Volume II Part 13

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can’t be done.
—Bo Bennett—

Just How Tough Are You?

Do you think you could handle the pressures of professional sports? Here is where all the things you’ve learned so far about The Million Dollar Athlete and the DiSC assessment come together.

Let’s take a close look at Michelle Wie the young golfer that at one time took the LPGA by storm. Everyone wanted the young athlete to succeed, but she hasn’t played up to her capability. Her agent has recently left her as she finished 19th in a field of 20 women golfers. What’s gone wrong?

IT IS MY OPINION that Michelle has lost not only her confidence to play, but her attitude has become increasingly negative because she probably doesn’t really believe that she can win. Her subconscious mind may have accepted losing and is affecting her performance level.

What would you do if you were Michelle Wie? Call it quits or move forward and fight her way back to the top. My bet is that she will put the negative vibes behind her and find a way to win because that’s what million dollar athletes do.

Are You A Motivator?

Use the Michelle Wie story as your motivation to get what you want. You see even the best athletes can grow negative vibes, but you need to push them aside and focus on your goals. I’ve told you over and over again DON’T LET YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND TAKE OVER IN BELIEVING YOU ARE A FAILURE! If this happens, it’s a long and lonely ride back.

Not everyone can be a good motivator. Just because you are a coach doesn’t mean you are a motivator. You need to gain the respect of others around you before they will listen to you. Who are you going to motivate if no one is listening to what you have to say? The DiSC assessment tool is a great way to help you understand how you can motivate your teammates.

Hey, want to be a better athlete? The DiSC assessment is the way to go. Email me at tpperformer@aol.com to find out how you can sign up.

Next Blog

Using the “chicken and egg” question to help you play better.

Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Volume II Part 12

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.
—Mary Engelbreit—

Following Through

Everyone knows that following through is one of the most important things in sports. This is also true if you want to become successful in life.

Once you put into practice all that you've learned from The Million Dollar Athlete, you will begin to see a change in the way you think, play, and act. You will become more positive each day, and all those negative vibes that have surrounded you in the past will vanish.

In the last blog, we talked about failing (TMDA Volume II Part 8) and how it is a part of winning and that you can’t succeed without it. Be careful, though, because it will bring on negative vibes if you begin to believe you are a failure. Remember, once your sub-conscious mind begins to believe all that negativity, it’s difficult to break. That’s why the positive self-talk is so important.

Did you start to FIRE those negative friends (TMDA Volume II Part 4)? All they can do is drive you down making you believe you are a failure. You need to hang with positive people so you, too, can become positive. There’s no easy road to success, but you can make it a lot easier by following The Million Dollar Athlete and taking the DiSC® assessment. Choose your friends wisely.

In any sport the follow through is important. If you have a goal, follow through and see it to completion. You can be the athlete and individual you want by being relentless in your follow through.

Upset Minded

Many of the ranked NCAA college football teams have gone down to defeat in the 2007 year—the most noted being Michigan vs Appalachian State. Even though Appalachian State was a tremendous underdog, I’ll bet they went into that game with an attitude second to none.

This was truly a David vs Goliath (TMDA Volume II Part 5) battle. Remember, if you show a great attitude, you will have a great team. There were no negative vibes on the part of Appalachian State, and they followed through on their goal.

You need to do three things to become successful: 1) treat The Million Dollar Athlete as your playbook; 2) take the DiSC® assessment; 3) follow through to reach your goal

Next Blog

Wie can and Wie will.

Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Disc Assessment Video

Volume II Part 11

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.
—Havelock Ellis—

Failing

Do you like to fail? I would guarantee the answer to that question is a definite no. Did you know that failure is an important ingredient toward one’s success? That’s right! As long as you learn from the mistakes and use them to build upon, failure is common to all successful people—in fact it’s expected!

So why does everyone fear failure? Because it’s embarrasing for anyone to fail, and people see it as a huge negative vibe (The Million Dollar Athlete Vol. II Part 2) You can’t worry about making mistakes just use it to build on and expect them.

My belief is that if you can’t trust yourself no one else will be able to trust you either. Believing starts with you. One of baseball’s greatest quotations was started by NY Mets pitcher Tug McGraw back in 1973, “you gotta believe.” Although the Mets lost to the Oakland A’s that year in game 7, it’s one of the most noted quotes in baseball and it rallied a team to win a pennant and almost a world series.

If the NY Met players didn’t believe in themselves first, they couldn’t believe or trust each other. Have you ever found yourself trying to do another teammates job as well as your own? As an athlete, you know this is a recipe for disaster in sports. Your teammate couldn’t get the job done because he/she didn’t have trust in themselves first so you had no trust in that person either.

A Big Loser?

There are many other successful people that have had many failures. I’ve listed ten failures for this person—can you guess who it is? The answer will be at the end of the blog.

• Failed in business at age 21
• Defeated in legislative race at age 22
• Failed again in business at age 24
• Overcame the death of his sweetheart at age 26
• Nervous breakdown at age 27
• Lost a congressional race at age 36
• Lost a senatorial race at age 45
• Failed to become vice-president at age 47
• Lost a senatorial race at age 49
• Elected President of the United States at age 52

Don’t forget to take the all important DiSC assessment to help you succeed on the field and off.

Next Blog

The follow through.

Answer to question: Abraham Lincoln

Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Volume II Part 10

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?
—Dennis and Wendy Mannering—

The Perfect Day

You wake up in the morning thinking only about the math test you took yesterday and how hard you studied for it. Today you will find out how much that hard work paid off. On your way to class, you come across an elderly woman who could use a hand getting some heavy packages into her car. You help her and she is so grateful that she gives you ten dollars!

When you get to class, you find out you received the highest grade on the math test—not bad. You’re excited and filled with confidence and rightly so—you’re now on a roll and it isn’t over! As you prepare for practice, your coach calls you over to the office and tells you that you will be starting in this week’s big game. You now pinch yourself to see if you are awake and not dreaming.

Does it sound impossible? This is the kind of day you don’t ever want to end. So why can’t you have a day like this every day?

Why Today Matters

What you did yesterday no longer matters and this is important for you to understand. You need to concentrate on today because you can’t possibly change the past, but you can affect today. So today is the most important thing and you can make each new day a perfect day.

You need to concentrate on only those positive things in life that will make you happy. Something as simple as waking up at 6:00 AM to get to class on time is a positive if you meet that goal—count it as a plus for the day and trash any negatives.

In my previous example of a perfect day, this can be a reality, but it takes discipline. If you have a plan (e.g. stop smoking), but no discipline to carry it through there will be no reward. The good fortunes you will possess are because of the discipline you practiced along the way. What you do today will affect what and who you are tomorrow. Create your perfect day by thinking, acting, and leading like The Million Dollar Athlete.

PS - Have you taken the DiSC assessment yet? It will improve your performance on the field, help take away those negative vibes, and make you a better team leader. Send me an email at tpperformer@aol.com and I will tell you how you can take it online. Know why you behave the way you do during game day and how you can improve your performance.

Next Blog

Fail-To-Win

Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

Volume II Part 9

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

“A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is.”
—Seneca—

Finding Passion

Would you ever admit that the basis to succeed is just plain old hard work? Are you willing to put the time in to becoming a success? Many people won’t and, therefore, never will achieve greatness.

In Volume I Part 2 of The Million Dollar Athlete blog, I introduced you to a pyramid that described the steps toward gaining success. If you remember, one of those steps was passion.

Now you can’t be taught passion because it’s either in you somewhere or it’s not. I’m sure you heard people say that they wanted something so bad “they could taste it,” or “I’d give my right arm to be able to . . . . “ When the going gets tough, most of these people are probably nowhere to be found. They aren’t hungry enough to become The Million Dollar Athlete.

Passion is rooted deep inside you. You think, eat, dream, and talk about nothing other than reaching your goal (e.g. becoming athlete of the week, all-american, all-conference, winning that championship). It consumes you and you find it difficult to concentrate on anything else. It’s such a strong desire that you constantly dream about it every day, and you begin to grow in your belief that you will succeed.

Good Or Great?

So passion represents a desire like no other that you’ve experienced. Can you think of any athletes that have such a strong desire to win? How about Serena Williams and Michael Jordan? They both have a strong desire to be the best and possess an attitude that they absolutely can’t be beaten—any day anytime. It represents the great divide between good and great.

There aren’t many athletes that can be considered great—many good ones but not great ones. They are so strong willed in their belief that they can’t be beat, and it’s what makes them the best during “crunch time.”

So talent alone is not the answer to greatness—it’s how you package that talent that counts. It’s hard work and “paying your dues” that will make you or break you.

How much passion do you have? Do you eat, think, dream, and talk about becoming the The Million Dollar Athlete? Are you satisfied with being good or great?

Next Blog

Building a perfect day every day.

Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
http://www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com/



DiSC Assessment

Volume II Part 8

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
—Albert Einstein—

Seeing Is Believing

It’s the last day of the regular season and your team needs this win to become conference champions, and everything hinges on you becoming the hero. Your hands are perspiring, your heart is racing, and the sell-out crowd is shouting and screaming. You feel like there is no one else around you because you are so focused on winning this game. You then begin to perform your magic that ultimately brings home the crown for your school for the first time in twenty-five years. Your teammates and the fans rush to grab you, and your coaches can’t believe what just happened. You are a hero!

If you’ve ever played sports, this is something we’ve all dreamed about. Everyone wants to be a success, but they just don’t know how. You need to turn these dreams into reality. How? Through the use of visualization.

According to Denis Waitley in his book, “The New Dynamics of Winning,” he talks about a visualization checklist:

· When you visualize make sure it is an action scene with movement
· Visualize the successful outcome and the steps that lead to it
· Make sure you visualize things consistent with your moral values (is this in your best interest and the interest of others)
· See yourself as if you have already accomplished the goal

Remember; see yourself as you are actually participating in that sport. Think of having a camera on your shoulder as you are going through your visualization process.

Vision Boards

Vision boards can also enhance this process. Make up a board (cork board, e.g.) that has your goal(s) pictured on it. You might have several pictures of yourself pasted on it and have the caption read, “all conference” or “athlete of the week.” Use goal posts, soccer goals, tennis rackets, etc. if these are your sports to enhance the board.

Visualization is well practiced in the world of sports, so don’t brush this off. By the next blog, I would like you to create your own board and hang it where you can see it every day. Send me an email at tpperformer@aol.com telling me about your vision board as I would like to know.

Next Blog

Do you have the passion?

Tony Falco
”TheCoach”
http://www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com/

DiSC Assessment

Volume II Part 7

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

This time like all times is a very good one if we but know what to do with it.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson—

Seeing The Future

Researchers have found that your brain sees no difference between visualizing an event and actually performing it. In a test by Harvard University, it was found that students who visualized performed tasks at near 100% accuracy. Students that did not visualize performed tasks at 55% accuracy!

This simply means that by closing your eyes and seeing in your mind a particular event you want to happen (pitching a no-no, winning a conference championship in tennis, e.g.) it can happen. Almost all Olympic athletes use the power of visualization.

How It Works

In his book, “The Success Principles,” author Jack Canfield explains:

Constant visualization actually causes three things to happen:

· It programs your brain to start letting into your awareness anything that will help you achieve your goal
· It activates your subconscious mind to create solutions for getting the goals you want.
· It creates new levels of motivation. A “new you” begins to develop as you automatically volunteer for assignments and speak out at team meetings and in class.

Each time you go to sleep at night and close your eyes start visualizing to see your goals complete. If you want to win that important race, tennis tournament, or the big soccer game, you need to see it happen in your mind first.

As you imagine your goal being complete, you need to actually see everything. I mean you need to see your shoe laces flapping in the breeze during your race, the ball hit your racket in tennis and seeing the strings compress, and after kicking the soccer ball you actually see its full flight as it sails into the net.

Visualization is truly a deep state of mind and needs to be practiced consistently for it to work. The process usually takes about 15 minutes a night. Do this and I guarantee you will see the results, but you need to practice this and be in a deep state of concentration. You will begin to see a change in yourself.

Next Blog

Follow the dream!

Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
http://www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com/



All About DiSC

Volume II Part 6

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
—Winston Churchill—

The Impossible Dream

During the first half of the 20th century no one believed that anyone could break the four minute mile. However, on May 6, 1954 Roger Bannister broke this seemingly impenetrable barrier with a time of 3:59.4. This was absolutely unheard of at the time that a human being could accomplish this feat.

Roger Bannister not only became a hero, but he inspired others to do the same. In less than two months, another runner had accomplished the same thing. After that, dozens of others broke the four minute barrier as well.

So what happened? Once athletes saw the barrier could be broken, Bannister set the stage for others to follow. The amazing thing is that Roger Bannister showed the world that it was more of a psychological barrier than anything else. Let’s listen to an interview with Roger Bannister taken well after his historic record. Click on the video below to hear.

So the true winner never quits and doesn’t care at all what others think. If you have a goal, it’s your job as The Million Dollar Athlete to see it through no matter the odds. You can’t lose if you don’t try, and that’s why there are so many good athletes and leaders and not many great ones. People don't want to fail and, therefore, just don’t try. This is one of the reasons why the great ones are great—they don't expect to fail.

Less Needs More

Understand that people need you for one thing and that is to help them get through their weaknesses. Think about it. A team needs a great player to get through those tough games and win championships. Your peers may need you for your great common sense about things. Your boss may need you because you are more dependable than the other workers. Your teachers and coaches may need you for your positive influence on your peers.

In each of these cases, there’s a need that’s fulfilled by your presence. Other athletes needed Roger Bannister to help show them the way. Once that need was met, other athletes began to follow. Think about how you can affect the people around you in a positive way. If you really put your mind to it, you can become a Roger Bannister.

PS Haven’t Taken The DiSC Assessment?

If you haven’t taken the DiSC assessment yet, get with it! It’s like trying to tell the players without a scorecard. Much of this won’t be meaningful without your knowledge of who you are. Shoot me an email today at tpperformer@aol.com with your name, address, and email address and I’ll tell you how.

Next Blog

How to look into the future to get what you want!

Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
http://www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com/

Roger Bannister

Volume II Part 5

themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"

"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind."
—Dr. Wayne W. Dyer—

David vs. Goliath

If you think you have great talent, what are you doing with it? Your attitude is a product of who you are — and you alone are responsible for whether it’s positive or negative. Don’t blame anyone but yourself if you should fail in sports or in life, because you are the conductor of your own train.

The graph below shows four types of attitudes and each has its own particular outcome. Having great talent is the common bond, but you can see that the outcomes for each attitude are quite different.

A team’s success isn’t complete without having a great attitude. So, you can see that the real key to success doesn’t depend on great talent or great strength. It depends on each individual athlete possessing the greatest attitude.

OK, why did David beat Goliath? Because he believed he could — that’s a great attitude! How many times have you beaten Goliath?

Talking To Yourself

If you want to improve your self-esteem, the first person you need to convince about your own value is yourself. Assuming you’ve taken that important DiSC assessment, you know who you are inside and you can begin starting to concentrate on those strengths.

Let’s take a look at some negative vibes that could be holding you back:

Can’t admit you are wrong
Hold a grudge
Petty jealousy
Feel you can’t ever do anything right
Like to hog all the credit – not a team player

Do any of these describe you? All of these have one common word that creates these negative vibes. Can you guess what that word is? The word is confidence. If you lack self-confidence you are a strong candidate for negative vibes.
So how do you get rid of this negative stuff? One way is to concentrate on your strengths — forget about your weaknesses. Continue to tell yourself how good you really are.

START EVERY DAY TELLING YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE THE BEST WITH YOUR OWN PEP TALK!

Many of us tend to focus only on the negative so throw all those thoughts away. Promise me you will never say the words “try,” “but,” “if,” or can’t. I want you to say, I will” or “I Can”. . . and nothing else!!

Next Blog

How one athlete defied the odds to accomplish the “impossible dream.”

Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com

The DiSC Factor