The higher the level of competition, the more separation you get in having a mental advantage. Most athletes are in the habit of working hard physically to stay on top, but once you reach the highest level in your sport you come face to face with the law of diminishing returns when it comes to what you can influence with your fitness level.

Conversely, those who transition into or have already started working on their mental game, gain a significant advantage as the mental side is still hugely under exploited in a majority of pro sports and especially in professional football. Just as physical ability can be developed and improved upon, so can your mental game.

So why don’t more athletes dedicate themselves to mental training? Just like working out physically, effective mental training takes a considerable amount of time and discipline. You would not expect to be in top physical condition working out a few times a month, would you? Working out mentally is no different; you get out of it what you put into it.

Starting a mental training regimen can be difficult and even feel awkward initially, but once you make it a habit and begin to see the benefits, it can be a lot more fun than weight training. It is also likely to give you a much bigger edge over your competitors than weight training. I’m not saying this replaces weight and other training regimens, just that it will help separate you from the crowd more than other forms of training at this level.

I always like to say that if you don’t like being stuck in crowds…. go the extra mile, it’s never crowded there! Adding mental training to your daily workout regimen is like going the extra mile, and that is what will enable you to gain a substantial edge over your competition.

Follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

They could use the rookie symposium as a format guide and fill it with sessions on post career financial planning, mental health and well-being, marital and family relations, and new career planning and/or training. I envision a system that would be open (but not mandatory) for all former players to attend as well. Perhaps eventually growing to the point where smaller versions were held regionally and more frequently.

There has been a lot of attention recently on the concussion problem in football and their lasting effects on players. In fact, there are currently more than 1,000 former NFL players involved in lawsuits related to concussions and head-related trauma. Some are saying that the brain damage caused by the concussions correlates to an increased risk of suicide.

While I do not know if there is a correlation to suicide or not, I do know that many other rarely discussed factors put former players at a higher than average risk for suicide. The most common factor I have seen is when the player’s success has covered up an underlying anxiety or depressive problem that they have (and are even often unaware of having).

When you are playing it is easy to get caught up in your career and all the accoutrements of it, thus distracting your attention away from any underlying problems. Unfortunately, when a problem like this is obscured or ignored, it is highly probable that the problem is growing worse. Once your career ends and the demands on your time drop, you will likely be forced to deal with this problem head-on. Not only are most players poorly equipped to deal with what they are facing, but our society adds a hidden supercharger to the problem: unrealistic expectations.

The message our society promotes from birth is that happiness comes from wealth, fame or freedom to do whatever you want to do. I will be the first to admit that all those things are great at covering up misery in the short-run, but they can be devastating over the long haul.

Let me explain. If you are poor and depressed you more than likely attribute it to your financial condition and at least have the hope that an improvement in your finances will solve your problems. But if you are depressed and wealthy, famous and free, those things will turn against you, and you will instead be confused as to why you are not happy, because you have everything you ever thought you wanted. This confusion will turn into guilt and hopelessness making you much more likely to commit suicide.

There are many contributing factors that go into a person’s decision to commit suicide, but virtually all of them are treatable with proper intervention.  One of the first things I teach all of my clients is that life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react to what happens. It is our inaccurate way of looking at things that cause most of our anguish, rather than the events we attribute our agony too.

Although I primarily work with athletes to help improve their performance, I have had a number of athletes tell me that what they worked on with me has helped them even more with life. Sadly, most football players skimp on mental training in favor of physical training to their detriment. It would not take much for the NFL to change that and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

[This blog entry is dedicated to one of my clients (JC) whose father played in the NFL and committed suicide earlier this year. I regret that I never got to work with his father professionally.]

Being labeled talented or intelligent often makes people become more cautious. In order to grow we must continually stretch ourselves by trying things just beyond our current reach. This inevitably results in some failures along the way to new and greater heights of accomplishment. As I mentioned in part two of this series, the brain’s natural programming of loss aversion creates a situation that makes it harder for someone to risk losing what they are already said to have: In this case talent or intelligence.

As a result those who have already achieved these labels are consumed by the need to protect their image and thus often resist any new challenge where the possibility of failure exists. The net effect of this is an end to their future growth and the eventual fall from the top, as others who continue challenging themselves pass them by in a flurry.

Therefore, it’s imperative that you resist any label such as these being attached to your own personal identity. This can be done by reminding yourself that you are, and always will be, a work in progress. History is littered with ‘can’t miss’ prodigies who never reached their purported destinies. For every LeBron James there are several Schea Cotton’s, Taylor King’s and Andrew Zahn’s who never make it to the big show.

As I have said numerous times before, it’s not where you start, but where you finish that matters in life. I wish more people would resist bathing in the laurels of early success and predicted stardom and put their time and effort into getting better everyday. If you just improve a little each day, soon you will have improved a lot and there’s no telling where that can take you. If you rely on your talent to get you there the ceiling is your limit, but if you rely on your mental and physical habits that enabled you to improve each day the sky truly is your limit.

As Miguel de Cervantes said, “Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes.”

Work hard and don’t ever let anyone insult you and stunt your personal growth by labeling you talented or smart!

Follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

More often than not, athletes who are coming out of college with the expectation of being drafted, or who declare for the draft before completing their eligibility, are listening to too many of the wrong people. When you are a successful athlete at any level, you tend to be surrounded by people who want to be close to you for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately the type of people you tend to attract, are the ones who tell you how great you are and all of the other things you want to hear.

It is human nature to like hearing these things, but one thing that separates the great athlete from the really good ones is that they keep people around them that are not afraid to tell them what they NEED to hear. The “exceptional” athletes in sports separate themselves even further by not only surrounding themselves with these types of people, but at the same time are also searching out what they need to hear so they can continue to make improvements in their performance.

Sadly, most athletes as well as many of their parents do not have the maturity level necessary to separate the wheat from the chafe. The most common mistake they make is listening to people who are operating in their own self-interest, like agents and their runners.

A good rule of thumb for anyone to use (not just athletes), is to ask yourself if the person talking to you has something to gain from telling you whatever they are saying to you? If the answer is no, there’s a good chance that what they are telling you may be of some value to you. If the person is telling you something you don’t like hearing, the odds jump up dramatically that what they are telling you is important. As Dick Cavett said “It’s a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn’t want to hear.”

It takes great mental discipline to hear things about yourself that are unpleasant. It’s much easier to be dismissive and focus on all the smoke people are blowing up your ass. While this may feel good and make your chest puff out a little extra in the short-run, it’s likely to catch up with you eventually and undermine all you hope to achieve.

I’m not against players leaving college early to play professionally (it’s the right decision for many players), but I am against players being sold a bill of goods that encourages them to leave. For this reason, my advice to clients who are considering leaving early for the draft in any sport is to not only be careful who you listen to, but to also pay extra attention to the things they don’t like hearing. These are likely to be the things that will need to be dealt with if you want to have a career and not just a payday.

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The problem with shiny things is that they are full of promise, but that promise is often left unfulfilled and always has hidden costs. An accountant would point out that all the things I mentioned in the last sentence of the previous paragraph (with the exception of the big house) are depreciating assets; meaning their value drops from the moment you purchase them. I on the other hand, would argue that the larger costs are related to the loss of your quality of life.

Once you buy the Lamborghini you begin to live the Lamborghini lifestyle and it often becomes a treadmill that is difficult to slowdown or get off of. You are constantly searching for the next shiny thing to give you that big adrenaline rush you have learned to crave, repeatedly falling victim to the letdown that inevitably follows. You lose sight of the fact that happiness comes not from the value of the things you have, but from the value you feel inside that comes from what you do for others, not yourself.

We as a society are obsessed with striving for more (money, success, possessions, status) when what we really need more of is self-worth. We delude ourselves into thinking that having nice things will make us have better lives and feel happier, when in fact they erode our enjoyment of life by draining not only the amount of time available to us, but also the quality of the time we have left to spend with our friends and family.

Imagine you are hiking and lost in the wild and have not eaten for a few days. Suddenly you come across some other hikers who feed you and fill you up on some canned beans and a couple of peanut butter sandwiches. Chances are you would not only be thrilled, but also filled with appreciation and satisfaction. The value is in the other’s kindness and the nourishment your body was craving, not the quality of the meal itself.

The meal would be no more appreciated if it was Filet Mignon or if there was an endless supply of food. Yet we are constantly looking for shiny things and more wealth. The truth is, once you reach a comfortable income level, additional money is more likely to cause less happiness rather than more. The true secret to happiness is having enough, not the popular illusion of abundance equaling happiness.

The happiest billionaires I know live far below their means and shun attention. One still uses a flip phone and another buys a new car about once every eight years. They understand the often stated, but rarely practiced principle of less is more. How many of you reading this right now still use a flip phone or wait eight years to buy a new car? I’m guessing I can count all of you on one of my hands without using all of my fingers.

Meanwhile, I know a few centimillionaires who are miserable and obsessed with becoming billionaires because they are convinced they will be happy then. Some of these people had the same thought about becoming a millionaire or decamillionaires. Unfortunately, many people never learn from their mistakes and put forth the effort to change paths.

One friend of mine who did change paths many years ago has few regrets. He ‘hit it big’ with fame and fortune at an early age, then got fed up with taking care of his Porsche and Jet ski’s and all the other toys he amassed. He said it drained him of his formerly peaceful nights of sleep as he was always worried about some toy that needed attention. He then simplified his life and became much happier away from the limelight and all the trappings of success.

The bottom line is, wanting shiny things is a lot like chasing rainbows and rarely leads to happiness and fulfillment. However, happiness and fulfillment are within everyone’s reach if you stay focused on the process and the doing, rather than on all the shiny things you desire. As a friend of mine likes to say: “Put all your wants in one hand and cow manure in the other and see which one fills up first.”

Follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

News of the Saints ‘bounty program’ broke several days ago, along with news that it was directly overseen by then Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (he’s now defensive coordinator for the St Louis Rams). In addition it was revealed that the Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and head coach Sean Payton knew about the program, and that Loomis failed to stop it even after team owner Tom Benson told him to do so immediately.

After all this information came out the NFL did not suspend anyone involved, despite the fact that all those involved not only had ‘fair warning,’ but knew it was clearly a violation of league rules. Why is the NFL not shy about handing out harsh penalties to players in the name of player safety, yet is tiptoeing around a much more egregious offense by coaches and a general manager? It reeks of hypocrisy and does nothing to dispel the feeling that the NFL is still being run by an old boys club.

If the NFL is truly serious about protecting players (and even itself from lawsuits), it needs to suspend Gregg Williams (who incidentally ran a similar bounty program when he was coaching the Washington Redskins) immediately for a minimum of ten-years, if not an outright lifetime ban from coaching in their league. In addition, and it pains me to say this (as I have a great deal of respect for the way they assemble their team), but similar harsh penalties need to be imposed on both Payton and Loomis.

It seems like the players are always holding the short end of the stick in the NFL and beyond being unfair and unjust, it’s simply not right. There would be no NFL without the players and they deserve to be treated better by the league. James Harrison who has been suspended multiple times for hard hits is treated like an outlaw by the league, and many have openly suggested that some of his hits could be charged as assault.

Meanwhile there is very little talk about Williams being brought up on any charges? From the sound of the NFL report, it appears Williams was in charge of an organized crime unit involved in assault and battery, racketeering and tax invasion as well. Maybe I’m wrong, but that seems a lot more serious than a vicious hit in a game.

I sincerely hope the NFL wakes up and treats these individual’s offenses as harshly as they treat the ones committed by the players. If they don’t they may be hastening their own sports demise.

You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

Update March 21, 2012- Although the penalties leveled today were considered harsh by many (and admittedly stiffer than I expected),  they not surprisingly fall far short of what I believe would be appropriate.

It is often said that the first step in overcoming any problem is the acknowledgement of the problem existing in the first place. Well for the first time since I wrote that article a year and a half ago (prior to the start of this week’s 2012 Dubai Open), Roger Federer publicly acknowledged that he has been suffering from a loss of confidence.

Though it had been apparent to many for some time, it appears that Federer may not have realized and/or confronted the problem until the middle of 2011. Other than his semifinal victory over Novak Djokovic to end Djokovic’s 43-game winning streak, it had been an unremarkable year by Federer’s high standards. But that began to change by the end of October as Federer started to resemble his old confident self again. He won the Swiss Indoors (his first title in ten months) then went on to win the Paris Masters.

As impressive as those milestones were, he won both of those events without having to face either of the two men who mentally have had his number: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. That would soon change though as on November 22, 2011 at the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals in London, he crushed Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-0 in group play, on his way to winning his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title. It marked the first time Federer had beaten Nadal in nearly a year, his last victory over Nadal had come in the same tournament final in 2010.

All of these things are important building blocks in rejuvenating Federer’s confidence, but now he needs to take the next step and beat both Nadal and Djokovic in tournament finals to prove to them (and to himself) that he is truly back. Not only will this build his belief in himself, it will conversely force Nadal and Djokovic to question their current belief of their superiority over Federer. Perhaps that will happen this weekend as Federer advanced to the Quarter finals in Dubai along with Djokovic (last year’s winner here over Federer) yesterday.

Already this year, Federer gave Nadal all he could handle before falling in four sets in a tight semifinal match at the Australian Open. But that no longer is enough if he wants to regain the #1 ranking. I like, and commend Federer for all the progress he has made in the past year. Although I would never bet against him, I still do not believe he has enough desire left to get him all the way back to the top. I hope I am wrong…..

You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

Granted this list is skewed toward the present day and far from definitive, but now that you have read the list, pick out all the overnight sensations on it. Now look at the list and take out all the people that never had to overcome any obstacles or suffered any setbacks. How many names remained on your list? I was able to whittle the original list of 25 names down to just 25 names.

Many of us today would prefer to rely on ponzi schemes, get rich quick propositions or a lottery ticket rather than hard work and determination. We often reward flash in the pans over tried and true. Look at the Oscars, if you are lucky enough to be the flavor of the month and are up for your first award, you are much more likely to win than the people that have been around for a while and are nominated against you. Most people in the major categories that win out of nowhere never win another, while the people that win multiple Oscars generally failed to win on their first nomination.

The latest overnight sensation the media is fixating on is point guard Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks. Like many people, I am both intrigued and impressed by his recent accomplishments, but calling him an overnight sensation is a disservice to him and to us. The truth is it took Jeremy Lin about seven years of hard work to become an overnight sensation. He didn’t just drop out of the sky and start playing for the NY Knicks.

In 2005-2006 Lin led his Palo Alto High School team to a record of 32-1 and upset nationally ranked Mater Dei, 51–47, to win the California Interscholastic Division II state title. He was first team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year. Despite his accomplishments he was not offered a single division I scholarship. One of the ugly truths in sports is that many coaches and general managers still focus on ethnicity and pure athleticism over production, while failing to measure a player’s heart and mindset.

Lin went on to play at Harvard University where he earned All-Ivy League honors his last three years and was one of 11 finalists for the Bob Cousy award (awarded to the top point guard in college basketball) which went to Greivis Vasquez of the University of Maryland. Again despite his accomplishments, he went undrafted by the NBA. After playing on the Dallas Mavericks summer league team he was offered a spot by them as well as three other teams, eventually signing with his favorite team from his childhood the Golden State Warriors.

After seeing some playing time with the Warriors and being sent down to the D-league and performing well there, the Warriors decided to let Lin go on the first day of training camp this season. The Houston Rockets quickly signed him but were already stocked at his position and had to let him go the day before the season started, and a few days later the New York Knicks signed him. Finally all Jeremy’s hard work is paying off as all his preparation finally met up with an opportunity and he’s in the midst of riding that wave right now.

Far from and overnight sensation, this is a classic story of how the power of belief coupled with perseverance can lead to great accomplishments. A few good/great games do not make a career, so Jeremy still has a ways to go and will likely face a few more hurdles, but with the strong foundation he has built for himself, I would certainly be more than comfortable betting on his future.

As Calvin Coolidge famously said “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

You can follow Sam @SuperTaoInc

How many of you have ever opted not to attend a party, event or school meeting etc. because you need to work on a report that you have to complete by the end of next week? While it is certainly a commendable habit to put first things first, if you are like most people, I suspect you can remember a time or two (in a situation like this) when you ended up getting sidetracked by some news you heard and never ended up working on the report or project at all.

Envision the gains in our productivity as a nation, if so many of us were not consumed by things like TMZ, ESPN, talk radio and the Entertainment Tonight style shows. We treat rumors and breaking news on these mediums like emergency broadcast system warnings. How many times have you dropped what you are doing to follow a breaking story about a celebrity or sports personality? I suspect Brett Favre’s repeated retirements and un-retirements dropped our nations GDP by a point or two in the years they were happening.

What value do we gain by being among the first to know when Lindsay Lohan gets arrested again, or finding out what Indianapolis is going to do with Peyton Manning? Yet people are running around obsessing about these things daily and to what end? The fact is, once these things happen (for better or for worse) we’ll hear about it within a day or two at most and all that obsessing did was put us farther behind the eight ball.

Whenever a major development/rumor hits the news regarding a team or player I am associated with, my phone blows up with calls and texts from people I rarely hear from otherwise. What’s going to happen is going to happen whether they find out before or after it becomes official. Why waste your time worrying about it when you can be playing with your kids or doing something productive instead?

People who learn to turn all of these outside influences off and go about doing what they need to do, tend to be the most successful in my experience. Ever wonder why so-called pressure situations do not seem to bother some players, while other players fold under them? The ones who learn to focus on what they are doing and block out all the noise are the ones who are impervious to pressure.

Why do football kickers miss so many otherwise routine kicks when the game is on the line? It’s because they are thinking about how much the kick means and all the implications (noise) rather than just letting their body do what it normally does without needing to think at all. Show me a person who is worrying about things beyond their control and I’ll show you a person who is underperforming in whatever they are doing.

So the next time you hear yourself telling someone else ‘that you don’t have enough time to _________ (fill in the blank),’ think about all the time you are wasting on things beyond your control and use that time to do whatever you filled in the blank above with.

You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc