Being the Best – Take Action Now by Vern Gambetta (Wed 06 Oct 2010)

Vern follows up on his post Thoughts on being the Best (11 Nov 2011) with the following:

Being the Best – Take Action Now (Wed 06 Oct 2010) ..

• Be Smart - Work on something specific each day. Have a plan! Train with a purpose. Improvement is incremental. Does not have to be big. Small steps lead to big steps.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Pressure is what you make it! Embrace it. Put yourself in pressure situations to learn. Use the pressure to make you better, internalize it and use it as a positive influence.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Belief – If you don’t believe in yourself who will? Think you are the best and you are on your way. Confidence, believe in yourself, your preparation and in your support system.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Routine – Great athletes do the same thing, the same way, at the same time each day. Regularity. You can set a clock by the routines of the great ones.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Work - Everyone works. The great ones work smarter with a sense of purpose. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses objectively. Then work to minimize your weaknesses and optimize your strengths. Bring your weaknesses up to the level of your strengths.
  
  ACTION: ...



• Choices - It is always about choices. Make the conscious choice to be the best. Life is constantly about choices.
  
  ACTION: ...

Without ACTION these are all just words. Take ACTION now!


He expands with the following:

In bold are the qualities with an explanation, but those are just qualities. Underneath each item you see the word ACTION. [..] Over the years I have learned it is too easy to set goals or to talk about being the best, unless those goals are followed up by specific actions it just is a very temporary feel good process. Each individual needs to take control and decide on the they action they will take. They must establish ownership. Do not recommend or assign an action for them.

As always, Vern has a great blog and it is always worth following his posts.


Jenny two weeks after liver resection - ERG Practice - Bank Street / Sydney (Sun 03 Jun 2007)
Jenny two weeks after liver resection - ERG Practice - Bank Street / Sydney (Sun 03 Jun 2007)
Jo ready to crack 400m for 2min - ERG Practice - Bank Street / Sydney (Sun 03 Jun 2007)
Joanne, Geoff and Jenny - Masters Men and Womens 500m Silver Medalists - IDBF World Championships / Sydney 2007 (Sun 23 Sep 2007)

Thoughts on Being the Best by Vernon Gambetta (11 Nov 2008)

Thoughts on Being the Best by Coach Vernon Gambetta (11 Nov 2008). A repost to get this to come up on the Tampa 2011 Label. It is also worth having a look at some of the other posts I have collected here.

Control what you can, not what you can’t! Be Smart. Work on something specific each day. Have a plan! Train with a purpose. Improvement is incremental. Small steps lead to big steps.

• Pressure - Pressure is what you make it! Use the pressure to make you better, internalize it and use it as a positive influence.



• Belief – Think you are the best and you are on your way. Confidence, believe in yourself, your preparation and your support system.



• Routine – Great athletes doing the same thing, the same way, at the same time each day. Regularity. You can set a clock by the great ones.



• Work - Every one works. The great ones work smarter. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses objectively. Minimize your weaknesses and optimize your strengths. Bring your weaknesses up to the level of your strengths.



• Choices - It is always about choices. Make the choice to be the best. Life is constantly about choices.



• Improvement - Michael Jordan, as good as he was, got better every year he played! He would pick one aspect of his game each off-season and set out to improve that aspect with relentless determination.



• Perfection - The perfect game has yet to be played, in fact it will probably never be played. The perfect race has yet to be run. That does not mean we should not strive for perfection, it does mean that that we should strive for perfection but not be frustrated when we do not achieve perfection. Take chances, risk, try a new move in a game, take on a defender. Make things happen!



• Mental Toughness - Physical preparation gives mental strength. Push yourself, do not give in. Go the extra step and the extra mile.



• Effort - Performance may vary, but effort is a constant. You have control over your effort. Make it high energy, high level and purposeful. Consistent effort will level out the peaks and valleys in performance.



• Goals - It is about goal achievement not goal setting. Anyone can set goals, but few can achieve goals! Dreams are private. Goals are public. Share them. Find people to support you to achieve your goals. Be specific both in setting your goals and the means to achievement. Constantly visualize yourself achieving your goals!



• Focus - No rabbit ears! Program your inner voice to respond only to what you tell it. Only listen to your positive self-talk. Filter out the negatives.



• Evaluation - Self-assessment is a constant for those who chose to be great. Be objective. Look at the positives and the negatives. It is an ongoing process. Evaluation and self-assessment are a series of stepping-stones necessary to climb the staircase of success.

Be yourself and true to yourself. You are great and will get better!

A copy of a blog post that I always come back to. Learnt a lot from this and all of Vern's writing.

Geoff an Jim Farintosh Canadian Senior Mixed/Open Coach and Sweep - Racice Prague - Fri 29 Aug 2009
Always take the time to say hello to Jim Farintosh from Toronto. First met him at Sydney 2007 when he coached and swept the Canadian Senior Open and Mixed Teams. Next said hello in Penang in Aug 2008 where he coached and swept the Toronto area "Mayfair Predators". Decided in Prague to finally get a photo with him after the Senior Open's 200m medal presentation. A top coach and a person who is obviously highly regarded by his peers.

Thoughts on Being the Best by Vernon Gambetta (11 Nov 2008)

Thoughts on Being the Best by Coach Vernon Gambetta (11 Nov 2008).

Control what you can, not what you can’t! Be Smart. Work on something specific each day. Have a plan! Train with a purpose. Improvement is incremental. Small steps lead to big steps.

Pressure - Pressure is what you make it! Use the pressure to make you better, internalize it and use it as a positive influence.

Belief – Think you are the best and you are on your way. Confidence, believe in yourself, your preparation and your support system.

Routine – Great athletes doing the same thing, the same way, at the same time each day. Regularity. You can set a clock by the great ones.

Work - Every one works. The great ones work smarter. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses objectively. Minimize your weaknesses and optimize your strengths. Bring your weaknesses up to the level of your strengths.

Choices - It is always about choices. Make the choice to be the best. Life is constantly about choices.

Improvement - Michael Jordan, as good as he was, got better every year he played! He would pick one aspect of his game each off-season and set out to improve that aspect with relentless determination.

Perfection - The perfect game has yet to be played, in fact it will probably never be played. The perfect race has yet to be run. That does not mean we should not strive for perfection, it does mean that that we should strive for perfection but not be frustrated when we do not achieve perfection. Take chances, risk, try a new move in a game, take on a defender. Make things happen!

Mental Toughness - Physical preparation gives mental strength. Push yourself, do not give in. Go the extra step and the extra mile.

Effort - Performance may vary, but effort is a constant. You have control over your effort. Make it high energy, high level and purposeful. Consistent effort will level out the peaks and valleys in performance.

Goals - It is about goal achievement not goal setting. Anyone can set goals, but few can achieve goals! Dreams are private. Goals are public. Share them. Find people to support you to achieve your goals. Be specific both in setting your goals and the means to achievement. Constantly visualize yourself achieving your goals!

Focus - No rabbit ears! Program your inner voice to respond only to what you tell it. Only listen to your positive self-talk. Filter out the negatives.

Evaluation - Self-assessment is a constant for those who chose to be great. Be objective. Look at the positives and the negatives. It is an ongoing process. Evaluation and self-assessment are a series of stepping-stones necessary to climb the staircase of success.

Be yourself and true to yourself. You are great and will get better!

A copy of a blog post that I always come back to. Learnt a lot from this and all of Vern's writing.

Geoff an Jim Farintosh Canadian Senior Mixed/Open Coach and Sweep - Racice Prague - Fri 29 Aug 2009
Always take the time to say hello to Jim Farintosh from Toronto. First met him at Sydney 2007 when he coached and swept the Canadian Senior Open and Mixed Teams. Next said hello in Penang in Aug 2008 where he coached and swept the Toronto area "Mayfair Predators". Decided in Prague to finally get a photo with him after the Senior Open's 200m medal presentation. A top coach and a person who is obviously highly regarded by his peers.