MESSAGE #916 WHAT ARE YOU DOING BEFORE BED??

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“Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours.”
-Swedish proverb

I normally sleep pretty well. My routine is to meditate and visualize as soon as I get into bed at night. I take some deep breaths, cultivate gratitude and reflect on my day. I then visualize the things that didn’t go so well and imagine that they went perfectly. I also create positive images for the next day’s events. As a result, I wake up ready to go.

Recently, I made the mistake of watching the news right before bed. They were showing footage in Haiti, and talking about violent crimes in the tri-state area.

Well guess what?

I actually had some bad dreams that night. Coincidence?

I think not.

I once taught a little girl about nine years old and during her first lesson, she kept saying, “I can’t.”

Well, she didn’t.

I pretty quickly said, the rule on my court is that you are not allowed to use the word “can’t.”

She had to stop herself a couple times, but then she started saying, “I can!” with a smile.

She ended up playing exponentially better. She even started walking more confidently.

We, as coaches, players, students, parents, teachers and friends, need to be our own inner coaches, not our own inner critics.

Homework: Tonight, before bed, instead of just crashing or watching the evening news, read a motivational book, do a little meditation, or just visualize that you are already the person you want to be.

Your mind is a powerful thing – feed it properly.

MESSAGE #915 FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING…

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Nikki White in Oklahoma City.

“The reason sport is attractive to many of the general public is that it’s filled with reversals. What you think may happen doesn’t happen. A champion is beaten, an unknown becomes a champion.”
-ROGER BANNISTER

The year after Roger Bannister broke the previously thought physically impossible four-minute mile, 37 runners also ran a sub-four minute mile. A year after that, three hundred runners did the same.

There are no limits. Anything is possible. Does the fastest horse always win the race?

For the first time, the New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl.

For the first time, there are two quarterfinalists in the Australian Open from China.

And this is just in the past couple of days!

Michelangelo said that the problem is not that we set our sights too high and we don’t reach them, it’s that we set our sights too low and we DO reach them.

If you have a growth mindset and focus on constant improvement, the sky is the limit.

Shoot for the moon. If you miss, at least you will be among the stars.

See you in orbit…

MESSAGE #914 WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T LAUGH…

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Ed Tseng and high school tennis player, Kevin Roveda demonstrate a laughing meditation. At first they were faking their laughter, but then they started actually laughing. Even the camera woman was crying from laughter.

If you want to feel a certain way, start faking it and you will soon start feeling it.

Video blog: https://www.edtseng.com

MESSAGE #913 THE KEY TO SUCCESS…

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“It’s better to do a little a lot than a lot a little.”
-ROB GILBERT, Ph.D., and author of “Good to Great Golf” and “How to Have Fun Without Failing Out.”

What’s better…

Practicing 6 hours 1 day or 1 hour for 6 days?

Studying 6 hours on Sunday night or 1 hour every night?

Making sales calls 6 hours on 1 day or 1 hour for 5 days?

Inch by inch it’s a cinch…yard by yard it might be hard.

Homework: Do a little bit today.

MESSAGE #912 AN EXCERPT …

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From “Game. Set. Life.” page 52…

“It is in our times of decision that our destiny is shaped.”
-ANTHONY ROBBINS

Remember this formula:

E+R=O

Event + Response = Outcome

You create your destiny.

You cannot control the events in your life, but you can control your reaction to them. And that will determine your future.

Homework: Before you react to something today, count to ten in your head. This will help you to be more mindful of how you are affecting your future, and creating your destiny.

MESSAGE #911 CLICK IT FOR SUCCESS…

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“The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.”
-BRIAN TRACY

I recently worked with a high level athlete who used to get negative when competing. He used to yell and throw his racquet. This did not enable him to perform at a high level.

So I came up with a technique called “Click it.”

Many of us have iPods with our playlists and songs. Well, what do we do when we don’t like a song? We “click it” and change to a different song or playlist.

Sports are the same way, if we find ourselves getting negative, we need to “click it” and immediately change to a positive thought or mindset. Focus on your target, strategy and effort. When you do this, your mind cannot think about all that negative stuff.

We choose what we focus on, so next time you find yourself in a negative state, just CLICK IT!

MESSAGE #910 IT’S NOT MAGIC…

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“We are all capable of infinitely more than we believe.”
-DAVID BLAINE, magician

The great David Blaine once stood atop an 80 foot pole for over 30 hours and then proceeded to jump off into a pile of cardboard boxes.

How did he do it?

He practiced at twenty feet. Then at forty feet. And finally at eighty.

When he performed the stunt, he imagined that he was jumping off and landing on air mattresses (which is what he did when he was training).

Why did he do it?

Because he had a fear of heights and wanted to overcome it.

That’s mental cross-training at its best.

What can you do today to put yourself into an uncomfortable position so you can be more COMFORTABLE and perform at a higher level?

The only way out is through.


Thanks for reading.

MESSAGE #909 A MESSAGE FROM NAPOLEON HILL…

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“There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.”
-NAPOLEON HILL

What do you want out of life?

What do you want to be known for at the end of your life?

How badly do you want it?

Do you want to be a great tennis player? Chef? Salesperson? Artist?

All of your efforts should go towards making that happen. I see too many people go from one thing to the next and they are just spinning their wheels.

1. Figure out what you want.
2. Plan out specific steps to get there.
3. Take action.
4. Make adjustments if necessary.
5. Persist.

Oh, and I forgot, don’t try your best…

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES.

MESSAGE #908 BETTER LATE THAN NEVER…

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As you know, yesterday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

I read an amazing quote by the nonviolent activist on my friend Adnan Shamsi’s Facebook status. But I had already posted the day’s message. So today I am sharing it with you; better late than never, right?

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

In martial arts, when you are pushed, PULL and when you are pulled, PUSH.

If your opponent makes bad line calls, should you make bad line calls back?

If your teammates make fun of you, should you make fun of them back?

If someone cuts you off on the road, should you speed up and cut them off?

Of course not, but that happens all the time.

If someone does something bad to you, and you do something bad back, doesn’t that make you just as bad as them?

MESSAGE #907 I LOVE MONDAYS!

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“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.”
-ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER

Most people hate Mondays. It’s the start of the work week. The weekend is over.

I love Mondays. I teach quite a bit on Saturdays and Sundays, so by the time Monday rolls around, I have free time to catch up on things.

It’s all perspective.

When you’re competing in sports, do you always want to give your opponent the same perspective?

Does a pitcher always want to throw fastballs?

Of course not.

A smart pitcher will have a good change-up and curve ball in their repertoire.

My challenge to you is to look at things from others’ perspectives. Your opponents, your coach, your boss, your co-worker, your peers, your family members, your romantic partner.

When you do this, you see things differently, you learn new ways to do things and you are less likely to be on autopilot. Oh, and you will get better results.

Here’s an exercise you can do.

Crawl around on all fours like a baby, or a dog. Notice how everything looks different. It’s not right or wrong, it’s just different.

We tend to get mindless in our actions and our thinking. If we can stop and look at things from other points of view, our world changes and it becomes a new game, a game where there are no limits.