Emotions Make You Weak.
When I first wrote about this in my book RELENTLESS: From Good to Great to Unstoppable, I heard over and over about players who play with enormous emotion, with great results. Correct. They play with ONE emotion. But when a player allows multiple emotions to mess with his head, he has no chance to stay […]
THE BROKEN CHAIN: When Great Athletes Can’t Stay Healthy
When you’re one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, people tend to notice when you have the worst game of your career. That was Peyton Manning’s Sunday: Interceptions, sacks, fumbles…benched. Hard to watch, said the broadcasters and fans, this is not the Peyton Manning we know. The end is near. Over the hill, slowed […]
THE 20 GAME TEST: The Difference Between Good and “Good Enough”
Every season starts 0-0, like a pair of binoculars gazing into the future, clear and bright. Everyone worked out with the best trainer, had the best workouts, lost 15 lbs, added 20 lbs of muscle, felt better than they ever have, had the best training camp. Everyone loves the new offense. The team really came […]
Are you a Cooler, Closer, or Cleaner?
If you read my book RELENTLESS: From Good to Great to Unstoppable, you already know I categorize everyone into one of three categories: Coolers, Closers, and Cleaners. In my work with elite athletes, I have to know whom I’m dealing with, their mental strengths and weaknesses, how far I can push them, how far they’re […]
The Power of Failure
Everyone fails at some point. The question is whether is shuts you down, or drives you forward. In this brief excerpt from my just-released interview with InsideQuest.com, we talk about how failure can be the most powerful tool in your arsenal, if you use it correctly. Hope you’ll take a minute to watch. You can […]
Five Things a Real Competitor Never Says
It’s only one game. It’s only the preseason. It’s only practice. It’s only a mistake. It’s only an idea. That small word–‘only’–changes everything. Same for the word ‘just’: It was just one donut, just one missed workout, just one drink. It’s just a job. To me it all translates into: This isn’t that important, and […]
The Most Common Injury in Sports
I wrote about this a year ago, during an epidemic of NBA ankle sprains. Now, only one week into the NFL season, we’ve already seen double-digit lower leg injuries—calves, ankles, Achilles tendons, I’m not even including knees and feet here—that will cost big players some big time. Let’s be honest, very few people go into […]
The PHDs: Be Careful Who You Trust
“Fall guys?” Here’s my definition: The guys who cause your career to fall. For every star athlete, they are a reality; I call them the PHDs. Why? I wrote about this in my book RELENTLESS: ————————————————————————————————————– Some years ago I worked with a star athlete who had one of the most legendary entourages in the history […]
Confidence is silent. Don’t say it if you can’t back it up.
When you tell everyone you’re the best, just be prepared: That statement comes with consequences. Because even if you only said it to kick yourself in the ass and elevate your own game, you definitely just elevated your opponent’s game. So you’d better be able to take your performance to the next level, because if […]
Is your trainer getting you results, or just getting you tired?
You know this image: Star athlete works out in front of the cameras, trainer sends it all over social media so you get to see 15 seconds of video and some photos showing him training like a psycho beast. You don’t know what he did the rest of the time, but for those few moment, […]
