. Read it before you practice or compete.
8. Then go out and duplicate that performance.
MESSAGE #1255 HOW TO BE MENTALLY TOUGH…RIGHT NOW!
1. Act as if it were impossible to fail.
2. Do what needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not.
3. Set goals and do whatever it takes to attain them.
4. Develop a growth mindset.
5. Cultivate gratitude for all that you have in your life.
6. Be a team player.
7. Focus on one thing at a time.
8. Procrastinate procrastination.
9. Make the important thing, the important thing.
10. Go all-out!
MESSAGE #1239 MENTAL TOUGHNESS FROM A MONK
Here is a great short story by an unknown monk from 11 A.D. entitled “I Wanted To Change The World”
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.
I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.
When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.
Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.”
Many athletes worry about things that they cannot control, for instance, winning and losing, the weather, their opponents, the umpires, etc.
If you can’t control it, don’t worry about it.
Control the only thing you can…
Yourself.
Your actions.
Your reactions.