The Mindset Of A Champion Blog

You might not know this, but I have a lot of ‘fans’ who follow my squash exploits – not because they are squash fanatics or addicts, but because they are either champions themselves or are seeking greater awareness of their own Exponential Potential. Many of them send me stuff like the video below which keeps me pumped, passionate and pushing myself…

Before you go ahead and watch the video below, I just wanted to thank you for all the support, love and encouragement you’ve shown me in the past week while I was competing at the 2009 World Masters Games. I will be blogging about several other distinctions and insights on this and my other blogs over the next few weeks – it really has been a surreal experience. One that even surpassed my own expectations by a long shot.

Every time I stepped on the court, I felt you there with me – that meant I played harder and better. I highly recommend that you compete in sports and when you do, that you involve others to be there with you -physically or in spirit. It makes a difference.

Anthony Robbins calls it leverage and I totally agree – however not in the sense of getting you to do something you otherwise wouldn’t do, but for successful people who are already at a good, great or excellent level – to stretch their sphere of influence to become the best they can become. The person they knew they always could become.

Once again thank you and here’s a video that was sent to me by Bruce Hildebrand of Balance and Control Pilates in Melbourne… Enjoy!

It all comes down to the last game… All the hard fought matches and games, all the training, lessons, routines and drills. When it’s all said and done – you have to enjoy it because losing the Bronze in 3 very close matches would otherwise be a heartbreaker. All 3 games were won by the slimmest point spread of 2 – These World Masters Games were the first to have PAR-11 scoring.

Don’t worry, I’m not heartbroken – the first match was 10-12, the second 15-13 and the last one 11-9. On the day, I couldn’t overcome bad referees (not biased, just terrible calls that totally upset the match momentum – for BOTH players, not just me). It simply amazes me that people who PLAY can’t REFEREE. But that’s a discussion for another day.

The lesson is quite simple for today – sometimes there is ‘no reason’, no in-depth analysis required – it could have gone either way – there can’t be less of a gap in points than there were in these 3.

I am proud to have played each game full-on and accept that I didn’t lose and my opponent won.

I do know however that within the next year, the situation will be COMPLETELY DIFFERENT – I will be MILES AHEAD of where I am not and heading into ‘uncharted’ territory…

I know without a doubt I have the talent, skills and ability within me to completely re-think my game and my ranking and aim for the Top 10.

That’s what I take out of this competition – a top 20 ranking and the absolute conviction that the Top 10 is within reach – WITHIN ONE YEAR – not 3 or 4 as I had previously expected.

So yes, be disappointed for me because I wanted a medal, but trust me that this realisation is even more valuable to me than a medal.

This means I have something else to aim for way beyond my own previous expectations!

The only consolation is seeing a friend lose today – for the same reason – it could have gone either way – it went the other guy’s way.

That’s sport.

That’s life.

That’s the Mindset Of A Champion.

What can I say? It all started with a nail biter I lost 10-12. I felt confident I could win this match. The next game went my way with an 11-8 win that wasn’t decisive, but it was a solid game. The next game was all over the place, he took it 9-11, once again only a few points separating us. At this point, I’m thinking it’s still going to plan even though I am down 2-1 in games. All the preparation, planning and routines are still going to pay dividends.

The fourth game was another good effort, yielding an 11-7 win for me.

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Well it happened again – I was up 2 games and then lost the next 2. But now I know what’s going on. I am in-between several improvements in my training and when I play to win, I win and when I let up and play not to lose I actually don’t win… It’s a very slight nuance, but one that today became crystal clear, in hindsight. So, you want to know what happened in game 5?

I came out with all 8 cylinders and double barrels loaded – got up 5-0 and took the game 11-6 – with total power, pace and intensity that was firewalking, over-the-top full-on domination.

I felt good to finally figure this out. Of course in hindsight it’s always 20-20…

I suspected this was happening, but because I didn’t feel or think (self-talk) I was doing this, it was hard to pin point.

Throughout this competition I’ve felt confident, strong and in control – in the past I didn’t have this match confidence due to lack of experience. I’ve played less than 10 competitive matches in total, so to get to world-class competition this quickly means there are going to be gaps to fill.

More match play will fill this gap as will targeted training sessions once this competition is over.

Lessons of the day that I can share publicly are:

Once you ‘decide’ to win, something changes in your physiology, body chemistry and of course mindset. Sure this sounds self-evident, but anyone who’s competed and punched above his or her weight understands this pivotal shift.

I just hadn’t realised I had dialled it down one notch since my self-talk hadn’t changed – I wasn’t saying or thinking different things even though my body was.

The scores in this match were 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 4-11 and 11-6. The third game was the one I should and could have put away, losing it by 2 points – that’s the lesson I’ve learned – to trust my instincts and abilities to red line it when it counts.

The other lesson was the preparation for today’s match – I did a few things to make sure I was ‘ready’ – in doing so, I noticed others who were also doing likewise – until today I had never even thought they would be there…

It’s confidential because at the top levels, everyone’s trying to get and keep the edge so I can’t divulge who and what they were doing because I wouldn’t want them doing that to me.

That’s the other lesson I learned today – the camaraderie is quite something. I’ve said it before how positive an environment it is with world-class competitors who are fit and healthy…

I obviously highly recommend it to anyone who’s feeling alone, left out or otherwise excluded. Any sport or group activity that is competitive will attract this positive and supportive environmental factor…

So that’s it for today – tomorrow’s match is another challenge – one that I look forward to.

Wish me luck!

You might not know her if you’re not a squash addict, but Sarah Fitzgerald is a phenomenon in women’s squash… I got to referee her match following mine. How cool is that? Who would have guessed? She is the epitome of a legend as you would expect – she has the pace and power of a man and the elegance, touch and precision of a woman which is why she is the ultimate female squash player we’ve seen in ‘our generation’. Plus she plays for fun and makes every game entertaining as she dominates her opponents with respect.

This is one of the many benefits of the lifestyle I have – if you want to be in and around legends, you just need to play YOUR GAME at the highest level – organise your life accordingly. Get better professional and business results so you can afford the time ‘off’ to do something like this.

There are 28,292 competitors 8,563 from overseas and 19,729 compete in 25 sports, in 5,574 separate events. Making this the largest multi-sport event in the world, dwarfing the Olympics.

If you want to start living a lifestyle like this, you need financial and physical independence to be able to afford travelling AND taking the time off ‘work’…

Check out our Exponential Programs to get you on your way to world-class results – be it in sport, leisure, music or other pursuits…

I know you want me to get to the point so I will – The first game was scrappy, I didn’t have my range or accuracy of shots. Yesterday’s match yielded 25% winners and a low percentage of unforced errors. The first game today was the exact opposite. My signature shots that were up yesterday were down in the tin today. But if I lifted my game a notch, the accuracy should come back – so I told myself. I lost the first game 4-11.

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I know you’re on pins and needles, so I’ll get right to it. I arrived VERY early for a friend’s match that was scheduled before mine… Seriously – the first match started with a lot of nervous energy that is symptomatic of the first and early morning matches. I won it 11-9 which is a little deceptive since I had a comfortable lead throughout the game. I came out with a plan and stuck to it, I was just a little nervous which is normal. I knew I would settle into my rhythm.

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