From the Tao Te Ching (written around 500 B.C.)…
A great misfortune comes about
With the feeling, ‘I have an enemy’
For when ‘I’ and ‘enemy’ exist together
There is no room left for my treasureThus, when two opponents meet
The one who does not see an enemy
Will surely triumph (69)
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Laura Mosiello.
One of my all-time favorite quotes is, “Anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple; no one can count the number of apples in a seed.”
What does this quote mean?
You have unlimited potential. Don’t let what others say affect what you are capable of. NOBODY knows what you are capable of. The sky’s the limit.
Here’s another type of Apple – I recently got an iPhone and I absolutely love it. I know many Apple users and they all agree that their customer service is by far the best. Below is a great quote, this time by Apple co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs.
Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drowned your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what yo truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
Today’s message is especially dedicated to Manon Bollegraf in the Netherlands, Ash Kulkarni in New York City, Candice Carlin in Philadelphia and Kimberly Slater in Cherry Hill, NJ. Happy Birthday to you all!
Before you set foot onto the tennis court next time, ask yourself this question…
Am I going to let how I play determine my attitude, or am I going to let my attitude determine how I play?
Think about it – most people react to how they play, but the great ones CREATE how they want to play; it’s a choice.
Act as if it were impossible to fail.
For those of you going to the Caesars Tennis Classic in Atlantic City today, look for me in the press box. I will be taking photographs and shooting videos. Find me and you win a prize.
Your “I Can” is more important than your “IQ.”
“I can’t hit a serve.”
“I can’t make any money.”
“I can’t stay positive.”
“I can’t stop smoking.”
Success does not come in bottles, it comes in “cans.”
We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. -BUDDHA
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Tom Jolly, sports editor of the New York Times. Happy Birthday to a true peak performer.
Many years ago on a rainy July morning in Washington Heights, New York, a 12 year-old boy was watching TV.
“Why don’t you call your friends and go out and play ball?” his dad asked.
“Dad, I’m watching TV and it’s raining out.”
Dad said, “Come over here, I want to show you something.”
From their fifth-floor apartment, they could see the local school yard.
There, in the rain, another 12 year-old boy was hitting a baseball off a makeshift batting tee.
After hitting the ball, he ran after it, teed it up, and hit it again.
This went on for over an hour.
“I guess it’s not raining on Manny,” his dad said.
“Manny” is now one of the greatest hitters of all time: Manny Ramirez!
What do you want to be – a great athlete? a great writer? a great student? a great salesperson?
What are you doing to make that happen?
Instead of “trying your best”…Do whatever it takes.
Here are the five words why most people fail:
I DON’T FEEL LIKE IT.
Thanks for reading.
Do people sing to get to the end of the song?
Do people play sports to get to the end of the game?
Do people read to get to the end of the book?
No. No. No.
Life is not about doing as many things as you can. It’s not about getting to the end. It’s not even about making a lot of money (I know a lot of miserable rich people).
Life is to be lived. To do what matters to you. To do what you’re passionate about. To make a difference in the world.
We play sports because we enjoy the process. If winning was everything, wouldn’t we ONLY play people we knew we could beat? That would get old quick.
After Mats Wilander became number one in the tennis world (something he worked his whole life for), he said, “Is that it?” It got to a point where he would look forward to mowing his lawn more than playing tennis. So it’s not about the trophy. It’s not about the money. It’s not about materialistic objects.
1. Do what you love.
2. Stay in the present moment and savor it all.
3. Work hard but have fun.
4. Don’t let anyone tell you what you CAN’T do (how do THEY know?)
5. Make a difference and help others.
Think about what you want to have accomplished at the end of your life.
Now go and do it.
From the holykaw.alltop.com site…
Recently, Stanford scientists replicated a classic experiment from the 60s, in which they tested kids’ ability to delay gratification. Researchers gave each child a marshmallow and told them that they would receive a second marshmallow — if they were able to wait until the researcher left and returned.
Two important conclusions were drawn from this work:
1. Kids who were able to delay gratification succeeded more in life.
2. This kind of experiment makes for ADORABLE kid footage. See what I mean, and watch the clip!
“Have success and there will always be fools to say that you have talent.”
-EDOUARD PAILLERON
WORK HARD.
I don’t really feel like blogging today – it’s cold this morning…I’m hungry, maybe nobody will read my blog today.
When the curtain goes up on Broadway, the actor can’t say, “Wait a second, stop. I don’t feel like the part yet.” They have to be in the part, whether they want to or not.
Blogging, tennis, school, work, and relationships are the same way. If you read my book, “Game. Set. Life.” you would know that most people act according to how they feel, but the real winners in life act how they should act, whether they want to or not.
Do you have ANY idea what you would be capable of, if you just took the right action, instead of negotiating with yourself to do otherwise?
ME NEITHER…
“No person in a thousand has any clue of what he/she is capable of doing if they just made up their mind to do it.”
Thanks for reading.
“It works very much on both your mentality and physical nature. As you read the philosophy for parkour it really does effect how you would respond to obstacles in your life. It’s just a fantastic way to live and really exciting to do.” -Thomas Mizera, parkour traceur
Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l’art du déplacement, English: the art of movement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment—from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls—and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females.
Founded by David Belle in France, parkour focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop one’s body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency.
-Wikipedia
Watch the video below…