Daily Message
blog
Build Your Game with Long Term Mindset
Long Term Mindset
In his book, The Score Takes Care of Itself, legendary Coach Bill Walsh urges us to put all of our energy into our preparation before the game begins, and the results will follow. But what would happen if there were no results, no scoreboards, no quarterly statements, and no measuring sticks? The greatest bowlers are players who love the game with all their heart and soul and focus on getting 1% better daily in something. That something could involve anything in life and/or bowling (physical technique, spare shooting, mental game, being a better teammate, serving their community, overall wellness, etc.)
Focus on your Return On Investment (ROI) each day with tremendous passion. Avoid the uncontrollables such as results, outcomes, etc. If you can win your 1% of the day (14 minutes and 24 seconds - 1424) you will achieve things in bowling most will only dream about.
Now Go Win Your 1424!
Coach Shady
Win the Day - WTD
Win the Day
We’re always in search of the best daily routine, the one that can make us more productive. Look on Amazon for habits, and more than 1,000 titles pop up. But Ben Franklin didn’t have Amazon back in the 18th century.
We now all know his famous saying: “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” So, it’s no surprise Franklin began his routine at 5 a.m. posing one fundamental question: “What good shall I do this day?”
All daily routines must have a greater purpose, an idealistic philosophy of sorts. It’s easy to list mundane tasks we know we’ll complete, but what higher calling are you striving toward? It’s a question that should serve as inspiration to sacrifice while also committing to positively impact the future. If our focus is simply “Win the Day,” we’re really just focusing on the outcome and overlooking the self-development journey.
Our daily routines will vary because we all lead different lives.
But there should be 3 key pillars regardless of our age, occupation or income.
-
Discipline
-
Process
-
Reflection
When all three are combined, we can then acquire successful habits and make each day becomes better than the one that preceded it.
Franklin’s sheet forced him to be regimented and enabled him to reflect on his progress and holistic growth. By nighttime, he was asking, “What good have I done today.”
His simple ingredients for excellence still work more than 250 years later.
WTD!
3 Choices
Give Up - Give In - Give All You Have
Bill Parcells, the former coach of the Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Cowboys, never saw the Eugene “Cyclone” Hart versus Vito Antuofermo middleweight fight. But he loves to tell the story. On November 3rd, 1977, Hart and Antuofermo fought in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for their middleweight bout. Hart was coming off a loss to Marvin Hagler, and Antuorfermo was known as a boxer who could absorb a lot of punishment. Hart’s talents were evident for all to see. Smooth, fast, athletic, Eugene “Cyclone” Hart could move from side to side and was a well-skilled puncher. Vito Antuofermo’s skills were not as visible. He had toughness, relentless passion, and the will to compete. For four rounds, Hart was hitting Antuofermo with all he had thus beginning to fatigue—both mentally and physically. In the fifth round, because of his exhaustion, Antuofermo landed a few big punches knocking Hart to the ring and ending the fight in a knockout.
Most people might want to focus on Antuofermo’s relentless approach as the moral to the story, but not Bill Parcells. Coach Parcells loved the part after the fight. When in the dressing room, a small curtain separated the two boxers. Hart heard how close Antuofermo was to end the battle and how he was almost ready to give in. Vito Antuofermo said, “Every time he hit me with that left hook to the body, I was sure I was going to quit. In the second round, I thought if he hit me there again, I would quit, then the same after the fourth. Finally, he never hit me again, no more.”
The thin line between losing and winning as well as the smallest of margins between the quitter and the doer is the moral of the story. These themes resonated strongly with Bill Parcells. How often have we said enough is enough? Or thought we couldn’t deal with something for another five minutes? And how often has the disappointment of an experience caused us to stop believing in ourselves?
We are almost one week into the New Year. Some of us have already given up on our resolutions, or have gotten to the point that being sufficiently disciplined might be a little too hard and uncomfortable. Realize deeply when confronted with a challenge you have three choices to give up, to give in or to give it all you have. Next time you face that thin line or have the urge to quit, think of the Eugene “Cyclone” Hart versus Vito Antuofermo fight and decide who you want to become!
Win Your 1424!
Set a High Standard
Your success is often a reflection of the standard that you hold yourself to.
When you expect perfection... You may just land on outstanding.
If you’re happy with good... Don’t be sad when you finish on average.
Satisfied with the status quo? You’ll likely end well below it.
Now Go Win Your Day w/a very High Standard!
Lead by Example
Don’t let negativity win today. Remember it starts with you. If you are complaining you’re not leading. If you are leading you’re not complaining. One person can’t make a team but one person can break a team. Stay positive! No energy vampires allowed.
Win Your 1424!
Talk or Listen to Yourself?
James Gills said,“I’ve learned to talk to myself instead of listen to myself. …If I listen to myself, I hear all the reasons why I should give up. I hear that I’m too tired, too old, too weak to make it. But if I talk to myself, I can give myself the encouragement and words I need.
Great advice from Mr. Gills. How many times have you listened to the quiet talk between your ears and have it affect something in bowling. It could be a lane pattern that you have struggled on, looking at the scoreboard, bowling a specific opponent, alignment on the lane, negative self talk, etc. Stop listening to the negative and start talking the positive. As I tell my players: "Fake It (or Say It), to Become It"
Now Go Win Your 1424!!!
Whenever You Get There, You Get There
The beauty of our sport of bowling is that it's a life long sport. I watched Dick Weber and Johnny Petraglia win professional titles in their 70's. Petraglia might be the first player to do it in his 80's. Whether you are an amateur, professional or coach in our great sport of bowling, you have tremendous opportunity to grow daily, yearly and throughout your career.
While it is easy to become distracted with the glitz and glamour culture of instant gratification, understand aging waits for you. Invest time into the process while enjoying the journey. Allow your mind and spirit to be energized with the affirmation each day that "No matter what you do, be good at it, and whenever you get there, you get there."
This a a poem that Coach Bill Parsels (Super Bowl Champion) lived by and displayed in his office. Enjoy!
“Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.”
Keep Learning & Growing
Timeless Wisdom
Author Chip Conley makes an essential distinction between the term elderly — years lived on the planet — and the term elder — what one has done with those years. The former is a classification that is often imposed by external societal values. The latter is our responsibility as we gracefully age. Conley believes every day we must:
-
Evolve. Reframe the value of your skills and experience, and always re-invent yourself with new ideas. Have passion for growth.
-
Learn. Adopt a beginner's mind. Study one thing that you wish you knew. Then become an expert on that subject. Become a "Jeopardy" worthy contestant.
-
Collaborate. Your wisdom needs to be shared. Age does not mean seniority. Be willing to use your knowledge to help others and always ask for help to learn. Don't fall into the trap of I don't like new technology — embrace the new (example: Two handers)
-
Counsel/Mentor. Help others. Learn from younger generations, and use their knowledge to grow and discover the outer depths of who you are.
Remember, age is mathematics. It is just arithmetic. No matter your age, we each have twenty-four hours each day to engage in bowling, work, family and community that matters while serving others. We must live immediately and not squander the remaining moments we have left. Keep Learning and Growing!
Now Go Win Your 86,400!
Persevere
Persevere = Fight the Fight
As you navigate today, remember, you are much closer than you think. Braver than you believe and stronger than you seem. Do not die with your dreams still inside you. Keep fighting the good fight while showing up for yourself and those you lead. Understand falling down is a part of life. Getting back up is living. And inside every difficulty, there are hidden opportunities to learn, grow, and discover!
Have the Right Mindset
Bowlers think they can reach perfection with their performance, physical game, etc. Ken Ravizza (the Grandfather of mental conditioning) had a practical test for that mindset. It was called the“porcelain test.” He told the player to go home and fill up his bathtub with 4 inches of water and while barefoot step into the tub. If they hit porcelain,they were not expected to be perfect.
Now Go Win the Day!
Mike Shady Bowling
Mike Shady
All rights reserved 2025. Website created by "ProfitSource LLC"