MESSAGE #936 VISION

The best way to predict the future is to create it.
-ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Vicky Lelgant in Los Angeles. Happy Birthday to an amazing artist.

What’s your vision?

I had a vision of an artist turning me into an anime character, for my website and promotional items, as well as for a comic book I am writing.

Enter Vicky Lelgant, a former tennis student of mine, who graduated from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) and currently living in Los Angeles. I asked Vicky if she could take on this task. She said yes.

The finished product is seen above in my blog’s welcome message. I am more than pleased with it.

Some people dream and others stay awake and make things happen.

What is your vision? What do you want to accomplish? Who do you want to become? What steps are you taking to get you there?

Remember, the best way to predict the future…is to create it.

 

Thanks for reading.

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MESSAGE #935 A POEM

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling

(Thanks to the great Jake Putnam in Boise, Idaho for sharing)

MESSAGE #934 MY FAVORITE VALENTINE’S DAY STORY

There once was a woman, she was the envy of all her friends-she had two boyfriends, Bob and Tom. Bob and Tom both knew about each other. This went on for a couple of years.

Well, one Friday evening, Bob picked her up as he normally did on Friday evenings. But Bob who is normally late, was right on time. And Bob who was normally dressed casually, wore a suit. And Bob who normally was pretty mellow, was a bit excited. So they went to dinner but instead of going to their normal restaurant/bar to eat, they went to a fancy restaurant. They had a wonderful meal and right before dessert, Bob takes out a jewelry box from his jacket pocket and proposes marriage. And the woman says the worst possible thing, aside from a flat-out no. She said, “I have to think about it.” So the Bob was upset and took the woman home.

The woman was sad…until the next night, when Tom picked her up.

So Tom who is normally right on time, was early. And Tom who is normally in a suit, wore a tuxedo. And Tom who normally was energetic, was extremely high energy. They went to dinner but instead of going to their normal fancy restaurant, this night was the country club. They had a wonderful meal and right before dessert, Tom takes out a jewelry box from his jacket pocket and proposes marriage. And the woman says the worst possible thing, aside from a flat-out no. She said, “I have to think about it.” Tom was upset and took the woman home.

The woman sat lying in bed feeling miserable, going from two boyfriends to no boyfriends. But fortunately, the only woman who could help her showed up-her fairy godmother. “You don’t look like your normal self, what’s wrong?” the fairy godmother asked.

“Bob took me out Friday night and we had a nice time, but then he proposed to me and I said I have to think about it. Then Tom took me out Saturday night and we had a great time, but then he proposed to me and I said I have to think about it. I don’t know who to choose!”

“That’s easy. All you have to do is take two pieces of paper and on the top of one write Bob and on the top of the other, write Tom. Take as long as you need and write down the one thing you love most about each of them and then your answer will instantly come to you.”

So the woman took the piece of paper with Bob on it and thought and thought and thought and three hours later she figured out what she loved most about Bob. Then, she took the sheet with Tom on it and it took her another three hours, but she figured out what she loved most about Tom…and her answer instantly came to her.

A little while later, her fairy godmother showed up and looked at her. “Oh, you look like your normal self. Have you come to a decision?”

“Oh yes, I choose Bob!” exclaimed the woman.

“Great, but just out of curiosity, what did you write on Tom’s piece of paper?”

“Well, when I’m with Tom, I feel that he’s the most wonderful person in the whole world!”

“Really?” said the fairy godmother, puzzled. “Then why did you choose Bob?!”

“Because when I’m with Bob, I feel that I’M the most wonderful person in the whole world.”

 

So that’s the whole thing – it’s about others.

The best partners make the relationship better.

The best athletes make the team better.

The best business owners make the employees better.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY…and Happy Birthday to the great Kory Kahler and my friend, Valentine Barnaby, former Rutgers, NFL and Arena football player.

MESSAGE #932 WE’RE TALKIN’ BASEBALL…

Mike Sheppard, Jr talks about pressure at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center

Today I was invited to attended a workshop for baseball coaches at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center entitled, “How Top Baseball Coaches Build Successful Programs.

Why would I go listen to people talk about baseball? Because coaching is coaching. And the great coaches know that it’s not about sports, it’s about life.

The panelists were Fred Hill, Sr (Rutgers University), Mike Sheppard, Jr (Seton Hall Prep), and Ted Jarmusz (Monmouth Regional HS). The moderator was award-winning coach, John McCarthy, co-founder of the Yogi Berra Museum’s Coaching Institute.

Motivating and conditioning your athletes, Focusing on the big picture, Getting the most out of practice sessions, and Mentoring assistants were some of the topics. It’s amazing to me how all three legendary coaches talked very little about winning. They talked about effort and attitude. “You’re not going to succeed if you don’t put the time in,” said Coach Hill.

“Work ethic is the key…and passion,” added Sheppard, Jr.

Coach Jarmusz said, “Our philosophy is Pride and Hustle…that’s it. You don’t have to be a great athlete or talented to do those things.”

Hill believes that there should not be very many rules.

“My only rules are: 1) Be on time 2) Give 100% every day”

It’s amazing how I could be so motivated and learn so much from baseball coaches. The thing that I like most about myself is that I love learning; I love seeing how everything relates to everything else…sports, school, business, art.

We should play sports because we love to play.

We should coach because we love to coach. It’s not about the results, the trophy or the money.

Arthur Ashe said, “Success is a journey.”

Give it your all, enjoy the process and make a difference.

Moderator, John McCarthy put it best, with a quote by the great Lou Holtz…

“Do you want to be successful or do you want to be significant?”

MESSAGE #931 TED

The TED Conference is going on right now in California.

One of my favorite resources is TED.com. If you haven’t gone to it yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. Videos from some of the top minds in the world are on this great site.

I just finished watching a talk by magician, David Blaine on how he held his breath for 17 minutes to break the world record.

It was a great presentation, but all you needed to hear were the last ten seconds…

“Magic is pretty simple, it’s practice, it’s training, and experimenting, while pushing through the pain to be the best I can be.”

–DAVID BLAINE

MESSAGE #930 Cheaters Never Prosper…

Former baseball superstar, Mark Grace once said, “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.”

Really, Mark?

Character goes a long way in my book. I just lost all respect for Grace. Well, not all, there’s always the chance that he was misquoted.

But here’s the point – I would rather my players give it their all without cheating and lose, than cheat and win. If they make it, they make it. If not, they will go on to be successful in business, art, music or cooking.

Cheaters cheat because they want to win more than anything else.

What are you playing for, the trophy?

Here, I’ll give you one. Will you be happy? I doubt it.

Winners never cheat and cheaters never win.

Somewhere along the line, as a society, we started focusing on the result; focusing on ourselves.

Well, we headed down the wrong path.

The key is staying in the present moment – enjoying the process. Focusing on helping others and making a difference.

People say nice guys finish last, but I disagree.

Nice guys are winners before the competition begins.

MESSAGE #929 LEARN CPR…

Yesterday I got re-certified in CPR.

Everyone should get certified in CPR. Today I’m going to certify you.

Let me explain…
Do you learn CPR when someone has a heart attack?

No, you learn CPR so you can help someone when they have a heart attack.

I want you to learn mental CPR – the ability to relax, perform under pressure, focus, and stay motivated, so you can use it when you need it.

It amazes me how most people practice under low-pressure situations, and then wonder why they break-down in competition.

The more you can relax when the pressure’s on, the better you will perform. The more you can focus when there are many distractions, the better your results.

Learn it, then use it.

Here’s part of your training…

Just sit for two minutes observing the rising and falling of your abdomen. Don’t force it, just let it rise and fall naturally. If thoughts arise, just accept them, and let them go. If you hear sounds, be aware of them and let them go.

Practice this technique and then you can use it anytime you are nervous, anxious, negative or scared. It brings you back to where the power is – the present moment.

Keep visiting this blog to continue your certification.

Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #928 TO DO LIST…

Please put this on your To Do List today…

“Be so happy that when others look at you they become happy too.”

The best way to be happy is to make someone else happy.

The best way to be motivated is to motivate someone else.

So it goes both ways.

The quote above is from my teabag this morning, but there’s something that the teabag failed to mention.

It’s difficult to make yourself feel happy.

But you can act happy.

Smile. Act like the happiest person in the whole world. Then, after a while, you will feel happy.

Remember, it’s easier to act yourself into a way of feeling than it is to feel yourself into a way of acting.

This applies to sports, sales or school.

Give it a try.

I’m sure the New Orleans Saints were nervous before last night’s Super Bowl, but they sure didn’t look nervous.

Even when they went for it on 4th down early in the game and didn’t convert, I knew that they were going all-out and playing to win. And as a by-product, they were pleased with the result.

Congrats to the Saints and the city of New Orleans.

MESSAGE #927 A SUPER BOWL PREDICTION…

Well, today is the day. The Super Bowl. The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. All eyes will be on this event. The Who will be performing during the half-time show, and the average 30-second advertisement will cost over US $3 million.

This is the biggest game of the year for both teams, but who will win?

My prediction is:

The winner of the Super Bowl will be…

The team that plays better.

Let me explain – the best team doesn’t win, the team that plays best wins. Does the fastest horse always win the race?

Of course not.

Nothing matters except what happens today.

If there are any Saints or Colts reading this before the game, here’s how you can increase your chances of winning.

1. Go all out.
2. Focus on the process (effort, strategy, attitude) instead of the product (winning).
3. Know that it’s not pressure, it’s perception.
4. Focus on the things you can control and forget about everything else.
5. Don’t try your best…do whatever it takes.

Good luck gentlemen.

Be safe all…