Words from The Coach

It was an honor and pleasure for me this past weekend to listen to a brief talk given by the legendary football coach of Baylor University from 1972-1992, Coach Grant Teaff.  He does not know who I am, or that I was there, or even that I would take his words to heart and share them with you.

Coach Teaff is an inspiring man, as an excellent coach should be (http://baylorbears.cstv.com/trads/bay-grantteaff.html), and he knows something about how to set the tone of the day.  Coach Teaff told me that he has a phrase that he uses every day of his life; one, that when repeated, inspires him.  If ever he is experiencing a negative state, this phrase unlocks the door of negativity allowing him to escape to empowerment and success.

Sometimes we find ourselves wanting but not knowing what we want.  And this simple phrase will provide you guidance in that state as well.

I am only one, but I am one.

I can't do everything, but I can do something.

That which I can do, I ought to do.

That which I ought to do, by God's grace I shall do. 

- Coach Grant Teaff

Thank you coach,

-Lane

Change your words - Change your thinking

Last week we looked at how changing your thinking changes your life.  This week, wouldn't it be great to have a tool to instantly change your own thinking?  Would you like to have that resource instantly available to you at any moment?  Yeah, I thought so...

Here it is; your language defines the reality you choose to live in.

John, a good friend of mine, was telling me about when he played basketball they use to go out on the court and use "trash-talk" to intimidate the other team.  "You're slow!  You can't make that shot!  You move like a dog with dry heaves!", they might say to each other (okay, I admit, I made up the last one.)

What's interesting about "trash-talk" is that the one doing the "trash-talking", at some level, ends up feeling not so good.  You see, the unconscious mind will always take what you say, and what you think, as a direct suggestion from you... for yourself...

John said that his team decided to change their language towards their competitor to throw off their game. Kill'em with kindness, I guess you would call it.  They began to say things like, "Dude, your fast and I'm faster!  Go for it try to get the ball past me!  Come on, you can make it!"

That greatest leaders on the planet know, you always assume the other team is bringing their "A" game and you prepare to beat them at that level.  Because your unconscious mind always takes what you say personally, that means, at the unconscious level, you are going to feel better and play better.

My friend John told me that not only did he enjoy playing basketball more than ever, he seems to be playing better himself.  Hmmmm....

Do the Hokey Pokey and turn yourself around,

-Lane

Change your thinking - Change your life

Isn't it wonderful to know that you are in control of your life?  You are in control of the reality that you choose to expereicne.  You can make it ANYTHING you desire.  What's that you say???  Oh - How do you do that?

Well, Albert Einstein made the observation that you cannot change a problem with the same level of thinking that created the problem.  We agree with that.  So many of the people I encounter in my daily activities are soooo stuck in some rut.  They are stuck in some sort of behavior or mindset that they consciously want to be free from yet they are 'too close to the trees to see the forest.'

I know you have been there.  We all have.  Me too. And when we are in that stuck place we seem to justify it by brooding on what we don't want.  We give it existence by giving it our attention and when we give something our attention, we give it our energy.

We do this automatically.  Sometimes we wake up "on the wrong side of the bed" and just start the day off feeling cranky.  And in that state, no matter what happens it is "bad", blah. "Oh goody, I got a raise today - they clearly don't think much of me with such a small amount."

And there are those days when we wake in the morning and as your eyes open - it is a joyful day.  All the animals of the forest are singing and life is glorious.  On that day - nothing can go wrong.  You could get a flat tire and your just happy to have had the opportunity to hunt down that little jack burried deep in your car.  You'd been wondering where that little bugger was!

The ancient sage Patanjali said that when there is thinking in the negative, dwell on the opposite.  When you do that now, something very amazing happens.  You begin to adopt the feelings of your new thought.  Yep, it really is that easy!

Have you noticed that if you remember a specific time when you were really upset, you actually begin to feel those feeling?  Well, the same is true for remembering a time when you felt happy or joyful.  Really, it's true.  Go ahead and close your eyes and remember in great detail a specific time when you felt amazingly happy/confident/proud/sexy (pick one).  Really remember it.  Go ahead.  I'll wait for you...

Whoa!  You ARE Amazing.

BE / DO / HAVE - The Natural Order

I often ask my clients, "What do you want?" and this is an important question. I think it is important to know what you want so you can have direction and focus in your life, however; knowing what you want is not the answer to having it.

Most important, when you consider what you want in your life and what you are willing to do, you must consider first who you are being.

A couple of years back I had a wonderful opportunity to work with a university men's soccer team.  I was the "Team Performance Specialist".  My job was to help the team BE in a champion mindset.  It was great fun working with the young men.  They readily accepted the notion that they were in control of their team's destiny and that they, as champions, would prevail.  I'm please to report that they did in fact win their division.

The natural order requires you to first BE.  If you desired to be a champion in soccer, you must BE the champion in your mind.  That kind of thinking leads to DOing what a champion does which results in HAVEing a championship.

Sheila Wallace, a friend of mine, said to me the other day, "When you know who you are, doing is the result of just showing up as your self."  What a powerful statement that is!  Sheila was saying exactly the same thing - BE / DO / HAVE.

So let me sum it up this way...

If you want to have a loving relationship

First - BE loving

So you will DO loving things and

The Law of Attraction will create what you

Want to HAVE.

Experience True Freedom

Are you honestly experiencing freedom in your life? If you have doubts about what you can be, doubts about what you can do, you are not free. The experience of freedom is a state of mind so in this month of celebrating freedom it is important to turn the attention of our mind to being truly free.

You are ready to learn two Power Secrets that will set your life free.

Limitations are a funny thing. Once created and accepted by you, in your mind, those limitations profoundly affect every area of your life. Limitations are like shackles on your wrists and ankles. They hold you in a silent bondage, preventing your freedom to be whatever you want to be.

July, is your time to truly BE free. Free from your limiting beliefs and free from your old patterns of behavior. Ask yourself now, “What do I want?” Search your heart. What dreams do you most want? What would you do if you knew for certain that failure is not possible? Okay, got it? So now, what do you do?

Power Secret #1 – In the words of Winston Churchill, “Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in…” Your job is to decide what you want in your life. Decide that it is happening for you right this very minute and every day, place your focus on what it is that you desire. If you have limiting thoughts creep in your mind, free yourself from them. Refuse them your attention and instead bring your attention back to what you want.

Power Secret #2 – Decide each moment to be responsible for everything that happens. Make the assumption that you made the choice for every event you observe to happen. Even when someone else does something that you might disagree with. In your mind, assume total responsibility for it. I must warn you… this is the most powerful thing you can do to change your life! If you are responsible for something then you can change it. Since you are the amazing being that you are, you can change it into something you want right now.

BE Free!
-Lane