Sports

Continuing our time with world-class CrossFit coach Ben Bergeron, let’s look at another one of his champion characteristics: Positivity.

Jack Nicklaus once said that the real key to being a great golfer was “playing badly well.”

John Wooden’s UCLA basketball teams won 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, including an 88-game winning streak. (Go Bruins!)

In our last couple +1s, we’ve been having fun hanging out with the sports psychologist of Champions, Bob Rotella. We talked about squirrels and trusting ourselves then we talked about working both hard AND smart.

In our last couple +1s, we had fun hanging out with Jerry Rice and scoring some touchdowns. Let’s continue our sports theme for a bit longer.

In our last +1, we talked about the great Sufi poet Rumi and compared his spiritual intensity with some sports icons. I said Rumi would have played football like Jerry Rice (“Touchdown, Rumi!”) and that he would have coached basketball like John Wooden.

In our last +1, we got an inspiring (Hoosiers-inspired) pep talk from Admiral McRaven right before engaging in our next most important mission.

Matt Fitzgerald wrote a great book called How Bad Do You Want It?

In our last +1, we chatted about The Comparison Game with Alan Stein.

We’ve been talking a lot about how champions maximize minutes—giving everything they’ve got into being the best versions of themselves.

Continuing our theme of stepping up and into our very own World Champion You Training Camp, let’s have fun with a little practice of mine.

A couple +1s ago, we talked about Vince Lombardi and John Wooden chasing perfection and catching excellence.

As you know if you’ve been following along, I’m a big fan of mental toughness books—whether that’s coming from peak performers in the sports world or the Special Forces or other leadership roles.

In our last +1, we talked about some wisdom from Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness’s great book The Passion Paradox.

As we’ve discussed, Steven Kotler wrote The Rise of Superman.

Not too long ago we talked about how much I enjoy training in the rain.

In our last +1, we talked about the importance of finishing strong. I shared a bit about the origin story of my first business, eteamz. It probably sounded like all sunshines and rainbows. Of course, it wasn’t.

In our last +1, we had fun dominating our dishes with Byron Katie.

Daily Rituals is a fascinating book that features brief vignettes of the idiosyncratic habits of 161 of history’s most iconoclastic writers, scientists and other great thinkers—ranging from W.H. Auden, Charles Darwin and Carl Jung to Stephen King, Benjamin Franklin and Mozart.

Jim Loehr is one of the world’s leading authorities on peak performance.

In our last +1, we talked about how the Peak Performance guys recommend we craft our optimal work-to-rest ratio.

In Learning 101, we talked about a concept scientists call “interleaving.”

We’re kinda on a roll exploring some of Trevor Moawad’s peak performance wisdom from his great book It Takes What It Takes so, I say, how about another idea?

Do you know how many times your heart beats in a lifetime?

In our last +1, we hung out with Kobe Bryant and Alan Stein in the gym at 4am.

Continuing our exploration of how to endure the pain of walking over burning (psychological) coals in pursuit of the upper limits of our potential, let’s talk about one of Matt Fitzgerald’s recommended “coping strategies” to Optimize our perception of effort and get closer to that wall of our potential.

A few +1s ago we spent some time with world-champion CrossFit coach Ben Bergeron.

In our last +1, we did some swooping and gliding and hunting with a red-tailed hawk and our bird-watching guide: Carlos Castaneda.

Concluding this edition of our breathing series, let’s talk about the fact that BREATH CONTROL = SELF-CONTROL.

While we’re on a roll with the 4 Disciplines of Execution, let’s circle back and talk a bit more about the Lead vs. Lag Measures.

After selling my first business over fifteen years ago, I had enough money to spend some time figuring out what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Geoff Colvin’s Talent Is Overrated is a great book.

In our last +1, we made it through one evolution at a time with William McRaven as he endured Hell Week and became a Navy SEAL.

In our last +1, we talked about Trevor Moawad’s distinctions on Conscious Competence from his great book It Takes What It Takes.

In our last +1, we drew some Venn circles with my Yoda and had fun high fiving God by giving ALL we’ve got.

In our last +1, we talked about Ben Bergeron—the CrossFit Games coach whose athletes have won six world championships. I briefly mentioned his book: Chasing Excellence.

In our last +1, we talked about Zen in the Art of Spartan Spear Throwing and the recent installation of a spear throw setup in our backyard, complete with bails of hay, etc. (Yes, we’re ALL IN at the Johnson house.)

Josh Waitzkin is a fascinating guy. You know that movie Searching for Bobby Fisher featuring a little chess prodigy kid?

I can’t resist. One more +1 on Aristotle.

Once upon a time, no British cyclist had ever won the Tour de France. Over 100 years of trying, and, precisely, zero wins.

In our last +1, we talked about The Mystery of the Hairy Fingers and how to alchemize suffering into laughter like a five-year-old. 😜

In our last +1, we talked about how to be like Mike sans the sugar-laden Gatorade. 🤓

What do you do when you’re having a rough day?

Tom Brady is one of the (if not the) greatest football players of all time. He’s won five Super Bowl Championships and is still dominating at over 40 years old.

In our last +1, we talked about LeBron James and the fact that he tries to get 11 to 12 hours of sleep per day when he’s training. (So does Roger Federer. And, Tom Brady is in bed at 8:30. 😴)

Not too long ago, we chatted about Roger Federer, LeBron James and Tom Brady and how much those all-time greats prioritized sleep.