Archive: Success

What’s New with PerformanceXtra?

February 10, 2014

As many of you know, my work with athletes and teams through PerformanceXtra has been a part-time venture for the last couple of years, but as of January 2014 this has changed. PerformanceXtra is now my sole focus and mission, and I’m excited for the challenge. Originally, I started this business for two reasons: 1. […]

4 Things to Consider When Facing a Superior Opponent

February 4, 2014

There are times in competition in which we face opponents who are better than we are. They may have a better record than us or perhaps they have more achievements. Regardless, that’s not nearly as important as how we react to the challenge of facing this opponent. In this type of matchup, our mental attitude […]

Choose to be in Control

January 30, 2014

In order to be successful in life and in sports, there are two important concepts to understand and adopt: Choice and Control. What we think and how we react is our choice. What we choose to focus on should be things that are under our control. There are times in life when these concepts get […]

Isn’t Being Mentally Tough Hard? Yes!

January 27, 2014

Let’s face it – being mentally tough in competition is difficult and one of the reasons for that are the many apparent contradictions as to what to do and what to focus on in a given moment. There are no black and white answers that tell you to focus on just this one thing or […]

A Basic Framework for Winning in 4 Steps

January 22, 2014

Have you ever seen the Marshmallow Test? If not, check it out on YouTube as it’s quite humorous. The object of the test is to gauge how well children can delay gratification in the presence of temptation. It has been shown that those who can delay gratification are typically more successful in life than […]

4 Steps to Succeeding in Critical Moments

January 19, 2014

There are moments or situations in all sports that are crucial to deciding the outcome. In tennis, it might be a tie-breaker or a 10 point tie-breaker in lieu of a 3rd set. In football, it’s the two minute drill. Every sport has at least one, and to be the best competitor you can be, […]

The 5 Parts of Your Competitive Self

December 1, 2013

All 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 […]

9 Things To Put In Your Calendar To Drive Maximum Energy

August 18, 2013

Yesterday, 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 […]

The 1 Book You Need To Read To Be A Better Competitor

August 11, 2013

Whenever 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. […]

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. […]

The Success Formula at Work

June 23, 2013

A 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 […]

Mental Toughness and Respect

June 11, 2013

Several 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 […]

Mental Toughness and Being More Positive

May 25, 2013

One 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 […]

Success and Consistency

May 18, 2013

When 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 […]

Mental Toughness and Playing to Win

May 8, 2013

Have 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 […]

Sign Up & Receive Tips On How To Be Mentally Tough

Blog Categories

Archives