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Copyright 2997, Joyce M. Morris, All Rights Reserved


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Put Your Mind InThe Game

Increase Your AthleticExcellence in 21 Days or Less

A book byJoyce Morris

assisted by

Joseph Morris



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Put Your Mind In The Game

Increase Your Athletic Excellence In 21 Days Or Less

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1Chapter 1 The Mind Matters .......................................................................................................... 5

Chapter 2 Put Mind Back in the Game........................................................................................... 8

Chapter 3 It's time for practice. Do you know where your mind is?........................................... 21Chapter 4 Watch your language!.................................................................................................. 31

Chapter 5 Put your Mind in Your Game.......................................................................................42

21 DAY TRAINING Engaging your mind into your game plan..................................................50Day 1 - Set your goals.............................................................................................................52

Days 2 and 12 Working with your subconscious mind...........................................................59

Days 3 and 13 Watch your Language - its a key to your unconscious mind.......................... 65Days 4 and 14 Think Big......................................................................................................... 69

Days 5 and 15 How Language Does Not Work........................................................................75

Days 6 and 16 Listen To The Secrets Your Body Is Telling.................................................... 79

Days 7 and 17 Actions Speak Louder Than Words.................................................................. 83Days 8 and 18 Inserting New Body Messages.........................................................................86

Days 9 and 19 Imagine The Joy Of Your Success ..................................................................91

Days 10 and 19 Integration...................................................................................................... 96Day 11 Celebrate your Success Now and Always..................................................................100

Days 12 and 20 Expand Your Ability To Create Success....................................................103

Day 21 Continuation..............................................................................................................104Glossary of Replacement Language.......................................................................................109



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PUT YOUR MIND IN THE GAME

How To Take Your Athletic Performance to the next Level

and Beyond...

Introduction

All athletes know what is needed in order to succeed: practice, practice and more

practice as long as you want to compete in the game. You have coaches to direct and

manage your practice and the development of your physical skills, but this book is about

a different kind of practice. It will teach you the specifics steps of how to get your mind

power working for you in a way that will put nuclear fuel into those skills practices. Your

results will astound you.

By following the 21-day training program presented in this book you will engage

your innate power and improve your game performance. You will discover that your

game performance is limited only by your own mind. Complete the 21 day training

program and you will experience at least three results.

1. You will enjoy your games and practices more.

2. You will enjoy yourself more as you experience the improvements in your game

and skills.

3. You will notice benefits in other areas of your life by using these same principles.

Copyright 2997, Joyce M. Morris, All Rights Reserved 1


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The winners at any game are not just the ones who won the game based on the

score. The one that truly wins is always the individual who pushed him or herself into

the next higher level of personal achievement in skill, knowledge or awareness of the

game.

Winners instinctively know that focusing on the competition and final game score

will generally result in a season of struggle. On the other hand keeping your focus on

personally achieving YOUR next higher level will always result in new energy and ever

higher wins. It creates a ladder that never fails to carry your potential to higher and

higher levels.

The chapters in this book explore the inseparable link between mind and physical

experience. Even though the mind-body link generally operates unconsciously, you can

become the conscious director of the minds role in creating your experience. As you

do, you will begin to notice some important and surprising things, like...

How and where you may be unconsciously holding yourself back by failing to

fully engage your mind in serving your goals.

How and where you are engaging your mind to keep you from achieving your

goals Self sabatoge.

More effective ways to engage your mind in your game

How to reach potentials you never even dared to dream you could achieve.



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Winning the game is the goal.

Its a goal that holds our attention from the first childhood games that our parents

teach us, all the way to the end of our lives. In fact, the ultimate game is life, and the

rules of winning are defined by each player for him or herself in the game of life.

For the really great players in any game its rarely just the thrill of beating the

opponents that drives them. Its the thrill of achieving new levels of skill, of reaching the

next higher goal they set for themselves, and continually expandingtheir potential.

Being the best we can be is not enough for the serious players. They draw their

energy and their power from their image of seeing themselves at the next level. For

them, the joy of setting records, whether personal, local or world records, is short lived.

That joy is only a seed planted which very quickly begins straining to burst into the new

levels beyond.

Humanity doesnt sit still for long.

We expand.

We explore.

We push boundaries.

That fundamental pattern that drives us through previous limits is instinctive. Its a

simple pattern. We imagine, and then we relentlessly push ourselves into the

experience of that imagining. The process changes all of us.

Remember the historic break through in track with the four minute mile? For

centuries it was un-achievable. Everyone BELIEVED that it wasnt possible - even

scientists agreed that our bodies simply were not built to accomplish that speed. And



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then in May of 1954 Roger Bannister broke that record, finishing in 3 minutes 59

seconds. He managed only one second beyond that barrier, but the barrier was broken.

Within 46 days, John Landy finished the mile in 3 minutes 57.9 seconds, shaving 4.5

seconds off his previous best time. In just three years, by the end of 1957, sixteen

runners had passed to the other side of that 4 minute barrier. Now, runners everywhere

see the four minute mile as the break through point opening to the highest levels of

speed running. Since 1999 Hicham El Guerrouj has held the world record at 3 minutes

43 seconds. Does anyone seriously doubt that a 3 minute mile will be achieved one

day by some runner courageous enough to put his mind there?

This book is designed to teach you how to put your mind into yourgame. When

you learn this you will improve your game performance, your skill level, and will have

the keys to continue unlocking the doors to higher and higher levels of accomplishment.

Part 2 of this book is a 21 day program to support you in applying the key concepts and

tools you will learn throughout the book. Its time for you to break your personal four

minute mile barrier in the sport of your choice.

So, lets get to it!



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Chapter 1

The Mind Matters

We are born with an excellent natural ability to learn new skills, but we

silently accumulate bad learning habits throughout childhood.

I once watched a small boy who could barely walk, but was determined to stand

on his head. For hours and then days I watched him roll and flop back to the floor over

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

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

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

hes a lot older.

I remembered being one of the first children in my elementary school who learned

to stand on my head. I was nearly 8 years old. As I watched that very small boy

struggle each new day in his efforts to stand on his head, I wondered if it would be

kinder to let him continue his struggle against a futile goal, or to gently re-direct his

attention to other activities that promised more success.

Before the end of a week I was astounded as I watched this boy actually lift his feet

off the floor and hold himself balanced on his head for a fleeting moment. The look on

his face told me that he knew hed been successful in completing his goal for that brief

moment. For weeks thereafter nothing could keep him from the work of completing

each next step of holding the balance longer and then longer. He was walking on his



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hands long before the age when the most athletic of children are just beginning to learn

to stand on their head.

That boy was our familys first adopted son, Joseph. We adopted four children (two

sets of twins) and together they led us into a conscious awareness of the powerful

connection between mind and physical performance.

Joseph showed us the first keys. He appeared to instinctively approach the idea of

standing on his head in the same way he approached learning to walk. The goal of

standing on his head happened to come into his mind when he was still learning to

master the skill of walking. Naturally, he applied the same instinctive steps that were

already working for him in learning to walk. It was years later before we understood

what those instinctive steps were and could begin to test them.

Joseph began with a mental image of standing on his head, which was the result of

the desire to stand on his head. He was too inexperienced with life to understand

failure and so he didnt insert any possibility of failure into his inner image of himself

standing on his head. He also started, as all babies and small children do, with a LOVE

of his physical experience. He naturally and instinctively loved learning new skills. With

each new effort he simply and innocently attempted to put his body into the same

position he saw in his mind. He was drawn on through repeated failures by the

strength of his love for the skill he was attempting to develop.

Each apparent failure to my eyes, held nothing more for him than a review of the

image he loved (desired) followed by another attempt. Each new attempt carried the full



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desire and anticipation of success that generated the first attempt. In an astoundingly

short time he accomplished the impossible.

We dont think about the amazing accomplishment of babies learning to walk but

they generally accomplish the task in a matter of a few hours or, at the most, a few days

once they decide to walk.

Compare that to older children and adults re-learning to walk after an injury or

accident that requires them to consciously learn to walk. Even after the injuries have

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

takes weeks, months and even years to accomplish - in part, because we have replaced

our instinctive learning process with bad learning habits that fail to engage the mind fully

and correctly.



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Chapter 2

Put Mind Back In The Game.

Our four adopted children were home schooled, primarily because two of them had

unusual or non-mainstream learning styles and our lives needed more scheduling

flexibility than public school allowed. An interesting effect of being home schooled

began to show up right away.

The kids in public school began to excel in certain kinds of learning and our home

schooled kids began to excel in other kinds of learning. We watched the gap grow

between our children and their public school friends. In the achievement of physical

skill all four of our children very soon led the pack.

Each year the gap widened. We didnt understand why, although we thought we

did. It seemed logical that our home schooled children had more time to play and

therefore developed stronger athletic skills than the kids who spent all day in a

classroom and then spent another hour or two doing homework. But then we made a

change in our childrens lives that changed our minds and unexpectedly ended their

easy climb up the athletic skills ladder.

At 10 years old we signed the two younger boys, Xander and Silas, up for Junior

baseball. Their general athletic skill level was substantially beyond that of the other

boys, even though most of the team had played organized baseball or T-ball since they

were 5 or 6 years old. The team members were also one and two years older than



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Xander and Silas. Even with all that, there was a huge gap between the superior

athletic ability of our boys and that of the rest of the team. Very quickly, however, the

gap in athletic ability began to narrow.

When Xander and Silas began baseball they werent well versed in the games

rules, plays or fielding techniques even though they came with a lot of athletic ability.

We enjoyed watching the coaches begin teaching those new skills but were very

surprised to notice that our boys didnt learn the new game skills very well. The next

year we were happy that the league tryouts bumped them up to a higher level team with

a new coach.

We believed that a better coach would be more successful at teaching our boys

what they needed in order to make them better players. We were pleased as we

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

Still, as the season wore on, it became clear that Xander and Silas were not making

much progress in developing their new game skills, and they made no progress with

improving the athletic skills they already had.

Our 14 year old son, Joseph, joined a baseball team for the first time that season

also. Because of his advanced level of general athletic skill, his coaches were amazed

that he had never played, and were pleased to have his natural ability on the team. Like

us, they expected him to learn the game quickly and be a strong asset. His enthusiasm

was high and never diminished throughout the season but, like the other two boys, the

missing game skills he needed did not come as easily as expected.



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By mid-season it was quite clear that all three boys had hit a serious slump in their

normally easy and rapid physical skill development. By the end of their second season,

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

teammates had shrunk down to nearly nothing. Our three boys no longer had higher

athletic skills than their teammates and had actually lost athletic skill.

We enrolled all three boys in training from ex-professional players. They were

excellent instructors and there was a slight improvement in the boys skills, but it was

clearly not enough to carry them out of their odd slump. The boys practiced all the time.

Whenever they had any time they were devising equipment and practices to help them

learn the specific skills they needed.

They signed up with a Fall Baseball league to get more practice. They practiced all

winter long, in the snow, mud and cold. In the Spring they changed to a league nearer

our home and started with a new team again. Not much had changed. All three boys

seemed to be losing ground instead of improving. We were stumped.

One day I sat in my car watching Xanders and Silas practice one day early in the

season. I was looking for any clues I could find about what was happening to them. I

saw the usual practice scene - several skill practice stations with boys quickly moving

through the lines as they waited for their turn to practice specific game skills. While

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

threw pretend balls.



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I couldnt take my eyes off the waiting boys and their activities. Something about it

felt important, but I wondered what could be important about boys swinging bats at

pretend balls. Every time I tried to look elsewhere my attention was pulled immediately

back to the boys swinging bats at...air? I wondered. Whats going on in their minds

while swinging at empty air? Are they seeing pretend balls hit their bats or...What are

they seeing?

After practice I asked Xander and Silas to tell me what was going on in their minds

when they practiced swinging a bat. They looked at me like Id just said, Blah blah blah

blah. Finally they explained that they were just paying attention to the things the coach

had told them were important - like where to put a shoulder, the chin, the eyes, the

wrists, etc.

I asked, So is that your goal - to swing the bat exactly like the coach says?

Well, yeah. They answered. Were practicing what the coach says so we can hit

the ball better.

Youd think so, but thats not whats happening. I answered. Something is

missing. I remembered back before they had joined a team. They often swung the bat

at what lookedlike thin air...except they werent.

Before joining organized sports they always played an imaginary game. In their

minds they saw themselves hitting a ball when they swung their bats and even made

the sound of the ball smacking the bat. They looked away with a satisfied smile on their

faces as they watched the ball in their mind sailing over the infield and past the

outfielders and sometimes over the back fence. Theyd throw the bat down and run as



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fast as they could to clear the bases before the imaginary fielders got the imaginary ball

to the imaginary catcher. Back at home plate theyd jump and throw their hands in the

air to celebrate their triumphant run.

Their minds were filled with success in the imaginary game which created the

framework for their physical motions to follow.

They had lost that. Now, they just practiced batting form. They had excellent

batting form. Coaches applauded their batting form. But they had stopped hitting balls.

As I remembered all that, a new idea came into my mind. I knew we had nothing to

lose and I thought it was worth trying, so I reminded them of how they used to have all

the elements of the game playing in their minds when they played. Then I said, I want

you guys to get back to that. EVERY SINGLE TIME you swing a bat, SEE yourself

hitting the ball and SEE it going to the spot in the field where you wanted it to go. FEEL

the bat hit the ball. HEAR the crack as the ball leaves the bat and sails out to the field.

FEEL the thrill of a great hit. And dont waste another moment practicing hitting air

just to perfect batting form!

An interesting thing happened.

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

Almost overnight he became one of the top hitters on the team. He rarely missed,

whereas before, he rarely hit. Game after game he just got better at hitting balls into



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empty spots or out to the fence. But his brothers skill continued to bottom out. Several

games later I spoke to him, Youre still swinging your bat at empty air arent you?

He sheepishly looked away, Well, I...just didnt think it was important.

I was angry. Well, OK then. If your way is working so well, stay with it. Youre

happy with your results, right?

Nooo.

By the next game he had a great hit into center field and two runners came in. He

very quickly followed his brother to the top of the batting lineup. Once they made that

simple change of getting their mind involved in their batting practice, they became part

of the backbone of the team, and it happened quickly.

When we saw the results of putting the mind into play toward the batting goals, we

experimented with other applications. One of the twins was a pitcher. He had great

pitching speed but he couldnt consistently control the ball. When he was in the

groove (occasionally) he was unbeatable for awhile, but no matter how long or often he

practiced his pitching form, he could not get that ball consistently in the strike zone. No

matter how much he understood about the physics of motion and what to do to control

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

After a string of inconsistent and embarrassing pitching efforts he told the coach

that he just didnt want to pitch any more. He didnt think he was good enough or able

to get good enough and he wanted to end the embarrassment of his substandard

performance.



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With our new information about involving the mind in practices, he decided to give it

one more shot before quitting his pitching career. He began imagining the ball going

through the strike zone every time he pitched in practice. Even if the ball he threw didnt

make it to the strike zone, he saw it in his minds eye going exactly where he wanted it

to go. When he practiced at home, he did the same.

Just like with his hitting, the turnaround in his pitching happened almost overnight.

As he practiced improving his minds image, he very quickly became well known in the

league as one of the toughest pitchers to hit against. In the game that was playing in

his mind, he began to see the high speed he wanted, felt his arm staying relaxed and

strong, and enjoyed the imaginary batters surprise as the pitches repeatedly crossed

the plate in unexpected parts of the strike zone.



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What happened to our boys when they entered organized team play with

coaches?

In a nutshell, they began to learn the wrong way to learn - the way most adults try to

learn and teach. They learned to focus on what was missing in their game instead of

focusing on their love of the game. Our boys had never been to public school to learn

the right way to learn physical skills (or other skills for that matter). I never attempted

to teach them anything in their athletic endeavors. I considered that play. They

applied learning methods from their own natural learning styles that had worked for

them since they were small.

They had never been taught how to catch or throw a fast ball, throw a ball straight

and far, run, jump, hit a ball, climb, field a ball, etc. However, they were exceptional at

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

to do them also. They saw themselves doing the same things and then they did it - on

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

expression of love. They did it essentially the same way they learned to walk.

Our kids had no experiences with athletic failure until they were introduced to

organized sports. Even then, it took them an entire season to learn to use their minds

againstthemselves and their love of game skills. They had to learn to be unhappy if

they lost a game. It didnt come naturally for them and it doesnt come naturally to

anyone. They had always looked at the opposing team as playmates and were so

happy they came out to play. In the first season of baseball, when they walked through



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the line at the end of the game clapping high fives with the opponents, our twins werent

just being good sports. They were genuinely expressing their joy.

Thank you! (Clap)

Thank you! (Clap)

Great game! That was great! (Clap)

Youre a good pitcher! (Clap)

You had a great hit over my head! (Clap)

That was a great catch out in center field! (Clap)

When coaches and other players began teaching our boys the details of skill, like

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

etc., the boys began to forget what had unconsciously worked for them already and had

made them exceptional athletes.

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

learn and play, they began to leave their natural and powerful mind function out of the

game and learned to focus their attention only on the physical details the coach and

players stressed.

No one knew how to teach them the minds role in achieving goals, because they

didnt consciously know how themselves.

No one told them to love the games, practices, wins, losses, opponents, etc.

because no one knew how to do that themselves. Even if they knew how, they didnt

know it was relevant to athletic performance.



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The teammates, coaches and parents taught our boys a new way to think and feel

about the game and the opposing players. They taught about anger, disappointment,

frustration, failure, struggle and loss. Joy and success were suddenly only appropriate

if they won a game or if they performed well in an isolated skill practice. That was new

information for our kids in their athletic play.

It took nearly two seasons to teach them a new way to see the game but with the

introduction of the idea of failure, fear began to be part of the game that played in their

minds. Before they joined organized sports they had no fear in the game that took

place in their minds. Those childhood practice games were ONLY about love. The new

game in their minds became about tryingto succeed, not about the joy of success.

The more they tried to please their coaches and teammates, the more the mental

images of success that had taken them so far diminished.

The more they focused on the details of batting form, the less they held the image

of successfully hitting a ball.

The more they learned about team members failing the team, the more they lost the

image of the joy in playing.

The more they focused on the details of the game, the more they forgot how to see

and feel the joy of success in the game.



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Coaches and Parents Roles

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

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

addressing primarily the physical side of skill development (as they were taught). Many

of them try to address the mental aspect of the game but most of them dont really

understand how the mind game works.

Some coaches and parents address the mental aspect of the game with harsh

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

those approaches work. Oh, sure, one feels nicer than the other but they are both

relatively ineffective in taking individual team members to ever higher levels of

achievement.

In fact, both methods can block the very power that must be unleashed in each

player in order for him or her to easily climb the ladder of potential. Both methods

stimulate failure avoidance. You might think, Of course! I want to avoid failure, or I

want my players to avoid failure. Avoiding failure is not equivalent to winning nor to

expanding into ever higher potential. Without the clearimage of success, success is

spotty and unpredictable.

Even players with a supportive and encouraging coach often develop a desire to

AVOID disappointing the coach and the team. The mind image those players see is not

one of clear and unclouded success. It is impossible to create an image of avoidance

without seeing the mental image of that which you wish to avoid. In order to feel the



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desire to AVOID disappointing the coach, you must have a strong and painful image of

what it would be like to disappoint the coach. Then you tryto block or move away from

those painful images.

The problem is that while you are AVOIDING something you must keep your eye on

that which you wish to avoid. If you dont, you cant know if youre successfully avoiding

it. That creates a problem because the image you hold in your mind tells your body

what it is expected to do. Confusing images result in confusing and unpredictable

effects. Multiple and contradictory images result in multiple and contradictory effects.

The clear and focused image of success results in consistent experiences of success.

If you are a coach you must become aware of the mental image your words and

actions stimulate in your players. That mental image you stimulate will become a part of

the end result.

If you are a player you must become aware of, and responsible for, the mental

images YOU are creating. That mental image you create will become the most

important element of your playing experience.

The entire message of this book can be summed up in the following: The physical

aspect of practice is less than halfof what determines how well you play. Train

the mind to hold the image of the outcome you desire, as effectively as you train

the body and you will be astounded with your results.

The instruction that coaches bring to any team is important. Our three boys needed

to learn and continually refine the details of the sport they were playing. However, with

attention given to only that, their skills development slowed dramatically until it matched



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the slower development of their teammates. It was only when they restored the mind

element of focusing on the successful desired outcome that they were free to soar into

their dreams again.

We loved feeling that we had athletically gifted children. But that thrill dimmed in

comparison to the excitement we felt when it dawned on us that our children actually

werent any more athletically gifted that a LOT of other kids, they had just applied a

different learning method thatanyone can use.



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Chapter 3

Its time for practice. Do you know where your mind is?

Ive titled this book, Put your Mind Into the Game, however that title suggests that it

is possible to leave your mind out of the game. It is actually impossible to experience

any activity that is not directed by your mental images. However, most of us are

unconscious of that process and also unconscious of the images in our minds. Even

more of us are unaware that those mind images are continuously being projected as our

physical experiences.

The images in your mind are the blueprint the subconscious mind uses to create

your physical experiences through the non-conscious communication to cells, muscles,

nerves, brain, etc.

The first half of putting your mind into the game is about discovering the mental

images that your subconscious mind is currently acting on to create your performance.

The second half is about re-defining those images to match the goals you truly prefer.

Just as athletes need to continually practice in order to improve their physical game

skills and game awareness, they also need to continually practice to improve their

minds involvement in the game they actually want to play.

You start from where you are, but where is that?

To identify what some of your current mind images are, begin by answering the

following questions for yourself.



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At any point in my skill practice do I see myself being successful at the skill Im

working on and having game wins as a result of that skill?

At practice, do I focus on what I and the other players are doing wrong, or am I

focused on being successful at the skills and results Iwant to achieve?

When I mess up in a practice or a game, do I see it as a failure or one step closer

to achieving my goal?

Do I ever feel like Ive let my self, my coach, my family or my team down? (If so

youre focusing on them instead of YOUR game and YOUR preferred goals.)

Is there a time in my practice and game where I actually pay attention to what

success will look like, feel like, sound like, and how it will figure into my bigger

goals?

How often in practice or a game do I see or think failure is a possibility?

You will be successful in learning any skill when your minds images are primarily

about you being successful at that skill. However, you need to think it through carefully.

Players learn many small skills as they become proficient at a larger more complex skill.

Whats really important is the result youre going for, not every tiny little step or skill

along the way.

For example, for the purpose of hitting the ball powerfully, consistently and

purposefully you might learn all the details of proper batting form. However, all batters



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who achieve the goal of hitting the ball powerfully, consistently and purposefully do not

all have the same batting form. The batting form, alone, is not what produces the result.

It is also true that all players who demonstrate good batting form are not necessarily

powerful, consistent and purposeful hitters.

The subconscious mind produces the end result along with the batting form that

best suits the player in order to achieve the imaginedresult. Practicing the many

elements of form is fine because it may give the body more strength and the mind more

information to use in producing the experience to match the image. But the mind is

powerfully creative and often comes up with unexpected surprises for individuals along

the way to achieving higher levels of skill.

Mind Movies

Mind Movies is another element of the mind activity that is important to understand.

Time doesnt stand still. A practice may last several hours with the images in your mind

playing like a movie, not like a portrait hanging in your mind. That single portrait image

is still important because a movie is made of many fast moving still shots.



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When we create a goal or an intention, we essentially insert a single new image

frame into the continuous 16 24 hour movie that daily plays in our mind. That is very

significant. Studies in the 60s and 70s showed that when audiences were shown a full

length movie with a single frame inserted that instructed the viewer to buy food at the

concession stand, a larger percentage of the audience made concession stand

purchases. The single command frame was invisible to the audiences conscious

awareness, but a significant number of them responded nevertheless.

As in those studies, there are important correlations to our mind activity.

We do not move through our daily activity with silent minds. Images, language

and feelings play continuously.

Movies are made of huge numbers of still images with only slight changes from

one to the next. The movie we produce in our minds runs as a continuous loop

(autopilot) and also consists of many still images with slight variations from one to

the next.

A single new image that has been inserted into our mind movie will have an

effect even though it may not result in the full outcome we thought we desired.

The more new still images we insert into our mind movie, the more visible and

clear the image becomes as our conscious experience.



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Mind Movies Relate To Your Life

If you knew how the entire daily movie in your mind (consisting of many still

shots) was the very film that produced the entire daily experiences in your life, would

that change how you use your mind? Some people respond to that idea incredulously,

immediately defending its absolute absurdity and impossibility.

I understand that response because the implications of this are staggering for

most of us andincomprehensible. It is true, nevertheless. Our mind movies do,

however, involve massive amounts of non-conscious images and many conflicting

images that cancel each others effects.

If we truly want to experience the power of consciously changing our experience,

and if we believe or suspect that anymind activity can result in a corresponding effect in

our physical experience, then we must recognize that the Universal laws creating that

effect cannot be applied arbitrarily. Therefore, ifanymind activity has power, then all

similar mind activity has that same power.

I have mountains of undeniable personal proof that mind activity is inseparably

linked to physical experience. You probably have some also. Science has proven the

link many times over. The most astounding result of some pharmaceutical studies is

that for many participants, placebo pills or capsules consistently perform as well as

many of the drugs being tested. One-third to one-half the people receiving placebos in

most drug studies do as well as the participants receiving the drug.

The placebo effect is a direct result of mind activity creating a physical

experience. None of those test participants consciouslyinput images of the desired



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results in an effort to create them. They unconsciouslyinserted a mental image of

possible results each time they took the placebo. It felt to them like they were just

thinking about what they were doing or that they were being aware of the possibilities

that might show up in their experience.

The study participants were asked to pay attention throughout their day to any

physical effects they may be experiencing. Each time they noticed any slight possible

change, the possible image was slightly strengthened (more frames of the image

added to the mind movie), and produced a slightly stronger physical experience.

Eventually the physical experience was substantial, and even physically measurable by

the scientists.

Those who failed to produce results from taking placebos focused their mental

images differently. Perhaps they focused on the likelihood that they got a sugar pill and

nothing more. Perhaps they were so focused on other events in their lives they gave

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

received the actual test drug, but showed no effects, likely did the same.

The drug companies thought they were testing drug compounds. They have

instead been testing, and providing massive amounts of proof that the mind has a

substantial effect on our physical experience.

There are now two completed studies of placebo surgerythat produced results.

From placebo drugs and placebo surgeries we know that mind has at least some effect

on our physical experience. Ifsome of our experience is generated by the images in



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our mind, then the real question that must be answered becomes, What then, would be

generating the rest of our experience? When powerful drugs have no effects on some

people, but do seem to affect others, and in those same studies, the placebos produce

similar results, we have to look at the role of the mind in creating our experiences.

We are unconscious of the vast majority of the images that play in our minds.

During the 21 day training at the end of this book youll begin inserting more and more

purposeful images into your mind and holding them for longer times. The effects you

desire will come faster and easier as you practice and learn to put more of your mind on

the game results you prefer instead of the results you fear.

Break the habit of thinking about what is wrong

The consequences of focusing on what you or teammates, umpires, or coaches

are doing wrong rather than focusing on your own preferred skill and outcome is a very

slippery concept for many people to get hold of. It seems so logical that we cant

improve a skill if we cant see whats wrong with what were doing. It seems logical that

if a player is doing something that prevents success, then someone should point that

out. Yes, it would seem so, but it doesnt work when that remains the primary focus of

coaching. Why it doesnt work becomes obvious when you understand how the mind

works.

In 99% of the cases, if we are failing in achieving any success then that failure

has been generated in one place only - the mind. Holding the image of success will

move the body into the experience of success faster and easier than any



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encouragement, discussion, threats or even ranting and raving about whats wrong.

The more time and attention you give to focusing on what you want, the more you

contribute to the experience of success for either yourself or another player.

It isnt necessarily easy to learn to support images of success. Our societal

tendency is to focus on what is missing rather than what is preferred. Regardless of

the focus, our minds are diligently working for us to create the experience we image or

imagine - for good or ill.

It is important to understand the power of our minds images and labels. In

nearly every junior league sports game you can observe children expressing their

frustration at failing yet again. They smash bats, balls, helmets or fists to the ground.

They hang their heads in shame and pain as they drag themselves to the next play.

You can almost see the private images of self they are seeing in their minds, and it isnt

pretty. More importantly, those not-so-private negative images are at work contributing

to the nextgame experiences that child will encounter.

As we grow into adults we learn ways to cope with our images of failure or to

avoid the kinds of experiences that have so many failure images attached to them. We

dont think to change the images in our mind if we don't realize those images were

important in creating the experiences of failure. But they were...and they still are. In

fact, those mental images are critically important to the on going results we experience -

every day of our lives.

Before they learn about failure, infants and small children are our best instructors



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for learning new skills. When they fail to achieve the picture in their minds, they just

start again. Until they are taught differently, there are no painful images in their minds

about having failed or that they took too long to learn, or any of the other versions of

failure that plague our thoughts by the time we get midway through elementary school.

You arent stuck with those negative images just because you once saw it that

way or someone else saw it that way. When you decide to change your beliefs it is

often not an overnight event, but it is do-able, and it can be fast. As you notice a feeling

of failure, create a new picture by thinking about experiencing that event the way youd

really prefer to.

Remember that mind images play like a movie - a lot of fast moving still images.

Stop the movie in your mind and change the picture by thinking about how you want to

experience that event. In the 21 day plan you will learn how to apply several very

important key concepts to make that possible and easy.

As infants, we involve our minds in our efforts to accomplish our goals but its an

instinctive process. We arentpurposefullydoing it, and, in fact, probably dont even

realize the important role desire (mental image) plays in our resulting experiences. It is,

nevertheless critically important to the easy skill development that infants achieve.

We Can become unconscious of our own preferences.

When the adults in our lives begin to teach us things and fail to include the

important role of our mental images, we remain unconscious of that important element.



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Worse, we lose awareness of our real goals. Worse, still, we begin to have goals of

pleasing others. We desire what others want for us along with, or instead of, what we

really prefer for ourselves.

In sports, I watch kids desire and choose to play a certain position because it

seems more glamorous or makes a parent happy, when they really want to play a

different position or even another sport, or maybe no sport at all.

Putting your mind into your game starts with knowing what YOU prefer to have

as YOUR experience. That may be tough to identify if you believe your experience of

success depends on how well you perform for parents, coaches and friends.

If you feel like youve let someone down or that you might do so, you may be

trying to adopt anothers idea of success or what you believe someone else sees as

your success. If your minds image has an audience or person that you are trying to

please, you have a cloudy image that can only produce spotty incomplete success.

Create and see the image that pleases you rather than one that requires

another to be pleased by you. Our audiences cannot be pleased by trying to please

them. They can only be pleased when we have pleased ourselves with the joy of

achieving our own personally sought after goals or skills.

It is critical to put your mind to work imagining the game or performance results

you prefer. Coaches who incorporate this into every skill practice have much improved

results.

Players need to take charge of thier own imagination as they run through drills



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and even as they play their game. If you are a player, pay attention to how that skill fits

into the game. What will the sounds be...how will it feel when its right?...what will

happen next?...how will you feel about your successful play?...where will it take you?



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Chapter 4

Watch your language!

This is my favorite chapter of this book. It is key. Language is your most

powerful tool for identifying yourexistinglimiting images and also for creating and

sharpening your mind images to match what you truly prefer to experience.

We dont think of language as a physical activity but it is. Speech is, of course,

one of the basic physical expressions of our thoughts and beliefs. For the purpose of it

is one of the primary keys you will use to identify put your mental images.

For example: An angry or emotional outburst upon failing to perform a certain

skill in a game is a clear indicator that the player feels he has failed and therefore is

reinforcing the image of failure that supports such an outburst. The players mental

image may be offailing to please. The image is likely to be one of inadequacy in some

way and is identified in language like, too small, too big, too weak, too unskilled, too

dumb, too tired, too misunderstood, etc.

Our language matches our mental images. Heres a secret, and it is one of the

most important secrets in this book. Our mental images produce our everyday

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

this produces a changed mental image.

Perhaps the best way to show the power of both silent and spoken words is with

two true stories. I tell a fuller version of the following two stories in a presentation I call,

The Eight Words That Will Change Your Life. You can listen to a free 50 minute



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information packed audio version at www.LanguageOfAttraction.com

In the first story, the unconscious power words were a silent, I cant. They were

never spoken, just silently thought, felt and experienced.

As Ive already mentioned, I decided to home-school my two sets of twins. The

older two were substantially dyslexic and the younger two had a lot of trouble staying

focused. Having been a certified public school teacher for several years, I wanted my

children to experience their early learning without some of the possible negative social

and self image results that are often associated with their unique learning styles in a

public school setting. Still, I had to deal with the problems of how to teach them the

basics of reading, writing and math.

After over three years of home-school I still had no child who could read. One

morning, I attempted to re-teach one of my older twins the basic phonetic components

of five three-letter words that were needed in order to read a very small beginning book.

My children had learned and forgotten the sounds and letters over and over for more

than three years. I suspected the younger ones found it difficult because they learned

from the older ones that it must be so.

I was extremely frustrated. After discovering my son had forgotten (yet again)

everything we had accomplished the previous day, I slammed my fist on the dining

room table and yelled out, I can do this! I can do this, damn it! and I stormed into the

kitchen to create physical distance from my son.

As I stood there fuming, I heard the words in my mind, Yes, you know you can

do this, but it isnt you who needs to know it. He has to know that he can do it.

http://www.languageofattraction.com/http://www.languageofattraction.com/


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I walked back to my son and said, Say the words, I can do this.

But I cant, he whined back. That was the first time I had ever heard him

verbalize his belief.

I said, Say the words anyway, I can do this.

He barely whispered the words.

Louder! I yelled. I badgered the boy until he was screaming, I CAN DO THIS!

Now, I want you to say, I can do this, and I do. Say it over and over without

stopping, until its true, I responded firmly.

He repeated the words two times and halfway through the third time he stopped.

I spun around to face him and yelled at him, I told you to

He interrupted me with, Is itSam?

I stopped in mid sentence, suddenly confused. Wellyes, I answered

cautiously.

He slowly read the three-word sentence without help, Sam can sit, Sam

can sit. He turned the page and read the next one and the next until he finished all ten

pages of that little red Sam book. He got the second book and read it. He got the

third book and read until he got stuck halfway through. He was very excited and wanted

to learn the new sounds and letters. I bitterly thought, Ya, he can read it today but

tomorrow he may have forgotten it all as if none of this happened.

I suggested he move on to math and I would teach him the new sounds and

letters the next day. Sure enough, the next day he couldnt remember any of the first



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book. He struggled for a while then said, Oh, I remember, I can do thisand

uh...andI do it! He repeated the magic words twice more then began reading the

book. He quickly got to the same place where he was stuck the previous day. Excitedly

he reminded me of my promise to teach him what he needed to know to continue

reading through to the next book.

The other three kids were stunned. I was stunned. My dyslexic son acted as

you would expect someone to act who was just freed from prison. He was excited, full

of energy and wanted to experience more of his freedom.

Over the next week everything and everyone changed in our home-school. We

never had another learning problem except one the challenge of realizing that we

were unconsciously saying, I cant, instead of, I can and I do. When we recognized

our unconscious I cant and made the change in our language, the results happened

so fast we were amazed every single time.

The Magic of language applies in all areas where language is used.

At the time all that was taking place, I was doing some remodeling work on my

home and the city inspector regularly inspected the work as I progressed. I failed an

electrical inspection numerous times. I simply could not make the three way switches

work. I followed the diagrams in my instruction book exactly, but the switches wouldnt

work and the inspector made it very clear that he was not my instructor.

I heard myself say, Why cant I get this right? Thats a question version of, I

cantget this right. I heard the reminder in my mind, Change the language to, I can.



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I rebelled. That wont work! I really cant do this. Im not an electrician, I dont

know how, and the book doesnt help. How could the words, I can change all that?

The voice in my mind persisted in urging me to change my language. OK, I answered

back reluctantly, Ill try it.

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

do this and I do it. I walked away from the problem switch I was working on and

halfway across the room, noticed the instruction book. I picked it up and was stunned at

what I saw. I noticed that the artist may have reversed two of the colored wires in the

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

would have been if the colors hadnt been reversed in the sketch. The light worked

perfectly and I passed the inspection later that day.

On that day the magic words, I can do this and I do it, became a frequent

statement in my home and in my mind.

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

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

Language is a paintbrush that creates the images in our mind that in turn create

the actual experiences of our lives. It doesnt feellike we had anything to do with

making the experience happen, but we did - with the paintbrush of both silent

(unconscious) and intentional language.

Unconscious language feels silent but it is active nevertheless. You may not



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hear yourself say, I cant do this. You may only feel the frustration that is linked to the

unconsciously believed words.

Watch your language, observe it from the perspective of becoming aware of the

image of yourself that is currently playing in your mind and your life. For example: Angry

or blaming language is supported by mental images that are about you being kept away

from your goals instead of achieving them.

When you say, I hope I succeed in this game or play, you reinforce an image of

possible or even likely failure. Simply saying different words will insert a new image into

the movie of images flashing through your mind and radiating into your experience.

Instead of hope how about, I knowIm going to reach my goals or get much closer to

them, and learn more about how to improve my game even further. Those words

create an image of you growing stronger and stronger in your game and skills

awareness - no matter what the immediate apparent outcome seems to be.

When you claim that something is hard for you, your mental image is also that

you are attempting something that is hard. That will be your experience as long as you

hold those images of hard. It may seem far fetched that simply changing your words

can change your experience, but it does. Try it. When you hear yourself saying, This

is hard. change your statement to the new words, This is easy, and I do it easily. The

results will amaze you.

When you say, I cant...(hit a ball consistently), or, Im nota good...(hitter), or, I

dont...(hit) well, the mental images that match those words are obvious. I know it

seems like youre just reporting on reality as you know it but youre doing more - much



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more. and produce this language are obvious. I know it seems like youre just reporting

on reality as you know it, but youre doing more. Youre creating another still image in

your movie of yourself, and therefore another experience of your being less than you

prefer to be.

Use new language to insert a still image that places you in a successful role.

Im getting better and better at...

I learn more all the time about...

I love to...(hit the ball).

Another common use of language that has hidden negative effects on your game

is when you speak unfavorably about a team mate. When you do that you create an

image of you being in conflict with the team. It seems like youre innocently reporting on

what you see. In a sense you are, because youre seeing your previous mental images

replayed as your current physical experience. But theres much more going on. Youre

also sending information to your subconscious mind to be added to the movie of your

life that will re-create itself in your experience again.

An image of a team that is in conflict with you, is not an image of success for you.

Speak of your teammates supportively. Do the same for yourself and youll be inserting

a continuous stream of mental images placing you in the role of an important supportive

element in the success of the team.

Language is a very powerful tool



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It will help you find unwanted images. It will also one of your most powerful tools

to insert the new images that you prefer into your subconscious mind to project into your

physical experience. Notice your everyday choice of words. Think about your words

and the mental image that they create. What is your role in the images your language

produces? Is your language creating a mental image of you being successful...or less

than successful? A power player...or someone tryingto be a power player?

The subconscious mind is absolutely literal in its reproduction of the images you

hold in your mind. The future result of an image of you tryingto be skilled is going to be

you, STILL tryingto be skilled, but not actually reaching a result of BEING as skilled as

you would prefer. You can only reach the goal ofbeingskilled by holding images of you

beingskilled.

If you wantanything, the image the subconscious receives is of you lackingthat

which you want. You cannot want what you have, and you do not have what you

want. In your mind you must insert images and feelings of you HAVING the feeling of

being fulfilled. Notice I didnt say having that which you want.

People tend to believe that having some certain thing or experience will make

them feel happy or fulfilled. Not so. You dont have to live very many years to discover

that even when you get what you want it doesnt necessarily translate to feeling happy,

at least for more than a short time.

Hold mental images of you being fulfilled, grateful to be you, happy with your

game performance, living the experiences you PREFER. If you focus on the skill level

you currently have, you will continue having that skill level. If you focus on a skill level



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you WANT to have, you will continue wanting to have that skill level. If you continue to

hold your focus on HAVING and enjoying any skill level (regardless of what shows up in

your current experience) you will find yourself HAVING and enjoying that skill level.

When you focus on lack you will get more lack. When you focus on the work

required to achieve skill or to feel fulfilled in any way, you will get more of the work you

believe is required. When you focus on BEING already in the experience rather than

wanting it or trying to get it, then you will BE in the experience more quickly than you

might imagine. Your subconscious mind will reproduce in your outer experiences, the

literal essence of your inner images.

When you notice other peoples language of failure and limitation, use that

awareness to refine your own mental images. It does you little good to fix someone

elses mental images. Its just another subtle image you need to watch for - the image

ofsomeone elses mental image being strong enough to block your own. This shows

up with comments like, Well never win this game if you dont stop all that negative

chatter. The speaker of that sentence completely misses his own creative language

saying, Well never win this game if The speaker of that sentence has placed him or

herself in the role of powerless victim - victim of another persons choices.

The idea of anothers language being too negative or powerful is not real. Its

just an image that is based on a very strong belief in our society that tells us other

people or circumstances can keep us from the success we prefer for ourselves.

When you find yourself blaming others for limiting your experiences, notice where



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you are in your mental image. You are in the role of director tryingto make the power

players perform in a way that will ALLOW you to feel successful or powerful. Guess

where your subconscious mind will continue to place you in your outer life experience?

You will continue to find yourself as the director tryingto make the power players

perform differently (but probably not successfully).

Instead, see yourself as the power player. Im not talking about seeing yourself

as overpowering others, or of having power greater than others. Im talking about

seeing yourself as fulfilled - no matter whatever else goes on. See and speak of the

others as performing perfectly for your greatest benefit. See (and say) that they can do

nothing except what will benefit you the most. Dont decide what they should do.

Decide only that whatever they do is perfect for you.

It may take some practice for you to feel comfortable holding yourself in that kind

of thinking but guess what your subconscious mind will reproduce for you when you do?

As always, it will give you the literal reproduction of the image you give it.

The reason that saying, I can do this and I do it, is so powerful is that it gives

the subconscious mind an image of you being fulfilled. I cant gives the subconscious

mind the image of you being denied that which you want.

Get your mental images in line with supporting your preferred goals by getting

your language in line with the mental images of you that you truly want to experience.

Begin to cultivate the habit of saying and thinking things that create the images of you

having what you love rather than simply reporting on your life as if your words had no

value or power other than to describe what is. You are much more than a reporter of



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life. You are a creator of life as you experience it.



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Chapter 5

Put your Mind in YOURGame

In any game you play, it will play out according to the pictures you hold in your

mind. If it seems like that isnt whats happening, you have images, feelings, and

language that you arent paying attention to.

Often when we attempt to imagine what we prefer, were still holding the image of

what were afraid of or what we want to improve upon. That would be the case when

were trying to overcome a weakness or trying to break through a barrier or even

determined to beat a previous speed or skill. Each of those holds the old image in

place because the new image is based on the old image.

Putting your mind in the game requires practice. To become really effective at

consciously directing your mind in the game, you have to make an important shift in how

you see things. You have to let the physical part of your skill practices and your game

performance take a different role.

Your physical practice does not stand alone as the primary means to reach your

goal. You must begin to observe your performance in your practices in order to identify

the images you are holding in your mind. Once you become conscious of the currently

operating image you can refine that image and fine-tune it ever more directly to the level

of skill and success you prefer.

High achieving athletes do this instinctively. We all do it accidentally. At one

point in her horsemanship training, my daughter was an average to better than average



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rider with a precision drill team of horses and riders. One day the team instructor

announced that the team would be riding bareback and even loping bareback in two

weeks. My daughter was beyond excited. She talked about it for two weeks. She

imagined it. She saw herself loping bareback and could hardly wait. It dominated her

thoughts. She knew she would love it and so thats the image she held.

When the day came to actually ride bareback, she rode exceptionally well. She

rode better than the few team members who had been riding bareback for many weeks.

The instructors were amazed. My daughter, however, was not amazed. She was

thrilled because the ride was the exact duplicate of what she had dreamed for two

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

her face and the sweaty horse responding to her legs and feet as she instinctively

communicated her instructions.

The other parents watching in the stands spoke of how nervous their children

had been about riding bareback. Their childrens rides were also the exact duplicate of

what they had dreamed or imagined for two weeks. They struggled. They fell off. They

bounced. They held back. But they were every bit as successful as my daughter

was in experiencing the result of their mind image.

Nothing Is Real Until You Say So.

Theres another important application for putting your mind into YOUR game.

Often you will experience a person(s) or circumstances that you believe is keeping you



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from your goal or your dream. It may be a teammate, a coach, umpire, competitor, or it

may just feel like lady luck is turning her back on you.

When you feel that way you can put your mind to work for you in a little different

way that will have a powerful impact on your game. Instead of seeing what you want to

have happen, see what IS happening as a benefitto you instead of a resistance to you.

For example, if the coach isnt playing you and you think he should, you have the

power to frame that experience as a benefit instead of a denial of your benefit. Once

you do, you are back in control of your experience and your march to your goals. Your

experience will change amazingly fast. Here are some examples.

You may use the bench time to observe an excellent player and learn the details

of a higher level of performance that you prefer to incorporate into your game.

You may realize youre getting some needed downtime because youre body is in

a growth spurt.

You may have a valuable conversation during your bench time.

There are always important benefits that will open up to you as soon as you

claim the experience as a benefit. You hold yourself as a victim powerless to achieve

your goals as long as you claim an experience is a denial of benefit for you.

Putting your mind in YOUR game in this way will transform your game

experience, your game relationships, and your relationship with yourself. The results

will only be positive and support your higher achievement. Choose to frame your

experience with you being supported rather than being the victim of someone or some

circumstance.



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Have you ever heard someone say something like, The coach doesnt like me?

They have given their subconscious mind an image of them being unsupported. The

subconscious mind MUST reproduce that image in their physical experiences. It is no

different when someone says, Im not tall enough, strong enough, the right color, smart

enough, or whatever.

Whether your images portray you as a victim of others or a victim of

circumstances, its all just an image the subconscious MUST duplicate in your life

experience. If you want to change your life experience you MUST change the images

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

use. That, in turn, creates the images that form in your mind.

What if it doesnt work?

There's one more mental detour I would like you to be aware of. Without

exception, every person to whom I have taught this process has responded sooner or

later with some version of the following mental image. I tried changing my language

and it didn't work (or it didn't work in a specific application). It is subtle but very

important. You think you are reporting reality as it is, BUT YOU ARE NOT!

You are creating an image with those words that the subconscious mind will

act on as effectively as it does with any mental image you give it. The minute you give

up on seeing and feeling the success you desire, you have lost it, AND NOT A

MOMENT SOONER! We are habitual reporters who are just beginning to become



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conscious of our powerful and always active ability to create.

Failure is not failure until you say it is.

Call an experience failure if that's what you really prefer it to be. But call it an

important step to your success if you'd rather keep traveling the path to success. And if

you want to shorten your path to success, continue to hold in your mind the focus of you

being and feeling fulfilled by yourself and your life.

Before you can ever master the physical skills you prefer, you mustmaster

making your mind images match what you love and prefer rather than your fear, or

limiting beliefs. The 21 day program that follows this chapter guides you through the

steps and keys to that process.

To get you started thinking about applying new mental images to your sport,

here are some suggestions for various sports. As you read the following information

youll begin applying it to your own sport and youll quickly find your mind filling with

ideas that apply specifically to you being successful at your own sports dream.

Fielding in Baseball or Softball. Strive to never allow your mind to stick with an image

of you missing or dropping the ball. See yourself consistently being in the right place

and catching the ball. See that ball staying in your glove. See every missed ball as an

opportunity to improve your skill and your mental image of you achieving your goal.

LOVE THE IMAGES YOU CREATE!

Even though dives for the ball are thrilling and audience pleasing, they can

also be dangerous if you hold those images of danger. In your mind images see



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yourself always safe, in control, and always estimating the arrival position of the ball

accurately. When a batter hits a ball to your part of the field, see yourself catching it no

matter how far out of your reach you think it may actually be. LOVE THE THRILL OF

CATCHING THE BALL WHETHER IT IS AN IMAGINARY ONE OR A REAL ONE!

See yourself immediately knowing the best player to throw the ball to and see

yourself responding instantly with the perfect throw. Feel proud to be you and enjoying

the player that you are.

If you see yourself as a slow runner, you might want to change that image,

but remember, its not just fast running that makes a successful outfielder. Its also

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

play. See yourself easily and frequently accomplishing the goal that you believe fast

running will get you.

If you see yourself as having inconsistent control when throwing the ball to

the infield, see your throw reaching the infield player in exactly the place it needs to be

and at the speed you planned. During practices and even during a game, see the entire

successfulplay no matter what actually takes place on the field. Doing so will quickly

begin to replace those limiting images you may be holding.

Begin to eliminate the images related to I hope I dont over throw or under

throw the ball. Watch for hoping that youll do okay as you play your game. Hoping

usually incorporates images of possible failure as well as success.

Baseball is much more than a collection of hitting and throwing skills. It is a



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game of strategy, big picture awareness and relationships. A good baseball player

plays with confidence, and instinct while applying the knowledge and skills learned from

coaches and from playing the game. See yourself as that kind of player. LOVE HOW

IT FEELS TO BE THAT KIND OF PLAYER. See yourself instinctively making the

power play. Your game will follow your mind.

Basketball. Never go through the motions of shooting a free throw or a jump shot

without seeing a ball leave your hands and arc straight into the hoop. Feel yourself

judging the perfect force for the distance, accurately every time, as you watch your

imaginary ball drop through the hoop. LOVE HOW THAT FEELS WHETHER IT IS

IMAGINARY OR REAL!

Dribbling. Feel yourself in control of the ball as it bounces, knowing where the

ball is and knowing that it is where you want it to be. See your self confidently choosing

the correct pass for the play (bounce pass, chest pass, alley oop). In you mind image

see that you are aware of where the other players are and correctly anticipating their

moves. See yourself easily becoming a key athlete leading the team with excellent

strategy and skill. LOVE HOW IT FEELS TO BE THE BASKETBALL PLAYER OF

YOUR DREAMS!

Track For sprinting, see yourself winning the race. When you hear runners coming up

on you, keep your mind focused on the outcome you prefer win no matter what the

other runners do or where they are at the finish line. See yourself running each



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segment of the sprint correctly and automatically. LOVE THE POWER IN YOUR

BODY AND THE AMAZING SPEED THAT PRODUCES!

See your arms, hands, legs and feet slicing the air powerfully with perfect form as

you are the first runner off the starting block in a powerful explosive motion, staying low

and driving until the exact right moment to stand up and increase the speed of your legs

moving up and down. Feel yourself breathing in sufficient oxygen to fuel your speed all

the way to the final tape. Feel and see yourself allowing the energy and speed needed

to sprint ahead at the proper time. Feel your ankles and knees strong and healthy as

you push your speed.

Above all, feel your body cross the finish line as the clock records your target

time. Feel the joy of your success and the LOVE OF BEING THE EXCELLENT

RUNNER YOU ARE, whether it is an imaginary or a real competition!



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21 DAY TRAINING

Expand, Explore, Push Your Boundaries

The 21 day training program begins with setting your preferred

goals and ends with a celebration/continuation. After you get half

way through you will begin again at day 2 and repeat through day

ten. You will finish with day 21 as you graduate to the role of

your own personal coach, keeping your mind in YOUR game.

The 21 day schedule will look like this:

1.

settingGoals

2.

create newimages

3.

newlanguage

4.

think bigger

5.

refininglanguage

6.

bodylanguage

7.

your bodylanguage

8.new body

language

9.imagine joy

10.integration

11.celebrate

12.new images

13.new

language

14.think bigger

15.

refininglanguage

16.

bodylanguage

17.

your bodylanguage

18.

new bodylanguage

19.

putting injoy

20.

integration

21.

continuation

Each day you will read information about that days focus and then you

will write a sentence or two as instructed. The sentence is simply to input a new

image that you will expand throughout that day and continue throughout the rest

of the 21 day plan.

I strongly recommend that you keep a journal of your 21 days including twenty



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minutes or so per day of writing about your own awareness, aha! moments and

other personal thoughts. In addition to reading each days instruction, you will

notice throughout the day, the elements in YOUR mind that were presented in the

information pages.



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Day 1 - Set Your Goals

Before beginning your 21 day mind training program, identify some goals for the

next game season or events that will follow the 21 days. Also identify your personal

success goals for your next 20 days of mental practice.

What is your personal success goal for this season? It cant be anything like, I

want to be a star or the best... Those are goals to impress others. You need to identify

your personalgame, skill and team goals. Ill give you examples later in this instruction.

The goals you identify will provide the framework for several of the activities of

the next 20 days and into your future. You are already operating with a complete set of

team goals, skill goals and game goals, and they are being fully achieved every season.

However, they are probably not what you really prefer. Nevertheless, they are your

current operating values and they determine the images you unconsciously input into

your mind. The problems with the old set of goals are:

you are largely unconscious of them,

most of them were not created by you nor for your benefit

many of them are diminished by conflicting goals

and many of them do not get you to your preferred goals.

Lets look more closely at these points. How can you be unconscious of your

goals? Players often experience their performance being affected by unconscious

goals. An example is when a player makes an on-the-spot decision based on an



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unconscious goal to look better to a teammate, an observer, or an opponent rather than

deciding in favor of their best performance for the game. Youve seen basketball

players take the centerfield jumpshot (and often miss) rather than pass to the open

player under the basket.

Unconscious goals suddenly appear unannounced and take over your decision

making processes. Coaches also respond to unconscious goals to look good or to

hidden unacknowledged goals rather than their goals to do whats best for the team or

the game.

You probably have many goals that are not created by you or for your benefit.

Your teammates and friends set goals for you that are not necessarily for your benefit.

You trust them and want to stay aligned with them so you accept their suggestions.

They often exert greater influence over your goal setting than either parents or coaches.

I remember at sports tournaments some players invariably promoted the goal to

party and have fun between games. That generally meant going to the next game

exhausted and unable to focus because of high energy play and late night sleep-overs.

It can be very difficult for the serious players to hold on to their game goals because of

the magnetic pull of their peers goals.

We generally want to be accepted by our peers over any other group, and the

other side of

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