Tag Archive: The Athlete within You

Apr 19

Is this your first time

Is this your first time?

Welcome to The Athlete within You blog site. Is this your first time? I trust it won’t be your last and you will find these posts informative, entertaining at times and useful to you as you train for sports and life. I hope that as a first time of recent visitor that you will take the tour and check out more posts. It would be even cooler if you would share them with others. My intent is to reach as many as possible. I want people to know that mental training is for everyone.

This site is all about mental training and how it helps you reach peak performance in sports and business. Many of the stories or antidotes are meant to give you a sense of understanding, that being an athlete is so much more than physical training. Certainly it is my belief that mental training is not a luxury, it is an essential – necessity. Sprinkled throughout these 100 or so posts are suggestions and exercises for mental training I have used over the last three decades to help athletes reach the highest levels in sports. I am pleased that some have made it to the world stage and even taken how the big prize. I perhaps get more satisfaction from the athletes who have moved up to the college level able to pursue their love of the game and a college education. If you read the story about my father (an elementary school teacher) , you’ll understand that I appreciate now the impact I have had on the lives of others. There have been over 2000. I wish I had stayed in better contact with them. I do hear from some even 30 years later. I may feel that way because it is so much easier for us to connect today via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I love how email and Skype has made communication so much easier.

Just a bit about me as you can find that easily in other places.

Sport Psychology Consultant Margolies honored befor game

Ceremonial Puck Drop prior to Stampede vs Weber State Game

My name is Mike Margolies. (that’s me dropping the puck) I am a Certified Mental Trainer®, Sport Psychology Consultant, former college and professional athlete (I had a sip of coffee). I’ve trained athletes for 35 years or so. I am an author. Yes my book is called The Athlete within You. It is available through Amazon and other booksellers. It is available as a Kindle too. The best way to get a copy is through my website (autographed of course). Speaking of which, if you would like to know more about mental training and sport psychology please follow the link directly to The Mental Game..

As I said if this is your first time, please take us for a spin. I am confident you will find something you like. I would love it if you would start a conversation. I can learn as much from you as you are willing to share. Good bye for now. Don’t be a stranger.

Apr 15

Sports Metaphors, Language of Business

by Mike Margolies

Sports Metaphors, Language of Business

Sports metaphors infuse the language of business. I bring this up because of some recent meetings with corporations. My approach to these corporations has been that mental training will help their employees (athletes) perform at a higher level. The reply was that while they believed in the concept, there doubt was that someone from the sports world could communicate with many of their highly technical employee’s (geeks and nerds).

My answer was a smile. At first I subtly changed the subject to the Seattle Sounders FC because I had noticed something in this directors office that lead me to believe he was a Sounders fan. He explained that while he was a fan, not all of his team understood soccer, football or baseball. at this point I started interjecting, I hoped with some semblance of being shrewd, the language of business.

I started asking about departmental issues. Where were projects off base. He had he said some team issue, not everyone was playing ball. He had to make some judgement calls about personnel soon. Dealing with such a diverse workforce meant working with some people that were just out in left field. I said exactly, he said WHAT?

Here’s my pitch. You and your staff are immersed in the language of business and much of this involves sport metaphors. We can’t help but use it as it is so entrenched in our lexicon He stared at me still not getting that he had used 4 sports metaphors already. I asked him if he was ready for a curve ball. He said sure and at that he had an aha type of moment. now of course I had been slipping in metaphors into the conversation throughout the meeting and he began to understand more of what I was driving at.

If our language of business was so ripe with sports metaphors, wasn’t the very nature of the way his business unit ran. First he refers to his unit as a team. Then he mentions at another point that they don’t always play well together. His sales team was doing well in that they were hitting nearly 400, but a few were not ready for the major leagues.

I brought him back to his point that his team of geeks and nerds would not understand my mental training and team building exercises because of our language barrier. We discussed emotional intelligence and team building. I demonstrated how these construct fit his business and how important they were to his success. I talked to him about the ways that athlete set goals and how this variation in goals setting would make so much more sense to his team that some more traditional techniques. I guess I hit it out of the park as he conceded the point and I now have an opportunity to train some very interesting people who think they know nothing about sports but are about to discover the athlete within. To learn more about my business programs please follow the link to The Mental Game Team Building page.

The montage below is one I created with my iPhone and Photoshop of course. The signs are on the parking structure just south of Safeco Field where the Seattle Mariners play. It is an art project by Donald Fels called Six Pitches. Note his plaque on the bottom right corner. Yes if you are counting I left off Knuckleball. In sports and business we sometimes deal with knuckleheads, but I thought I would leave that out of my presentation.

Jan 24

It’s an Extraordinary Life

by Mike Margolies

It’s an Extraordinary Life

Carpe Diem – for an Extraordinary Life

I watched one of my favorite movies the other day, The Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams in the lead role. A teacher who inspired his students to think for themselves and live their lives to the fullest. Working with athletes on the mental game constantly reminds me how fortunate we are to play the games we do at such a high level with great passion. Often times we do forget to Seize the Day! This is about living an Extraordinary Life.

I’ve borrowed the title to this blog from a friend of mine. His name is Randall Broad. He is the author of a book called “It’s an Extraordinary Life“. You can find it on the link or via Amazon (the usual places). I bring up his book and the title because not only does it hit home with me, but with most of my clients. Some of the things he talks about in his book are these:

* why you should live everyday as if you have cancer
* the importance of learning from those who know
* the importance of not “Missing It”
* why you always need to pay yourself first
* that miracles really do happen
* adversity is just another step to your goals
* and finally, how to make each day yet another in an Extraordinary Life

This post was going to be about Lance Armstrong. I’ve been working on that since I heard Armstrong was going to be on Oprah. I will get to that post in good time. I thought it more important to talk in part about my friend Randy. His book is about his successful battle with lung cancer. He and I have had a few words back and forth about Mr. Armstrong. I will say I believed he was cheating since early in 2000, but I’ll save that for my Lance Armstrong post. Randy as with most cancer survivors were huge supporters of Livestrong and Lance. Hence our conversations.

What really got me thinking was something Armstrong said in his interview. About how the cancer brought out a ruthlessness in his personality to fight for his life. That brought me back to Randy’s book. Randy took a slightly different approach which brought him to the same end. He reflected on what an Extraordinary Life he had led and how we should do that each and every day.

This has brought me to a realization. Should we wait to have a major catastrophic event in our lives to realize we should live each day an an extraordinary way or should we dedicate ourselves to that ideal right from today. I have seen athletes do incredible things over the course of my career. I’ve met people all over who live their days in extraordinary ways. But most of the people I meet live day to day. They will have an extraordinary day on occasion but they don’t live their life that way. Those are exceptional days. So I ask myself, can we live the Extraordinary Life on a daily basis? I’ve been training people to that on the field of sports and business for over three decades, but it wasn’t until now that I realized how important it is to acknowledge peak performance, being in the zone or having an Extraordinary Life every single day could make such a huge difference. Rather than preparing for a single moment in time, could we not stretch those moments throughout our lives? What we imagine we become. To see our lives as extraordinary is stepping through a gate to find you are who you want to be.

I am not one for waxing poetic (actually I do have a book of poetry somewhere on my computer) rather my focus has been on training people, mostly athletes, to use their mind to perform in practice and competition to the highest level. Yes there has always been what I would term carryover into their regular lives. Better grades, better social lives etc.

My new mission is to emphasize that athletes realize that if they live the Extraordinary Life daily, when all is said and done they will realize that they spend more time in the zone than out. That they will naturally compete and live their life able to handle stress and adversity. I think it starts with understanding your why. Once you understand your why if you decide that you can live an Extraordinary Life on a daily basis things become clearer and in fact easier. Yes there will always be hard work and training. Extraordinary people just find it easier because they recognize that living their life full-out is what matters.

Some of this also comes from the fact that I caught a cold. No I am not comparing that to Randy’s fight with Lung Cancer. I caught the cold December 28th I think. By New Years Eve I had no voice. I’ve not been able to really talk until this week. My voice is perhaps 75% today. For someone who makes their living talking to clients and public speaking this was a shock. For most of the month I could be heard in a soft whisper. That is when the idea of Living an Extraordinary Life took hold. Whispering to clients made me realize that we take many things for granted. I’ve lived in many ways and extraordinary life. I’ve worked with top competitors and I think helped make the difference in many people lives, but to say I have had an Extraordinary Life on a daily basis would be untrue.

So here is to Living the Extraordinary Life! It’s the only one we have, wouldn’t it things holding you back. Be EXTRAORDINARY in your sport and life be better if every day were Extraordinary? Mental skills can help you deal with the things holding you back. Be EXTRAORDINARY in your sport and life!

Carpe Diem!

Dec 28

A year in review 2012

by Mike Margolies

A year in review 2012

I’ve not ever felt a need to do this before, to have a year in review. It is a new experience for me. I want to look back at 2012 with clarity and be able to move forward in new ways. So taking my own advice, I am going back over the successes and of course challenges of the past year. You can cut to the chase by going to the last paragraph if you like.

Starting with the Athletes and their sports

A year in review with DeAndre Yedlin and Mike Margolies

Sounders FC U23 Player DeAndre Yedlin with Mike Margolies

I worked with an amazing group of athletes this year including those in the following sports: Golf, football, gymnastics, hockey, equestrians, soccer, tennis, swimming, softball, baseball, track, diving, roller derby, basketball, triathlon, cycling, fencing, water skiing, fitness, power lifting and lacrosse.

Competitor’s ages ranged from 12 to 70+. Competitive levels were club, high school, college and professional. Seven high school athletes earned scholarships or were accepted to their first choice college as an athlete (Ivy League = no athletic scholarships). One college walk-on earned her full scholarship. Most the athletes, but not all, were starters on their respective teams. In the end all were starting most of their games. I worked with a few teams as well at the club and minor league levels. All in all it was a very good year for the clients I worked with. If I were to put it in baseball terms, I would say that we batted around .900 Read the rest of the post by choosing more…. Read the rest of this entry »

Dec 11

Happy Holiday’s to All from The Mental Game

by Mike Margolies

I want to wish everyone Happy Holiday’s!

Happy Holiday’s from The Mental Game. It has been an interesting year for most of us. The economy has not yet turned around and there are challenges yet to be faced around the world in terms of freedom, peace, health and social acceptance. As with most things, we make a few steps forward and take a step back. This was a good year in many ways and friends are celebrating new adventures. I am glad you are out there.

This year has been great for little things in life like my book, “The Athlete within You- a mental approach to sports and business” While not yet on the New York Times Best Sellers list, it has been selling and more important for me, I get compliments from those that read it. Just a week or so ago I got a message from a Major League Soccer player who was reading it and took the time to write to me how much he was enjoying it. I’ve had tons of parents tell me the same thing and that now they understand what their kids are going through. It is all very gratifying.

Clients. My clients are amazing people and teams. They have had one of the best years ever both on the playing field and off. They are learning mental skills and becoming mentally tough. High School athletes getting scholarships and the same for a couple of walk on college players. Some college players getting the chance to play at the next level. One of the things I am most happy about is how well athletes are using the mental skills training in all parts of their life. Grades are improving as well as their achievements in other areas of their lives. I got a huge compliment just today from the husband of a client as he jumped on to our SKYPE call to tell me how much he appreciated what his wife was learning and how it was translating to other areas of their lives. He’s going to be introducing me to businesses because of what he has seen. I’m looking forward to it!

Speaking of Businesses. I’ve had a great time doing team building with company’s this year and it is cool to see how well they adopt the things we teach in sports to their own teams.

Speaking of Speaking. This has been an area where I have had a lot of fun doing both paid gigs and working with service organizations gratis. In January I will be giving appreciation seminars for a major financial institution and a major Mutual Fund. This is an area I’ve focused on and it is starting to move forward.

Wishing everyone Happy Holiday’s from my family to yours. Just wanted you to know I am grateful for all of you out there that read this blog. Please feel free to comment back or you can reach me through The Mental Game to say hello. If you would like to give a book to a friend or family member I am posting shortly a way to give a gift and for a portion of your purchase to go to children. The link will be here . Working on the details now.

Oct 18

Coin Flip Game- a mental game exercise

by Mike Margolies

The Mental Game: Coin Flip to increase self-awareness

Here is a new exercise called Coin Flip. I borrowed this from a friend. I am very sure it was not really intended to be a psychological teaching exercise, but more a metaphor perhaps. Just the same I can see many ways of using this to help people understand their own minds a little better. This will be short and as I develop this a little more I will likely add to this discussion. Use this regardless of your sport. You could be a golfer, football player or track star. You might play hockey or ride horses. This exercise can open your eyes.

So here is how it goes The Mental Game Coin Flip

Some people will tell you that this is about letting fate determine your future. They believe if I am asking them to flip a coin to make a decision that I am saying leave it to luck or some random result. That is not what I am saying at all. I am pointing out that when the coin is in mid flip you will become aware of what you really want. People believe that their gut instincts are right most of the time.

Indecision comes not so much from not knowing what you want but from a lack of awareness to what you want. When you flip that coin in the air, there becomes a moment of truth where it is hard to sit on the fence. You will become aware of what you really want the outcome to be. Self-awareness is a key component of Emotional Intelligence. This becomes a way of not only making a clear decision but becoming more self-aware.

Unfortunately when people actually flip a coin to make real decisions they very often go with fate. I think when you do this properly; you really determine your own fate. Because heads or tails whatever you decide in the moment when the coin is in the air, is what you should go with not what the result happens to be.

Let’s play with it. Pick something you need to make a decision about. You say you are torn and can’t do it. Flip a coin high in the air. Are you neutral to the outcome? If it is important to you, then I would think not. You will have a thought like Heads or Tails. Not wishing necessarily, just projecting. So there is your answer. You don’t even need to see the result. In fact I would say don’t even look. You know in your gut what you want to do. If you were to do this over the course of a short period of time and ask yourself what are some of the reasons for my ultimate choices you begin to increase your own awareness.

So here is something I would love people to respond to. Give a sports example that this could apply to. Maybe should you go for a run today or something more important like changing coaches?

Come up with a great example, post it here and I’ll send you a copy of
The Athlete within You.

Give this a turn or rather a flip the next time you think you don’t know your own mind.

Oct 08

Five Frogs Sitting on a Log

by Mike Margolies

Five Frogs Sitting on a Log

There is an old saw ab out five frogs sitting on a log. OK so this has been around a while, but I like to use it with the athletes and business people I work with. Riddle me this: Five frogs sitting on a log. Two decide to jump in the pond. How many frogs remain on the log?

Did you say three…. or more?

Most people answer three. Most people look at me like I’m stupid as well, but that is another story. The answer is we really don’t know. We don’t know because deciding to do something and doing something are two distinct and different entities. It doesn’t matter if you are an athlete or you are in business, action is the determining factor. Sitting on a log and thinking about or even deciding to jump in, only means you are sitting on a log. Only when we actually jump in are we going anywhere. So the answer could be three or zero, after all after one jumps in, all the others might just decide to follow.

I’ve used this for years with my athletes and it never fails to help them understand how important action is to their success.

Back when Star Wars was huge (like today as it never seems to go away), I would often quote Master Yoda, “Do or Do Not! There is no Try! Yoda is a great Sport Psychology Consultant helping athletes from many generations to perform at the highest levels.

While Master Yoda is very wise indeed, I have come to believe that these five frogs can be very good teachers as well, and they sort of remind me of something. Maybe it’s that they are all green.

And if you got the riddle wrong, at least you likely have good math skills.

Aug 30

Old Man Story and the Choices we make

by Mike Margolies

The Old Man Story and the Choices we make

This is the Old Man Story. In writing a good deal to reach out to Junior A Hockey this year. I’ve noticed a number of negative articles related to poor choices players have made news with as of late. This is of course nothing new and since I’ve been helping athletes for three decades you might say I’ve seen quite a bit of it. I thought I would post a story I’ve been telling for perhaps 25+ years. Most every athlete I’ve either worked with on their mental game or coached on the soccer field has heard this. It’s in my book The Athlete within You, but I think it bares repeating here. So if you will indulge me, this is the story I’ve just called THE OLD MAN.

I want to tell you a story. It took place long time ago in a very small village. There was a young man who was a punk (not in the music way or I’ll get in trouble with my sons), if we can call him that; I suppose smart ass is how he would be referred to today. And he had a young friend and he started to talk. “There is an old man in the village who is never ever wrong. He’s a wise old guy and he’s never been wrong in his entire life and we are going to get one over on him.” And then the young man reached into a bush and pulled out a little bird. “I’m going to ask the old man if the bird in my hand is alive or dead. If the old man says the bird is dead, I will open my hand and the bird will fly away. I will be able to say that the old man was wrong. If on the other hand, the old man says that the bird is alive, I will crush the bird in my hand. I’ll open my hand and prove to him that he was wrong for the first time in his life. In this way I will show him he can be wrong and he’s not perfect.” So along comes the old man, and the young brash kids approach him. The boy says, “Hey old man, I have a question for you.” The old man looks at him with a sad smile on his face and he says, “Yes my son, what can I do for you.” The brash young man says “I have here in my hand a bird; you must tell me if it is alive or dead.” The brash young man has a big smile on his face because in his heart of hearts he knows he’s gotten one over on the old man. The old man looks again at him with sad smile on his face. “My son,” the old man says, “the answer lies in your hands.” It’s not just that the wise old man knows that choice is in this young man’s hands. The choice of course is in all of our hands. When we make a decision, when we take an action, in anything we do, we are at choice.

Young men that have the privilege to play sports at any level, though sheer talent or good fortune need understand that everyday choices they make will impact their future. All of us make mistakes in life. Understanding that we are the one’s responsible is an important step in the maturation process. Decide to drink, do drugs, party hard, be promiscuous what ever, the bottom line is it is your choice. I’m not going to stand up and lecture anyone on morality. I’ll leave that to your parents as we all see things differently, but I will be emphatic that every choice has a consequence. Sometimes the result is no result at all, but it is a result. Later this week I’ll dazzle you with Chaos Theory (think Jurassic Park), but for now understand what The Old Man has said. It’s in your hands!

Since you’ve gotten this far I’d like you to note that for today August 30, 2012 I have a promotion on Amazon where I am giving away free copies of The Athlete within You Kindle Addition. All you need to do is click on the following link and follow the instructions.

http://www.amazon.com/Athlete-Within-Approach-Business-ebook/dp/B008O5I654/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

post script

credit on the picture is Max Margolies, my father. He would have been 95 this Dec 25th. Picture was just before his passing prior to his 90th birthday. I won’t say he was the model for the story, nor will I admit to being the smart ass kid. But there are some similarities.

Aug 14

We Can Learn from the Olympics- Guest Blog

by Mike Margolies

10 Career Lessons We Can Learn from the Olympics- Guest Blog

I had decided to do something very much like this relative to the Olympics, perhaps more directed at business, when I got a response to the book review in the Issaquah Press. This blog site has been followed by OnlineCollege.org for the last few years. They asked if I would like to post a recent staff post they had written about what career lesson from the London 2012 Olympic Games. Most of the attributes discussed sport psychology focuses on with the athletes we work with, so I think it is appropriate. So here it is in it’s entirety.

10 Career Lessons We Can Learn from the Olympics - Guest Blog

Most of us have watched the Olympics simply in awe of the amazing skill, dedication, and focus exhibited by athletes from all over the world. Yet these traits do not only serve the athletes well in the arena; they can also be carried over into the non-Olympic sphere. The drive to aim for gold, the passion to battle through setbacks, and the infallible work ethic of these athletes can serve as a powerful lesson for those of use who aren’t quite Olympics material, too, and are traits that are just as valuable in the office as they are in athletics. Here are 10 excellent career lessons that employees, managers, and business owners alike can take away from the Olympics. Hopefully they’ll inspire you to work just as hard for the career of your dreams as the Olympic athletes work for theirs.

NEVER STOP IMPROVING.

For Olympic athletes, stagnating when it comes to skills can mean the difference between getting gold and going home with nothing. They must constantly push themselves to be faster, stronger, and better than they’ve ever been, even sometimes blowing past the limits of what others said was humanly possible. This same kind of attitude and drive can go just as far in the office as it can in the arena. Pushing yourself to learn, to improve, and to excel at your job will not only make you better at what you do, it will more than likely gain the attention of management. Push hard enough, and you might just gain the skills and confidence to deliver a gold medal performance in your own profession.
BE A TEAM PLAYER.

There are dozens of stories of amazing teamwork in the Olympics, from the dynamic duo of Missy May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings to the impressive relay teams in men’s and women’s swimming. You don’t have to be an athlete to have that kind of commitment and loyalty to your team, however. The same kind of team dynamics apply in the office, too. You can do your career a big favor by learning how to be a solid and reliable team player and be willing to cheer on the team and help them work toward the end goal, even if your own ideas get sidelined. When it comes to work, a victory for the company is a victory for everyone involved (offering greater job stability and maybe even a bonus) so there’s no reason not to go all in with supporting your coworkers and earning their respect and support in return.

8 more great things learned from the London 2012 Olympic Games
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