GAME CHANGER NUMBER ONE . MINDSET MAKES CHAMPIONS

8 September 2024, Sunday

Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself makes you fearless – Lao Tzu

Hi , I’m Coach Rob Opie , and the subject of this week’s COACHING NEWSLETTER is

Mindset makes champions

We will be going inside the game plans of the great champions of Business, Sport and Life – to find out why

Mindset matters most

We explore how the great champions set up right to succeed in life – and we explore why it is that your best made plans – your strategies and tactics – will prove meaningless unless you have the right mindset.

And I will share with YOU one of the most potent universal principles of the game of life

If you do not possess the right mindset, you will never achieve your own greatest potential – in either your professional or personal life

That’s how important this FIRST -UP coaching newsletter will prove to be .

Let’s explore the power of mindset.

Life is full of choices to be made.

And one of the most important choices one has to make is that of MINDSET :

Are you a Victim or are you a Victor?

Have you chosen the mindset of a victor – that of a winner?

Or have you unwittingly, unknowingly or habitually , allowed a sub- conscious mindset of a victim to creep in and play a role in your life – that of a loser?

Who’s doing most of the talking on the inside, listen very carefully , as there is ZERO middle ground with this choice in life ?

The sub- conscious human mind simply cannot store two opposing thoughts simultaneously.

Never confuse the most important part of you – your subconscious mind. You cannot have thoughts of victory and defeat in your mind at the same time. The subconscious mind has the power to send sabotaging messages to your body. All it takes is one kernel of doubt – David Becker

Commit 100% if your want to win.

The power of the human sub- conscious mind, our store house of our beliefs and thoughts, is immense.

Control the sub- conscious, or it will control you.

It can be a great partner in success or a destructive partner in self sabotage.

Your mindset, habits and internal dialogue are vital ingredients of your sustained success.

The quality of your thoughts are so important during these swims. If you start thinking, Shit, I’m cold, within a second it will be digging into you – Lewis Pugh

The great champions make a conscious choice to vigilantly programme the sub- conscious with a winner’s mindset – they adopt a victor’s mindset.

Average people fall into the human trap of allowing the sub- conscious mind to adopt a victim’s mind set.

And guess what happens next?

They unwittingly disqualify themselves from the journey of great – the journey from Good to Great to Greater. And they disqualify themselves from this on- line programme.

Victim beliefs are a potent form of self sabotage.

They can so easily take away your SUCCESS IN LIFE – followed closely by your Happiness and Health.

More on how this transpires in a later coaching newsletter.

Let’s now explore how:

Mindset makes champions

Lionel ”Leo” Messi grew up in a small Argentinean town called Rosario.

His story, like that of so many great athletes , is one of using his innate and gifted physical talents to both shield himself from hurt and deliver himself from a life of adversity, poverty and struggle.

In so doing he went on to become arguably one of the greatest footballers of all time.

Yet, it could all have turned out so differently.

At age 10 he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.

Due to his country’s economic collapse at the time, no one, no club could afford to cover his medication.

Lionel Messi departed for a trial at Barcelona , aged just 13. He was offered a makeshift contract to join the academy – on the back of a paper napkin .

Who would have thought that at age 29, standing just 5 foot six inches, he would go on to be regarded by many – as the greatest footballer ever.

Disadvantaged in many ways by his short stature, Lionel Messi chose to leverage off his lower centre of gravity and focus his energy on his greater agility, his greater balance, his greater speed and his greater ball control.

Lionel Messi is the only player that runs faster with the ball than he does without it -Pep Guardiola

Lionel ”Leo” Messi, reserved and unassuming, and a somewhat unremarkable man outside of football, proved to most that mindset matters most.

He chose to focus on what he is gifted and great at – he chose a victor’s mindset.

When it comes to one’s physical attributes , another great case in point is the mindset of arguably South Africa’s greatest sporting champion.

Arnold , Jack ,Lee , Watson and the rest were all physically larger, but I made myself so fit in the mind, I was larger than they were. Size is a state of mind – GaryPlayer

For South African athletic super star , Luvo Manyonga , it could also have turned out differently if he had allowed a victim mindset to prevail – a victim of his own history .

Born into poverty in the Paarl township of Mbekwini, and despite showing promise as a junior athlete, his dysfunctional childhood saw him succumb to ‘tik’ addition – and banned from competing for 18 months.

But instead of sinking into the deaths of despair, he managed to flip the switch from a life of victim-hood to a life of victor- hood – departing Cape Town to re-boot his life career at the Athletics High Performance Centre in Pretoria.

He’s now in charge of his own destiny and many believe he can go on to break Mike Powell’s world long jump record of 8,95 – set way back in 1991.

The great champions set up to win – first and foremost by adopting the right mindset.

How about the mindset of South African born clean energy technology entrepreneur, Elon Musk.

Bullied throughout his junior school days , Elon Musk is now fast changing the way of the world.

When he nearly lost everything during the 2008/9 world financial crisis ,it could have played out differently for him as well.

Involved in many diverse industries, there is one over – riding common denominator in his approach to business and life.

It’s his mindset.

It’s what sets him apart. Consider his words :

Find out what is going to affect mankind the most in the foreseeable future. Find out what is not working. And go and fix it – Elon Musk

At heart, Elon Musk is a fixer, with an embedded mindset of a victor.

He’s on a journey to elevate humanity – a journey of mind and heart .

Elon wanted a new payment system, so he created Paypal.

Elon wanted an innovative electric car, so he founded Tesla Motors.

Elon wanted to give people the chance to go to space, so he created Space X.

Elon wanted high speed transportation, so he is developing the Hyperloop in California .

Elon doesn’t complain about how bad the world is………

Elon is fast changing the world for the better………

How about a guy who could not find a taxi ride in Paris ?

His name ? Travis Kalanick . And he went on to start the transportation network company called Uber.

If you have been following the media recently you will know that Travis Kalanick , who is certainly no stranger to legal battles , is currently embroiled in one of his fiercest battles – a personal battle to stay involved at Uber.

It’s at times like these that mindset matters most . Let’s see who conquers .

How about a guy who could not afford to cover his own rent in San Francisco ?

His name ? Brian Chesky. And he went on to start the hospitality exchange service called Airbnb.

Wow stories, but to sum up just how important the right mindset is , my mind always comes back to Nelson Mandela.

What would have transpired in our great country – if at any point he had adopted a victim’s mindset?

The mind simply boggles.

Here’s the key to setting up right in life , captured aptly by The Human Polar Bear , Lewis Pugh :

If you want to swim the English Channel – you must leave your doubt on the beach in Dover

It’s the very same in life.

Key Insight for Week One :

One’s best made plans – one’s strategies and tactics in life – will prove meaningless unless you possess the right mindset.

Practical Coaching Tip for Week One :

One way to bolster a winner’s mindset , and destroy doubt , is through affirmation .

Muhammad Ali had a defined strategy – and potent tactics – behind his often provocative and outlandishly chosen words .He was an expert in self – affirmation .

I’m the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was – Muhammad Ali

Doubt was never allowed to creep into his equation of life. Some people even say his lips were faster than his gloves. There was method.

Then how about the All Black Haka ?

Contrary to what many people believe , it’s not an act of intimidation – rather its primary role is to focus the team on the task at hand – that of winning – it’s an act of affirmation

More practical tips on how to foster the right mindset coming in the next few weeks.

In this week’s inspirational video story : ” We were just having fun….”

Every week on the programme I would like to share an inspirational video .

This week’s video story comes from THE PARLETONES – who happen to be in one of the tougher industries .

Why this video ?

Often I meet sporting super-stars who have forgotten how to just have fun when the going gets tough.

One will always perform better when you are prepared – and relaxed .

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Be sure to keep fostering a victor mindset. And have some fun too .

Success is a journey – not a destination

American golfer , Jordan Spieth knows that.

On the Sunday morning before he romped to a Masters victory, his dad gave him some sage advice :

Golf may be the greatest game – but it’s still just a game

Check out THE PARLETONES video below – and how they live the journey and create that human touch.

SOME WORTHWHILE FURTHER READING

The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.

~ Mark Twain

While in Johannesburg last year at a conference, I met a very interesting Cape Townian who’s on a spectacular climb – life journey . In his recently launched book he selflessly shares some powerful stuff on mindset.

If you get a chance please do have a read :

The end of the old way is not doomsday . It’s climb up a new mountain. And when you think like John thinks , it’s a beautiful climb : Cal Fussman. New York Times best selling author

Rhonda Byrne’s ”The Secret” explores one of the most powerful universal laws :

The Law of Attraction

In science opposites attract, but in real life ”Like attracts Like”

If you are gonna play the game right- your mindset matters most.

Positive attracts positive . Negative attracts negative.

Victor magnetises Victor , Victim magnetises Victim .

THE GAME CHANGERS – ROB OPIE , foreword by John Robbie

How to achieve your greatest potential in your professional and personal life

This book is not published yet, but it will be yours on 1st December for Mahala . I will be taking all the feedback I get from this online programme and bolstering the book .Please do be my ghost writer, by sending me any of your stories Insight , Innovation and Inspiration.

In his latest book , Rob suggests that everyone can find the key to real achievement in life. Finding real purpose need not be random. It is an awesome proposal and one that must be investigated by anyone who fears being ordinary – John Robbie.

GO GREAT . AND PLEASE REMEMBER THE FREE ADDED VALUE AVAILABLE TO YOU ON THIS 11 WEEK PROGRAMME :

I’M COACHING LIVE BY EMAIL :

If you need any help , please email me any of your coaching questions – and I will get back to you by email.

All emails are 100 % confidential.

GET IN TOUCH . robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Till next week , when we take a look at : GAME CHANGER NUMBER TWO : STEPPING INSIDE GREAT – we go inside the game plans of greats like Richie McCaw and others – to explore what is human great .

THANK YOU CELL C : A special thank you to Jose and Doug at Team Cell C for their continued support of our GROWING SOUTH AFRICANS GREAT initiative at THE GAME PLAN .

Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist , Entrepreneur ,Speaker, Author and Performance Coach to Business executives, Corporate teams, Sports teams and Individuals.

TO BOOK A PERSONAL COACHING SESSION , email me personally at :

robopie@thegameplan.co.za

You can either book a TWO HOUR one-on- one coaching session( dependent on your location and my travel plans ), or a two ONE HOUR phone coaching sessions.(or skype audio): Cost R1000.00.

Find out more about Rob’s potent game- changing coaching method : THE GAME PLAN METHOD