Blog
The 5 Parts of Your Competitive Self
December 1, 2013All great competitors have a keen sense of what their body state should be during competition so that they perform at top level. This means that they are in touch with how their muscles feel, what they’re thinking, what they’re feeling, etc. Their body state is in essence their body chemistry. Competitive situations alter body […]
read more9 Things To Put In Your Calendar To Drive Maximum Energy
August 18, 2013Yesterday, while I was driving to play a practice match with a friend of mine, I was listening to the latest audio CD from Success Magazine (part of my motivational training plan) which had an interview with Jonathan Roche of Breakthrough Health & Wellness. Jonathan’s path to wellness is inspiring and I recommend you visit his […]
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The 1 Book You Need To Read To Be A Better Competitor
August 11, 2013Whenever I talk to people about mental toughness, I make sure that I explain the distinction between an athlete and a competitor because the difference is huge when it comes to being successful in sports and life. Those who are solely athletes have great physical skills. They’re fast, strong and physically gifted in their sport. […]
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Preparation and Success
July 30, 2013“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” -Alexander Graham Bell Are you prepared to compete today? Have you done everything possible to get ready? If you answered yes to these questions, then you should feel confident going into your competition. However if you’re like most of us, your preparation could use some improvement. […]
read moreThe Success Formula at Work
June 23, 2013A couple of months ago, I posted a formula for success that the best teams and athletes use on a consistent basis in all areas of their competitive careers: Success = Optimism * (Persistence + Resilience) Recently, it occurred to me that we’ve seen some great examples of this in both the NHL and NBA […]
read moreMental Toughness and Respect
June 11, 2013Several weeks ago, I was playing in a league tennis match and was paired against a player who has a reputation for on-court shenanigans and creating controversy. When I realized who I was playing, I had a decision to make. What should my approach to this player be? Conventional wisdom tells us to be on-guard […]
read moreMental Toughness and Being More Positive
May 25, 2013One of the fundamental aspects of the PerformanceXtra program is to be more positive in competition, in your training and in your life in general as this has been proven to be a determinant for success. To most people, that sounds fairly logical. However, there is a lot of literature that misrepresents what being positive […]
read moreSuccess and Consistency
May 18, 2013When you hear the word consistency, what images come to mind? If you’re a tennis player, you’ll most likely imagine someone who never misses a shot. In basketball, it might be a player with a high free throw percentage. Whatever it is you imagine, it is only a very small part of what being consistent […]
read moreMental Toughness and Playing to Win
May 8, 2013Have you ever watched a game in which the team that was leading stopped playing to win in favor of protecting their lead? And what often happens in this situation? The team that is just protecting the lead ends up losing it. In football, we see this phenomenon with the “prevent” defense. In hockey and […]
read moreMental Toughness and Encouragement
April 29, 2013It’s amazing what a little encouragement can do for a competitor. I was standing in the locker room talking to a fellow player after a grueling match in the National 45 and over Clay Court Tennis Championships in Ft. Lauderdale last week. My body was exhausted. My shoulder was screaming in pain. And my next […]
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