Greatness comes from the ability to sustain passion over a long period of time toward the same goal.
If you’re alive, you’re competing with someone. Even if you don’t consider yourself a competitive person, you want something that other people want. Maybe it’s a job, a place on the team, a part in a play, or something as basic as attention or affection. In this case, what is the quality that will make […]
People say that few things inspire more fear than the prospect of speaking in public. The joke is that the fear of public speaking is greater than the the fear of death, so at a funeral many people would rather be the dead person than the one giving the eulogy. Given all that, how do […]
An old sports writer friend once told a story about Moe Berg, a one-of-a-kind ballplayer who read 10 newspapers a day and happened to be an atomic spy for the United States. Berg was a mediocre batter, but he did speak seven languages, prompting Dave Harris, an outfielder for the Washington Senators, to say, “Yeah, […]
Over the weekend I had the chance to hear a talk by sports psychologist Dr. Gloria Balague. Among her remarks was a look at successful coaches and how they were shaped by their childhood experiences. Dr. Balague said that when these successful were young: * Their youth coaches were passionate about sport. * Their coaches […]
Anyone who knows how to walk has gone through the steps of mastery: See a skill, try it, fail at it, try it again with adjustments, and repeat the process until successful. That’s how people learn to walk, talk or play the violin. Trouble comes from the third step: fail. People don’t seem to mind […]
Yesterday we spoke about attitudes. Winners have a winning attitude. But what exactly does that mean? Years ago, Dr. Ron Gilbert, a sports psychology professor at Montclair State University in northern New Jersey, invited me to attend his classes. His message on Day One tells you all you need to know about becoming a winner. […]
You know the old saying, “You’re known by the company you keep.” It’s only partially true. What’s closer to the truth is: “You’re DEFINED by the company you keep.” There is another saying: “You are the average of the five people with whom you spend the most time.” For instance, if you hang around a […]
At the coaching camp we’re attending in New Hampshire, the instructors begin with a fun little game: Who came the farthest distance be to here? The game ended quickly when a young woman raised her hand and said, “Japan.” It turns out that there also is a woman here from Frankfurt, Germany. And a man […]