Tag: mindset

Coach Wheeler’s Formula for Success

Coach Wheeler's Formula for SuccessThis article is a little different from the other ones on this blog. Different in a good way.  The topic of Success is probably more related to your career or life in general… and less “basketball specific”. I think you will find that  Coach Wheeler’s “Formula for Success” is in the vein of John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” that he taught his players at UCLA. If you want to “build a winning mindset”, you will definitely be interested in Coach Wheeler’s “Formula for Success”.

What kind of Formula for Success
are we talking about?

While Wheeler’s Formula for Success is primarily focused on business or career success, it can be applied in other ways. (I am hoping you will leave a comment after reading this article saying how you are going to apply the ideas in your life.) If you are looking for financial success, whether you have a job or a business, you will certainly find this “thinking framework” helpful.

Inspired by…

12 Rules for lifeThe top level concept, that your “volume & quality of work” determines your overall success, was inspired by Jordan B. Peterson. He is a clinical psychologist, tenured Professor at University of Toronto and, in general, a pretty smart guy from what I can tell. His knowledge of clinical psychology studies allows him to provide insights that many other “self-help” authors either miss or aren’t backing up with science. To paraphrase the success quote from him that inspired this article, “Success in life is predicted, primarily, by 2 traits: industriousness and intelligence.” (He also has a book out that is called “The 12 Rules for Life” which I have heard a lot about on podcasts so I am hoping to read it soon.)

First Layer of the Formula…

Coach Wheeler's Formula for SuccessThis probably won’t sound earth shattering but it should make immediate sense when you think about it. “The volume and quality of your work determines your [eventual] success in life.” Duh? Right?

If we stopped there, you probably would not get much out of this formula because that statement is common sense.  But if we go deeper, you should find more ideas that you can turn into actions which will lead you to more success in your chosen field.

Next Level…

As you can see in the diagram above, I am calling the “volume” side of the formula “Hard Work”. I think we can all agree that putting in more effort and time (the definition of “hard work”?), will result in more output and productivity. If you produce more, your results should (over time) lead to success.

What goes into “Hard Work”?

Hard Work - Formula for SuccessThe Formula for Success has 3 parameters under “Hard Work”. They are (1) Passion, (2) Health and (3) Consciences. Let’s look at each in more depth.

(HW-1) Passion. We all need motivation if we are going to put in the hard work that is needed for success. Developing the skills of self motivation will help you do the work that others (i.e. the competition) won’t. It will also help you go further than the competition as well. The reason it is such common wisdom to say “Live Your Passion” is because it is critical to enjoy the process of “work” … so you will do more than your competitors. Think about it this way, if you are motivated by a passion for your work… is it really HARD work? Probably not.  On the other hand, will you be passionate about everything you need to do? No, but we will talk about that in the third element of Hard Work, Consciences.

(HW-2) Health. This should be self-evident and common sense, but if you don’t maintain your health, you won’t be able to produce as much as possible. Letting your health decline will reduce your energy and may even “take you out of the game.” Aside from all the diet guru’s who are giving you weight management advice, Health is actually pretty simple. The three key elements of Health are a) Food, b) Sleep and c) Play.

I use the word “Play” (instead of exercise) on purpose. If you approach exercise as drudgery, you won’t enjoy it and I have heard that the effectiveness will actually decrease. Choose an exercise that you can, on some level, enjoy. It will energize your mind while building up your physical capacity at the same time.

Do we really need to discuss Diet & Sleep? 8 hours of sleep is a good goal but you can tell what works for you. If I could recommend one change to your diet, I would ask you to drink more water (instead of calorie-filled & chemical-filled drinks). We all know that green veggies are your friend… and they will impact your health & work output. Think about it like this… imagine you get a raise at work for every time you have a meal with green vegetables. [It doesn’t really work like that, but isn’t it a neat way to convince yourself to eat better?]

(HW-3) Consciences. This is related to self-discipline as well as self-identity. Are you the type of person who does what needs to be done? Especially WHEN it needs to be done? Author Jocko Willink has a good quote (and book by the same name), “Discipline = Freedom“. This is the one area that you can make the most immediate impact … if you pay attention to your thoughts and take control of your habitual ways of thinking.

Power of Habit by Charles DuhiggI’m not talking about willpower.  Willpower is  a limited resource and it can “go away” when you are tired at the end of a long day or you have a dip in your motivation. Be sure to build as much of your “need to do” activities into habits and routines that you don’t have to think about. A good book for learning how to do this is “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg.

One more thing about Hard Work…

Before we look at the other side of the formula (Smarts), I should explain one particular part of the Hard Work diagram. Did you notice the words “Goya”, “Goya”, “Goya” where the connector lines lead into the Hard Work bubble? This is taken from a motivational speech by inspirational keynote speaker Croix Sather. GOYA is an acronym for “Get Off Your Ass”. In terms of Coach Wheeler’s formula for success, GOYA is a reminder that you need to TAKE ACTION and not just think about what you should be doing. This is also a great transition into the “Smarts” portion of Coach Wheeler’s Formula for Success… as we keep in mind that thinking alone won’t get you what you want!

Let’s Get Smart!

Smarts-Formula for SuccessThe second major component of Success is “Smarts” or “general intelligence”. Coach Wheeler breaks this down into 3 parts, (1) Knowledge, (2) Social Skills and (3) Problem Solving. Going back to Jordan B. Peterson, he has said that the studies show intelligence, as measured by IQ, is incredibly difficult to improve. On the other hand, Knowledge can continually be accumulated and you can gather facts or ideas that you can use across a wide variety of situations. Coach Wheeler also added Social Skills to his model for success and we will discuss how to build and leverage them more below.

(S-1) Knowledge. As we go through life, we pick up information that we can then apply to solving problems in the future. This increases the value of our output and increases our chances for success. As you learned above, IQ is tough to change but we can “look smart” by simply learning “the tricks” for success in a given situation. There are typically two ways that we learn… independent learning and structured learning.

Independent learning is when we take the initiative and learn on our own. Examples include watching instructional YouTube video or reading books. There is an amazing amount of information out there and we probably have more access to information now than at any other time in history thanks to the internet and search engines. Smart people continue to learn.

Structured learning would include traditional schooling or perhaps one-on-one coaching. One of my favorite sayings about school is “Math = Money”. This means that learning math in school will help you handle money (and grow your wealth) when you get out into the “real world”. Depending on the quality of your teachers, it might be easy to get bored or “zone out” in school. Stay focused and keep asking yourself questions that help you stay engaged. “How will I use this in my life?” is a good one to start.

(S-2) Social Skills. There are many different types of “Smarts” and your ability to work with, and influence, other people is a major consideration when determining the quality of your work. We are not saying that you should try to make everyone happy. Sometimes you need to create conflict to get what you want or solve the problem that you are presented.

Toastmasters - Public Speaking and LeadershipAnother way to look at social skills is your ability to communicate effectively. On top of that, your leadership skills figure into your eventual success. How do you improve these things? Join Toastmasters. They are a world-wide non-profit organization dedicate to helping their members improve their public speaking and leadership skills. Find a chapter near you by visiting their website… Toastmasters International.

(S-3) Problem Solving.  This is typically correlated to the people’s “inherited” qualities of IQ and creativity. Even though much of your qualities may be genetic, there is still a skill that can be developed. If you want more ideas on how to improve your Problem Solving, here is the first article in our series on the topic. To learn when we publish more Problem Solving articles, be sure to sign up for our email notification service (in the right column on this page).

It is a fair statment to say that the quality of your work output is generally tied directly to your ability to solve problems. Brain Power (i.e. IQ) is good to have, especially when you are tackling more complex problems but everyone can learn how to solve problems. If you are motivated and work hard at accumulating the knowledge you need to solve problems in your area of expertise, you will be successful. This is where I tell you that all the parts of Coach Wheeler’s Formula for Success work together to make you successful.  But you probably already figured that out, right?

Bottom Line…

Will Coach Wheeler’s Formula For Success work for you? Like they say “The program will work… if you work the program.” I don’t think there is anything too “out there” in this formula. It should be easy to understand… but what are you going to do with it? Can you “up your game” when it comes to Hard Work? What do you need to improve on the “Smarts” side of the Formula for Success? If you don’t change what you do, how can you expect different results? The choice is up to you. You can use the formula… or you can “go with the flow” and take whatever life gives you. Which do you think will turn out the best for you?

Downloadable Bonus !

Coach Wheeler's Formula for SuccessCongratulations! You have made it all the way to the end of this article. You deserve a reward for your efforts. (Hopefully the article was interesting and not exactly “hard work”.) Your bonus for making it this far is a downloadable copy of Coach Wheeler’s Formula for Success diagram. You are welcome to share it on social media and, ideally provide a link back to this article. Right-Click on the link below and “Save As” to get the downloadable PDF version!
SuccessFormula-download-CoachWheeler

 

Likely Interview Questions for Coaches

Coach Wheeler WinsIf you want to coach a varsity team or even a college team, it is inevitable that you will, at one time or another, find yourself in front of an interview committee. I have seen it become a common practice for selection committees to all sit around a conference table where they ask a prospective coach a pre-assembled list of interview questions. While there is often one or two questions that vary from school to school, there are also a number of interview questions that many schools use. Coaches who want to be hired should be prepared to answer these questions. Read them over (and the explanation that goes with each) so you are properly prepared the next time you interview for a coaching job.

(1) Describe your Strengths / Weaknesses?

This is very common for corporate jobs. It must be in an HR manual somewhere. So, how are you going to answer?Strengths should line up with the job description and be truthful. My opinion is that it is important to show the value of your strengths. This should be what separates you from the other coaches they are interviewing.

Weaknesses are a trickier subject. Presenting your “weaknesses” as a strength is probably an expected answer and, as such, is unlikely to set you apart from other candidates interviewing for the job. A better approach would be do some real soul-searching and present a real weakness… with the steps you are taking to become better.

(2)  Rules are broken … what are you going to do?

It is a common scenario for an interview question. “A player violates a rule right before “the big game”. What do you do? I’ve found that it is best to “stick to the rules”… while expressing your disappointment.

Another [often unwritten] part of this question is how would you prevent the situation from happening in the first place.  I try to emphasize the setting of clear expectations early in the season. This way players (and parents) know what will happen if rules are broken.

(3)  Describe your typical practice plan…

I have a general format that all my practices use (and it is TOP SECRET).  If you are an AD looking for a Head Basketball Coach,  contact me to schedule an interview and I will “spill my guts”. In an interview, if you can’t talk about how you plan your practices, the interview committee starts to question if you are really prepared to coach their team. It also doesn’t hurt to talk about how your practices change over the course of a season. (If you want to learn how I look at different parts of a basketball season, check out this article titled “4 Part Basketball Year”.)

(4)  X’s & O’s Questions…

This is usually posed by a former coach that is on the committee. They are looking to see what you know about the game and how you would approach certain game situations. It can also be a trap if your approach does not match what the former coach expects. As an up-and-coming coach, we know that a “non-traditional approach” can often be very effective, especially if it is unexpected by the competition. In an interview though,you need to convince the committee that you know what you are talking about. Examples where you used your approach successfully can help show that, while it might not match “traditional thinking”, it definitely can get the job done.

The other part of the X’s & O’s interview questions is to find out what you are bringing to the team. If your approach relies on a full stable of high quality athletes and the “pipeline is empty” for these types of athletes at this school, you may be hurting your chances of being hired. On the other hand, if you can show them how you make better players out of the ones already there, you have a chance.

(5) Why do you want this job?

Everyone has their own reason for applying. The key is that your answer needs to make sense in the context of your background.  If you have been an assistant for a while, it makes sense that you want to move up to the head coaching position and run your own program. Unless you are going for a college level coaching opening, you aren’t applying to coach for the money. I have my own reasons for applying for each job… and this is something that each coach has to think about for themselves. Be as truthful as possible. This is not the time to set of the B.S detectors for the interview committee because they want to know what motivates you. (And that it matches what they want to see from their new coach.)

Bottom Line…

Be prepared for all of these standard interview questions when you apply for a coaching position. Is this a complete list of interview questions? Of course not. What this list will do is get you thinking so that you can take your preparation one step higher. If you want to be good at coaching, you need to be good at interviews. Oh yeah, one more thing…

HERE IS A BONUS FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS READ ALL THE WAY DOWN TO HERE…
Questions for the interviewers…

At the end of almost every interview I’ve ever had, I have been given the opportunity to ask my own question(s). If you don’t have any questions, you were either not paying attention to the discussion during the interview or you have not put much thought into the information you need to evaluate whether or not this job is right for you. Here are some questions to get you started. Feel free to customize them to make them “your own”.

“Who will I be working with?”

This might be obvious based on who set up the interview and who is running it (e.g. the AD & Principal) but if there are any question about it, now is the time to ask. Another aspect of this is how they expect the communication process to be handled with parents of players. For a new coach who the parents are not comfortable approaching, they may take their complaints directly to the AD, Principal or even the school’s superintendent. As a coach, you want to head this off and address concerns before they become major issues.

“What are the key things that need to change [from the previous coach]?”  “What are their expectations for the new coach?”

The previous coach left for a reason. Was their job not re-offered? Or did they see the writing on the wall (few quality players in the pipeline) and figured it was a good time to “retire”.  As the new incoming coach, you might not get the full story (or they may decline to talk about it due to confidentiality reasons) but if you phrase it discreetly you may get some insights into what they want to see from their new coach. This gives you a chance to shine a light on how you are the best choice for the position.

“Since I, as the new coach, plan to raise the standards both on the court and off, how will this be supported by the school and parents?”

Some schools are happy just fielding a team and winning is not a priority. Maybe they are a “baseball school” or a “soccer school” and a winning basketball program is not a top priority. It is important that you, as the new coach, understand what support you will receive. It is likely that higher standards will not be appreciated, especially by the parents of players who do not meet those standards. Again, it is important to communicate with parents so they understand what you are trying to accomplish.

Are you looking for a coach that will build a competitive team? Or would you prefer someone who “keeps everyone [sort of] happy”? 

This is another form of the question above. It will help you gauge where the school sees it’s basketball program. In my experience, the idea of “keeping everyone happy” is a fool’s errand and unlikely to happen. Another way to look at it is this… players earn their playing time based on what the coaches see in practice. If they want more time, they should talk to their coaches and put in more effort.

Fundraising is an important part of many athletic programs. Can you describe what is done at your school in terms of fundraising for the basketball program?

The amount budgeted for the team compared to what will need to be picked up by parents or outside sponsors is also good to know. If you can bring some fundraising ideas or, better yet, can involve parents in the process, you will be one step ahead of some candidates.

The end of the interview…

Always try to leave on a high note. SMILE. Sometimes something as simple as a smile and a good handshake is enough. The last question and the last thing you say is what will stick in the memory of the interview committee. (Assuming you did not mess up big time in the rest of the interview.) Stay positive and, as much as possible, leave on an up-note… and they followup after an appropriate amount of time.

Will this list of interview questions guarantee success?

I hope these interview questions will help make you more successful. Of course, they won’t magically move you to the top of the list if the committee has already made up their mind. In that case, the interviews are often just a formality so the committee can check off a box that says they held interviews. What does that mean for you as the “odd man out”? It means you got a chance to practice your interviewing skills and will do even better at the next interview.  In basketball you don’t expect your players to hit 100% of their shots. Interviewing is a percentage game too. Hang in there and keep working to make your resume more attractive to potential employers. Do your preparation for every interview … and eventually the numbers will be in your favor! Good luck… unless I am interviewing for the same job. In that case, disregard everything in this article.  😉

 

The Problem with Problems – Why Problem Solving doesn’t work.

We all have problems. Problem Solving Series by Coach WheelerEveryone has problems. If you are alive, you have problems. They might be big, life-changing problems like a diagnosis of cancer or they could be minor inconveniences like a fly buzzing in your ear. That’s not why problem solving tactics don’t work. Problem solving is easier than you think, but I am getting ahead of myself.

The real problem with problems (and the way most people approach problem solving) is three-fold… and, as you will see, they are inter-related.

(1) Denial River. First, we are too often simply in denial of the problem. “I don’t have any problems” … as you buy the next bigger size of pants to fit your expanding midsection.

(2) Comfortable known vs Uncomfortable unknown. The problems we know are easier to accept compared to the great unknown that might exist if we tried to solve the problem. We get comfortable being sort of uncomfortable… we tell ourselves “it could be worse”. We don’t want to push through additional “discomfort”… so our “comfort zone” becomes a prison. A prison that we hold the key to unlock.

(3) Other people have problems. This is related to the denial we have about problems but it goes one step further. “I don’t have a problem. OTHER People have problems, but I don’t.” It is much easier to recognize other people’s problem than our own. We may be too close to them, in denial or just don’t want to face the work that would be required to fix them. It is so much easier to point out other people’s problems. The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence… but that’s just because that’s where your neighbor’s septic tank is leaking!

So, why am I writing a series about Problem Solving?

Especially when it is clear that most people won’t care enough to read it, much less apply the ideas to solve their problems?

I guess part of it is my own fascination with the topic. I see problem solving as a sort of puzzle. What follows are the tricks I’ve learned over the years to solve these puzzles.

Do I have problems?

Of course I do. As many, or maybe more, than most of you. My commitment, as part of writing this series of articles, is to use my own problems as examples that you might learn from. Ideally, I will solve some of my own problems in the process of thinking through all the steps I will be presenting. At least that is my hope.

The Process of Problem Solving

I have broken the process of Problem Solving into a series of skills or activities. They can tackle everything from the largest, most complex corporate problem at work to the daily nit-picking problems you have at home. As I add articles to the series, I will list them here and provide links. So depending on when you find this article, you may have additional links below. If there are no links or the series is not complete, sign up for our email notification service. Signup box is in the right column on every page of this blog. It is a simple two step process requiring a confirmation email.

Best Problem Solving process… Guaranteed.

My guarantee to you is that if you go through the whole problem solving process, you will find a solution. If you don’t, I will personally work with you. If we can’t solve your problem I will admit that I was beaten by your problem. Then we can see if my readers might offer suggestions that we missed. Got questions? Send Coach Wheeler an email via our Contact page.

 

10 Ideas to take James Altucher podcast to “Next Level”

Choose Yourself guide to WealthI have been listening to the James Altucher podcast for years and read a number of his books including “Choose Yourself” and am more than half way through “The Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth”. In his books, he preaches the gospel of becoming an “idea machine” to build the skill of coming up with ideas. In this post, I have taken his advice and (hopefully) have generated 10 ideas that he can use.

Here is a little more background on the 10 ideas…

In a recent podcast, James interviewed his podcast producer Steve Cohen (who also books his guests). Steve is an interesting guy with a boatload of contacts he has built up over years of booking guests for radio and TV shows. The conversation in the podcast with Steve eventually turned to how they can “take the podcast to the next level”. They didn’t go into a lot of detail.  I sensed that it is a topic they discuss quite a bit since they are both committed to making a great podcast and building up their audience. I also saw this as an opportunity to apply the “Idea Machine” skills I learned from James… to come up with 10 ideas FOR James (and Steve).

10 Ideas Disclaimer…

Here are 10 Ideas (with one bonus) but there is no guarantee that they are great (or even good) ideas. In fact, they are probably ideas that James and/or Steve have already considered. On the other hand… maybe one of the ideas presented here will help James double his audience! Or not… but let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Here are the 10 ideas (click on the image below to see it Full Size and right side up)…

10 Ideas to Take James Altucher's podcast to the Next Level

In case the image above does not look clear enough, here is a brief (text) synopsis of the 10 ideas.

(1) Auction off books signed by guests who are promoting their books. Since I heard that James reads most books on his Kindle, if he comes across a hard copy of the book, he may want to get rid of it and an eBay auction of a copy signed by both James and the author could provide additional promotion for the podcast.

(2) Create a sub-segment within the podcast called “Steve Cohen QuoteMaster” where Steve adds two or three quotes that apply to the topic being discussed with the guest. With Steve’s encyclopedic knowledge of quotes, he is probably more likely to pick up on any quotes the guests might offer and may be able to take it “to the Next Level”.

(3) Expand the Distribution of the Content. One way would be via a YouTube Channel. This would, eventually, require adding some more visually interesting aspects to the podcast but it could be worthwhile since YouTube is such a powerful search engine. Another way to expand distribution would be to re-purpose the content based on topic, sort of like Tim Ferris has done or Jerry Seinfeld did when he took his Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee show and edited it into “Shots” format.

(4) Create Tie-ins to… NYC events, SXSW (like Tim Ferriss), United Nations, Sports (relying on Steve’s sports knowledge), Financial / Wall Street.

(5) [Topic Specific] Panel Discussions. With an audio-only format, it is sometimes difficult to identify specific voices but James has a unique voice so this might be possible. It might work better on video.

(6)  Add Sound Effects. I learned from James that not all 10 ideas have to be good. This is one of my “throw-aways” but maybe it will spur ideas for someone else… someone who maybe has experience making old-tyme radio shows!

(7)  Serialized Content. If each podcast (in a series) were to end on a teaser or cliffhanger, it could increase the likelihood of listeners anticipating the next podcast. One thought on the current end-teasers… The audio clips are often very interesting but without the name of the guest, I don’t know which podcast to look for. Since podcasts are not necessarily listened upon release, it would help to identify who the guest is on the teaser clip.

(8)  Promote “Special Episodes”. For example, if someone like Richard Branson (a ‘big name”) or a Specific Topic (e.g. #me too) or even an Extra Long podcast is coming up, it could be worthwhile to do some paid promotion, press releases or even appearances on (NY based) TV shows.

(9)  Partner with… Starbucks, Book Publisher(s), Airlines, Trains, Sponsors, Car Manufacturers, Health Clubs. It is assumed that many podcasts are listened to while traveling so it might be worthwhile to even give away [cheap?] MP3 players with the JA podcast pre-loaded. If a new car has a hard drive, why not deliver it with all of James’ podcasts pre-loaded? Maybe gyms could loan MP3 players to patrons so they could listen while they work out too.

(10)  Take it On The Road. If you took the show on the road, it could tap into a whole new set of listeners and guests. Imagine if the show was recorded in Chicago? Paris? London? Maybe you could talk about meditation in India. The “adventure” could also be documented (for YouTube channel) to provide a glimpse into the life of a podcast. It could also show James interacting with the guests in new ways (“behind the scenes”). Maybe James does standup all around the world!

(bonus #11) Ask guests and listeners to recommend books or potential guests they would like to have on the podcast. With Steve’s networking skill and a recommendation from a listener, he may be able to get some amazing guests. Maybe even some that are a little “off the radar” of most podcasts.

Coach Wheeler’s reward for everyone who has read all 10 ideas…

If you have made it all the way to the end of this post… here is your reward. These 10 ideas are just one small part of Coach Wheeler’s series on the topic of Problem Solving (you can read more here). The series starts with a post titled “The Problem with Problems”. It continues on with articles on Idea Generation, Problem Solution Methods and much more. I hope you check it out. It would be great if you are able to solve one of your own problems or something that is challenging someone you know. To get an email notification when new articles are posted, just sign up for our email list. (See signup box in the right margin). It is a two-step process requiring you to confirm your signup. Simply click on the link in the email we send you right after you sign up.

The GRIND – Summer Basketball Edition

Time 2 GRINDSummer is when you can make huge improvements as a basketball player… especially if you grind. GRINDing is all about putting in the effort to get better.

Do you GRIND?

The GRIND is about overcoming obstacles. It is about staying motivated to execute your training plan. It is having a training plan in the first place. It is about the attitude that says “Nothing will stop me” and “I will do whatever needs to be done to achieve my goal(s)”.

Bottom line… if you are not part of TEAM GRIND, you will certainly lose to players who are out there grinding every day this summer.

How to start GRINDing

You might say to yourself… “I really like to be comfortable and kick back but I also want to accomplish great things so how do I become a grinder?” You probably recognize how important it is to put in the hours if you want to improve, but, honestly, there are some days when you REALLY don’t feel like it. What do I do?

(1) Imagine yourself as a GRINDER

Your self image determines the actions you will take and which ones you won’t. If you want to put in the effort, you need to see yourself as someone who GRINDS!

How do you change your self image? Here are some ideas…

GET THE T-Shirt. If you are wearing a t-shirt that proclaims you as someone who GRINDS, then people around you will see the shirt and expect you to put in the effort. Other people’s expectations (along with your own) can shape your self image so that you are more likely to build the characteristics of a GRINDER into your picture of who you are.

Use Your Words. The words we use when we talk to other people are important because they set the expectations other people then place on us. We need to be sure that we don’t put ourselves down by saying things like “I can’t GRIND like he can.”

These words, spoken to other people, are important but even more important are the words we use when we “talk to ourselves”. If you say the same statement to yourself, your subconscious mind accepts it as the truth and programs your self image to represent that “truth”. In other words, we hold ourselves back (or get better) by the words we use. Our subconscious mind and our self image (more about these in my article about Mental Management here), don’t care as much about what is “true” as much as what you believe is true, or what could be true.

What if we changed the statement to “I am not at the level of GRIND that he is YET but I am working on it.” Doesn’t that feel different? If you say it enough, you will begin to believe it. More about Affirmations here.

(2)  Make A Plan

If you lay out all the small steps that go into your long term plan for improvement, each one will be smaller and more likely to be accomplished. The truth is that the GRIND is about taking the one small step that is right in front of you. That’s the only thing you need to do. One step in front of the other. That’s how you run a marathon or become a lights-out shooter.

In addition, your plan will include milestones where you can start to see your progress. An example might be the first time you run a 5K (3.1 miles) without stopping to walk. Or it could be the first time you make 50% of your shots in a drill. Or 75%. Or 100%. You might not notice an improvement from one day to the next… but over a month or two, you will be able to look back on where you started and see how far you have come.

Your plan should also have a BHAG or Big Hairy Audacious Goal that is so BIG (and Hairy, whatever that means to you) that it will push you beyond your perceived limits. Want to dunk a basketball on the first day of tryouts next season? The time to GRIND is NOW! Do the workouts all Summer. Find new workouts to improve your vertical leap by searching YouTube.

(3) Partner up

If you can find someone with similar goals, you can help each other put in the work. There will be times when you won’t want to workout, but you can’t let down your team mate. This added accountability means that you will be less likely to miss a workout… and you will do the same for your team mate.

Don’t Let Me Down. Another way to boost your accountability is to announce your goals publicly. If your friends and team mates are anything like mine, they will constantly ask you how your plan to GRIND is coming… and maybe tease you a little bit if you don’t measure up. Go ahead and put your goals on Facebook. Or make an Instagram video explaining what you are going to do this summer.

Want to take it one step further?

Post a link to your Facebook “Declaration of GRIND” or Instagram video in the comment section below. Our readers (and Coach Wheeler) will definitely follow up to see how you are doing!

Summer will be over before you know it. Either you will get better or you will stay the same (which means you get worse compared to the competition who got better). Take control of your destiny and make a plan… and commit to the GRIND!

Will it be easy? Probably not.Will it be worth it? Definitely. Will you have to give up all the fun that happens in the Summer? Not necessarily. You can still go to the beach… and may go for a run before taking a dip in the cool water. You can still have fun while you GRIND. In fact, that is probably the best way to GRIND. Make it fun, involve others and at the end of the Summer you will be amazed by all the great experiences you have had as well as the improvements that will take your game to a whole new level for next season. Start the GRIND… now!

Affirmations for Athletes

Afffirmations 4 Athletes by Coach WheelerAffirmations are a powerful way for you, as an athlete, to overcome ways of thinking that are holding you back from becoming your best.  Society has programmed many “limiting beliefs” into your mind over your lifetime. If you have read my post about Mental Management, you will notice that affirmations are one way that you can use your Conscious Mind to program your Subconscious Mind and improve your Self Image.

You will also find that doing affirmations on a regular basis will improve your focus on positive outcomes or goals while pushing out thoughts about the obstacles / limiting factors / fear of the unknown you might be experiencing.

This article will define affirmations, show you how to build effective ones as well as provide some samples that you can use or adapt to your own situation.

What are affirmations?

Affirmations are statements that you write down and say on a regular basis, ideally every day, multiple times a day. Repetition is key. The more often you say the affirmation, the more likely it is to come true.

Affirmations Experience by Scott AdamsDon’t believe me?

It is good to be skeptical, especially when we are talking about changing how your brain is programmed. On the other hand, if there is something that will make your life better, don’t you deserve to learn about it? Here is the link to an article by the creator of the comic strip Dilbert, Scott Adams, that talks about why he thinks affirmations work. He also talks extensively about his experiences using affirmations in his book, “How to fail at almost everything and still win big“. Let’s assume that between what Coach Wheeler and Scott Adams have said, you want to learn more about how to use affirmations to improve your life.

How do I create effective affirmations?

The key to making affirmations that work is three-fold…

(1) Affirmations must be in the present tense. They might start with “I am…” They are built on the assumption that the goal or state of being that you desire is already happening. This is important since your mind will begin to believe whatever you say, especially if it is repeated enough. I am sure you have seen this happen to someone, maybe even yourself, where sticking to their story for so long that you believe it is true. Even if the person is delusional (i.e. disconnected from reality), their decision making is based on the “future reality” that they desire and believe. Because of this, their actions fall in line with that reality. The result? You create the reality that you believe.

(2) Don’t use negatives. Replace negative statements with something positive that overcomes the negative. For example, if you want to reduce the number of turnovers you commit in games, don’t use “I won’t turn over the ball.” Instead, focus on the positive condition that removes the negative, such as “I am an excellent passer.”

Belief comes from repetition(3) True or Not? A successful affirmation should represent what you want to be true, not necessarily what is already true. Some people have trouble imagining a different life where they enjoy an upgraded existence, especially if they are in the middle of some sort of crisis. When things are not going your way, that is exactly when you need to develop a vision for a better tomorrow. The easiest way to make that “better tomorrow” happen is to imagine how it will feel and consistently program your mind to believe it will happen. Affirmations are the perfect tool to use the power of words to start thinking differently about your situation. Once you think different, you will act different and things will change.

Sample Affirmations for Athletes:

Below are some examples that you can use or adapt to fit your own situation. These sample affirmations are geared toward somethings that athletes may find helpful. If you have additional ideas, please be sure to leave a comment below!

  • I make every open shot.
  • I control the game.
  • I make my team mates better.
  • I deliver the ball so my team mates can easily score.
  • I am in amazing shape and better conditioned than my competitors.
  • I am mentally tough. Nothing can stop me from achieving my goals.
  • I am a winner.
  • I constantly learn, grow and improve my game.
  • I perform well under pressure.
  • I am a good team mate.
  • I work hard and produce results. *
  • I can be trusted and never let down my team. *

* These last couple affirmations are more “character-related” (versus skill-related or outcome-oriented). For a downloadable Character Assessment Worksheet based on the work by Brett Ledbetter from “What Drives Winning”, check out the link to this article. [link coming soon]

Bottom Line:

Warning… Don’t compare your affirmations with what other people are doing. Your affirmations are specifically for YOU and YOU can be great! Don’t let anyone tell you that your aspirations and goals are “unrealistic”. Greatness, by definition, requires you go beyond ordinary to achieve the “extraordinary” !

This is what will happen as you start doing affirmations. You will begin to notice when you are in situations like the ones in your affirmations. This recognition along with the memory of what you have stated in your affirmation will move you toward achieving your affirmation. Will it happen immediately? Not likely… but it could. You might realize that you were closer to your affirmation than you imagined. If not now, when? In other words, how sure are you that it will it happen eventually? 100%. The sooner you start your affirmations, the sooner you will see results.

 

Motivational Humor

One of the areas that I want to improve in my coaching is in the area of “FUN”. Of course the game is fun and even a challenging practice can be a form of fun, but I want to improve my use of humor both as a way to improve the mood of the team and introduce some motivational ideas.  Here are some “Motivational Humor” ideas … let me know which one(s) you like the most!

Adapted from https://onelinefun.com/motivational/

  • When everything’s coming at you, you’re in the wrong lane and going the wrong way.
  • Improve your memory by doing unforgettable things.
  • The road to success is always under construction.
  • Failure is not falling down, it is not getting up again.
  • If you’re going through Hell, keep going.
  • Your life doesn’t get better by chance. It gets better by choice.
  • Sometimes the best helping hand you can give someone is a good, firm push.
  • Nothing is fool proof to a sufficiently talented fool.
  • Whenever someone calls me ugly, I get super sad and hug them, because I know how tough life is for the visually impaired.
  • Always stop before the game and take a moment of silence… for your competition.
  • Whatever you do always give 100 %. Unless you are donating blood.
  • Ok, what’s the latest possible date that I can still make something of my life?
  • Dream carefully, because dreams come true.
  • You’re not fat, you’re just… easier to see.
  • Books are just TV for smart people.
  • Birthday: The anniversary of the day God slapped you on the butt and said, “Okay Kid, go get in the game. Play hard, play fair, and don’t get too many penalty flags.”
  • Some people say “If you can’t beat them, join them”. I say “If you can’t beat them, beat them”, because they will be expecting you to join them, so you will have the element of surprise.
  • Warning: Dates in calendar are closer than they appear.
  • I’ve only been wrong once, and that’s when I thought I was wrong.
  • I got called pretty yesterday and it felt good! Actually, the full sentence was “You’re pretty annoying.” but I’m choosing to focus on the positive.
  • Imagine that you are in the forest where there is a tiger in front of you and they are about to eat you. What do you do? U stop imagining…
  • Life is like a shit sandwich. The more bread you have the less shit you have to eat.
  • You’re not sure – outrun and make sure.
  • The grass is always greener on the other side because its fertilized with bullshit.

The next ones are adapted / copied from http://www.funny-jokes-quotes-sayings.com/funny-inspirational-quotes.html

  • Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. – Mark Twain
  • It’s okay to look at the past and the future. Just don’t get caught staring. – Anonymous
  • Follow your dreams, except for the one where you’re naked in church.- Rev. David Ault
  • Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. – Napoleon Bonaparte
More Motivational Humor for athletes!

Here is one of my favorite (longer form) joke…
(from http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/got-to-be-a-pony-in-here-somewhere/)

The Pony Joke.

“The joke concerns twin boys of five or six. Worried that the boys had developed extreme personalities – one was a total pessimist, the other a total optimist – their parents took them to a psychiatrist.”

“First the psychiatrist treated the pessimist. Trying to brighten his outlook, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with brand-new toys. But instead of yelping with delight, the little boy burst into tears. ‘What’s the matter?’ the psychiatrist asked, baffled. ‘Don’t you want to play with any of the toys?’ ‘Yes,’ the little boy bawled, ‘but if I did I’d only break them.’”

“Next the psychiatrist treated the optimist. Trying to dampen his out look, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with horse manure. But instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, the optimist emitted just the yelp of delight the psychiatrist had been hoping to hear from his brother, the pessimist. Then he clambered to the top of the pile, dropped to his knees, and began gleefully digging out scoop after scoop with his bare hands. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ the psychiatrist asked, just as baffled by the optimist as he had been by the pessimist. ‘With all this manure,’ the little boy replied, beaming, ‘there must be a pony in here somewhere!’”

– excerpted from How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life by Peter Robinson

Got a couple seconds for a comment?

Did you enjoy this sampling of Motivational Humor for athletes? If so, please leave a comment below! Do you have something better, let us know in the comments below. Did you had eggs for breakfast?… tell us all about it in the comments below. [Can you tell that we are lonely and would like get some comments?] If you have read all the way to this part of the post… why not leave us a comment and tell us what you think!?!     :))

36 Questions Generate “Closeness”

What if there were a series of 36 questions, a structured conversation, that was designed to make two people feel closer to one another? Could that increased connection or trust between teammates translate to higher performance for the team on the court or field of play?

There are indeed 36 questions and they only take about 45 minutes to discuss—and they almost always make two people feel better about each other and want to see each other again, according to social psychology researcher Arthur Aron of the Interpersonal Relationships Lab at Stony Brook University in New York. Arthur published his results in “The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness” in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in 1997.

You can try these 36 questions with anyone, even a teammate. You could even try them on a date, but they’re not necessarily only applicable to fostering romantic closeness. You can also try them with people you already know — friends, family members, even long-term partners—to deepen your connection and feeling of closeness.

This is how it works…

Each person  should take a turn answering each question. The order is important since the questions are designed to build on each other. Here are 36 questions to generate closeness, in order:

1. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?

2. Would you like to be famous? In what way?

3. Before making a phone call, do you ever rehearse what you’re going to say? Why?

4. What would constitute a perfect day for you?

5. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

6. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you choose?

7. Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

8. Name three things you and I appear to have in common.

9. For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

10. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

11. Take four minutes and tell me your life story in as much detail as possible.

12. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one quality or ability, what would it be?

13. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?

14. Is there something that you’ve dreamt of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?

15. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

16. What do you value most in a friendship?

17. What is your most treasured memory?

18. What is your most terrible memory?

19. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?

20. What does friendship mean to you?

21. What roles do love and affection play in your life?

22. Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of each other. Share a total of five items each.

23. How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s?

24. How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?

25. Make three true “we” statements each. For example, “we are both in this room feeling…”

26. Complete this sentence “I wish I had someone with whom I could share…”

27. If you were going to become a close friend with me, please share what would be important for me to know.

28. Tell your partner what you like about them: be honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met.

29. Share an embarrassing moment in your life.

30. When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?

31. Tell your partner something that you like about them already.

32. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?

33. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?

34. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?

35. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?

36. Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen.

… and a few variations (from Psychology Today):

  • If you could choose the sex and physical appearance of your soon-to-be-born child, would you do it?
  • Would you be willing to have horrible nightmares for a year if you would be rewarded with extraordinary wealth?
  • While on a trip to another city, your spouse/lover meets and spends a night with an exciting stranger. Given that they will never meet again, and could never otherwise learn of the incident, would you want your partner to tell you about it?
36 questions for your team

Did you find this article interesting? How could you apply the 36 questions to your team? Would  you would them roll out over a few days? a few weeks? Perhaps as team-building exercise? What questions do you have about the questions? Please leave a comment below with y7our ideas or feedback!

Mental Management – Marksmanship, Basketball and Coaching

Below is an excerpt from The Red Circle, My Life in the navy seal sniper corps and how I trained America’s deadliest marksmen, by Brandon Webb. In this excerpt, Brandon Webb talks about Lanny Bassham’s Mental Management concept and how it relates to performance under pressure. After the excerpt are some ideas for applying the ideas to basketball.

The Red Circle by Brandon Webb
“Earlier I said that intellectual capacity was the first trait we look for in a sniper, that physical ability, as important as it is, is only 10 percent of the game. Of all the changes we made in the course, the one that felt most significant to me and that I was proudest of was our system for mental management.

When we first encountered the concept of mental management it was being taught exclusively to instructors as a way to help us coach and teach more effectively. In essense, it was all about where we as instructors focused a student’s attention

Say you’re doing batting practice with a kid and you notice he’s standing with his knees buckled in, shoulders misaligned, hands spread wide apart on the bat. Your impulse might be to start telling the kid everything he is doing wrong. If you focus his attention on all these wrong things, though, what you’re really doing is imprinting them  into the poor kid’s mind, with the result that they start becoming ingrained habits. If you say, “Hey, you’re flinching. Every time the ball comes at you, you’re flinching! Stop Flinching!” then what the hell’s that little kid thinking about? He’s thinking about flinching.

If instead you say, “Hey, put your hands closer together, like this, and look: feet apart.” Then you’re showing him what to do rather than focusing his attention on what not to do.

A beginner typically starts out very focused on everything that’s going on. He’ll tend to absorb whatever is thrown at him. He is, in other words, highly programmable. The question is, as an instructor, what are you going to feed that rapt attention: bad habits or good habits?

This translated directly to instruction on the sniper course. In the old days instructors would bark at us for everything we did wrong. “Stop! You’re putting your finger on the trigger wrong! When you pull the trigger, you’re flinching! You’re jerking the barrel! You’re fucking up!” Suddenly we’d be thinking, Holy shit, there’re twenty things I’m doing wrong! Instead, we learned we could give a student three positive commands, three things he could do to correct those errors, and now he’d be developing good habits from day 1.

I have to admit, I was not completely on board with the whole concept of mental management when I first bumped into it, and I had to overcome my own skepticism. Shortly after Eric and I checked into NSWC to start working with the basic sniper course, we and a handful of other instructors were brought out to Scottsdale, AZ for a one week course taught by a champion marksman named Lanny Bassham, one of the pioneers of mental management. I was pretty dubious. Mental Management? What, like some positive-thinking guru? Oh boy. “Great,” I said to Eric, “when is Tony Robbins gonna come in and blow smoke up our asses?”

My attitude didn’t last long. Bassham is such an amazing, down-to-earth guy – and what he taught us was nothing short of incredible.

“I wasn’t good at sports,” Lanny told us. “I was of this weak, goofy kid. My dad said, ‘Hang in there, we’re going to find something for you. Everyone has a talent.’ ”

Lanny found his talent when he got into competitive shooting. After college he joined the army and was assigned to their marksmanship unit, which is comprised  of the best match shooters in the world. By the time he went to shoot in the 1972 Olympics in Munich at the age of twenty-five, Lanny was famous the youngest world champion in the sport, and everyone expected him to shoot gold.

“I was on the bus with a bunch of competitors from different countries,” he said. “I heard some Russians in the seat behind me talking about how much pressure I must be under, with the entire reputation of the United States on my shoulders, and how they were glad they weren’t me – and they started getting in my head.”

By the time he stepped off the bus, Lanny was completely rattled. “I shot the worst match of my life,” he said. This being Lanny, the worst match of his life meant he came in second – but he was devastated. He came back to the States and visited with a handful of sports psychologists to see if he could understand what had happened to him, and they all said the same thing: “Hey it’s okay to be number two. Olympic silver is a great achievement, Lanny. You should be satisfied with that.”

Lanny said, “Screw that. I don’t think so!”

He spent the next few years interviewing dozens of gold-medal champions and recording all the specific traits he could identify in his interviews. They gave him an earful; you don’t get to be a gold medalist without doing an awful lot of self-examination and studying the best practices and key practice/performance tactics and strategies. Out of everything he heard, he found there were two specific traits they all shared in common.

First was complete and total confidence. Not arrogance or cockiness, but an absolute, unshakable confidence in their ability to perform regardless of adversity. Here’ how Lanny described this trait:

If I’m a champion tennis player, playing a championship game, it doesn’t matter if the strings start popping off, or my favorite racket breaks in the middle of the game. I’ll pick up a piece of plywood, tape it to a stick, and I’ll still beat you on the tennis court.

It’s an attitude that says, I will win no matter what. These people didn’t just want to win, they expected to win. When they went out to compete, they had already won in their minds.

We’ve all seen people who have the talent and skill to win, but at the last minute something goes wrong; their favorite bat breaks, or a golf swing misses, or something in their environment distracts them – the way Lanny was psyched out by the Russian taunts – and their game unravels. It didn’t unravel because the bat broke, Lanny was saying, or because the pitch went wild, or because of the other team’s taunt. It unraveled because it was vulnerable.

For champions that doesn’t happen. Their game is invulnerable. That’s the kind of confidence Lanny was talking about – and that was the kind of confidence we wanted to instill in our sniper course graduates.

The other trait was that they all did some kind of mental rehearsal- closing their eyes and practicing their winning game in their heads, over and over again.

Lanny told us about a navy pilot he met in the seventies name Captain Jack Sands. Captain Sands was shot down while serving in Vietnam and spent seven years in a prison camp in Hanoi, confined in isolation with no phyical activity. In order to preserve his sanity, he decided to practice his golf game. Of course, he couldn’t physically play golf – but the 5′ x 5′ cage he was in couldn’t prevent him from creating a course in his mind. In his imagination he evoked an image of a beautiful country club course, placed himself there, and let himself experience it all in great detail. He saw himself dressed in golfing clothes, smelled the trees and grass, and felt himself making each stroke as he played. Every day, for seven years, Captain Sands played a full eighteen holes in his mind while his body sat in his cage. He played it perfectly, never hooking slicing, or missing a single shot or putt. Hey, he was making it all up, right? Why not make it perfect?

Here was the amazing part. Before joining the navy, Captain Sands was an average weekend golfer, barely breaking 100. After he was finally released from his captivity and made his way home, he eventually got out onto a real grass-and-air golf course, and his first day out on the green he shot a stunning score of 74. He had taken more than 20 strokes off his game – without one laying a hand on a club. (By the way, some have claimed this story is an urban legen and there was no such person. It’s no urban legend: Lanny sat next to the guy on a seven-hour flight to a world championship match they attended together.)

The point, said Lanny, was that your reality is defined by your mind, not your external enironment. Jack Sand’s golf game changed so dramatically because that was how he had programmed his brain to see it.

Lanny went on to tell us about a national shooting championship he participated in. As part of his preparation, he had spent time mentally rehearsing the moment when he would be kneeling  there and suddenly realize, Holy shit, I’m about to shoot a perfect score.  What so often happens in a high-stakes situation like this? The realization that you are on a roll knocks you off balance. It’s that Uh oh, I’m so close, what if I screw up now? moment that can come with asking someone out on a first date, taking your driver’s test, asking for a raise, or doing anything risky and important in life. We’re not ready for this place of victory and don’t know how to react now that we are here – so we choke. Not Lanny. He’d rehearsed that moment so many times that it was now as familiar to him as coming home.

“When I hit that moment in that championship,” he said, “I recognized it like an old friend. Just like I’d done every time I’d rehearsed it. I took two deep breaths, said to myself, I’m shooting the next three shots perfectly, then took  my time. Boom. Boom. Boom.”

He shot a perfect score.

Lanny returned to the Olympics in 1976, and this time, using his mental management system, he took the Olympic gold. Over the following years he dominate the field, winning twenty-two world individual and team titles and setting four world records on top of the gold medal he took in Montreal.

With Winning In MindLanny incorporated what he’d learned into a whole mental management program, which he wrote about in his book, With Winning In Mind. His system became so popular that other coaches and athletes started having him come train them.

Mental Management to basketball

The obvious application is visualizing free throws but it could be used for nearly any part of the game. Late in the season, when the body gets worn out, how about taking some time to relax and visualize actions instead of running up and down the court?

As the state playoffs approach, wouldn’t the concept of Mental Management help your team perform better? Imagine what it will be like when you have a lead in the game and realize that you could actually win the championship? Or you face a challenge from the other team, maybe they make a couple of 3 point shots in a row… how are you going to respond? With confidence that you will overcome the challenge and emerge victorious? Why not?

Please post your thoughts on Mental Management for Basketball in the comments below. We would love to hear what you think or how you have applied these ideas!

Power of “Optional”

If you think about it… Basketball is “optional”, especially in middle school and high school. As far as I can tell, no one is ‘required’ to play basketball. Just like no one is ‘required’ to go to college or earn an above average living from a career they enjoy. Almost every great experience or achievement is ‘optional’.

We each get to choose what optional things we want in our life and what optional activities we are willing to put in to our life to get exceptional rewards! As I heard on the Pure Sweat podcast (paraphrasing a bit), “Winning is earned by what you do in the unseen hours.”

Great = Optional

As Jim Collins pointed out in his book, Good to Great, “Good is the enemy of Great.” The reason we have so few things that are great is because what we have is generally “good”. Most people are ready to settle for “good enough” and never discover that they could have achieved something great.

It is very simple. If you want to be great at anything, you have to do things that average people don’t do. You have to do the ‘optional things’. In basketball, if you want to be an all-state player, you need to work on your shot and your athletic ability (assuming those are areas that will make you successful). In school, the optional things could include an extra study session every night or finding a new way to study that is more effective.

Optional is not easy… or hard

Doing extra things, optional things, can be hard. It might involve working harder, getting up earlier than your competition and putting in longer hours. That might be hard… or not. You might actually find ways to enjoy the optional activities. Many athletes are proud of the hours they put in and it gives them a sense of confidence that they would not have otherwise.

Optional can be easy. Press the easy button.On the other hand, optional things could actually BE easy. Finding a new way of doing something can almost instantly take your performance to a new level.  Reading on your topic of interest, while perhaps mentally taxing, can be a physically relaxing activity that can give you an advantage over the competition.

Referring back to Jim Collin’s book, Good to Great, one of the counter-intuitive findings that he came up with, and documented with a number of stories in his book, is that it isn’t really harder to go for great than it is to settle for “good”. Are there some different activities? Sure. Do great teams do things different from good teams? Sure. But does it have to be harder? Definitely not.

Quick Mental Training Tip…

Whether something is easy or hard, good or bad… is your choice. You get to define the meaning of everything in your life. A person’s definition of ‘reality’ can be very subjective so why not choose the meaning that gives you the best results. If you want it to be easy, make it easy. If you want to challenge yourself with something hard, make it hard. You get to choose.

Bottom Line…

The optional effort is what makes you stand out. As I’ve said in another article, Hustle is a way to stand out… and Hustle is clearly ‘optional’. What other activities do you need to do to get what you want? By doing the ‘optional’, you are setting yourself from the pack, from the ‘average’ results and shooting for something better. How far are you willing to go? Your limits are just an illusion set up by other people. You can do more than you even imagine!