Letters To My Son

Taking your dog on an extra long walk today or listening to some of your favorite music--whatever brings you joy, indulge yourself (because after all, "you deserve" what makes you happy!). You'll be glad you did when everything starts looking brighter again.

The struggle against an obstacle inevitably propels the fighter to a new level of functioning. The extent of the struggle determines the extent of the growth. The obstacle is an advantage, not adversity. The enemy is any perception that prevents us from seeing this.

My parents were not the cheerleader-type, and they never attended my games. They probably doubted I was any good or would amount to anything. As I got older, my competitive spirit led me to specialize in a few sports and to focus on becoming the best player that I could be. And now, as a certified Tennis professional and competitor, doubt still fuels me.

Today let go of old thoughts and beliefs about yourself so that they don’t hold down all the good things coming into your life soon enough.

So take care in who you decide to share your secrets with because at some point they may become necessary pieces for someone else's puzzle- but only if you're willing to give them up willingly without fear or reservation.

“Fulfillment is a journey, one that infinitely unfolds as a great gift from life itself. You don’t want to just find your best life, you want to live it, be active in it, explore it, enjoy it. Those are active states, not stagnant answers. It all happens as a result of not only taking steps forward, but continuing to take steps forward. Not finding a single answer, but continuing to explore and en...

When you find some thing that excites you and inspires you it is worth the struggle. It’s in the refinement, simplification that we find clarity, peace of mind because it’s not about doing what doesn’t excite or playing a role which isn’t yours to play. Find your passion and be true to yourself.

Hope is the strongest force in the universe. With hope you can endure anything. Without it, you are destined to a life of fear and despair.

So when your arms shake and the voice in your head screams. And your thoughts beg you to stop and your mind starts to rationalize the possibility of surrender. Remember that big things are broken into little things. Minutes are merely seconds, mountains are merely rocks and success is simply hanging on when others would be letting go.

Get rid of safety at the expense of progress. Life has only begun. And right now the only action that's required is that you close your eyes and you see the possibility. Nothing else. You create what's in front of you, you put it there, it’s your narrative.

There will never be a moment in your life more precious than the one you're living in, your heart beating in your chest, the air in your lungs, the blood in your veins. They're giving you an opportunity to make a change to become who you want to become, to live, to inspire, to achieve. Inspiration source: John C. Maxwell, The Power Of Significance. Thank you for mentoring me. These are your words...

So let me ask you, is maintaining individuality that scary, that you’d live everyday unfulfilled so that you can proudly proclaim that you fit into the bland average norms that you've decided are required of you?

One of the challenges today is that we receive constant messaging about what’s wrong, what we need to fix and change, and anything else that might be potentially threatening to our safety, whether it’s real or imagined.

Scarcity thinking is all about me. It says, “there’s not enough to go around. I had better get something for myself and hold on to it with all I have”.

We are all connected. Our actions matter. Our words matter. How can you co-create the world around you today? What loving action can you take right now, to care for others around you, to make their lives better? What can you do to appreciate and show gratitude for those who have supported you? Who continue to believe in you for the rest of your life?

Let me ask you this, what if your purpose and your gift was to share how you changed your life, and help others change theirs? Offer the inspiration of your story, the usefulness of the details of your change, and your compassion to others who were struggling in the same way. Discovering this purpose was powerfully moving for me. I was energized, and poured myself into it.

The greatest piece of news that I can give you is that you are hopelessly average. That was where you started. But it doesn't have to be where you stay. You can become anything you want to be but you’ve got to put in that inhuman amount of work to improve.

Are you willing to stare nakedly at your inadequacies and be willing to push through them? You can't pretend. You've got to really look at your results and see if you're making the progress that you want to make and that's where a lot of people fail. They lie to themselves. They want to get away with something. They want to see if anybody's looking but the reality is the only thing that matters in...

Because you don’t need to change the world, you need to change the way you see it. And you don't need to change who you are. You need to change the imaginary shackles you placed around your ankles that are limiting the heights you could reach.

Wayne Dyer said “Don't die with music still in you. “ Don't live with regrets. Follow your heart more than your head. Follow your intuition more than expectations of others. Love more than you judge. Hug more than you hate. Praise more than you blame. Be open to things beyond your level of understanding. Detach from the outcome and trust everything will work out exactly how it is intended. Maybe n...

When we take risks and open up about our vulnerabilities, what is there to lose? We risk losing the opportunity for greatness. Our vulnerability may make us feel vulnerable but it's worth it if we can be seen as a "great one." Don’t just take the first step into an unknown future--but rather walk confidently with your head held high because of all that has been accomplished along the way.

“So when I’m going through my routine
do not be fooled by what I’m saying.
Please listen carefully and try to hear what I’m not saying,
what I’d like to be able to say,
what for survival I need to say,
but what I can’t say.”

What’s your one thing? What do you have the potential to do better than anything else? Do you have a sense of what that is?

This episode is not about Jocko Willink. It’s about what he said in a speech that he gave as the United States celebrated Memorial Day. And as Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I chose to share that incredible speech that he gave. A speech of gratitude.

I was at the epicenter of American tennis and all I could think of was this 12 year old boy hitting a ball that barely bounced for hours against the wall. My heart wanted to jump out of my chest.