First the celebration, then the explanation how I made it happen…

First and foremost, the territorial in-fighting between the various ‘organisations’ is killing the goodwill that MUST exist for a sport to flourish. Squash clubs won’t promote events at other clubs for fear of…. I haven’t figured this one out yet, but they don’t do it.

Instead of thinking exponentially, enabling, facilitating and enhancing their members’ experience, they hide and inhibit the growth of the sport that they need to grow.

Cutting their noses despite their faces.

I’ll give you an example. I just competed at the 2010 Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland only to find out it’s been held there every second year for the pat 10 years. I’ve been playing masters squash for the past 5 years and had never previously heard of it.

None of the masters players I know even knew the tournament existed, let alone that squash was included, not to mention it was now only staged in Queensland – How can that be?

But that’s not the only reason squash will remain sick as a sport rather than a thriving, vital  and growing sport. The multiple scoring systems are a nightmare for competitive players – especially when organisors don’t even know the scoring system until the day of the competition.

Can you believe that?!?!

What does it take to publish the $#%$% rules when you register? All it takes is a cut and paste of the rules which are sent to the printers WELL AHEAD of the event.

It’s not rocket science.

With 3 scoring systems, there are 3 completely different modes of play that are possible – limited training does not allow you to optimise for all 3.

Then of course there is the running of the events. When you have multiple age groups, each with different size draws as well as plate versus round robin formats, all running in parallel on multiple courts, the logistics are quite challenging – but there is a system to ensure things run smoothly.

It’s as simple as having a bulletin board with each court number at the top row with the next match indicated on the board AS WELL AS the following match, so each court has the next TWO MATCHES identified in chronological order. This permits all competitors to see when they are next up – based on the matches being played on THEIR COURT.

You’d think this is easy to follow – guess again. At the Pan Pacific Games, many games started 10 to 30 minutes early or late due to a total disregard for this fail safe system. Sadly, a competitor was caught off guard and actually lost a medal due to a late forfeit when her opponent used the late ruling against her.

I know this sounds like I’m whinging and I guess I am – it’s because it’s so disappointing to see us stuff this up when we can pull off the best Summer Olympics ever AND year after year have the Australian Tennis Open in Melbourne become the player’s favourite Grand Slam event.

We can do better – so why don’t we?

That’s the question for the day – I don’t have an answer because the problem is a complex political one. Until all the squash clubs and associations agree to agree and work together in a concerted effort, for the benefit of the sport – squash is a terminal patient on its deathbed.

There are fewer and fewer players and therefore less and less clubs. I can totally understand why. I am relatively new to the sport with less than 5 years of competitive experience and unless I was a diehard fan (addict), the negative experience of the Pan Pacific Masters Games would be enough to substantially reduce my enthusiasm, maybe even have me consider quit competitive play altogether.

There is nothing worse for an elite athlete to train for something and have the rug pulled from underneath him/her at the last minute. All that training is ‘lost’ for no good reason – of course the training will serve a purpose later on, but that’s not the point of competing.

You want to do your best EVERY TIME you show up. You invest the hours, make the sacrifices and spend the time and money – to get an outcome. One that is fair and that you feel you have some control over.

I really hope all this comes to a head and someone somewhere starts to change things because unless that happens, this is a train wreck on a collision course with the death of the sport as we know it.

I hope this blog post gets squash people thinking beyond themselves – tennis for example has had a lot of growing pains, but look where it is now.

A mature multi-million dollar “money sport”.

The same can happen for squash – but first and foremost it needs to grow up.

Sooner rather than later.

In case you want to know, I played well, finished 4^th in spite of the tournament’s challenges. I could have forced a forfeit and ended up with a Silver Medal when my opponent was late and I might have even ended up a Bronze medal when at 8-8 in the third game, I asked for a let on my way to a ball, was given a stroke that was totally wrong and I overruled it. Unfortunately, my good deed meant I lost the game and match 10-8.

Winning is VERY important to me, but not at all costs – when all is said and done, a medal sits at the bottom of a dark drawer whereas your spirit, integrity and self-worth is something you carry with you each and every day.

It should never become a burden!

David Palmer Squash Champion

Of course I jumped at this rare, one-time opportunity. The reason I’m blogging about it is because if you know anyone who’s an avid competitive squash player, this is a rare opportunity to spend time ON THE COURT with a WORLD CHAMPION… Send them this blog post link.

That’s it for today – stay tuned for some of the lessons I learn from David…

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.

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

So we’re back to another 5-set match, my third in a row following an opener that was a 4-setter… I had never been to this marathon territory before. As it turns out, I lost the last game 11-7 with a series of loose shots and strokes that were symptomatic of what I realised 10 to 15 minutes after the match.

Marathon matches makes muscles mushy.

The brain tried everything it knew to do, but the legs just weren’t in the game. Once again, it’s a subtle nuance that a competitive athlete knows only too well… I had never been to this point before in squash, but know the feeling from ice hockey that is a longer game than squash and requires a lot more endurance (The game is timed for 3 20-minute periods, but lasts over 2 hours, sometimes 3!).

I am sure I will see the symptoms of this in the video replay that I will analyse later, but I know because nothing else was really ‘wrong’ with what I did or didn’t do.

In the past, my game would break down and I would lose in 3. Now my game doesn’t break down, it just slips a little and that means the rallies and games are longer – a LOT longer!

In squash, it’s all about getting to the ball early to have the choice of shot and executing it well – when you get there even a fraction of a second late – the game shifts dramatically. When both opponents are equally tired it evens out, but in this match – my opponent was only playing his 3rd match and the first one was an ‘easy 3-setter’… That is a component of competition that many spectators don’t take into account – they just see the match on TV that is being played – not realising that the PREVIOUS match(es) do have an influence on today’s game…

This means a whole bunch of changes to my future training, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

Last year I was ranked +/-50 in the world. My goal/outcome/target for this year’s competition, only my second International championship (and only my fifth competion ever !) was to make the top 32 with next year’s goal to make the top 16.

As it stands now, I’m in the top 20 at position 17 or 18 depending on Thursday’s final match for the Bronze Medal…

That means that instead of playing in Division 1, I need to step up my training and start playing in the Open with the former professionals and coaches!

I have learned so many lessons that confirms that I can get way past the top 16 – maybe even reach the top 8 or 10…

I have my list of REASONS I didn’t win today’s match and why the other matches went to 5 sets… They will be ticked off as you’d expect…

Am I disappointed? Sure I wanted to win, but I didn’t know that the marathon effect was going to kick in – now that I know, I can and will plan for it next time. There are sure-fire strategies to deal with it… Those are well-guarded secrets that only my training partners and coach know!

But that was not my Next Best Step for this year.

That’s a hard concept to explain in sport and in business – for me this year, I had 3 or 4 things I needed to do (they’re secret because my competitors may be reading this public blog).

I did those things so that I would stop losing matches in 3 sets. To worry about 5-set matches when you win or lose in 3 is NOT your Next Best Step.

The other aspect is that you can’t do all the steps at once – UNLESS of course you’re a professional athlete. Since I am not a full-time professional athlete, choices have to be made.

The same is true in business – everyone wants a life(style) not just business or financial success at the cost of relationships, health and whatever you consider to be balance.

I am very happy with the choices I made in selecting and deploying my Next Best Steps – the outcome of a ‘top 20′ World ranking is quite honestly — Awesome!…

So the lesson for the day is simple – as you expand your circle of influence, new challenges will present themselves, introducing NEW Next Best Steps to take on your path to Unleashing Your Exponential Potential.

Just take your Next Best Step and let destiny guide you… Onward and upward!

Don’t forget to wish me luck on Thursday – I play for the Bronze Medal and I am going to be FRESH, and READY TO PLAY FULL ON!!!!

In case you’re interested – I am analysing each game/match assessing the winners, unforced errors, etc… That is the only way you can make quantum leaps forward like this. It doesn’t happen by luck or chance – it happens by revolutionising your thinking BY DESIGN rather than just evolving BY DEFAULT.

These are some of the tips, techniques and tools I teach in my program – The Mindset Of A Champion and what will be integrated into my Personal Mastery Program curriculum… If you’re keen to excel in sport or other competitive endeavour, I suggest you consider this program. As you can see from this blog – it’s a journey that starts with a single step.

That step is your DECISION to raise your bar to the next level – either to get yourself into the gym, pick up a new sport or take up a long forgotten one…

Whatever you do – TAKE YOUR NEXT BEST STEP NOW I guarantee you it’ll take you on an incredible journey of self discovery and awareness that will revel your true spirit and self.

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!

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…

Game 2 was more like yesterday’s games – my accuracy, pace and length came back and I won it ‘easily’ 11-7. It needs to be said that my opponent was formidable, in fact one of my squash partners was overheard saying he thought he had ‘too good of a game’ for me without meaning any disrespect.

The third game was very tight, well fought on both sides and I took it 11-8. So I’m up now 2 games to 1.

The all-important forth game went to a tie break 10-12 for my opponent who I handed the victory to on a silver platter – not quite sure why I didn’t put it away as I should have. I didn’t feel like I lost my cool, rhythm or focus, the points just didn’t go my way even though I held the lead for the whole game until the ‘tie break’ final two points. I will review the video and analyse why this happened because at the time, it just slipped away without knowing why – I didn’t feel I choked nor changed my game plan.

In the fifth game I came out firing on all cylinders and jumped ahead with a quick lead, 4-1, then he caught up 4 all. I dug in deep and stuck to my game plan to 7 all. 4 more points and the winner would be decided.

Then it happened at 8-7 – I got hit on the hand, my racquet hand. I got the stroke against me because I got in his swing – he hadn’t delayed his swing all game and caught my pinky finger square on with a full swing.

Yes – OWCH!

I requested a 3-minute injury break (which I know is allowed, got an ice pack thrown to me on the court) and started breathing nice and deep to re-set and recover my wits. I know from a previous match injury several years ago that it rattles you. You need to take the time to re-set, otherwise your body chemistry can get upset enough with a mixture of pain killing endorphins and adrenaline flowing through your blood stream. Your brain wants one thing, your body another. the whole match gets decided in the next few points.

We had 3 or 4 lets in the last 3 points alone, I took the game and the match 11-8.

A match hard fought and won – overcoming a totally unexpected challenge and a formidable opponent – he is ranked #2 in the first division after the open.

I earned the match and was the best player on the day – I should have and could have won it in 4, but as I said yesterday, it’s about ME playing MY game and having the confidence that whatever that is (of course it’s my little secret) it’s (more than) good enough to win.

Then I have to trust and believe that all the drills, preparation and routines will play themselves out when I need them on the court during the key points in the match.

They did – both today and yesterday’s matches would have had a completely different outcomes months, maybe even weeks ago.

That is the beauty of the 1 percent improvement doctrine – once applied, the BEFORE and AFTER contrast is like BLACK and WHITE, ON and OFF.

2 of my regular squash partners watched both my matches yesterday and today and they were witness to the improvements – many of them slight nuances that they too could see have made a difference in me as well as IN THEIR GAME…

That’s why competition at this world-class level is so important. It’s the only way to gauge, monitor and track progress. Anything else is a compromise, a substitute.

Wish me luck for tomorrow’s match!

Game two was much of the same, I took that one 11-5. At this stage I felt confident that I could win the match if I stuck to my plan. I’ve been training with a partner and the drills we did made a significant difference – on several points, not only did I get the ball back, but I took an otherwise defensive return and turned into an offensive shot that put my opponent under pressure to set up the subsequent winner. Developing a point like this was something that was completely out of my domain a year ago. Now I can construct a point or rally and know ‘how to play it out’ without stress or substantial effort – that’s the key component, conserving effort.

Game three went to my opponent, 5-11. He got a few good points and while I stuck to my game plan, my execution wasn’t quite right, but as the game progressed, my range and accuracy improved which was what I was focused on. This is something you can afford when you are up 2-0.

I dominated game four with the smooth execution of my shots and rally construction, winning the game 11-5 and the match 3 games to 1.

Several lessons learned:

Pre-competition preparation made a HUGE difference today. There were 3 or 4 points in each game WITHOUT a doubt would have been different. That says a lot for anyone wondering if the training, drills and routines are worth it.

Abso-total-ulety!

Of course I can’t divulge my secrets, because I never know if my opponents are reading my blog, but I can share with you that the drills were SPECIFICALLY designed for this tournament… That means you need to have the right mentor/coach/advisor to help YOU perform at your best.

Another lesson learned is that I have my preparation and pre-game rituals that work to center my focus to get into ‘game mode’.

I refereed the next match  – Men’s Open 40-44 with two great players – 3 tight games, great hitting and I had to call a stroke at 10-10 in the third game. I’ve been learning to referee and how to break down the lets and strokes rules and was able to make a very tough call taking a step-by-step approach.

Lose shot, in the middle of the court, not effort to move out of the way was made, the hitter was ready to hit the ball and the opponent was in the way for the ball to be hit WHERE the hitter needed to hit the ball.

STROKE.

I was confident enough to make such a dramatic call – the person it was called against of course would have difficulty agreeing, but that’s part of the game – I felt confident I made the right call – I now have the understanding and appreciation of the nuances of the sport that is quite rewarding.

All great lessons learned on day 1 of the 2009 World Masters Games where 28,091 competitors from all over the world are giving their all and having fun doing it!

Wish me luck in tomorrow’s match!

Too many people equate success with money.

There’s a famous ‘joke’ that sums it up quite nicely:

Two friends are at the third friend’s funeral. The first asks the second “how much did he leave behind?’ The second replies “All of it.”

Your purpose in life is not to leave as much behind as possible, killing yourself in the process. Your purpose is to live your destiny – all facets of it.

In my case, I play squash competitively. I have a squash court in my building and I play squash every single day I’m in Sydney. I compete as often as I can in tournaments.

When I am on the court, it’s all fun and games. Even though I am focused, driven and applying my 1 Percent Improvement Doctrine, it’s “playing” for me.

Literally and figuratively.

Do you remember what it was like to play in the sandbox when you were a kid?

That’s what squash is like for me.

It’s a total escape into a ‘world of enjoyment’ that is without compare. The day I lose that excitement is the day I will retire.

So what’s the point?

The point is simply this. I practice what I preach. Without naming names, I know too many spruikers, promoters and charlatans out there who sell, promote and push products and program from stage that (1) don’t work and (2) are not holistic. What I mean by holistic that is that they don’t contribute to the lifestyle that deep down you really want to be living.

A big part of the problem is the person promoting it. Many of them are on the multi-speaker promotional tour, some are on the tour every weekend – in a different city and hotel every week – what kind of life is that?

Would YOU be doing that if YOU were financially independent?

That’s the first sign there’s something wrong with the picture.

The second sign there’s something wrong is the uni-dimensional approach some of these people take as if we are singularly focused in our lives.

We’re not.

We’re constantly juggling multiple aspects of our lives – professional/corporate/business, health, financial, personal, romantic, social, athletic, community, family, hobby and leisure…

Without a holistic approach, you’re nowhere.

That’s why I share with you some of my personal life and activities so that you can see for yourself that I am the real deal, living my own destiny and purpose in life to continue to live and expand my dream empowering others to discover and life theirs.

I’ve been doing this for over 20 years – way before I ever stood on a stage.

I’ve helped people transform their lives because it’s a really cool thing to do, not because there’s money in it.

In fact, the most powerful and valuable things I do are the least economically feasible – yet I continue to do them BECAUSE it’s what I love to do.

That’s what I want to focus today’s blog post on – LOVING what you do.

The day before I left for Melbourne, I watched a few hours of squash videos – Jonathon Power, Former World #1, a Canadian and one of the most prolific players on the circuit BECAUSE he was one of the first to be professionally coached from a young age, systemising shots that appeared  ‘amazingly lucky’ to a first-time spectator.

I watched his training videos and then a few tournament matches to see his practice IN ACTION. What an interesting, fulfilling and motivating way to spend a couple of hours in anticipation of my tournament this past week.

I have a great lifestyle BECAUSE I’ve designed my life this way. I do what I love and love doing what I do. I work only with the best people who are constantly pushing the envelope in business, the Internet or in their professional careers.

Like at the squash tournaments I compete in. Everyone’s fit, healthy and POSITIVE. They are real ‘sportmen’ – both men and women – playing for the purity of the sport, competition and challenge.

It’s an incredible environment to be in – if ever you are feeling down and out – join a sports team or group and you’ll soon have the supportive environment you need to raise your bar.

With that in mind, I’m going to let you go and just say that I’ve had a great week pushing myself to the next level and enjoyed sharing it with you. In closing, you might want to start considering joining me on a journey in 2010. I have created a brand new ‘system’ that’s a 12-month subscription to hold you accountable to your New Year’s Resolutions. I’m just finalising it now, for the launch in December. I’ll keep you posted. It’s something special that I’ve created to develop my Personal Mastery content – for people who want to become Champions in their lives and live it to the fullest.