I had a couple students competing in a tournament today. They didn’t do as well as they wanted or expected. They have another day tomorrow… how will they respond?


This is all that matters as we attempt to reach that next level. There will always be some type of roadblock that appears in our path – sometimes many, sometimes often. How will we react?

These students only have two choices:

99% or 1%!

Quit? Battle?

Period.

I was talking to a friend, Christine, about her business and how strong it’s becoming, when she told me it was all due to the success vortex. “Tell me more,” I instantly urged. Any explanation with the word success in it always peaks my attention.

The Success Vortex: A cyclone of positive momentum.

She owns a relatively small business, which is highly dependent on her passion and work ethic. The time she puts in will directly affect her outcome. Being the owner of the company means every ounce of pressure to succeed balances squarely on her shoulders, not allowing her to coast for a second. There was a time in the past, she explained, where she took her business for granted, not working as hard as she could have, eventually crushing her bottom line.

She woke up one morning and made a conscious decision, telling herself, “This is it! I’m sick of sitting on my butt and watching all of my hard work go down the drain. I’m going to take this company to new levels, starting this minute.” She proceeded to get on the computer and email every single client, promising a new passionate dedication to each of them. This step, alone, launched her into a different place… not only for her business, but her clients as well. They immediately felt her passion and witnessed her actions, resulting in a new growth of passion for their own companies.

… And the Success Vortex began!

Not only did it create a cycle of passion and new found dedication for her clients, but it also had an instantaneous affect on everyone else she touched. Her husband felt it at home, ironically making his business stronger. They spent hours talking about her new craving for success, and how it could possibly affect every part of their lives. He was hooked! As he got sucked in to the “Vortex”, he felt a need to grow his own business to new heights – as if her new, successful attitude was contagious… IT‘S DEFINITELY CONTAGIOUS! Her friends also felt the affects of this excitement that was now living in her. Unfortunately, not all of them wanted to join the “fun,” which made them slowly disappear out of her life.

When she made the decision to grow, the unknown consequence of this action would be the loss of many close to her who couldn’t, or simply didn’t want to follow the same path. You see, when the Success Vortex starts spinning, it only grabs ahold of those who want to join. Sometimes, the repercussion can be devastating for those who would rather “stay the course,” and never move forward… luckily (or unluckily), these people are surrounded with 99% of others who think the same. They won’t be alone for long.

Very often, this powerful force that engulfs us can be intimidating, making many fear it’s results. As with the example above, it can mean losing friends who don’t share the same appetite for growth. Life’s not meant to be lived in the same place! Nothing on Earth stops growing… when it does, it dies. Every living thing evolves, changes, grows. Humans, unfortunately, have found a way to stand still, not needing to climb in order to survive. This has resulted in a shared mindset that believes it’s o.k. (almost expected) to stay in the same place. Human beings have learned to live in a “state of stuck.”

Christine once lived in this state of thinking, but after witnessing the effects of such mediocrity, made a powerful and conscious decision that enough was enough! Today, her business is growing faster and stronger than she could’ve ever imagined. Her “new friends” are passionate and focused, only concentrating on the possibilities of what will be.

… And the Vortex continues.

Dear You,

Let me introduce myself – my name is Pain!

I come in many different shapes, sizes, tastes, and visuals. I don’t need to explain how powerful I am because you already know. You probably cringe at the simple mention of my name, which unknowingly to you, allows me to dominate your world. Most of you spend every waking moment running from me; hiding behind corners, hoping I won’t find you… but as always, I do.

Mental Pain, emotional Pain, physical Pain, past Pain, Pain from worrying about future Pain… pick your poison, it doesn’t matter – I’m always somewhere in your day.

What you don’t realize, though, is that most of my power comes from the energy you spend trying to avoid me. The more time you invest worrying about how NOT to feel me, the more powerful I become. Every minute you take out of your day running from me, the stronger my hold becomes – the tighter my grip feels, both mentally and physically. Thank goodness you don’t understand this important fact, because if you did, I’d be rendered useless. If you knew how much power you actually have in the face of me, Pain, your life would instantly change. Eventually, your worries of me would vanish, leaving you with all the strength. Until that day, I’ll keep showing my face, hoping you never get it.

My strength comes in numbers. The more who fear me, the heavier I become on your minds, creating a negative cycle, difficult to change. You see, I rely on you NOT caring enough about becoming strong, positive, and confident… because if you did, I wouldn’t have the staying-power. I’d come-and-go like a prick from a needle. My hope is that you’ll tell another you how difficult it is to accomplish your goals due to all the Pain you feel. This will eventually start a “pity party” amongst you, creating another cycle of pain, cementing my hold on your future.

Why do I write to you? Maybe to taunt, maybe to educate and dare you to change… you choose. Your answer will dictate your next move.

Today was “Torture Day” for one of my students, where I put him into numerous “failure situations,” watching how he would respond. I purposely took him through drills where the percentages were extremely low to have the results he wanted.

Because the frustration level becomes so intense, this type of day accomplishes a few things:

• Makes him focus his attention on the process – everything that’s under his control… rather than the immediate outcome.
• Forces him to evaluate his true passion for the sport and his long term goals.
• Makes him feel short term pain, testing his mental and emotional toughness in this moment.
• Causes him to choose between quitting or competing.
• Creates a mindset (if he chooses to compete) that’s incredibly strong, eventually becoming unflappable.
• Helps him realize the short term misery will eventually lead to long term success.

His automatic, almost instinctive reaction, was to complain about the drills… “I never find myself in these situations… so why practice them?” I don’t mind the complaining in the short term, as it’s totally normal and expected the first time he experiences these drills. The most important thing is his improved mindset by the end of the session.

Torture Day is my favorite, because it formulates a crystal clear picture of who really wants to step up to the next level. Saying you’re passionate doesn’t come close to proving how hungry you are with your actions. By the end of today’s session, he took a leap closer to joining the 1% who do more than just talk-the-talk. He proved he was willing to stop complaining about the difficulties and poor results, and begin focusing on a stronger, more professional mindset.

During your own “Torture Day(s),” are you constantly whining about how difficult It is… or have you decided that no matter what stands in your way, you WILL compete? When you “fail,” do you quit… or do you look for a new and improved way to achieve? When “it’s not fair,” are you feeling sorry for yourself, hoping others will too… or can you look in the mirror with confidence and pride, knowing you absolutely will find a way?

How close are you to joining the elite group of people who ‘get it?’ If you’re on your way, I applaud your efforts, because I know how difficult it is to keep walking those everyday steps. If you haven’t made a conscious decision to break away from the average… what will it take?

99 or 1?


You choose!

Too many talk… not enough do. Life doesn’t wait for us to “make our move,” so if we snooze, we will definitely lose.

If we take our time, hoping to make everything perfect first… our time will fade – it’ll slowly disappear into the darkness of our fears and doubts. When we see that opening, take it! Take it now with unwavering faith that it’s what we’re supposed to do. Make up our mind that it’s what we should be doing… what we’re meant to do.

• “I’d make that change, but that would mean I’d have to….”
• “I’d really love to… but that means I’d need…”
• “Achieving that would result in having to stop doing… and begin doing…”

What will it take to finally get off the couch and make It happen? No one can make you find the drive and passion… it’s all on you. No one can pick you up when you trip over the unseen bump in your path… it’s all on you. Only you can bust open the door that just slammed in your face. They always say, “When one door closes, another one opens.” I hate that saying. I’d prefer to take my right foot and destroy that door into a thousand little splinters before looking for “another door!”

“She said it will be too hard for me, so I have to be realistic… I probably won’t make it.”


“It’s not really bothering me, but if I was good enough, wouldn’t people be on my side?”


(With slumped shoulders) “Whatever… I’ll just do what I can.”


(My all time favorite) “I know I can’t. Why try?”

There’s nothing sadder than a defeated mindset, especially when it comes from someone who’s worked so hard for her goal. It’s easy to say we “want” something… action in the face of adversity will always be the key to whether we achieve that something or not.

This is why I talk so much to my students about the 99% / 1% rule: 99% talk… only 1% do something about it!

We’ll only reach the 1% if we’re willing to do what most won’t… and that’s simply about getting up, brushing off our pain, embarrassment, disappointment, or whatever else is keeping us from our next level. Everyone “fails,” but only 1% embrace that failure, understanding it’s the biggest key to success we have. 99% view failure as the END… 1% see failure as an opportunity to find a better way.

So… to the defeated mind above: You only have two options:
1)Quit.
2)Punch back with unwavering belief in yourself.

99 or 1?

Result: To spring, arise, or proceed as a consequence of actions.

Improve: To increase in value, excellence, etc; become better.

Look at these two words and their definitions. We all instinctively focus on needing that result at the end of the day, but “improvement” is what we should be really striving for. Look again at both definitions – increasing in value; becoming better is what it’s all about in the long run, whether we’re trying to become healthier, grow our business, or reach higher athletic grounds.

Results come directly from the actions we take that are IMPROVING OUR PERFORMANCE, and should be looked at as something that can’t be controlled. Whether we’re achieving the results we desire or not, our only focus should be the improvement of self. If we concentrate on the actions that will advance our execution, the outcome will take care of itself, and most likely be what we want in the long run.

Focusing on results is instinctive, and difficult to change (especially in our results-oriented society), but switching this mindset is absolutely critical if we want to attain our goals. To those who are trying to lose (X) amount of weight, stay away from the scale longer than you normally would, and use that attention to focus on your needed daily actions. I understand the importance of monitoring your progress through this specific journey, but the scale will always reflect your committed daily decisions and actions… make those your focal point!

To you athletes: It’s not, and never will be about the winning or losing! I repeat that statement at least 50 times every single day. You’re not playing to win, but instead to improve, compete, and love the personal battle that’s taking place within. If you truly want to win every time, that’s very easy to accomplish… simply play opponents way below your skill level… you’ll never lose again! You won’t do that, though. You know how bored you’d be if you only played against opponents who you knew you could beat.

Results are inevitable in life, but the important question we should be asking ourselves: “How do we attain the desired results without thinking about attaining the desired results?”


Yee-haw (did I just say that??)… what a fun question to try and answer. There are many techniques to accomplish such an answer, but the one that has always resonated with me the strongest…

Love to improve!

This topic has been discussed with me at least 10 times this week, mostly from parents about their kids who are attempting to “take their game to the next level.” As parents, their instincts scream safety and careful for their children’s future… even though they’re supporting their long term goals and motivations.

“Have a backup plan… just in case.”