Put Your Mind in the Game

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Copyright 2997, Joyce M. Morris, All Rights Reserved


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Put Your Mind InThe Game

Take Your Athletic PerformanceTo The Next Levels

A book byJoyce Morris

assisted by

Joseph Morris



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Put Your Mind In The Game

Take Your Athletic Performance To The NextLevels

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

Chapter 1 The Mind Matters .......................................................................................................... 5Chapter 2Put Mind Back in the Game............................................................................................. 8

Chapter 3 Its time for practice. o !ou kno" "here !our mind is#............................................21

Chapter $ %atch !our &an'ua'e(................................................................................................... 31Chapter 5Put !our Mind in )our Game.........................................................................................$2

21 *) T+*I,I,G -n'a'in' !our mind into !our 'ame p&an.................................................5/a! 1 0 et !our 'oa&s.............................................................................................................52a!s 2 and 12 %orkin' "ith !our suconscious mind...........................................................5

a!s 3 and 13 %atch !our 4an'ua'e 0 its a ke! to !our unconscious mind.......................... 5

a!s $ and 1$ Think Bi'......................................................................................................... a!s 5 and 15 6o" 4an'ua'e oes ,ot %ork....................................................................... 75

a!s and 1 4isten To The ecrets )our Bod! Is Te&&in'................................................... 7

a!s 7 and 17 *ctions peak 4ouder Than %ords................................................................. 83

a!s 8 and 18 Insertin' ,e" Bod! Messa'es.........................................................................8a!s and 1 Ima'ine The o! 9f )our uccess ..................................................................1

a!s 1/ and 2/ Inte'ration.....................................................................................................

a! 11 0 Ce&eration..............................................................................................................1//a!s 1202/ -:pand !our ai&it!...........................................................................................1/3

a! 21 ; Continuation............................................................................................................1/$

G&ossar! of 4an'ua'e +ep&acement.......................................................................................1/



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PUT YOUR MIN IN T!" GAM"

!o# To Take Your Athletic Performance to the next Level

and $e%ond&&&

Introduction

All athletes know what is needed in order to succeed practice, practice and !ore

practice as long as you want to co!pete in the ga!e. "ou have coaches to direct and

!anage your practice and the develop!ent o# your physical skills, but this book is about

a di##erent kind o# practice. $t will teach you the speci#ics steps o# how to get your !ind

power working #or you in a way that will put nuclear #uel into those skills practices. "our

results will astound you.

%y #ollowing the 2&'day training progra! presented in this book you will engage

your innate power and i!prove your ga!e per#or!ance. "ou will discover that your

ga!e per#or!ance is li!ited only by your own !ind. Co!plete the 2& day training

progra! and you will e(perience at least three results.

&. "ou will en)oy your ga!es and practices !ore.

2. "ou will en)oy yoursel# !ore as you e(perience the i!prove!ents in your ga!e

and skills.

*. "ou will notice bene#its in other areas o# your li#e by using these sa!e principles.

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+he winners at any ga!e are not )ust the ones who won the ga!e based on the

score. +he one that truly wins is always the individual who pushed hi! or hersel# into

the ne(t higher level o# personal achieve!ent in skill, knowledge or awareness o# the

ga!e.

inners instinctively know that #ocusing on the co!petition and #inal ga!e score

will generally result in a season o# struggle. -n the other hand keeping your #ocus on

personally achieving "-R ne(t higher level will always result in new energy and ever

higher wins. $t creates a ladder that never #ails to carry your potential to higher and

higher levels.

+he chapters in this book e(plore the inseparable link between !ind and physical

e(perience. /ven though the !ind'body link generally operates unconsciously, you can

beco!e the conscious director o# the !ind0s role in creating your e(perience. As you

do, you will begin to notice so!e i!portant and surprising things, like...

1ow and where you !ay be unconsciously holding yoursel# back by #ailing to

#ully engage your !ind in serving your goals.

1ow and where you are engaging your !ind to keep you from achieving your

goals 3el# sabatoge.

More e##ective ways to engage your !ind in your ga!e

1ow to reach potentials you never even dared to drea! you could achieve.



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Is #innin' the 'ame the onl% 'oal(

$t0s a goal that holds our attention #ro! the #irst childhood ga!es that our parents

teach us, all the way to the end o# our lives. $n #act, the ulti!ate ga!e iis li#e, and the

rules o# winning are de#ined by each player #or hi! or hersel# in the ga!e o# li#e.

1owever, #or the really great players in any ga!e it0s rarely )ust the thrill o# 4beating5

the opponents that drives the!. $t0s the thrill o# achieving new levels o# skill, o# reaching

the ne(t higher goal they set #or the!selves, and continually expandingtheir potential.

%eing 4the best we can be5 is not enough #or the serious players. +hey draw their

energy and their power #ro! their i!age o# seeing the!selves at the ne(t higher level.

6or the!, the )oy o# setting records, whether personal, local or world records, is short

lived. +hat )oy is only a seed planted which very uickly begins straining to burst into

the new levels beyond.

For the serious players of any game it's about expanding the best we can be into

the best we can imagine!

1u!anity doesn0t sit still #or long.

e e(pand.

e e(plore.

e push boundaries.

+hat #unda!ental pattern that drives us through previous li!its is instinctive. $t0s a

si!ple pattern. e i!agine, and then we relentlessly push ourselves into the

e(perience o# that i!agining. +he process changes all o# us.



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Re!e!ber the historic break through in track with the #our !inute !ile8 6or

centuries it was un'achievable. /veryone %/$/:/; that it wasn0t possible ' even

scientists agreed that our bodies si!ply were not built to acco!plish that speed. And

then in May o# &9


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)ha*ter +

The Mind Matters

,e are -orn #ith an excellent natural a-ilit% to learn ne# skills. -ut #e

silentl% accumulate -ad learnin' ha-its throu'hout childhood.

$ once watched a s!all boy who could barely walk, but was deter!ined to stand

on his head. 6or hours and then days $ watched hi! roll and #lop back to the #loor over

and over as he tried to reproduce what he0d seen an older person do. My heart sank as

$ thought, Oh dear. As important as that goal is to him, hes headed for years of

frustration because his little body ust wont be capable of that accomplishment until

hes a lot older.

$ re!e!bered being one o# the #irst children in !y ele!entary school who learned

to stand on !y head. $ was nearly D years old. As $ watched that very s!all boy

struggle each new day in his e##orts to stand on his head, $ wondered i# it would be

kinder to let hi! continue his struggle against a #utile goal, or to gently re'direct his

attention to other activities that pro!ised !ore success.

%e#ore the end o# a week $ was astounded as $ watched this boy actually li#t his #eet

o## the #loor and hold hi!sel# balanced on his head #or a #leeting !o!ent. +he look on

his #ace told !e that he knew he0d been success#ul in co!pleting his goal #or that brie#

!o!ent. 6or weeks therea#ter nothing could keep hi! #ro! the work o# co!pleting

each ne(t step o# holding the balance longer and then longer. 1e was walking on his



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hands long be#ore the age when the !ost athletic o# children are )ust beginning to learn

to stand on their head.

+hat boy was our #a!ily0s #irst adopted son, Joseph. e adopted #our children Etwo

sets o# twinsF and together they led us into a conscious awareness o# the power#ul

connection between !ind and physical per#or!ance.

Joseph showed us the #irst keys. 1e appeared to instinctively approach the idea o#

standing on his head in the sa!e way he approached learning to walk. +he goal o#

standing on his head happened to co!e into his !ind when he was still learning to

!aster the skill o# walking. ?aturally, he applied the sa!e instinctive steps that were

already working #or hi! in learning to walk. $t was years later be#ore we understood

what those instinctive steps were and could begin to test the!.

Joseph began with a !ental imageo# standing on his head, which was the result o#

the desireto stand on his head. 1e was too ine(perienced with li#e to understand

#ailure and so he didn0t insert any possibility o# #ailure into his inner i!age o# hi!sel#

standing on his head. 1e also started, as all babies and s!all children do, with a -:/

o# his physical e(perience. 1e naturally and instinctively loved learning new skills. ith

each new e##ort he si!ply and innocently atte!pted to put his body into the sa!e

position he saw in his !ind. 1e was drawn on through repeated 4#ailures5 by the

strength o# his love #or the skill he was atte!pting to develop.

/ach apparent 4#ailure5 to !y eyes, held nothing !ore #or hi! than a review o# the

i!age he loved EdesiredF #ollowed by another atte!pt. /ach new atte!pt carried the #ull

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desire and anticipation o# success that generated the #irst atte!pt. $n an astoundingly

short ti!e he acco!plished the i!possible.

e don0t think about the a!aGing acco!plish!ent o# babies learning to walk but

they generally acco!plish the task in a !atter o# a #ew hours or, at the !ost, a #ew days

once they decide to walk.

Co!pare that to older children and adults re'learning to walk a#ter an in)ury or

accident that reuires the! to consciously learn to walk. /ven a#ter the in)uries have

healed and the individual is ready to learn to walk again, the learning process routinely

takes weeks, !onths and even years to acco!plish ' in part, because we have replaced

our instinctive learning process with bad learning habits that #ail to engage the !ind #ully

and correctly.



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)ha*ter /

Put Mind $ack In The Game&

-ur #our adopted children were ho!e schooled, pri!arily because two o# the! had

unusual or non'!ainstrea! learning styles and our lives needed !ore scheduling

#le(ibility than public school allowed. An interesting e##ect o# being ho!e schooled

began to show up right away.

+he kids in public school began to e(cel in certain kinds o# learning and our ho!e

schooled kids began to e(cel in other kinds o# learning. e watched the gap grow

between our children and their public school #riends. $n the achieve!ent o# physical

skill all #our o# our children very soon led the pack.

/ach year the gap widened. e didn0t understand why, although we thought we

did. $t see!ed logical that our ho!e schooled children had !ore ti!e to play and

there#ore developed stronger athletic skills than the kids who spent all day in a

classroo! and then spent another hour or two doing ho!ework. %ut then we !ade a

change in our children0s lives that changed our !inds and une(pectedly ended their

easy cli!b up the athletic skills ladder.

At &H years old we signed the two younger boys, Iander and 3ilas, up #or Junior

baseball. +heir general athletic skill level was substantially beyond that o# the other

boys, even though !ost o# the tea! had played organiGed baseball or +'ball since they

were < or > years old. +he tea! !e!bers were also one and two years older than



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Iander and 3ilas. /ven with all that, there was a huge gap between the superior

athletic ability o# our boys and that o# the rest o# the tea!. :ery uickly, however, the

gap in athletic ability began to narrow.

hen Iander and 3ilas began baseball they weren0t well versed in the ga!e0s

rules, plays or #ielding techniues even though they ca!e with a lot o# athletic ability.

e en)oyed watching the coaches begin teaching those new skills but were very

surprised to notice that our boys didn0t learn the new ga!e skills very well. +he ne(t

year we were happy that the league tryouts bu!ped the! up to a higher level tea! with

a new coach.

e believed that a better coach would be !ore success#ul at teaching our boys

what they needed in order to !ake the! better players. e were pleased as we

watched the new coaches begin their higher level pre'season training and instruction.

3till, as the season wore on, it beca!e clear that Iander and 3ilas were not !aking

!uch progress in developing their new ga!e skills, and they !ade no progress with

i!proving the athletic skills they already had.

-ur &= year old son, Joseph, )oined a baseball tea! #or the #irst ti!e that season

also. %ecause o# his advanced level o# general athletic skill, his coaches were a!aGed

that he had never played, and were pleased to have his natural ability on the tea!. ike

us, they e(pected hi! to learn the ga!e uickly and be a strong asset. 1is enthusias!

was high and never di!inished throughout the season but, like the other two boys, the

!issing ga!e skills he needed did not co!e as easily as e(pected.

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%y !id'season it was uite clear that all three boys had hit a serious slu!p in their

nor!ally easy and rapid physical skill develop!ent. %y the end o# their second season,

the gap between the once superior athletic skills o# our boys and those o# their

tea!!ates had shrunk down to nearly nothing. -ur three boys no longer had higher

athletic skills than their tea!!ates and had actually lost athletic skill.

e enrolled all three boys in training #ro! e('pro#essional players. +hey were

e(cellent instructors and there was a slight i!prove!ent in the boys0 skills, but it was

clearly not enough to carry the! out o# their odd slu!p. +he boys practiced all the ti!e.

henever they had any ti!e they were devising euip!ent and practices to help the!

learn the speci#ic skills they needed.

+hey signed up with a 6all %aseball league to get !ore practice. +hey practiced all

winter long, in the snow, !ud and cold. $n the 3pring they changed to a league nearer

our ho!e and started with a new tea! again. ?ot !uch had changed. All three boys

see!ed to be losing ground instead o# i!proving. e were stu!ped.

-ne day $ sat in !y car watching Iander0s and 3ilas0 practice one day early in the

season. $ was looking #or any clues $ could #ind about what was happening to the!. $

saw the usual practice scene ' several skill practice stations with boys uickly !oving

through the lines as they waited #or their turn to practice speci#ic ga!e skills. hile

waiting around, all the boys on the tea! swung their real or pretend bats in the air, or

threw pretend balls.

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$ couldn0t take !y eyes o## the waiting boys and their activities. 3o!ething about it

#elt i!portant, but $ wondered what could be i!portant about boys swinging bats at

pretend balls. /very ti!e $ tried to look elsewhere !y attention was pulled i!!ediately

back to the boys swinging bats at...air8 $ wondered. "hats going on in their minds

while swinging at empty air# Are they seeing pretend balls hit their bats or..."hat are

they seeing#

A#ter practice $ asked Iander and 3ilas to tell !e what was going on in their !inds

when they practiced swinging a bat. +hey looked at !e like $0d )ust said, 4%lah blah blah

blah.5 6inally they e(plained that they were )ust paying attention to the things the coach

had told the! were i!portant ' like where to put a shoulder, the chin, the eyes, the

wrists, etc.

$ asked, 43o is that your goal ' to swing the bat e(actly like the coach says85

4ell, yeah.5 +hey answered. 4e0re practicing what the coach says so we can hit

the ball better.5

4"ou0d think so, but that0s not what0s happening.5 $ answered. 43o!ething is

!issing.5 $ re!e!bered back be#ore they had )oined a tea!. +hey o#ten swung the bat

at what loo$edlike thin air...e(cept they weren0t.

%e#ore )oining organiGed sports they always played an i!aginary ga!e. $n their

!inds they saw the!selves hitting a ball when they swung their bats and even !ade

the sound o# the ball s!acking the bat. +hey looked away with a satis#ied s!ile on their

#aces as they watched the ball in their !ind sailing over the in#ield and past the

out#ielders and so!eti!es over the back #ence. +hey0d throw the bat down and run as



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#ast as they could to clear the bases be#ore the i!aginary #ielders got the i!aginary ball

to the i!aginary catcher. %ack at ho!e plate they0d )u!p and throw their hands in the

air to celebrate their triu!phant run.

+heir !inds were #illed with success in the i!aginary ga!e which created the

#ra!ework #or their physical !otions to #ollow.

+hey had lost that. ?ow, they )ust practiced batting #or!. +hey had e(cellent

batting #or!. Coaches applauded their batting #or!. %ut they had stopped hitting balls.

As $ re!e!bered all that, a new idea ca!e into !y !ind. $ knew we had nothing to

lose and $ thought it was worth trying, so $ re!inded the! o# how they used to have all

the ele!ents o# the ga!e playing in their !inds when they played. +hen $ said, 4$ want

you guys to get back to that. /:/R" 3$?@/ +$M/ you swing a bat, 3// yoursel#

hitting the ball and 3// it going to the spot in the #ield where you wanted it to go. 6//

the bat hit the ball. 1/AR the crack as the ball leaves the bat and sails out to the #ield.

6// the thrill o# a great hit. And don0t #aste another moment *racticin' hittin' air

1ust to *erfect -attin' form23

An interestin' thin' ha**ened&

+he twin who had always been the least skilled at hitting began hitting the ball.

Al!ost overnight he beca!e one o# the top hitters on the tea!. 1e rarely !issed,

whereas be#ore, he rarely hit. @a!e a#ter ga!e he )ust got better at hitting balls into



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e!pty spots or out to the #ence. %ut his brother0s skill continued to botto! out. 3everal

ga!es later $ spoke to hi!, 4"ou0re still swinging your bat at e!pty air aren0t you85

1e sheepishly looked away, 4ell, $...)ust didn0t think it was i!portant.5

$ was angry. 4ell, - then. $# your way is working so well, stay with it. "ou0re

happy with your results, right85

4?ooo.5

%y the ne(t ga!e he had a great hit into center #ield and two runners ca!e in. 1e

very uickly #ollowed his brother to the top o# the batting lineup. -nce they !ade that

si!ple change o# getting their !ind involved in their batting practice, they beca!e part

o# the backbone o# the tea!, and it happened uickly.

hen we saw the results o# putting the !ind into play toward the batting goals, we

e(peri!ented with other applications. -ne o# the twins was a pitcher. 1e had great

pitching speed but he couldn0t consistently control the ball. hen he was 4in the

groove5 EoccasionallyF he was unbeatable #or awhile, but no !atter how long or o#ten he

practiced his pitching #or!, he could not get that ball consistently in the strike Gone. ?o

!atter how !uch he understood about the physics o# !otion and what to do to control

that, he could not stop throwing as !any wild pitches as good ones.

A#ter a string o# inconsistent and e!barrassing pitching e##orts he told the coach

that he )ust didn0t want to pitch any !ore. 1e didn0t think he was good enough or able

to get good enough and he wanted to end the e!barrass!ent o# his substandard

per#or!ance.



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ith our new in#or!ation about involving the !ind in practices, he decided to give it

one !ore shot be#ore uitting his pitching career. 1e began i!agining the ball going

through the strike Gone every ti!e he pitched in practice. /ven i# the ball he threw didn0t

!ake it to the strike Gone, he saw it in his !ind0s eye going e(actly where he wanted it

to go. hen he practiced at ho!e, he did the sa!e.

Just like with his hitting, the turnaround in his pitching happened al!ost overnight.

As he practiced i!proving his !ind0s i!age, he very uickly beca!e well known in the

league as one o# the toughest pitchers to hit against. $n the ga!e that was playing in

his !ind, he began to see the high speed he wanted, #elt his ar! staying rela(ed and

strong, and en)oyed the i!aginary batter0s surprise as the pitches repeatedly crossed

the plate in une(pected parts o# the strike Gone.

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,hat ha**ened to our -o%s #hen the% entered or'ani4ed team *la% #ith

coaches(

$n a nutshell, they began to learn the wrong way to learn ' the way !ost adults try to

learn and teach. +hey learned to #ocus on what was !issing in their ga!e instead o#

#ocusing on their love o# the ga!e. -ur boys had never been to public school to learn

the 4right5 way to learn physical skills Eor other skills #or that !atterF. $ never atte!pted

to 4teach5 the! anything in their athletic endeavors. $ considered that 4play5. +hey

applied learning !ethods #ro! their own natural learning styles that had worked #or

the! since they were s!all.

+hey had never been taught how to catch or throw a #ast ball, throw a ball straight

and #ar, run, )u!p, hit a ball, cli!b, #ield a ball, etc. 1owever, they were e(ceptional at

all those skills. +hey watched others do those things, loved what they saw and wanted

to do the! also. +hey saw the!selves doing the sa!e things and then they did it ' on

their own, and without paying attention to the steps. +hey did it as play as an

e(pression o# love. +hey did it essentially the sa!e way they learned to walk.

-ur kids had no e(periences with athletic #ailure until they were introduced to

organiGed sports. /ven then, it took the! an entire season to learn to use their !inds

againstthe!selves and their love o# ga!e skills. +hey had to learnto be unhappy i#

they lost a ga!e. $t didn0t co!e naturally #or the! and it doesn0t co!e naturally to

anyone. +hey had always looked at the opposing tea! as play!ates and were so

happy they ca!e out to play. $n the #irst season o# baseball, when they walked through



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the line at the end o# the ga!e clapping high #ives with the opponents, our twins weren0t

)ust being good sports. +hey were genuinely e(pressing their )oy.

4+hank you EClapF

4+hank you EClapF

4@reat ga!e +hat was great EClapF

4"ou0re a good pitcher EClapF

4"ou had a great hit over !y head EClapF

4+hat was a great catch out in center #ield5 EClapF

hen coaches and other players began teaching our boys the details o# skill, like

how to swing a bat, how to pitch a ball, how to #ield a grounder, how to run the bases,

etc., the boys began to #orget what had unconsciously worked #or the! already and had

!ade the! e(ceptional athletes.

%ecause they believed that coaches and other good players knew the right ways to

learn and play, they began to leave their natural and power#ul !ind #unction out o# the

ga!e and learned to #ocus their attention only on the physical details the coach and

players stressed.

?o one knew how to teach the! the !ind0s role in achieving goals, because they

didn0t consciously know how the!selves.

?o one told the! to love the ga!es, practices, wins, losses, opponents, etc.

because no one knew how to do that the!selves. /ven i# they knew how, they didn0t

know it was relevant to athletic per#or!ance.



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+he tea!!ates, coaches and parents taught our boys a new way to think and #eel

about the ga!e and the opposing players. +hey taught about anger, disappoint!ent,

#rustration, #ailure, struggle and loss. Joy and success were suddenly only appropriate

i# they won a ga!e or i# they per#or!ed well in an isolated skill practice. +hat was new

in#or!ation #or our kids in their athletic play.

$t took nearly two seasons to teach the! a new way to see the ga!e but with the

introduction o# the idea o# #ailure, #ear began to be part o# the ga!e that played in their

!inds. %e#ore they )oined organiGed sports they had no #ear in the ga!e that took

place in their !inds. +hose childhood practice ga!es were -?" about love. +he new

ga!e in their !inds beca!e about tryingto succeed, not about the oy of success.

+he !ore they tried to please their coaches and tea!!ates, the !ore the !ental

i!ages o# success that had taken the! so #ar di!inished.

+he !ore they #ocused on the details o# batting #or!, the less they held the i!age

o# success#ully hitting a ball.

+he !ore they learned about tea! !e!bers #ailing the tea!, the !ore they lost the

i!age o# the )oy in playing.

+he !ore they #ocused on the details o# the ga!e, the !ore they #orgot how to see

and #eel the )oy o# success in the ga!e.



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)oaches0 and Parents0 Roles

Coaches at all levels across the world are generally good and caring people

innocently doing what they were taught. +hey do the very best they know how while

addressing pri!arily the physical side o# skill develop!ent Eas they were taughtF. Many

o# the! try to address the !ental aspect o# the ga!e but !ost o# the! don0t really

understand how the !ind ga!e works.

3o!e coaches and parents address the !ental aspect o# the ga!e with harsh

language and threats, others do it with encouraging words and support but neither o#

those approaches work. -h, sure, one #eels nicer than the other but they are both

relatively ine##ective in taking individual tea! !e!bers to ever higher levels o#

achieve!ent.

$n #act, both !ethods can block the very power that !ust be unleashed in each

player in order #or hi! or her to easily cli!b the ladder o# potential. %oth !ethods

sti!ulate failure a%oidance. "ou !ight think, Of course! & want to a%oid failure, or &

want my players to a%oid failure. Avoiding #ailure is not euivalent to winning nor to

e(panding into ever higher potential. ithout the cleari!age o# success, success is

spotty and unpredictable.

/ven players with a supportive and encouraging coach o#ten develop a desire to

A:-$; disappointing the coach and the tea!. +he !ind i!age those players see is not

one o# clear and unclouded success. $t is i!possible to create an i!age o# avoidance

without seeing the !ental i!age o# that which you wish to avoid. $n order to #eel the



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desire to A:-$; disappointing the coach, you !ust have a strong and pain#ul i!age o#

what it would be like to disappoint the coach. +hen you tryto block or !ove away #ro!

those pain#ul i!ages.

+he proble! is that while you are A:-$;$?@ so!ething you !ust keep your eye on

that which you wish to avoid. $# you don0t, you can0t know i# you0re success#ully avoiding

it. +hat creates a proble! because the i!age you hold in your !ind tells your body

what it is e(pected to do. Con#using i!ages result in con#using and unpredictable

e##ects. Multiple and contradictory i!ages result in !ultiple and contradictory e##ects.

+he clear and #ocused i!age o# success results in consistent e(periences o# success.

$# you are a coach you !ust beco!e aware o# the !ental i!age your words and

actions sti!ulate in your players. +hat !ental i!age you sti!ulate will beco!e a part o#

the end result.

$# you are a player you !ust beco!e aware o#, and responsible #or, the !ental

i!ages "- are creating. hat mental image you create will become the most

important element of your playing experience.

+he entire !essage o# this book can be su!!ed up in the #ollowing The *h%sical

as*ect of *ractice is less than halfof #hat determines ho# #ell %ou *la%& Train

the mind to hold the ima'e of the outcome %ou desire. as effectivel% as %ou train

the -od% and %ou #ill -e astounded #ith %our results&

+he instruction that coaches bring to any tea! is i!portant. -ur three boys needed

to learn and continually re#ine the details o# the sport they were playing. 1owever, with

attention given to only that, their skills develop!ent slowed dra!atically until it !atched



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the slower develop!ent o# their tea!!ates. $t was only when they restored the !ind

ele!ent o# #ocusing on the successful desired outcomethat they were #ree to soar into

their drea!s again.

e loved #eeling that we had athletically gi#ted children. %ut that thrill di!!ed in

co!parison to the e(cite!ent we #elt when it dawned on us that our children actually

weren0t any !ore athletically gi#ted that a -+ o# other kids,they had ust applied a

different learning method that anyone can use.



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)ha*ter 5

It0s time for *ractice& o %ou kno# #here %our mind is(

$0ve titled this book, (ut your )ind &nto the *ame, however that title suggests that it

is possible to leave your !ind out o# the ga!e. $t is actually i!possible to e(perience

any activity that is not directed by your !ental i!ages. 1owever, !ost o# us are

unconscious o# that process and also unconscious o# the i!ages in our !inds. /ven

!ore o# us are unaware that those !ind i!ages are continuously being pro)ected as our

physical e(periences.

+he i!ages in your !ind are the blueprint the subconscious !ind uses to create

your physical e(periences through the non'conscious co!!unication to cells, !uscles,

nerves, brain, etc.

+he #irst hal# o# putting your !ind into the ga!e is about discovering the !ental

i!ages that your subconscious !ind is currently acting on to create your per#or!ance.

+he second hal# is about re'de#ining those i!ages to !atch the goals you truly pre#er.

Just as athletes need to continually practice in order to i!prove their physical ga!e

skills and ga!e awareness, they also need to continually practice to i!prove their

!ind0s involve!ent in the ga!e they actually want to play.

"ou start #ro! where you are, but where is that8

+o identi#y what so!e o# your current !ind i!ages are, begin by answering the

#ollowing uestions #or yoursel#.



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At any point in !y skill practice do $ see !ysel# being success#ul at the skill $0!

working on and having ga!e wins as a result o# that skill8

At practice, do $ #ocus on what $ and the other players are doing wrong, or a! $

#ocused on being success#ul at the skills and results &pre#er to achieve8

hen $ !ess up in a practice or a ga!e, do $ see it as a #ailure or one step closer

to achieving !y goal8

;o $ ever #eel like $0ve let !y sel#, !y coach, !y #a!ily or !y tea! down8 E$# so

you0re #ocusing on the! instead o# "-R ga!e and "-R pre#erred goals.F

$s there a ti!e in !y practice and ga!e where $ actually pay attention to what

success will look like, #eel like, sound like, and how it will #igure into !y bigger

goals8

1ow o#ten in practice or a ga!e do $ 4see5 or think #ailure is a possibility8

"ou will be success#ul in learning any skill when your !ind0s i!ages are pri!arily

about you being success#ul at that skill. 1owever, you need to think it through care#ully.

Blayers learn !any s!all skills as they beco!e pro#icient at a larger !ore co!ple( skill.

hat0s really i!portant is the result you0re going #or, not every tiny little step or skill

along the way.

6or e(a!ple, #or the purpose o# hitting the ball power#ully, consistently and

purpose#ully you !ight learn all the details o# proper batting #or!. 1owever, all batters



27/114

who achieve the goal o# hitting the ball power#ully, consistently and purpose#ully do not

all have the sa!e batting #or!. +he batting #or!, alone, is not what produces the result.

$t is also true that all players who de!onstrate good batting #or! are not necessarily

power#ul, consistent and purpose#ul hitters.

+he subconscious !ind produces the end result along with the batting #or! that

best suits the player in order to achieve the imaginedresult. Bracticing the !any

ele!ents o# #or! is #ine because it !ay give the body !ore strength and the !ind !ore

in#or!ation to use in producing the e(perience to !atch the i!age. %ut the !ind is

power#ully creative and o#ten co!es up with une(pected surprises #or individuals along

the way to achieving higher levels o# skill.

Mind Movies

Mind Movies is another ele!ent o# the !ind activity that is i!portant to understand.

+i!e doesn0t stand still. A practice !ay last several hours with the i!ages in your !ind

playing like a !ovie, not like a portrait hanging in your !ind. +hat single portrait i!age

is still i!portant because a !ovie is !ade o# !any #ast !oving 4still5 shots.

hen we create a goal or an intention, we essentially insert a single new i!age

#ra!e into the continuous &> 2= hour !ovie that daily plays in our !ind. +hat is very

signi#icant. 3tudies in the >Hs and 7Hs showed that when audiences were shown a #ull

length !ovie with a single #ra!e inserted that instructed the viewer to buy #ood at the

concession stand, a larger percentage o# the audience !ade concession stand

purchases.



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he single command frame was in%isible to the audiences conscious awareness,

but a significant number of them responded ne%ertheless.

As in those studies, there are i!portant correlations to our !ind activity.

K e do not !ove through our daily activity with silent !inds. $!ages, language

and #eelings play continuously.

K Movies are !ade o# huge nu!bers o# still i!ages with only slight changes #ro!

one to the ne(t. +he !ovie we produce in our !inds runs as a continuous loop

EautopilotF and also consists o# !any still i!ages with slight variations #ro! one to

the ne(t.

K A single new i!age that has been inserted into our !ind !ovie will have an

e##ect even though it !ay not result in the #ull outco!e we thought we desired.

K +he !ore new still i!ages we insert into our !ind !ovie, the !ore visible and

clear the i!age beco!es as our conscious e(perience.

Mind Movies Relate To Your Life

$# you knew how the entire daily !ovie in your !ind Econsisting o# !any still shotsF

was the very #il! that produced the entire daily e(periences in your li#e, would that

change how you use your !ind8 3o!e people respond to that idea incredulously,

i!!ediately de#ending its absolute absurdity and i!possibility.

$ understand that response because the i!plications o# this are staggering #or !ost

o# us andinco!prehensible. $t is true, nevertheless. -ur !ind !ovies do, however,



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involve !assive a!ounts o# non'conscious i!ages and !any con#licting i!ages that

cancel each others e##ects.

$# we truly want to e(perience the power o# consciously changing our e(perience,

and i# we believe or suspect that any!ind activity can result in a corresponding e##ect in

our physical e(perience, then we !ust recogniGe that the niversal laws creating that

e##ect cannot be applied arbitrarily. +here#ore, i# any!ind activity has power, then all

si!ilar !ind activity has that sa!e power.

$ have !ountains o# undeniable personal proo# that !ind activity is inseparably

linked to physical e(perience. "ou probably have so!e also. 3cience has proven the

link !any ti!es over. +he !ost astounding result o# so!e phar!aceutical studies is

that #or !any participants, placebo pills or capsules consistently per#or! as well as

!any o# the drugs being tested. -ne'third to one'hal# the people receiving placebos in

!ost drug studies do as well as the participants receiving the drug.

+he placebo e##ect is a direct result o# !ind activity creating a physical e(perience.

?one o# those test participants consciouslyinput i!ages o# the desired results in an

e##ort to create the!. +hey unconsciously inserted a !ental i!age o# 4possible5 results

each ti!e they took the placebo. $t #elt to the! like they were )ust 4thinking5 about what

they were doing or that they were being aware o# the possibilities that !ight show up in

their e(perience.

+he study participants were asked to pay attention throughout their day to any

physical e##ects they !ay be e(periencing. /ach ti!e they noticed any slight possible

change, the 4possible5 i!age was slightly strengthened E!ore #ra!es o# the i!age



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added to the !ind !ovieF, and produced a slightly stronger physical e(perience.

/ventually the physical e(perience was substantial, and even physically !easurable by

the scientists.

+hose who #ailed to produce results #ro! taking placebos #ocused their !ental

i!ages di##erently. Berhaps they #ocused on the likelihood that they got a sugar pill and

nothing !ore. Berhaps they were so #ocused on other events in their lives they gave

little or no thought to the drug tests they were involved with. +hose participants who

received the actual test drug, but showed no e##ects, likely did the sa!e.

+he drug co!panies thought they were testing drug co!pounds. +hey have instead

been testing, and providing !assive a!ounts o# proo# that the !ind has a substantial

e##ect on our physical e(perience.

+here are now two co!pleted studies o# placebo surgery that produced results.

6ro! placebo drugs and placebo surgeries we know that !ind has at least some e##ect

on our physical e(perience. $# someo# our e(perience is generated by the i!ages in

our !ind, then the real uestion that !ust be answered beco!es, "hat then, would be

generating the rest of our experience# hen power#ul drugs have no e##ects on so!e

people, but do see! to a##ect others, and in those sa!e studies, the placebos produce

si!ilar results, we have to look at the role o# the !ind in creating our e(periences.

e are unconscious o# the vast !a)ority o# the i!ages that play in our !inds.

;uring the 2& day training at the end o# this book you0ll begin inserting !ore and !ore

purpose#ul i!ages into your !ind and holding the! #or longer ti!es. +he e##ects you



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desire will co!e #aster and easier as you practice and learn to put !ore o# your !ind on

the ga!e results you pre#er instead o# the results you #ear.

6ta% a#a% from thinkin' a-out #hat is #ron'

+he conseuences o# #ocusing on what you or tea!!ates, u!pires, or coaches are

doing wrong rather than #ocusing on your own pre#erred skill and outco!e is a very

slippery concept #or !any people to get hold o#. $t seemsso logical that we can0t

i!prove a skill i# we can0t see what0s wrong with what we0re doing. $t seemslogical that

i# a player is doing so!ething that prevents success, then so!eone should point that

out. "es, it would see! so, but it doesnt wor$ if the coaching continues to focus on

whats wrong. hy it doesn0t work beco!es obvious when you understand how the

!ind works.

$n 99L o# the cases, i# we are #ailing in achieving any success then that #ailure has

been generated in one place only ' the !ind. 1olding the i!age o# success will !ove

the body into the e(perience o# success #aster and easier than any encourage!ent,

discussion, threats or even ranting and raving about what0s wrong. he more time and

attention you gi%e to whats wrong, the more you contribute to diluting the experience of

success for either yourself or another player.

$t isn0t necessarily easy to learn to support i!ages o# success. -ur societal

tendency is to #ocus on what is 4!issing5 rather than what is pre#erred. $t is interesting,

that regardless o# the #ocus, our !inds are diligently working #or us to create the

e(perience we imageor i!agine ' #or good or ill.



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$t is i!portant to understand the power o# our !ind0s i!ages and labels. $n nearly

every )unior league sports ga!e you can observe children e(pressing their #rustration at

#ailing yet again. +hey s!ash bats, balls, hel!ets or #ists to the ground. +hey hang

their heads in sha!e and pain as they drag the!selves to the ne(t play. "ou can

al!ost see the private i!ages o# sel# they are seeing in their !inds, and it isn0t pretty.

More i!portantly, those not'so'private negative i!ages are at work contributing to the

nextga!e e(periences that child will encounter.

As we grow into adults we learn ways to copewith our i!ages o# #ailure or to avoid

the kinds o# e(periences that have so !any #ailure i!ages attached to the!. e don0t

think to change the i!ages in our !ind because we didn0t realiGe those i!ages were

i!portant in creating the e(periences o# #ailure. %ut they were...and they still are. $n

#act, those !ental i!ages are critically i!portant to the on going results we e(perience '

every day o# our lives.

%e#ore they learn about #ailure, in#ants and s!all children are our best instructors #or

learning new skills. hen they #ail to achieve the picture in their !inds, they )ust start

again. ntil they are taught di##erently, there are no pain#ul i!ages in their !inds about

having #ailed or that they took too long to learn, or any o# the other versions o# #ailure

that plague our thoughts by the ti!e we get !idway through ele!entary school.

"ou aren0t stuck with those negative i!ages )ust because you once 4saw5 it that

way or so!eone else saw it that way. Changing your belie#s is o#ten not an overnight

event, but it is do'able, and it can be #ast. As you notice a #eeling o# #ailure, create a



33/114

new picture by thinking about e(periencing that event the way you0d really pre#er.

Re!e!ber that !ind i!ages play like a !ovie ' a lot o# #ast !oving still i!ages.

3top the !ovie in your !ind and pay attention to how you 4see5 yoursel# as having

#ailed. Change the picture by thinking about how you want to e(perience that event. $n

the 2& day plan you will learn how to apply several very i!portant key concepts to !ake

that possible and easy.

As in#ants, we involve our !inds in our e##orts to acco!plish our goals but it0s an

instinctive process. e aren0tpurposefullydoing it, and, in #act, probably don0t even

realiGe the i!portant role desire E!ental i!ageF plays in our resulting e(periences.

,e )an -ecome unconscious of our o#n *references&

hen the adults in our lives begin to 4teach5 us things and #ail to include the

i!portant role o# our !ental i!ages, we re!ain unconscious o# that i!portant ele!ent.

orse, we lose awareness o# our real goals. orse, still, because that is part o# our

unconscious desure. orse, still, we begin to have goals o# pleasing others. e desire

what others want #or us along with, or instead o#, what we really pre#er #or ourselves.

$n sports, $ watch kids desire and choose to play a certain position because it see!s

!ore gla!orous or !akes a parent happy, when they really want to play a di##erent

position or even another sport, or !aybe no sport at all. (utting your mind into your

game starts with $nowing what +O prefer to ha%e as +O- experience . +hat can be

tough to identi#y when you believe your e(perience o# success depends on how well you

per#or! #or parents, coaches and #riends.



34/114

$# you #eel like you0ve let so!eone down or that you !ight do so, you !ay be trying

to adopt another0s idea o# success or what you believe so!eone else sees as your

success. $# your !ind0s i!age has an audience or person that you are trying to please,

you have a cloudy i!age that can only produce spotty inco!plete success.

Create and 4see5 the i!age that pleases yourather than one that reuires another

to be pleased by you. -ur audiences cannot be pleased by trying to please the!.

+hey can only be pleased when we have pleased ourselves with the )oy o# achieving

our own personally sought a#ter goals or skills.

$t is critical to put your !ind to work i!agining the ga!e or per#or!ance results you

pre#er. Coaches need to incorporate this into every skill practice.

As athletes, you need to take charge o# your own i!agination as you run through

drills and even as you play your ga!e. Bay attention to how that skill #its into the ga!e.

"hat will the sounds be...how will it feel when its right#...what will happen next#...how

will & feel about my successful play#...where will it ta$e me#



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)ha*ter 7

,atch %our lan'ua'e2

+his is !y #avorite chapter o# this book. $t is key. anguage is your !ost

power#ul tool #or identi#ying your existingli!iting i!ages and also #or creating and

sharpening your !ind i!ages to !atch what you truly pre#er to e(perience.

e don0t think o# language as a physical activity but it is. 3peech is, o# course,

one o# the basic physical e(pressions o# our thoughts and belie#s. 6or the purpose o# it

is one o# the pri!ary keys you will use to identi#y put your !ental i!ages.

6or e(a!ple An angry or e!otional outburst upon #ailing to per#or! a certain

skill in a ga!e is a clear indicator that the player #eels he has #ailed and there#ore is

rein#orcing the i!age o# #ailure that supports such an outburst. +he player0s !ental

i!age !ay be o# failing to please. +he i!age is likely to be one o# inadeuacy in so!e

way and is identi#ied in language like, 4too s!all, too big, too weak, too unskilled, too

du!b, too tired, too !isunderstood, etc.5

-ur language !atches our !ental i!ages. 1ere0s a secret, and it is one o# the

!ost i!portant secrets in this book. -ur !ental i!ages produce our everyday

language but also our everyday language can be consciously changed and then

this produces a changed mental image.

Berhaps the best way to show the power o# both silent and spoken words is with

two true stories. $ tell a #uller version o# the #ollowing two stories in a presentation $ call,

4+he /ight ords +hat ill Change "our i#e.5 "ou can listen to a #ree


36/114

$n the #irst story, the unconscious power words were a silent, 4$ can0t.5 +hey were

never spoken, )ust silently thought, #elt and experienced.

As $0ve already !entioned, $ decided to ho!e'school !y two sets o# twins. +he

older two were substantially dysle(ic and the younger two had a lot o# trouble staying

#ocused. 1aving been a certi#ied public school teacher #or several years, $ wanted !y

children to e(perience their early learning without so!e o# the possible negative social

and sel# i!age results that are o#ten associated with their uniue learning styles in a

public school setting. 3till, $ had to deal with the proble!s o# how to teach the! the

basics o# reading, writing and !ath.

A#ter over three years o# ho!e'school $ still had no child who could read. -ne

!orning, $ atte!pted to re'teach one o# !y older twins the basic phonetic co!ponents

o# #ive three'letter words that were needed in order to read a very s!all beginning book.

My children had learned and #orgotten the sounds and letters over and over #or !ore

than three years. $ suspected the younger ones #ound it di##icult because they learned

#ro! the older ones that it !ust be so.

$ was e(tre!ely #rustrated. A#ter discovering !y son had #orgotten Eyet againF

everything we had acco!plished the previous day, $ sla!!ed !y #ist on the dining

roo! table and yelled out, 4$ can do this $ can do this, da!n it5 and $ stor!ed into the

kitchen to create physical distance #ro! !y son.

As $ stood there #u!ing, $ heard the words in !y !ind, +es, you $now you can

do this, but it isnt you who needs to $now it. e has to $now that he can do it.



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$ walked back to !y son and said, 43ay the words, 8I can do this&03

4%ut $ can0t,5 he whined back. +hat was the #irst ti!e $ had ever heard hi!

verbaliGe his belie#.

$ said, 43ay the words anyway, 8I can do this&05

1e barely whispered the words.

4ouder5 $ yelled. $ badgered the boy until he was screa!ing, 4$ CA? ;- +1$35

4?ow, $ want you to say, & can do this, and I do. 3ay it over and over without

stopping, until it0s true,5 $ responded #ir!ly.

1e repeated the words two ti!es and hal#way through the third ti!e he stopped.

$ spun around to #ace hi! and yelled at hi!, 4$ told you toN5

1e interrupted !e with, 4$s itN3a!805

$ stopped in !id sentence, suddenly con#used. 4ellNyes,5 $ answered

cautiously.

1e slowly read the three'word sentence without help, 43a! cNaNn sNiNt, 3a!

can sit.5 1e turned the page and read the ne(t one and the ne(t until he #inished all ten

pages o# that little red 43a!5 book. 1e got the second book and read it. 1e got the

third book and read until he got stuck hal#way through. 1e was very e(cited and wanted

to learn the new sounds and letters. $ bitterly thought, +a, he can read it today but

tomorrow he may ha%e forgotten it all as if none of this happened.

$ suggested he !ove on to !ath and $ would teach hi! the new sounds and

letters the ne(t day. 3ure enough, the ne(t day he couldn0t re!e!ber any o# the #irst

book. 1e struggled #or a while then said, 4-h, $ re!e!ber, & can do this/and/



38/114

uh...and/& do it!5 1e repeated the !agic words twice !ore then began reading the

book. 1e uickly got to the sa!e place where he was stuck the previous day. /(citedly

he re!inded !e o# !y pro!ise to teach hi! what he needed to know to continue

reading through to the ne(t book.

+he other three kids were stunned. $ was stunned. My dysle(ic son acted as

you would e(pect so!eone to act who was )ust #reed #ro! prison. 1e was e(cited, #ull

o# energy and wanted to e(perience !ore o# his #reedo!.

-ver the ne(t week everything and everyone changed in our ho!e'school. e

never had another learning proble! e(cept one the challenge o# realiGing that we

were unconsciously saying, 4$ can0t,5 instead o#, 4$ can and $ do.5 hen we recogniGed

our unconscious 4$ can0t5 and !ade the change in our language, the results happened

so #ast we were a!aGed every single ti!e.

The Ma'ic of lan'ua'e a**lies in all areas #here lan'ua'e is used&

At the ti!e all that was taking place, $ was doing so!e re!odeling work on !y

ho!e and the city inspector regularly inspected the work as $ progressed. $ #ailed an

electrical inspection nu!erous ti!es. $ si!ply could not !ake the three way switches

work. $ #ollowed the diagra!s in !y instruction book e(actly, but the switches wouldn0t

work and the inspector !ade it very clear that he was not !y instructor.

$ heard !ysel# say, 4hy can0t $ get this right85 +hat0s a uestion version o#, 4&

cant get this right.5 $ heard the re!inder in !y !ind, 0hange the language to, & can.5



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$ rebelled. hat wont wor$! & really cant do this. &m not an electrician, & dont

$now how, and the boo$ doesnt help. ow could the words, & can change all that#

+he voice in !y !ind persisted in urging !e to change !y language. 4-,5 $ answered

back reluctantly, 4$0ll try it.5

$ said the words out loud even while doubting that anything would change, 4$ can

do this and $ do it.5 $ walked away #ro! the proble! switch $ was working on and

hal#way across the roo!, noticed the instruction book. $ picked it up and was stunned at

what $ saw. $ noticed that the artist !ay have reversed two o# the colored wires in the

sketch as they passed behind the switch plate. $ went to the switch and rewired it as it

would have been i# the colors hadn0t been reversed in the sketch. +he light worked

per#ectly and $ passed the inspection later that day.

-n that day the !agic words, 4$ can do this and $ do it,5 beca!e a #reuent

state!ent in !y ho!e and in !y !ind.

Language will show you what you are envisioning by default, and

language is the tool that you use to create a new vision.

anguage is a paintbrush that creates the i!ages in our !ind that in turn create

the actual e(periences o# our lives. $t doesn0t feellike we had anything to do with

!aking the e(perience happen, but we did ' with the paintbrush o# both silent

EunconsciousF and intentional language.

nconscious language #eels silent but it is active nevertheless. "ou !ay not



40/114

hear yoursel# say, 4$ can0t do this.5 "ou !ay only #eel the #rustration that is linked to the

unconsciously believed words.

atch your language, observe it #ro! the perspective o# beco!ing aware o# the

i!age o# yoursel# that is currently playing in your !ind and your li#e. 6or e(a!ple Angry

or bla!ing language is supported by !ental i!ages that are about you being kept away

#ro! your goals instead o# achieving the!.

hen you say, 4$ hope$ succeed in this ga!e or play,5 you rein#orce an i!age o#

possible or even likely #ailure. 3i!ply saying di##erent words will insert a new i!age into

the !ovie o# i!ages #lashing through your !ind and radiating into your e(perience.

$nstead o# 4hope5 how about, 4$ $now$0! going to reach !y goals or get !uch closer to

the!, and learn !ore about how to i!prove !y ga!e even #urther.5 +hose words

create an i!age o# you growing stronger and stronger in your ga!e and skills

awareness ' no !atter what the i!!ediate apparent outco!e see!s to be.

hen you clai! that so!ething is hard #or you, your !ental i!age is also that

you are atte!pting so!ething that is hard. +hat will be your e(perience as long as you

hold those i!ages o# 4hard5. $t !ay see! #ar #etched that si!ply changing your words

can change your e(perience, -ut it does. +ry it. hen you hear yoursel# saying, 4+his

is hard.5 change your state!ent to the new words, 4+his is easy, and $ do it easily.5 +he

results will a!aGe you.

hen you say, 4$ cant...Ehit a ball consistentlyF, or, $0! nota good...EhitterF, or, $

dont...EhitF well,5 the !ental i!ages that !atch those words are obvious. $ know it



41/114

see!s like you0re )ust reporting on reality as you know it but you0re doing !ore ' !uch

!ore. and produce this language are obvious. $ know it see!s like you0re )ust reporting

on reality as you know it, but you0re doing !ore. "ou0re creating another still i!age in

your !ovie o# yoursel#, and there#ore another e(perience o# your being less than you

pre#er to be.

se new language to insert a still i!age that places you in a success#ul role.

4$0! getting better and better at...5

4$ learn !ore all the ti!e about...5

4$ love to...Ehit the ballF.5

Another co!!on use o# language that has hidden negative e##ects on your ga!e

is when you speak un#avorably about a tea! !ate. hen you do that you create an

i!age o# you being in con#lict with the tea!. $t see!s like you0re innocently reporting on

what you see. $n a sense you are, because you0re seeing your previous !ental i!ages

replayed as your current physical e(perience. %ut there0s !uch !ore going on. "ou0re

also sending in#or!ation to your subconscious !ind to be added to the !ovie o# your

li#e that will re'create itsel# in your e(perience again.

An i!age o# a tea! that is in con#lict with you, is not an i!age o# success #or you.

3peak o# your tea!!ates supportively. ;o the sa!e #or yoursel# and you0ll be inserting

a continuous strea! o# !ental i!ages placing you in the role o# an i!portant supportive

ele!ent in the success o# the tea!.



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Lan'ua'e is a ver% *o#erful tool

$t will help you #ind unwanted i!ages. $t will also one o# your !ost power#ul tools

to insert the new i!ages that you pre#er into your subconscious !ind to pro)ect into your

physical e(perience. ?otice your everyday choice o# words. +hink about your words

and the !ental i!age that they create. hat is your role in the i!ages your language

produces8 $s your language creating a !ental i!age o# you being success#ul...or less

than success#ul8 A power player...or so!eone tryingto be a power player8

+he subconscious !ind is absolutely literal in its reproduction o# the i!ages you

hold in your !ind. +he #uture result o# an i!age o# you trying to be skilled is going to be

you, 3+$ tryingto be skilled, but not actually reaching a result o# %/$?@ as skilled as

you would pre#er. "ou can only reach the goal o# beingskilled by holding i!ages o# you

beingskilled.

$# you want anything, the i!age the subconscious receives is o# you lackingthat

which you want. "ou cannot 4want5 what you have, and you do not have what you

4want.5 $n your !ind you !ust insert i!ages and #eelings o# you 1A:$?@ the #eeling o#

being #ul#illed. ?otice $ didn0t say 4having that which you want.5

Beople tend to believe that having so!e certain thing or e(perience will !ake

the! #eel happy or #ul#illed. ?ot so. "ou don0t have to live very !any years to discover

that even when you get what you want it doesn0t necessarily translate to #eeling happy,

at least #or !ore than a short ti!e.

1old !ental i!ages o# you being #ul#illed, grate#ul to be you, happy with your



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ga!e per#or!ance, living the e(periences you BR/6/R. $# you #ocus on the skill level

you currently have, you will continue having that skill level. $# you #ocus on a skill level

you A?+ to have, you will continue wanting to have that skill level. $# you continue to

hold your #ocus on 1A:$?@ and en)oying any skill level Eregardless o# what shows up in

your current e(perienceF you will #ind yoursel# 1A:$?@ and en)oying that skill level.

hen you #ocus on lack you will get !ore lack. hen you #ocus on the work

reuired to achieve skill or to #eel #ul#illed in any way, you will get !ore o# the work you

believe is reuired. hen you #ocus on %/$?@ already in the e(perience rather than

wanting it or trying to get it, then you will %/ in the e(perience !ore uickly than you

!ight i!agine. "our subconscious !ind will reproduce in your outer e(periences, the

literal essence o# your inner i!ages.

hen you notice other people0s language o# #ailure and li!itation, use that

awareness to re#ine your own !ental i!ages. $t does you little good to #i( so!eone

else0s !ental i!ages. $t0s )ust another subtle i!age you need to watch #or ' the i!age

o# someone elses!ental i!age being strong enough to block your own.

+his shows up with co!!ents like, 4e0ll never win this ga!e i# you don0t stop all

that negative chatter.5 +he speaker o# that sentence co!pletely !isses his own

creative language saying, 4"ell ne%er win this gamei#N5 +he speaker o# that sentence

has placed hi! or hersel# in the role o# powerless victi! ' victi! o# another person0s

choices.

+he idea o# another0s language being too negative or power#ul is not real. $t0s

)ust an i!age that is based on a very strong belie# in our society that tells us other



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people or circu!stances can keep us #ro! the success we pre#er #or ourselves.

hen you #ind yoursel# bla!ing others #or li!iting your e(periences, notice where

you are in your !ental i!age. "ou are in the role o# 4director5 trying to !ake the power

players per#or! in a way that will A- you to #eel success#ul or power#ul. @uess

where your subconscious !ind will continue to place you in your physical li#e

e(perience8 "ou will continue to #ind yoursel# as the 4director5 tryingto !ake the power

players per#or! di##erently Ebut probably not success#ullyF.

$nstead, see yoursel# as the power player. $0! not talking about seeing yoursel#

as overpowering others, or o# having power greater than others. $0! talking about

seeing yoursel# as #ul#illed ' no !atter whatever else goes on. 3ee and speak o# the

others as per#or!ing per#ectly #or your greatest bene#it. 3ee Eand sayF that they can do

nothing e(cept what will bene#it you the !ost. ;on0t decide what they should do.

;ecide only that whatever they do is per#ect #or you.

$t !ay take so!e practice #or you to #eel co!#ortable holding yoursel# in that kind

o# thinking but guess what your subconscious !ind will reproduce #or you when you do8

As always, it will give you the literal reproduction o# the i!age you give it.

+he reason that saying, 4$ can do this and $ do it,5 is so power#ul is that it gives

the subconscious !ind an i!age o# you being #ul#illed. 4$ can0t5 gives the subconscious

!ind the i!age o# you being denied that which you want.5

@et your !ental i!ages in line with supporting your pre#erred goals by getting

your language in line with the !ental i!ages of you that you truly pre#er to e(perience.

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%egin to cultivate the habit o# saying and thinking things that create the i!ages o# you

having what you love rather than si!ply reporting on your li#e as i# your words had no

value or power other than to describe what is. "ou are !uch !ore than a reporter o#

li#e. "ou are a creator o# li#e as you e(perience it.

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)ha*ter 9

Put %our Mind in YOURGame

$n any ga!e you play, it will play out according to the pictures you hold in your

!ind. $# it see!s like that isn0t what0s happening, you have i!ages, #eelings, and

language that you aren0t paying attention to.

-#ten when we atte!pt to i!agine what we pre#er, we0re still holding the i!age o#

what we0re a#raid o# or what we want to i!prove upon. +hat would be the case when

we0re 4trying to o%ercome a wea$ness5 or 4trying to break through a barrier5 or even

4deter!ined to beat a pre%ious speed or s$ill .5 /ach o# those holds the old i!age in

place because the new i!age is based on the old i!age.

Butting your !ind in the ga!e reuires practice. +o beco!e really e##ective at

consciously directing your !ind in the ga!e, you have to !ake an i!portant shi#t in how

you see things. "ou have to let the physical part o# your skill practices and your ga!e

per#or!ance take a di##erent role.

"our physical practice does not stand alone as the pri!ary !eans to reach your

goal. "ou !ust begin to obser%eyour per#or!ance in your practices in order to identi#y

the i!ages you are holding in your !ind. -nce you beco!e conscious o# the currently

operating i!age you can re#ine that i!age and #ine'tune it ever !ore directly to the level

o# skill and success you pre#er.

1igh achieving athletes do this instinctively. e all do it accidentally. At one



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point in her horse!anship training, !y daughter was an average to better than average

rider with a precision drill tea! o# horses and riders.

-ne day the tea! instructor announced that the tea! would be riding bareback

and even loping bareback in two weeks. My daughter was beyond e(cited. 3he talked

about it #or two weeks. 3he i!agined it. 3he saw hersel# loping bareback and could

hardly wait. $t do!inated her thoughts. 3he knew she would love it and so that0s the

i!age she held.

hen the day ca!e to actually ride bareback, she rode e(ceptionally well. 3he

rode better than the #ew tea! !e!bers who had been riding bareback #or !any weeks.

+he instructors were a!aGed. My daughter, however, was not a!aGed. 3he was

thrilled because the ride was the e(act duplicate o# what she had drea!ed #or two

weeks and even better because it was the actual physical duplicate with wind blowing in

her #ace and the sweaty horse responding to her legs and #eet as she instinctively

co!!unicated her instructions.

+he other parents watching in the stands spoke o# how nervous their children

had been about riding bareback. +heir children0s rides were also the e(act duplicate o#

what they had drea!ed or i!agined #or two weeks. +hey struggled. +hey #ell o##. +hey

bounced. +hey held back. $ut the% #ere ever% -it as successful as m% dau'hter

#as in ex*eriencin' the result of their mind ima'e&

Nothin' Is Real Until You 6a% 6o&

+here0s another i!portant application #or putting your !ind into "-R ga!e.



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-#ten you will e(perience a personEsF or circu!stances that you believe is keeping you

#ro! your goal or your drea!. $t !ay be a tea!!ate, a coach, u!pire, co!petitor, or it

!ay )ust #eel like lady luck is turning her back on you.

hen you #eel that way you can put your !ind to work #or you in a little di##erent

way that will have a power#ul i!pact on your ga!e. $nstead o# seeing what you want to

have happen, see what $3 happening as a benefitto you instead o# a resistanceto you.

6or e(a!ple, i# the coach isn0t playing you and you think he should, you have the

power to #ra!e that e(perience as a bene#it instead o# a denial o# your bene#it. -nce

you do, you are back in control o# your e(perience and your !arch to your goals. "our

e(perience will change a!aGingly #ast. 1ere are so!e e(a!ples.

"ou !ay use the bench ti!e to observe an e(cellent player and learn the details

o# a higher level o# per#or!ance that you pre#er to incorporate into your ga!e.

"ou !ay realiGe you0re getting so!e needed downti!e because you0re body is in

a growth spurt.

"ou !ay have a valuable conversation during your bench ti!e.

+here are always i!portant bene#its that will open up to youas soon as you

claim the experience as a benefit. "ou hold yoursel# as a victi! powerless to achieve

your goals as long as you clai! an e(perience is a denial o# bene#it #or you.

Butting your !ind in "-R ga!e in this way will trans#or! your ga!e

e(perience, your ga!e relationships, and your relationship with yoursel#. +he results

will only be positive and support your higher achieve!ent. Choose to #ra!e your

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e(perience with you being supported rather than being the victi! o# so!eone or so!e

circu!stance.

1ave you ever heard so!eone say so!ething like, 4 +he coach doesn0t like !e85

+hey have given their subconscious !ind an i!age o# the! being unsupported. +he

subconscious !ind M3+ reproduce that i!age in their physical e(periences. $t is no

di##erent when so!eone says, 4$0! not tall enough, strong enough, the right color, s!art

enough, or whatever.

hether your i!ages portray you as a victi! o# others or a victi! o#

circu!stances, it0s all )ust an i!age the subconscious M3+ duplicate in your li#e

e(perience. $# you want to change your li#e e(perience you M3+ change the i!ages

you give to your subconscious !ind and that is done by changing the language you

use. +hat, in turn, creates the i!ages that #or! in your !ind.

,hat if it doesn0t #ork(

+hereOs one !ore !ental detour $ would like you to be aware o#. ithout

e(ception, every person to who! $ have taught this process has responded sooner or

later with so!e version o# the #ollowing !ental i!age. 4$ tried changing !y language

and it didnOt work Eor it didnOt work in a speci#ic applicationF.5 $t is subtle but very

i!portant. "ou think you are reporting reality as it is, %+ "- AR/ ;-$?@ 3- MC1

M-R/

"ou are creating an i!age with those words that the subconscious !ind will



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act on as e##ectively as it does with any !ental i!age you give it. +he !inute you give

up on seeing and #eeling the success you desire, you have lost it, A?; ?-+ A

M-M/?+ 3--?/R e are habitual reporters who are )ust beginning to beco!e

conscious o# our power#ul and always active ability to create.

:ailure is not failure until %ou sa% it is&

Call an e(perience #ailure i# thatOs what you really pre#er it to be. %ut call it an

i!portant step to your success i# youOd rather keep traveling the path to success. And i#

you want to shorten your path to success, continue to hold in your !ind the #ocus o# you

being and #eeling #ul#illed by yoursel# and your li#e.

%e#ore you can ever !aster the physical skills you pre#er, you must!aster

!aking your !ind i!ages !atch what you love and pre#er rather than your #ear, or

li!iting belie#s. +he 2& day progra! that #ollows this chapter guides you through the

steps and keys to that process.

+o get you started thinking about applying new !ental i!ages to your sport,

here are so!e suggestions #or various sports. As you read the #ollowing in#or!ation

you0ll begin applying it to your own sport and you0ll uickly #ind your !ind #illing with

ideas that apply speci#ically to you being success#ul at your own sports drea!.

:ieldin' in $ase-all or 6oft-all. 3trive to never allow your !ind to stick with an i!age

o# you !issing or dropping the ball. 3ee yoursel# consistently being in the right place

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and catching the ball. 3ee that ball staying in your glove. 3ee every !issed ball as an

opportunity to i!prove your skill and your !ental i!age o# you achieving your goal.

-:/ +1/ $MA@/3 "- CR/A+/

/ven though dives #or the ball are thrilling and audience pleasing, they can

also be dangerous i# you hold those i!ages o# danger. $n your !ind i!ages see

yoursel# always sa#e, in control, and always esti!ating the arrival position o# the ball

accurately. hen a batter hits a ball to your part o# the #ield, see yoursel# catching it no

!atter how #ar out o# your reach you think it !ay actually be. -:/ +1/ +1R$ -6

CA+C1$?@ +1/ %A 1/+1/R $+ $3 A? $MA@$?AR" -?/ -R A R/A -?/

3ee yoursel# i!!ediately knowing the best player to throw the ball to and see

yoursel# responding instantly with the per#ect throw. 6eel proud to be you and en)oying

the player that you are.

$# you see yoursel# as a slow runner, you !ight want to change that i!age,

but re!e!ber, it0s not )ust #ast running that !akes a success#ul out#ielder. $t0s also

about correctly predicting your own position as you prepare #or each hitter, pitcher, and

play. 3ee yoursel# easily and #reuently acco!plishing the goal that you believe #ast

running will get you.

$# you see yoursel# as having inconsistent control when throwing the ball to

the in#ield, see your throw reaching the in#ield player in e(actly the place it needs to be

and at the speed you planned. ;uring practices and even during a ga!e, see the entire

successful play no !atter what actually takes place on the #ield. ;oing so will uickly

begin to replace those li!iting i!ages you !ay be holding.



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%egin to eli!inate the i!ages related to 4$ hope $ don0t over throw or under

throw the ball.5 atch #or 4hoping5 that you0ll do okay as you play your ga!e. 41oping5

usually incorporates i!ages o# possible #ailure as well as success.

%aseball is !uch !ore than a collection o# hitting and throwing skills. $t is a

ga!e o# strategy, big picture awareness and relationships. A good baseball player

plays with con#idence, and instinct while applying the knowledge and skills learned #ro!

coaches and #ro! playing the ga!e. 3ee yoursel# as that kind o# player. -:/ 1-

$+ 6//3 +- %/ +1A+ $?; -6 BA"/R. 3ee yoursel# instinctively !aking the

power play. "our ga!e will #ollow your !ind.

$asket-all& ?ever go through the !otions o# shooting a #ree throw or a )u!p shot

without seeing a ball leave your hands and arc straight into the hoop. 6eel yoursel#

)udging the per#ect #orce #or the distance, accurately every ti!e, as you watch your

i!aginary ball drop through the hoop. -:/ 1- +1A+ 6//3 1/+1/R $+ $3

$MA@$?AR" -R R/A

;ribbling. 6eel yoursel# in control o# the ball as it bounces, knowing where the

ball is and knowing that it is where you want it to be. 3ee your sel# con#idently choosing

the correct pass #or the play Ebounce pass, chest pass, alley oopF. $n you !ind i!age

see that you are aware o# where the other players are and correctly anticipating their

!oves. 3ee yoursel# easily beco!ing a key athlete leading the tea! with e(cellent



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strategy and skill. -:/ 1- $+ 6//3 +- %/ +1/ %A3/+%A BA"/R -6

"-R ;R/AM3

Track 6or sprinting, see yoursel# winning the race. hen you hear runners co!ing up

on you, keep your !ind #ocused on the outco!e you pre#er win no matter what the

other runners do or where they are at the finish line. 3ee yoursel# running each

seg!ent o# the sprint correctly and auto!atically. -:/ +1/ B-/R $? "-R

%-;" A?; +1/ AMAP$?@ 3B//; +1A+ BR-;C/3

3ee your ar!s, hands, legs and #eet slicing the air power#ully with per#ect #or! as

you are the #irst runner o## the starting block in a power#ul e(plosive !otion, staying low

and driving until the e(act right !o!ent to stand up and increase the speed o# your legs

!oving up and down. 6eel yoursel# breathing in su##icient o(ygen to #uel your speed all

the way to the #inal tape. 6eel and see yoursel# allowing the energy and speed needed

to sprint ahead at the proper ti!e. 6eel your ankles and knees strong and healthy as

you push your speed.

Above all, #eel your body cross the #inish line as the clock records your target

ti!e. 6eel the )oy o# your success and the -:/ -6 %/$?@ +1/ /IC//?+

R??/R "- AR/, whether it is an i!aginary or a real co!petition

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/+ AY TRAINING"x*and. "x*lore. Push Your $oundaries

+he 2& day training progra! begins with setting your pre#erred

goals and ends with a celebrationQcontinuation. A#ter you get hal#

way through you will begin again at day 2 and repeat through day

ten. "ou will #inish with day 2& as you graduate to the role o#

%our o#n personal coach, keeping your !ind in "-R ga!e.

+he 2& day schedule will look like this


/&createne#ima'es

5&ne#lan'ua'e

7&think-i''er

9&findin'*itfalls

;&-od%lan'ua'e

&inte'ration

/+&continuation


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"ach da% %ou #ill read information a-out that da%0s focus and then %ou

#ill #rite a sentence or t#o as instructed& The sentence is sim*l% to in*ut a ne#

ima'e that %ou #ill ex*and throu'hout that da% and continue throu'hout the rest

of the /+ da% *lan&

I stron'l% recommend that %ou kee* a 1ournal of %our /+ da%s includin' t#ent%

minutes or so *er da% of #ritin' a-out %our o#n a#areness. aha2 moments and

other *ersonal thou'hts& In addition to readin' each da%0s instruction. %ou #ill

notice throu'hout the da%. the elements in YOUR mind that #ere *resented in the

information *a'es.



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a% + @ 6et Your Goals

%e#ore beginning your 2& day !ind training progra!, identi#y so!e goals #or the

ne(t ga!e season or events that will #ollow the 2& days. Also identi#y your personal

success goals #or your ne(t 2H days o# !ental practice.

hat is your personal success goal #or this season8 $t can0t be anything like, 4$

want to be a star or the best...5 +hose are goals to i!press others. "ou need to identi#y

your personal ga!e, skill and tea! goals. $0ll give you e(a!ples later in this instruction.

+he goals you identi#y will provide the #ra!ework #or several o# the activities o#

the ne(t 2H days and into your #uture. "ou are already operating with a co!plete set o#

tea! goals, skill goals and ga!e goals, and they are being #ully achieved every season.

1owever, they are probably not what you really pre#er. ?evertheless, they are your

current operating values and they deter!ine the i!ages you unconsciously input into

your !ind. +he proble!s with the old set o# goals are

you are largely unconscious o# the!

!ost o# the! were not created by you nor #or your bene#it

!any o# the! are di!inished by con#licting goals

and !any o# the! do not get you to your pre#erred goals.

et0s look !ore closely at these points. 1ow can you be unconscious o# your

goals8 Blayers o#ten e(perience their per#or!ance being a##ected by unconscious


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goals. An e(a!ple is when a player !akes an on'the'spot decision based on an

unconscious goal to look better to a tea!!ate, an observer, or an opponent rather than

deciding in #avor o# their best per#or!ance #or the ga!e. "ou0ve seen basketball

players take the center#ield )u!pshot Eand o#ten !issF rather than pass to the open

player under the basket.

nconscious goals suddenly appear unannounced and take over your decision

!aking processes. Coaches also respond to unconscious goals to look good or to

hidden unacknowledged goals rather than their goals to do what0s best #or the tea! or

the ga!e.

"ou probably have !any goals that are not created by you or #or your bene#it.

"our tea!!ates and #riends set goals #or you that are not necessarily #or your bene#it.

"ou trust the! and want to stay aligned with the! so you accept their suggestions.

+hey o#ten e(ert greater in#luence over your goal setting than either parents or coaches.

$ re!e!ber at sports tourna!ents so!e players invariably pro!oted the goal to

4party and have #un5 between ga!es. +hat generally !eant going to the ne(t ga!e

e(hausted and unable to #ocus because o# high energy play and late night sleep'overs.

$t can be very di##icult #or the serious players to hold on to their ga!e goals because o#

the !agnetic pull o# their peers0 goals.

e generally pre#er to be accepted by our peers over any other group, and the

other side o# that coin is that we also want to help our #riends and tea!!ates so we

#reely advise the! on what they should do. $ watched one o# !y sons change his



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training routine that had been given to hi! by his nationally recogniGed and very

success#ul track coach. ithout any discussion with his very success#ul coach, he

changed to a training routine reco!!ended by another runner at a trac$ meet. +he

new routine worked against the kind o# training progra! the coach had set up.

Con#licting goals are as co!!on as #lies in su!!er.

"ou want to e(cel but you don0t want to !ake your best #riend #eel inadeuate.

"ou want to be a power#ul pitcher but you don0t want to hurt the batter i# they get

hit by your pitch.

"ou want to support a strong tea! but you see what your tea!!ates are doing

wrong and want to !ake the! stop.

"ou want to #ollow the coach0s instructions but you want to test your own ideas

also.

"our coaches are giving you con#licting in#or!ation and you want to please the!

both.

-ver the ne(t 2H days you0ll begin to identi#y so!e o# those con#licting goals and

re!ove the con#lict #ro! the!.


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Many o# your goals do not take you where you think they do. 6or e(a!ple,

$ A goal to achieve per#ect ball handling formwill not necessarily result in the ball

handling results you desire.

$ +he goal o# practicing a certain a!ount o# ti!e will not necessarily get you to the

playing level you desire.

$ +he goal o# being the best pl

Put Your Mind in the Game

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