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The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive QUOTES

The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive QUOTES

1 " What will your life look like when you have become your own champion? This is the key champion question. Take some time right now to imagine that a major performance breakthrough in your game and life has just occurred and that you have become a champion all day, every day. In your mind’s eye, work your way through a regular weekday, a practice or training session, and a future competition. Draw together as much detail as possible about what it will look like to be at a gold level, to be the best version of yourself consistently. What specific actions or behaviors do you see yourself doing better or differently? "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

2 " Consider using a three-level goal system to determine your achievement levels at a training session, during the next competition, or in your upcoming season: 1) bronze, 2) silver, and 3) gold. In this system, bronze symbolizes a desired result that would be a good outcome based on a reasonable assessment of past performances and current capabilities. Silver refers to a significant improvement. Finally, gold is equivalent to achieving a best time or delivering a major performance breakthrough. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

3 " Excellence can be achieved only today—not yesterday or tomorrow, because they do not exist in the present moment. Today is the only day you have to flex your talents and maximize your enjoyment. Your challenge is to win in all aspects of life. To reach that goal, you need to set yourself up for success by winning one day at a time. Procrastination is no match for a champion. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

4 " The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

5 " Attitude is a decision, and it is also a learned behavior, requiring discipline and energy to sustain. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

6 " Think gold and never settle for silver. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

7 " Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

8 " It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much. —YOGI BERRA "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

9 " To paraphrase sprinter Maurice Greene, a onetime world record holder in the 100 meters, train like you are No. 2 (train your talent), but compete like you are No. 1 (trust your talent). "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

10 " Doubt yourself? Start doubting your doubt! "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

11 " Win the day.” This means you should take advantage of the opportunity that each day brings to be the best athlete you can be. “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse” is a winning philosophy that must be embraced to reach personal excellence and competitive greatness. Peak performance is the daily strike zone we are aiming for. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

12 " Mentally practice two or three times each week for about 10 to 15 minutes per rehearsal. Select a specific sports skill to further develop, or work your way though different scenarios, incorporating various game-ending situations. Examples include meeting your marathon goal time, striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth, or making the game-winning shot as the final buzzer is sounding. Mental practice sessions that are shorter in length are also beneficial. Good times include during any downtime in your schedule, the night before a competition, as an element of your pregame routine, and especially as part of a preshot routine. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

13 " Mental toughness can be demonstrated at a particular moment in time or over the long term, as in your overall career success. Doing the thing that is hard over and over again is like depositing money in your inner-strength bank account. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

14 " Champions play to win. Failure is just feedback. There’s everything to gain by trying your best. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

15 " The Japanese story “Ten Jugs of Wine” exemplifies the difference between just being together on a team and working together as a real team. In the tale, ten old men decide to celebrate the New Year with a big crock of hot sake. Since none of them can provide for all, they each agree to bring one jug of wine for the large heating bowl. On the way to his wine cellar, each old man thinks, “My wine is too valuable to share! No one will know. It’ll never show. It’ll still be fine. I’ll bring a jug of water instead of the wine.” And so when they gather with the jugs they brought, all ten men pour the contents of their jugs ceremoniously into the big bowl and then look sheepishly at one another as they heat and pour hot water for all. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

16 " The mental abilities of confidence, concentration, and composure are crucial for being a champion in everything you undertake, be it work or sports or both. "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

17 " The absence of adversity is an indicator that my goals aren’t significant enough. — CLINT BRUCE, FORMER NAVY SEAL AND FOOTBALL PLAYER "

― , The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive