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So do you want to know how to beat a lie detector test? It’s actually quite simple…if your body (physiology) is acting in belief of what you are saying, you will actually believe it and beat the test. Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying you should start lying and ACT like you believe it. I want you to use it in a POSITIVE way. So how, exactly does this relate to sports and life? If you want to be successful, just start ACTING successful. If you smile on the outside, you will feel good on the inside. If you want to become a great athlete, just COPY the physiology of a great athlete. It could be on TV. Try to duplicate EXACTLY what their body is doing, including their facial expressions. This works for business as well…copy the physiology of someone great in your field. In school, copy the physiology of the top student in your class and you will start feeling the same feelings as them. This is pretty amazing stuff.

There has been many accounts where someone was diagnosed with an illness, a life threatening illness, and that person refused to believe it and just watched funny movies, TV shows and read funny books. These people began to change their internal states and it began to show physically, as they achieved full recovery.

The problem is, though, with most people is that their physiology is dictated by their feelings. It doesn’t have to be that way. Act they way you want to feel and you will feel the way you act. If you are in a bad mood on the playing field or in the office or in the classroom, take note of what your body language is like. Then, ACT like you WANT to act and you will instantly change your mood.

Homework: Start acting the way you want to feel today! After all, feelings are just feelings. Watch the video below of people who could have easily had different feelings.

“It’s not how much we do, but how much passion we put into what we do.”

This quote says it all…it doesn’t matter if you’re filling up the water cooler for a sports team or making copies for a work team. You may have to take out the garbage or do busy-work in school. It may be picking up all the balls during a tennis lesson. Whatever it is that you have to do, whether you want to or not, do it with passion. It will not only be more enjoyable, but people will notice and you will feel better about yourself. This is one of the secrets of success. There are no menial jobs, just menial people. You need to enjoy the good and the bad.

Mother Teresa said, “We can do no great things, only little things with great love.”

Homework: For the next 48 hours, do everything with passion and check out the results.

Lee Kemp was the first American to win three world wrestling titles (1978-79 & 1982), and hold the distinction of being the youngest American to win a gold medal in the World Championships, at 21 years old at the 1978 World Championships.

When I spoke to Lee yesterday, I asked him what his secret to success was. “The best way to predict future performance is to put yourself in that situation.” Mr. Kemp said that you need to take the time, make it challenging and simulate a pressure situation. “Most people just practice.” He says to put the pressure on and practice with the best.

The beauty of my blog, in my opinion, is that all of my messages can apply to any aspect of life. So how can you learn from Lee Kemp, wrestling legend? Practice a realistic situation, push yourself, and train with the best. This works in tennis, school, work, relationships, and fitness/nutrition.

Homework: Next time you practice, put yourself in a realistic situation and when you actually encounter that, you will be more relaxed and perform better because it will seem familiar to you.

This post is especially dedicated to Kathy Clawson, mother of Joey Clawson, one of my Special Olympics students, who is in the hospital…you are in my thoughts.

So as promised, today I will talk about success in school. College students are back in school and now high school students are back in the classroom, as well.

I asked Melissa Sapio, the only person that got a 4.0 GPA in college, what advice she had for the students that read my blog. This is what she had to offer…

“A set-back is just a set-up for a come-back.
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.
I’ve lost almost 3,300 games.
26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.
I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. “
– Michael Jordan

Mistakes are part of the learning curve. If you’re always getting it right and never make a mistake, there would be no fun or challenge. It would be easy and it would be truly boring. There would also be no learning! In fact, it would mean that you aren’t really trying! The real difference between people who succeed and people who fail in their pursuit of goals is that successful people don’t quit when they encounter obstacles or things get more difficult.
Tom Hanks, playing the manager of a baseball team in the movie A League of Their Own said, it’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.
This is the reality of it. So get used to the process of making mistakes, saying learn from the mistakes, and try again. Making a mistake is not a tragedy. The only lamentable thing would be giving up as soon as you make one.

Well put…Thanks, Melissa.

Homework: Next time things don’t go as planned, think about the lesson you learned and how you can make an adjustment for next time.

This post is especially dedicated to the great Dan Horowitz…

So I SPRUNG out of bed this morning at 6:20am before my mind could say, “I don’t want to get up. It’s early, I’m tired, it’s still dark out.” Why? Partly because I am crazy, but MAINLY because I am COMMITTED to my daily “power walks,” “power breakfast,” and “power blogging.” I KNOW how motivated it gets me, how fulfilled it makes my life feel and how it positively affects my health. I honestly couldn’t think of a better way of starting my day. Only 1 percent of people know their true purpose in life. 1 percent!!! MY purpose in life is to help as many people as I can whether it’s teaching someone tennis, helping someone with their goals, giving a motivational talk, speaking to an athlete about positive thinking, helping someone with fitness/nutrition or helping a woman on the subway trying to get up the stairs with her stroller. By taking care of my mind/body (power walk & power breakfast), and sending a message (posting on my blog), I start every day by setting the tone. The best way to predict how your day is going to go, is by CREATING it. And whatever you CAN’T control, LEARN from it and REACT to it appropriately.

Now, I could stop there and a good lesson can be learned, but it gets better…

While on my walk, I began to think about what will happen when it gets COLD out and DARK in the morning during my walks. And immediately one phrase popped into my head…”Do whatever it takes.” This is the philosophy of many of the most successful people in the world. Most people make promises, the great ones make COMMITMENTS. Then I started thinking, ok, I’ll get a nice warm hat, some gloves and INSTANTLY, the negative thoughts went away and I knew that there wouldn’t be a problem. (Yes, I DO have negative thoughts sometimes. But see how I changed my thought process right away?) I can’t begin to describe the feeling that came over me after that. When you are overcome by feelings of pure love, fulfillment, gratitude, joy and motivation, you are heading in the right direction. As a result it will be easier to stick to your commitments.

IMPORTANT…watch the video below if you want to know about commitment…

Homework: Figure out your true purpose in life and then make your decisions and set your goals so that they are congruent to that purpose. Do whatever it takes, even if you have to get a little creative. Think OUTSIDE THE BOX.

Tomorrow…for you students – tips on how to make this school year a great one.