Category: Blogs

In my last blog, I covered the career and mindset of tennis legend Andy Murray.

Since the Australian Open is still happening, I thought it would also be great to understand what we can learn from perhaps the greatest tennis player of all time, Serena Williams.

Serena Williams’ records are absolutely incredible and is one for the ages.  She has won a total of 23 Grand Slams and going for a 24th Grand Slam at the Australian Open.  The record is currently held by Australia’s own Margaret Court.

Serena has been completely unrivaled throughout her career by just completely dominating the tour.  Perhaps, her older sister Venus comes the closest to a rival.

When we break down Serena’s game, it appears that she is just a naturally gifted athlete and tennis player who is stronger than the rest of the women on the tour.  Yet, nothing can be further from the truth.  Yes, she has all the tools with hardly any weaknesses.  Yet, Serena trains vigorously and harder than anyone else on tour.

Thus, the first attribute we can take away from Serena is to:

1. Train harder than anyone else.  A direct quote from Serena states, “there’s obviously days that I don’t feel like training.  But, there is no day that goes by that I feel like losing”.  Serena was asked about being lucky and stated, “luck has nothing to do with it because I spent many hours, on the court working for my one moment in time”.
2. There’s always something you have to give up for success.  Everything comes at a cost.  Are you willing to pay for it?  To me, success is very simple.  It is following a recipe.  Yet, I know that I need to spend my time developing myself and adding value to others.  That means know that I cannot watch Netflix for 10 hours/day.
3. Always love yourself and do not be concerned with others.  Serena is very conscious ensuring she is continuing to work on self love.  She also does not follow what is being talked or written about her.  It is very crucial for us to love and accept ourselves fully to master achievement and live a fulfilling life.
4. We are allowed to make mistakes once in a while.  Even though Serena is perhaps the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time), even she is human.  Sometimes her competitive fire gets the best of her.  Serena believes to accept and learn from them, so we can become better on and off the court.
5. Lastly when the mast is on the line, remain calm under pressure.  Why does Serena, Michael Jordan, and Tom Brady deliver in the clutch better than anyone else?  It is that they remain cool, calm, and relaxed.  All of them feel that all the work and preparation have gotten them ready for this moment.  They know it is their time to shine.

 

 

The tennis world was saddened by the announcement that this would be Andy’s last year on the tour. In this blog, I talk about the great career that Andy had on the tour and what he accomplished and how he persevered. Andy is a role model for excellence in which we can all learn from and apply Andy’s principles in our lives.

I am always reminded of a quote from Anthony Robbins where he says, “When it seems impossible, when it seems like nothing is going to work, you’re only a few millimeters away from making it happen.” I truly believe that Andy Murray has applied this quote throughout his professional tennis career.

So, what can we learn from Andy Murray? How can we apply perseverance in our everyday lives?

LESSON 1: Remember that everyone faces their own challenges

For a start, having the right mindset goes a long way. Anything worthwhile is not easy, otherwise everyone would already be doing it. It is through these challenges that we are given opportunities to grow and learn. Often success of athletes like Andy Murray seems to look easy, but the reality is we don’t always see the behind the scenes work that it takes to get to the level of an elite athlete and the sacrifices that need to be made.

In the case of us regular people that are not elite athletes, sometimes these setbacks may present themselves as being passed over for that job promotion or getting unexpected news from the doctor. It can be experiencing bumps in the road in our relationships or not getting accepted into that program that we applied to. These challenges can and will happen at every stage of our lives and a big part of what makes people successful is their ability to face these challenges and setbacks head on.

LESSON 2: Keep going and outwork the self-doubts

You’ll notice that every time Andy Murray faced a professional setback his response was to get back up again and keep going. After his first trip to the Wimbledon final and that heartbreaking loss, he didn’t let it discourage him. He got back to the practice courts, looked at what he could improve upon, and continued pushing forward to get better. Even in the earlier phases of his career when he began to have doubts about whether he’d fulfill his potential of winning major titles, he quieted those worries by putting in the necessary work to get closer to his goal.

This is an excellent lesson in the power of momentum. When you are faced with any type of problem and get discouraged, if you simply think about what steps you can take to improve your situation you will make great strides in changing your circumstances. For example, if you lose your job and are out of the workforce for a period while searching for a new position, you may get discouraged and start to believe the worst- that you’ll never be hired anywhere. Instead of hyper-focusing on that extreme scenario (which is not productive) instead, focus your efforts on the small actions that you can take to find a job- networking, updating your resume, up skilling and taking additional courses. You will eventually dig your way out of that hole and find your footing.

LESSON 3: Find a mentor

When Andy Murray hired Ivan Lendl to coach him, it changed the trajectory of Murray’s tennis career. Ivan Lendl understood what it was like to fall short in grand slam finals before breaking through to win one. He was the perfect role model for Murray because he had been where Murray was before and held his own roadmap of how to win championships. As a result of hiring Lendl and gaining those unique insights, Murray was able to win an Olympic gold medal as well as his first two major titles within the span of a year.

Just like Andy Murray, we can hire or find role models for ourselves. If you have a goal, one of the best ways you can achieve that goal is to find a role model who has already done what you want to do. An acquaintance of mine can personally attest to this strategy with his own story. He was interested in breaking into real estate in his home country of Canada and while working in construction he had the courage to approach a well-established real estate mogul to teach him the ropes. Because of this mentorship, this acquaintance has built up his own real estate business and is a multi-millionaire with a beautiful lake house in British Columbia and other properties in the Vancouver area.

But even if you can’t connect with someone directly in your field, you can find mentors in other places as well. Biographies, books, internet content all contains stories of people doing the exact things and accomplishing many of the same goals that you have. Be inspired by their stories and gain the confidence that you can do it to. This applies to all areas; relationships, health, and even spirituality.

LESSON 4: The past doesn’t equal the future

Andy Murray more than anyone understands that the past doesn’t equal the future. He was a tennis prodigy, but this didn’t automatically mean success on the men’s tour. As he got further along in his career he repeatedly lost in grand slam finals- but this past failure did not keep him from achieving future grand slam wins. Murray did not allow past failures to dictate his optimism of the future.

Murray met Federer in the final of the 2012 Olympics to decide the Gold Medal. This rematch against the opponent he lost to in his first Wimbledon finals appearance was billed to be a revenge mission- but Murray didn’t see it that way. He played his own game and the results came. Murray didn’t dwell on past results. He went in with a clean slate, new tactics, and new strategies.

The important lesson to remember here is that learning from the past is different than dwelling on it. It is extremely important to learn and grow from our failures, and just as important to know we can write a new future. In the same way that we cannot sit on our laurels and expect the past will deliver future wins. We must be diligent about ensuring we progress.

 

Watch the video below of Andy Murray:

I wanted to talk about something that we must all develop in order to have sustainable success in all areas of our lives.

That trait is perseverance.  Perseverance is defined in dictionary.com as an activity that is maintained in spite of the difficulties or delay in achieving success.    In other words, we need to keep working.  We need to trust the process, and we need to make adjustments until we achieve our desired outcome.

Right now, I am studying the mindset of tennis champion Andy Murray.  One thing that has made Andy a Wimbledon Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, and #1 player in the world for 2016 is perseverance.

For Andy, it did not happen overnight.  Andy had to go through many heartbreaking losses in big tournament finals and watch his peers Nadal and Djokovic achieve his desired results faster.  However, Andy trusted the process and kept going to work.  As a result, he is a hero among Great Britain and many kids all over the world.  He is a great role model to youngsters because he kept going despite all the bumps along the road.

So how do we persevere like Andy Murray and other great successes that are around us?

Here are some attributes that persevering people do:

1. Know your goals. Consistently review your goals and make sure they are worth pursuing.
2. Reward and celebrate along the way.  What gets rewarded, gets repeated.  We need to celebrate each step.  That will keep us going even when we do not have the desired outcome yet.
3. Stop worrying.  Make sure we stay in the moment.  Mark Twain once said, “I’ve suffered a great many catastrophes in my life.  Most of them never happened”.
4. Avoid distractions and stay on your path.  Ease up on the technology.  Stop indulging in social media and other useless activities.  Block out some specific time that you will check social media, texts, and other tasks that get you away for a moment.
5. Anticipate down the road.  By preparing yourself for the next step, you avoid complacency.
6. Keep asking the right questions.  Better questions get you better answers to achieve your goal.  It also shifts your focus as well.
7. Just keep going.  Having faith in the process will always pay off.  As my mentor and coach Stefan James says, “Trust the Process”.
8. Always remember past wins and accomplishments.  When you feel it is not attainable, remember those times and moments you were able to achieve your outcome.  Also, remember you are here now at this place and this time.  You are a human being on earth.  You have already won.

All of us want to make and have our day to be outstanding.  We all want to get the most out of each day and be productive.

Listed are some methods to get your day off to a fast start.

1. Get up early:  When I mean get up early, get up bright and early.  Be competitive.  Be the first one  to get up and beat everyone else.
2. Spend some quality time by yourself
3. Meditate
4. Journal if you have one.
5. If you have a morning ritual, do it.  If not, create one
6. If you work out, do so.  Go to the gym and work out.
7. Get to work early too.
8. Get the stuff that you dislike done first.  For example, get the most fearful things out of the way first.  You need to make that dreaded phone call, make it early.  By doing this, you set yourself up for a productive and happy day for the rest of it.  You also gain great momentum to accomplish your goals.

 

 

 

I want to discuss the acronym that I heard many years ago from Tony Robbins that he adopted from a gentleman named Dr. Edward Deming.  Dr. Deming went to Japan during post World War II where the country was at rock bottom with very little resources.  You couldn’t even make a phone then.  Dr. Deming, an American, implemented a practice to restore Japan as a country and its economic structure.  The word that was used is “kaizen”  which means “good change” or “progress and improvement”.

Dr. Deming convinced the Japanese that quality was the foremost in manufacturing and business.

As a result of implementing the word kaizen, the economy and reputation of Japan grew drastically.  Companies such as Sony, Mitsubishi, Honda, and Toyota evolved and helped Japan become an economic super power in the world.

May decades later, great life coach Tony Robbins applied the same principles that we can use similar to the Japanese.  The word that Tony created is called, “CANI”.  CANI means Constant And Never ending Improvement.  CANI gives us the ability to look for ways we can constantly grow, progress, and improve in any area of our lives.  The areas can consist of business, health, emotions, relationships, etc.  We are either growing or dying.  We are either going up or we are going down.  There is no constant in life.

In Gary Ryan Blair’s 100 Day Challenge, he covers the importance and significance of freedom that we need and strive for in our lives.  Gary states, “The opportunity to enjoy and continually expand your personal freedom is what distinguishes high and low achievers”.

Here are Gary’s ten essential frameworks of freedom:

1. Idealistic Human Freedom: Become the person you want to be.  Aim to make the world a better place and express passion beliefs.
2. Time Freedom: Increase quality and quantity of free time, which is a byproduct of achieving and working efficiently.
3. Energy Freedom: We can cut loose the energy drainers in our lives and we can be free to be the best of ourselves.  We free up the best abilities and meet new and inspiring people.
4. Strategy Freedom: Allows us to be more proactive.  We can achieve more with less effort and greater enjoyment.
5. Relationship Freedom: There are no more knuckleheads.  We get to choose who we have relationships with.  We have a much more settled life and can no longer make excuses.
6. Money Freedom: Doing what we love will make us the most money.  We will be true to our ideals and follow our passion and make more money.
7. Focus Freedom: Focus our attention and our abilities on what is truly important in life.
8. Value Freedom: We can add more value.  We will be more successful by increasing our value to more and more people.
9. Success Freedom: We make it possible the creation of adding extraordinary and unique value for others.
10. Future Freedom: Imagine a bigger future and create a great legacy.  We have the freedom to imagine a great future.

What are your top three freedoms from this list that you want to pursue?

 

In this blog, I wanted to talk about the one difference in people.

What makes someone who is always constantly growing in every area of their life while others are stagnant?  What makes one who has a successful business while others are just getting by barely?

The answer is one word, and that word is hunger.  What kept Walt Disney going after being turned down by over 300 banks for a loan to build a theme park?  How is a 6th round draft choice in the NFL Draft turn out to be one of the great Quarter Backs to have played the game of American football (Tom Brady)?  It is because they are hungry, resilient, and willing to do the things that others are not willing to do.  They make the necessary sacrifices, while others would just give up.

Great leaders, teachers, and coaches can teach you anything you want to know.  What they cannot give you is hunger.  A great motivator cannot give you drive, at least not sustainable drive.

Trust me, I know what it is like not to have the drive and not to want it bad enough.  I failed in many instances, where I know if I was hungrier, I would have succeeded.

Some people were born with hunger and drive.  However, that is not the case in most circumstances.  Michael Jordan’s hunger came from being cut from his High School basketball team.  Most of us develop that hunger to be successful in any area of their life by saying, “I’ve had enough!” or “That’s it, no more!”.  There is always a failure or something that puts us over the edge.  As a result, that is why failure is a great thing at times.  Times of failure is when we ponder.

Hunger will lead to fulfillment.  Hunger will elevate you to get you to the next level in your life.

Here is some ways that you can start to develop a desire, drive, and hunger.  Remember though, no one can give you hunger and no one can give you drive.

1. What is your why:  If we do not have a why, we will not ever come close to starting anything that will improve the quality of our life.  We need to visualize what we want to see our future the way we want it to be, or better yet, what we must have it to be.  Spend quality time to write down your whys.  Once that is completed, review them on a daily basis.
2. Get around people who are hungry.  It is said that we are the average of five people we spend the most time with according to Jim Rohn.  Do not spend time with people who complain and bring you down.  Get some hungry friends.
3. Create consequences for not meeting your weekly goals.  We need to create massive pain to not making the call and not following through.  Give money to charity or better yet, donate to a cause that you do not support.
4. Change your state.  Changing your state can mean changing your focus, changing your language, or changing your physiology.  Changing your physiology is the fastest way to change your state.  Move your body more rapidly.  Speak faster and stronger.  Stand up straight.  Changing your physiology alone will elevate your confidence level and drive to follow through.
5. Get an accountability buddy.  This is the most important thing on the list.  If you do not do the other four, do this.  If you are going to take your life to the next level and sustain your hunger, get an accountability buddy.  An accountability buddy can mean hiring a coach or someone to partner with to hold each other accountable.  Meet at least one per week to review your goals, wins, accomplishments, and areas that need improvement.  Also share what did not go well.  Create some consequences with each other as mentioned in step 3.  It is important you get someone that cares about you and is looking out for your best interests.  Please note though that this person cannot be family, a close friend, or someone you are in a relationship with.  This person needs to be outside of that realm that will not have any conflict of interests.

 

In this video, I talk about on what we focus on, creates our reality and state.  The famous saying is “where focus goes, energy flows”.

One of the things that I have been doing in the morning is shifting my focus during my commute.  In the past, I usually would open up my facebook or twitter and scroll through the news feeds.  I would also check out the news as well.  I began to notice that I was feeling down, depressed, and even tense.

Then I decided to go to Evernote to look at my goals and vision and then found myself feeling better and happier.  I felt that my esteem was much stronger as well.  I started to focus on what I needed to accomplish and how I was going to be able to get this done.  My state became much more positive and my physiology was much more resourceful where I became incredibly energized.

We will get more tired watching tv passively and feel a sense of low energy, especially if the tv program is not one of growth and self development.

What I now found myself doing is reviewing what my values, vision, purpose, and goals every morning to get myself off to a fast start and create momentum throughout the day.

I would love to hear your feedback and comments about focus and energy as well as what you focus on each and everyday and what are your rituals to make sure you are living your day to the fullest.

In this quick blog, I wanted to share a passage that I wrote a few years back. I came up with this talking about working and life. I sat down and came up with this quickly. It serves as a reminder to me what is most important in life.

Here it is:
We eat to live, not live to eat
We spend to live, not live to spend
We work to live, not live to work
We exercise to live, not live to exercise

 

I added to later:

We live to serve God

We live to serve each other

We live to love

I would love to hear your thoughts on this passage on what you agree, disagree, or would add to either side of the list.