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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Shana Abdel-Rahman. Happy Belated Birthday.

From this week’s US 1 Newspaper…

Net Benefits

By Roger A. Shapiro

Ed Tseng, founder of Tennis Solutions/Tseng Performance, walks around with a rock in his pocket. Every day.

“I call it my gratitude rock,” he says. “During the day I reach in my pocket, hold the rock and feel grateful for something. At the end of the day, I take the rock out of my pocket and stay aware of how grateful I am.”

Being grateful is a crucial part of achieving happiness in life, which is a key message in the workshops Tseng offers. Tseng will present “Peak Performance for Business and Life” on Wednesday, June 18, at 7:30 a.m. at the Nassau Club, as part of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Business Before Business breakfast meeting. Cost: $30. For more information, call 609-924-1776.

“There’s only one thing we can all control and that’s our mind,” he says. “Too often, we complain about what’s happening to us. But ultimately what we’re looking for is a state of mind. All of us are just looking for happiness on this planet.”

Often, we’re looking in the wrong places. “We look for money, the big house, the nicer car,” Tseng says. “But when I ask people a series of questions, it boils down to a search for happiness. The truth is, you can get that now. And the real key is gratitude.”

And he knows a lot about gratitude. The entrepreneur is an author, motivational speaker, and tennis pro who was named the United States Tennis Association/New Jersey District Pro of the Year in 2005. He also knows failure. Twice he failed out of college while pursuing a computer career, a path his father wanted him to pursue because he himself was a programmer.

“I was ‘in’ computers, but, not ‘into’ computers,” Tseng says. “To really succeed, you need to be into what you are doing. When you are ‘into’ something, you follow the process much more. People don’t sing to get to the end of the song, they sing for the joy of the song. It makes them feel good. When you enjoy the precess, you get into the work. Then you win.”

Act energetic. People can instantly become better by improving their energy level. Too often people act how they feel. “If they are tired of hungry, they act tired and hungry,” Tseng says. “You may feel low energy, but then you have to act with high energy. It’s a choice, but most people won’t do that.”

Sales people, for example, need a lot of high-energy moments. But they can improve by changing their energy level – without changing their approach or technique.

Wanting is a problem. People who appreciate what they have get more energy and experience more happiness. “Gratitude is a big part of life,” Tseng says. “Whether you are grateful for your health, your family, or the trees around us, it affects your energy level and success.”

How to set goals. Many people set goals the wrong way. Typically, people will set low, attainable goals for their sales or business success. Then they reach those low goals and settle where they are. “If you want to achieve greatness, you need to set your goals high,” Tseng says. “You can only become as great as your own self-image.”

Failure sets the stage for the future. “The only thing we can change is our minds,” says Tseng. “Sometimes we have to fake success until we get there.” What is needed is the mindset to win. “If you know what you want to do, just do it and it becomes real.”

This approach helped Tseng after he failed out of college. He decided he wanted to become a tennis pro, even though he didn’t have the experience. He earned his bachelor’s in marketing and professional tennis management and enrolled in Ferris State University in Michigan and offered to work at a club for free to learn the game. “Suddenly, I was into school instead of just in school,” Tseng says. “I had hit rock bottom with my first attempts at college and bounced back. I tell that story because it motivates people. If I failed out and then became Pro of the Year, imagine what they can do.”

With his can-do attitude and gratitude, Tseng, who grew up in West Windsor and now lives in Lawrenceville, has built a motivational business and converted his father’s thinking about the need to follow in his footsteps as a programmer. Next month, his approach will be detailed in his new book, “Game. Set. Life. Peak Performance for Sports and Life.” It will show how the principles of sports apply to all areas of life.

Now 34, he also publishes a daily blog at www.edtseng.blogspot.com, which includes inspirational messages and words of wisdom that help people motivate themselves to raise their energy levels. “I care about how I make people feel. If I give them hope and energy to become better, my job is done,” he says.

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Teddy Atlas.

At a certain point, if he’s going to get to the top of the boxing profession, a fighter has to learn the difference between the truth and a lie. The lie is thinking that submission is an acceptable option. The truth is that if you give up, afterward you’ll realize that any of those punches that you thought you couldn’t deal with, or those rough moments you didn’t think you could make it through, were just moments. Enduring them is not nearly as tough but having to deal with the next day and the next month and the next year, knowing that you quit, that you failed, that you submitted. It’s a trainer’s job to make a fighter understand about difference, that the parts of a fight that are urgent last only seconds; seconds during which you have to stave off the convenient excuse- “I’m too tired” or “I hurt too much” or “I can’t do this” or even simply “I’m not going to deal with this.” Sometimes it just comes down to not floating- just being there and understanding that if you give in, you’ll hurt more tomorrow. Maybe there is no more important lesson to learn from boxing than that.

Atlas, T, & Alson, P. (2007). Atlas: From the streets to the ring: A son’s Struggle to become a man.
p.82

Thank you to Melissa Sapio for sharing this quote.

Thanks for reading.

Day 2 at the Special Olympics Summer Games saw some brutal heat but the athletes did a great job staying hydrated and staying in the shade when not competing.

There was some great singles and doubles matches. It was also great to see some of the local community like the Luttrell family from West Windsor come out and support the local athletes.

I, personally played two unified doubles matches with the great Joey Clawson and we won one and lost one. After the full day event, many of the athletes went to the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball game for Special Olympics night. Our team didn’t go because we have a long standing tradition of having a team dinner on Saturday nights at Mamma Flora’s restaurant for salad, pizza and great memories.

We’re going to give it our all again today and then wrap it up with the medal ceremony around 12:30pm.

“Many times the people who take risks end up with much more.”

Thanks for reading.

Today’s message is especially dedicated to all the athletes competing in the Special Olympics Summer Games this weekend at The College of New Jersey. Thank you for “Inspiring Greatness.”

Beth is a Philadelphia 76ers Cheerleader (Hare Raiser). If you don’t know, a hare raiser is one of the girls that gets thrown around and flipped at basketball games. She is also representing the NBA in China later this year. I spent some time recently with Beth and asked her what it took to become a successful cheerleader. Here’s what she had to say…

1. Enthusiasm
2. Physical fitness
3. Mental fitness

Beth also mentioned that you need to work as a team. You’re only as strong as your weakest link.

Can this apply to what you do?

I asked Beth if ANYONE could be a cheerleader with the right training and she said, “Yes, definitely.”

So whether you want to become a great accountant, swimmer or computer programmer, know that it IS possible. Greatness is already inside of you, you just have to know the strategy and believe that it is indeed possible.

Thank you Beth and…

Thanks for reading.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for a full report of Day 1 from the Special Olympics Summer Games.