MESSAGE #1525 ARE YOU A PEAK PERFORMER?

Yesterday, at 4pm, I told my PDS girls tennis team something very important just before their match. And then at 10:30 last night, I told the Lawrence Township Police Department the same thing just before their shift. And now I’m going to tell you.

The biggest decision you have to make is are you going to go all-out, or are you going to hold back?

As a peak performance coach, I don’t care about results. Okay, I’m lying. I DO care about results, but they are not the most important thing.

The most important thing is our effort.

Are you going to go all-out or are you going to hold back…in sports, in school, in your job, in your relationships?

At the end of the day, only YOU will know if you gave your full effort.

When you put your head on the pillow tonight, you are going to say one of two things to yourself about your day…

1. I’m glad I went all-out.

2. I wish I had.

Which one can you live with?

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1523 PRE-COMPETITION

What do you think about before you compete?

Do you think about how good your opponent is?

Do you think about the fact that you NEED to win this game?

Do you think about who will be there watching?

If you answered yes to any of the above three questions, you will not be in your performance zone.

Before you compete, you should be thinking about your game plan and HOW you want to compete. Think about WHAT will put you in the best position to win. Think about giving a full effort, and think about what a great opportunity it is to compete.

Then, just do it.

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1521 HUNGRY?

I have a feeling that there is a reader out there who knows exactly what they need to do to succeed.

In fact, MOST of you know exactly what you need to do to succeed.

Practice more.

Study more.

Make sales calls more.

So what is the difference between most people and the peak performers?

ACTION.

If you know what to do, but you don’t do what you know, it’s like going to a restaurant, reading the menu and leaving.

Think about that.

MESSAGE #1520 THIS IS WHO WINS

Going into the Mercer County Tournament, my Princeton Day School girls tennis team was not the favorite. We weren’t even the second or third favorite. But we were still optimistic.

So how did we win the championship?

1. We went all-out.
2. We focused on the process, not the outcome.
3. We supported each other.
4. We never gave up.
5. We stayed positive.

We were tied with Princeton High School going into the final day and this is what I told my team:

“Day 1 was great, but it’s now in the past. Somebody’s gotta win this, why not us? It’s not the best team that wins, it’s the team that plays best. Play to win, not to ‘not lose.’ ”

And we are now the 2011 Mercer County Champions.

MESSAGE #1516 DAVID GOGGINS PART II

David Goggins is a Navy SEAL.

David Goggins is an ultramarathon runner.

David Goggins ran the Badwater 135 miler through Death Valley.

David Goggins is considered the toughest athlete on the planet.

This is where the story gets good…

“Here’s the thing. I don’t like doing this. I don’t like to run, but it’s one of the ways I can find out who I am in life. I can’t find out who David Goggins is by watching Sunday Night Football. I need to set the bar high and then try to meet it. The only way I can do that is to do ridiculous things at the most ridiculous times. When I’m really tired and want to sleep, that’s when I go out there and do it.”
-David Goggins

Wow.

MESSAGE #1507 BE LIKE TED PART II

Recently, I was talking with my good friend, Ted. Ted and I are former baseball teammates and current tennis hitting partners. Ted is also a writer.

Earlier this week, Ted attended a writing workshop in New York City. A key point that he learned was about writer’s block.

His instructor said that when you have writer’s block, find an accountability partner and just write for three minutes. It doesn’t matter what you write, as long as you write…even if it’s the same word over and over.

I know what you are thinking, “How does this relate to me?”

If you don’t feel like writing, just write.

If you don’t feel like working out, just workout.

If you don’t feel like making sales calls, just make the calls.

It’s the start that stops most people.

I know many marathon runners and I often ask them what the most challenging aspect of running is. Their answer is…putting on my shoes.

I don’t care about your feelings, I care about your actions.

MESSAGE #1503 THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Fred Weiland in Westchester, New York.

If you are like many of my blog readers, you are searching for the road to success. Here it is…

Take a look at the figure above. Imagine driving up the road to success and coming to a fork. It is your decision whether you take the road to Nowhere or you take the road to Success. Forget your GPS and choose to bear right and take the road to Success.

How do you do it?

When you don’t feel like practicing…do it anyway.

When you don’t feel like studying…do it anyway.

When you don’t feel like eating a healthy meal…do it anyway.

Winners do what losers don’t feel like doing.

The power is in your hands.

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1496 HUNGRY?

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Jay Colella in Kensington, Maryland.

The purpose of this blog is not to give you something to eat.

The purpose of this blog is to make you hungry.

Hungry to get to the next level.

Hungry to go all-out.

Hungry to do your best when it means the most.

Recently, I received a nice message from Jay Colella in Kensington, Maryland, wanting to purchase my book. I could tell that he was hungry for knowledge. Even though we didn’t speak in person, I could feel his enthusiasm through his words. Having that desire is such a big part of success…in sports and life.

To reach peak performance, you need to be hungry to be the best you can be. And if you think that is difficult, imagine how difficult it would be to compete against someone who is hungry and you are not.

When I was speaking to some top college and NBA coaches at the University of Florida recently, I told them that I did not want them to be well-rounded, I wanted them to be sharp-edged, i.e., be really, really good at one thing versus average at many things.

So how hungry are you to get to the next level? And what steps are you taking to make sure that happens? Only you can answer those questions. And only you can take the action necessary to create the person you want to be.

Leave your comments below.

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1495 ACTION

Your past does not equal your future…unless you let it.

If you do what you’ve normally done, you’ll get what you’ve normally gotten.

If you want different results, take different ACTION.

We all know what we need to do to reach peak performance, but very few actually do it.

The next time you don’t “feel” like doing something, just remember this quote:

A true champion does what he needs to do, when he needs to do it, whether he feels like it or not.