The Weather You Create
My house is currently vibrating with the energy of in-laws. Between the clatter of holiday dishes, the hum of constant conversation, and the sheer density of bodies in one space, it is loud, busy, and intense.
Usually, in environments like this, I feel like a small boat in a choppy ocean—tossed around by the currents, just trying to get from one place to another. It’s easy to feel like a victim of the room’s atmosphere. But this week, amidst the noise, I’ve noticed something subtle but profound: I am not just floating in the water. I am part of the tide.
We tend to think our internal state is a reaction to the world—if the house is stressed, I get stressed. But observe closely, and you’ll see the arrow points both ways.
When I woke up this morning, I took the time to pray and meditate. I emerged from my bedroom grounded and buoyant. The result was that the chaos didn't seem to touch me. More importantly, the chaos actually settled around me. It was as if my calmness gave everyone else permission to exhale. Conversely, we all know how a single person’s foul mood can suck the oxygen out of a room faster than a vacuum.
This implies a heavy responsibility. We don't just inhabit the world; we co-create it. Our mood does not just change our perception of the world, it influences the world itself.
I’ve noticed that when I take time to connect with the divine and center myself, the world treats me differently. The clerk is kinder; the family is softer. Is it magic? No. It’s resonance. When I bring a full, unrestricted, and peaceful self to the table, the world reflects that back to me.
Whatever that grounding practice looks like for you—whether it’s prayer, silence, a walk in the woods, or deep breathing—I invite you to use it. Because when I bring a joyful and playful self, I get that back. And when I bring a crabby, antisocial self, I’ll get a face full of that.
So this morning, I stopped trying to survive the waves and decided to calm the sea. I affirmed my power to set the tone.
You are not just a passenger in your life. You are the weather. When your wind blows, it affects the winds around you.
How is your atmosphere affecting the room today?
Don’t Get Out Hustled By a Junkie
I have a confession to make. I love short, funny, and socially inappropriate videos. I’m sure there are plenty of those on TikTok, but I’m old, so I see them on YouTube Shorts.
Every once in a while, one of those videos drops a pearl of real wisdom. That happened this morning.
The gist of the video was simple: When a junkie wakes up with no money, they don’t give up. They don’t hit the snooze button. They go out and hustle until they get their hit because they want it that badly.
Now, I’m obviously not condoning drugs, nor am I suggesting you do anything illegal to get what you want. But I am pointing out the terrifying power of total motivation.
An addict is motivated by chemical dependency. I’ve had some addictions in my time—though none as powerful as the hard stuff—and I can tell you that the desire is real, visceral, and almost impossible to resist. Some athletes and salespeople get a similar (though healthier) addiction to the endorphin hit of a workout, a win, or a closed sale.
But I don’t believe you need a chemical dependency to have the motivation to wake up and hustle. You just need a strong “Why.”
Why do you want whatever you have defined as success? What would getting it change about your life or your family’s future?
There is a process in Lean/Six Sigma project management called the “5 Whys.” It is used to find the root cause of a problem. Like most powerful processes, it is simple but not necessarily easy. If an organization has an issue jeopardizing a goal, they define the issue and ask, “Why is this happening?” Once they have the first reason, they go deeper: “Why is that happening?” They repeat this five times until they hit the bedrock cause.
I use a similar process with my clients. However, rather than trying to uncover the root cause of an error, we uncover the Root Motivator.
First, we define their ultimate goal—the thing they want to achieve more than anything else. Then, we ask: “Why do you want to achieve that?” Then: “Why is that important to you?”
We continue peeling back the layers until we reach the Ultimate Why. They always know when they get there because the mood in the room changes. They get goosebumps. They well up with tears.
That "Ultimate Why" is the fuel. That is what drives them to get up each morning and hustle.
I don’t expect my clients to steal or prostitute themselves in pursuit of their goals. But I do want them to find that deep ember burning in their gut—the one that drags them out of bed to put in the work required to get what they want most.
So, what’s your Why?
Saul Kirsch: Mastering the Mental Game
I was recently invited to lead a discussion about mental performance in competitive shooting. Many of you know me as an athletic coach, others as a salesperson, some even as a cyclist, but very few of you know me as someone who participates in action shooting competitions. There are a lot of ex-military and law enforcement who go to these matches, but some of us are just civilians who have practiced enough to no longer be considered larpers.
Anyway, a long-time shooter who runs a Wednesday night practice session announced that he wanted to run a mental performance session. Upon hearing that is what I do, he invited me to lead the discussion. He then proceeded to invite me to his house to watch an 18-year-old DVD by a high-level shooter named Saul Kirsch entitled Mastering the Mental Game.
I faux-humbly agreed, even though I was privately confident that my modern techniques would outshine those of a nearly two-decade-old DVD. I was wrong. I was surprised and truly humbled by the quality of the workshop.
For those who don’t know, Saul Kirsch is a giant in the world of practical shooting. Before he was a run-and-gun Grand Master, he spent a decade as an Olympic-discipline rifle shooter for the Israeli National Team. He took that precision discipline and applied it to IPSC, where he became a multiple-time European Steel Challenge Champion and a silver medalist at the European Handgun Championships. Today, he is best known as the founder of Double-Alpha Academy (DAA), where he designs high-end competition gear. In short, when he talks about the mental game, he isn’t guessing; he has but in the time to learn it (mostly from Lanny Bassham) and he has lived it on the world stage.
The Conscious, Subconscious and Self-Image Framework Kirsch’s framework posits that there are three aspects of the mind related to peak performance: the Conscious, the Subconscious, and the Self-Image. He broke it down into a race car metaphor that is imperfect, but I’ll run with it, anyway.
The Steering Wheel
His concept of the Conscious Mind was straightforward. It is the part of the mind we directly control and use to control our bodies, like a driver uses a steering wheel to control a race car. The conscious mind is great at logic and strategy, but it is slow and incapable of doing two things at once. One great distinction Kirsch made is that the conscious mind works in pictures. Going forward, I will use the word “images” to include all senses, but the principle remains: we often try to control our performance with words, but the brain craves images.
I think of Kevin Costner in Bull Durham standing at the plate mentally reciting, “Quick bat, quick bat.” He is using words to try to force a result when what he really wants to do is have the image of a quick swing in mind. In mental performance coaching, we teach that the mind doesn’t process negatives. If you say, “Don’t miss,” your mind drops the “don’t” and focuses on the image of “miss.” Why? Because you cannot imagine "not doing" something. You can only imagine the action itself. So, if you scream "Don't miss!" at yourself, you are inadvertently flooding your system with vivid images of missing, stiff muscles, and anxiety.
The Engine and Suspension
When Kirsch spoke of the Subconscious, he wasn’t getting into Freudian analysis. He was referring to the complex motor-control ability of the human neuromuscular system. He likened that to all of the machinery that makes a race car go fast and perform.
Basically, we learn skills slowly using our conscious mind. Since the conscious mind can only focus on one thing at a time, we must learn one simple skill at a time. Over years of practice, we internalize those lessons skill upon skill, relegating them to the subconscious—what many call muscle memory.
Michael Jordan was born helpless, just like the rest of us. But over twenty-five years, he stacked simple skill on top of simple skill until his subconscious could execute a free-throw line dunk while his conscious mind did nothing more than look at the rim and say, “Go.” The subconscious is capable of performing thousands of micro-calculations at once, but it has two weaknesses: it can only be as good as it has been trained and it takes its orders from the conscious mind.
This is why the quality of practice matters so much. In the shooting world, we say, "It doesn’t do any good to practice missing." If you push your speed in practice to the point where you are fumbling and missing, you are literally training your subconscious to fumble and miss. You are better off slowing down to a speed where you can guarantee the hit so you let the subconscious learn the correct feeling. The subconscious likes to go fast, so speed will come of its own accord.
That is, IF the conscious mind lets it. The conscious mind likes to interfere. Sometimes people consciously push themselves to go faster. That is a conscious override of the subconscious that interferes with its ability to effectively and efficiently coordinate movements. The opposite is also true. If a shooter has a couple of misses, their conscious mind tries to slow them down which also mucks up the subconscious.
There is a concept in sports where Performance = potential - interference. In this context, the potential is the sum total of the training that the subconscious has received and the interference is the “improvements” that the conscious mind tries to make on the fly. Kirsch tells a brief story about one of his best matches where he finished a long stage that required firing so many shots that he must have reloaded his gun, but he had no recollection of actually doing that. That’s what happens when the conscious mind lets go of control and trusts the subconscious.
The Gas Pedal
That brings us to Self-Image. I really liked Kirsch’s framework on this. He defined self-image as "how you feel about yourself in relation to a specific activity." In the racecar metaphor, the car will only go as fast as the gas pedal will let it.
Simply put, you cannot outperform your self-image. It acts as a governor on your potential. As Henry Ford famously said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right.” Self-image is built by your past experiences, your thoughts, and the words you use.
In conversation, most people tend to be self-deprecating because they don't want to appear cocky. If asked how a match is going, most shooters will rattle off a list of their mistakes rather than their great shots. This creates a self-defeating echo chamber. To change your self-image, you must curate your memories and care for your words and thoughts. You have to discipline yourself to leave the mistakes behind and vividly recall the successes. It feels unnatural at first, but over time, you build a new "truth" about who you are as a competitor.
Summary
The triumvirate of Conscious Mind, Subconscious Mind and Self Image is a powerful and simplified framework to think about mental performance in any discipline. All of the practice that athletes, salespeople, dancers and performers of all types undertake is there to train the subconscious as well as to build self image. The conscious mind runs the show in practice but must be carefully controlled to make sure it is feeding the subconscious good training and the self image positive reinforcement.
I got a lot out of Kirsch’s DVD. It proves once again that there is no such thing as wasted time when pursuing what you love—there is always value to be found, whether it be in learning something new or reinforcing what you already know. Kirsch’s DVD was a nice helping of both.
Below are some links to Saul Kirsch’s content.
Saul Kirsch interview on competition mindset
This video features an interview with Saul Kirsch where he discusses the realities of professional competition and the mindset required to succeed at the highest levels.
Being a Sponsored Competitor in USPSA or IPSC | Saul Kirsch of Double Alpha Interview
Basic skills are the files, confidence is the folder.
Basketball season is starting. When sports seasons change I take the opportunity to put fresh eyes onto my workshops.
When working with both sports and business teams, I used to start with goals. They are, after all, the workhorse of mental performance skills. I recently took a class at the University of Montana and was reminded of Dr. Jack Lesyk’s pyramid.
Notice how goals and commitment are a basic skill, but they are not the first one. Furthermore, Lesyk was later asked where confidence fits into his basic skills. His response was, “"Basic skills are the files and confidence is the folder."
So, this year, I’m going to reorder my workshops to start with Confidence.
Confidence And Self-Efficacy
Lesyk does not go into confidence very deeply because he believes it is emergent from the other basic skills, but I heard a podcast, I think it was Finding Mastery, in which Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory was used as a framework for confidence and it made a lot of sense to me. If you want to read more about Bandura, Simply Psychology has a great article on his theory [https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-efficacy.html].
Self efficacy is a strong belief that you can successfully complete an action that will lead to your desired goal. That also sounds a lot like confidence to me. Put another way, it is the belief that you CAN DO something and, if you do, the desired outcome WILL HAPPEN.
This is a slide from my workshop.
The Free Throw Line Example
Let's look at a player standing at the free-throw line with the game tied.
Defeated (No Can Do / No Will Happen): This player knows they haven't practiced their shot (No Can Do) and is already thinking, "There is no way this is going in" (No Will Happen). They are mentally beaten before they even touch the ball.
Wishful (No Can Do / Yes Will Happen): This player skips practice and has messy shooting mechanics (No Can Do), but irrationally believes, "I'm clutch, so this is going in" (Yes Will Happen). This isn't confidence; it's delusion or luck.
Frustrated (Yes Can Do / No Will Happen): This player has perfect form in practice and makes 50 in a row (Yes Can Do). But in a game, they think, "The crowd is too loud," or "I always choke." They have the skill, but they don't believe the result will follow. This leads to massive frustration and hesitation.
Confident (Yes Can Do / Yes Will Happen): This player has put in the reps and owns their mechanics (Yes Can Do). They step to the line believing, "If I just execute my routine, this ball finds the net" (Yes Will Happen). That alignment of preparation and belief is true confidence.
Can Do
Can Do is the process component of confidence. How do you build the ability to complete a certain process? First you need to learn the skill and learn it well. That might take study or coaching. Then you need to practice the skill to integrate it into your mind and body. Once you know you can do something, then the next step is learning to believe that you can maintain the skill in a game, match, meeting, etc. That’s where imagery comes in. If you’ve read my blog before, you know that the mind cannot distinguish between an actual event and a well-imagined one. With imagery training, you can get rep after rep of successfully completing an action in whatever situation you need without leaving your house. That takes care of Can Do.
Will Happen
Can Do is the process, Will Happen is the outcome. You need to learn to believe that IF you can exhibit your skill, then your desired outcome will happen. This requires mental discipline. I don’t mean self-scolding. I mean having the discipline to vividly remember past successes, even if they were in practice situations or done by someone else, as demonstrations of the truth and to filter out any past failures. Remember, a growth mindset is knowing that you are always either winning or learning. When there is a learning opportunity, then you must learn from it. Then keep the lesson and forget the event. You can rationalize away any undesirable outcome that arose from a desirable action and then forget it in the name of curating your memories. The goal here isn't to be unaccountable or delusional. The goal is to protect your Will Happen belief. Nate Zinsser refers to this as building a mental bank account of positive memories. If you miss a shot, you analyze the mechanics later in practice. But in the heat of the game, you attribute the miss to an unlucky bounce so that you don't hesitate on the next shot. You are protecting your conviction that if you execute, it will happen.
Ultimately, building confidence is an active process, not a passive hope. By mastering your preparation and mental imagery, you solidify your 'Can Do' belief. By disciplining your mind to focus on successes and constructively filter setbacks, you strengthen your 'Will Happen' conviction. If you’ve got both of these, you are living in the upper right quadrant of confidence. Ask yourself: are you wishful, frustrated, or truly confident? Identify where your belief is breaking down, and start doing the mental work today to move yourself into the upper right corner where peak performance lives.
Imposter Syndrome Redux
I got a call from a client recently who said he was suffering from imposter syndrome. What followed was a powerful interaction that he’s agreed to let me share.
This client is a lawyer preparing for a high-stakes mediation. When he’s in the room with other attorneys, he feels like he’s missing something in the verbal exchanges, as if they’re speaking in a secret code he isn’t in on. He’s afraid he’s overlooking subtleties and nuances that everyone else sees clearly.
Here’s the thing: I know this lawyer well. He’s one of the sharpest and most verbally skilled people I’ve ever met. I don’t know anyone who can express himself as precisely and eloquently as he can. I sincerely doubt there’s anything being said in that room that he doesn’t pick up on. And I suspect he knows that, at least cognitively. But that doesn’t change how he feels.
This is classic imposter syndrome.
There are true imposters out there, people operating outside their expertise or genuinely lacking competence. That’s not this client. He’s operating in his wheelhouse and has all the tools he needs. But he fears that he doesn’t. That fear is the entire issue.
I challenged him: “Do you really think you’re missing something in those conversations?”
He paused, then admitted that no, he doesn’t actually believe that.
Then I asked, “Do you think you’re the only one in the room who feels incompetent even when they aren’t?”
That question stopped him. He realized he genuinely believes the other lawyers don’t have doubts.
Imposter syndrome has a name because it’s common. Some people are unusually confident, and some slide into sociopathy or delusion, but most humans—especially high performers—experience self-doubt. There are skills and practices that steadily build confidence over time, but there are no instant cures. Confidence grows; self-doubt fades into the background. But that takes weeks or months to cultivate.
His mediation is the next day. My job in this moment is to free up some mental bandwidth so he can perform at his best now.
The short-term solution is acceptance.
We talk about the idealized lawyers from movies—the ones who deliver brilliant insights and trap a witness with a single question. How could they do that if they were thinking about all the ways they might fail? In real life, people do have self-doubt. But when they ruminate on it, they cripple themselves. Rumination consumes cognitive resources that are desperately needed for presence, listening, strategy, and creativity.
When you accept that you—as a normal human being—experience self-doubt, the rumination starts to loosen its grip. You stop making the doubt special or defining. You simply become another person living and working. Your bandwidth returns to the task at hand.
In my work with my clients, we often enter into a deep process in which we identify a part of the mind that’s being unhelpful. In this case it would be the fear of incompetence. Then I guide the client through a Gestalt-style conversation with that part to understand what it’s trying to accomplish and help it adopt a more useful role. If you’ve never done Gestalt work before, it may sound odd, but when a client commits to it, it can be remarkably powerful.
If you’re experiencing imposter syndrome—or any fear that interferes with your work or quality of life—reach out. I’d be happy to help you free yourself from that burden and build long-term confidence.
🧠 Turn your perfect rep up to 11!
Your brain is wild. It can’t fully tell the difference between something you actually do and something you vividly imagine doing. When done right, it literally strengthens the same neural pathways as a physical rep.
The best athletes in the world use mental rehearsal all the time. But they usually do it:
Before practice or competition (to prime performance), or
Outside their sport (to build confidence or reinforce mechanics)
That’s all good. But there’s one of the best moments to do imagery that hardly anyone talks about:
📍 Right after a great rep.
Here's what most athletes do after a great moment:
You nail a perfect start.
You sink a flawless three.
You crush a clean PR lift.
What happens next? Probably some version of:
👊 Fist pumps
🗣️ “Let’s gooo!”
🤝 High fives from teammates
All of that is great—it reinforces success emotionally. But what if you could also reinforce it neurologically?
Enter: the “rep multiplier”
After that perfect rep, your mind is primed. You just did it. You felt it. You’re buzzing from it. That’s the exact moment to:
Take 15 seconds
Close your eyes
Replay the moment in your mind 10 times
Imagine the sight, sound, feel, smell—whatever sensory info makes it real to you. Keep it crisp and accurate.
🧠 Why this works: Your brain is like, “Oh, cool, another perfect rep!” The rep gets grooved deeper. The neural pathway becomes more efficient. That one amazing rep becomes 11 reps—without more wear and tear on your body.
Depending on your sport, this may or may not be possible during competition. If it is, like between events in track or even between plays in football, use it! Otherwise, you can do it during practice between drills.
Pro tips for rep multiplication:
Do it immediately. While the sensations are still fresh.
Keep it positive. Only replay what worked. You're not fixing anything here—you’re reinforcing success.
Keep it vivid. The more detailed the image, the more powerful the effect.
Use It to Level Up Faster
Every athlete has moments where everything just clicks. Most let those moments pass by with a fist pump and move on. Not you.
💡 You’re going to stack mental reps on top of physical ones and get better, faster.
Watch for those perfect moments. Use them. Own them. Multiply them.
Your next breakthrough might not take more hours—just more intentional reps.
Let’s go.
🎯 Goal Setting Guide: Build Your Blueprint for Success
I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about my goal-setting process—from athletes, business professionals, and ambitious folks looking to level up.
I’ve touched on pieces of it in past blog posts, and I teach it regularly in seminars. But I wanted to pull everything together in one place. So I created a Goal Setting Guide that walks you through the entire process step-by-step.
Whether you're training for a personal best, growing a business, or just trying to bring more intention to your life, this guide will help you set goals that actually work.
👉 Want it? Just head over to my Contact Page and ask! I’ll send you the password to the Downloads Page, where you can grab the guide and start building your blueprint for success.
Easy peasy. Let’s get to work.
Imagery: The Mental Skill That Gives You The Edge
Want to level up your performance without moving a muscle?
That’s what imagery is all about. It’s not just “visualization”—imagery is using all your senses to mentally create or recreate a performance. Yeah, your eyes are powerful, but so are your ears, your muscles, your skin, your nose, and even your taste buds. When you imagine at full power, it’s like playing the game in your mind—without the sweat or soreness.
Why Bother With Imagery?
Because it works—and the best athletes know it.
Over 90% of U.S. and Canadian Olympic athletes use imagery to train their minds (Murphy et al., 1990; Orlick & Partington, 1988).
Top performers use imagery way more often than average ones (Cumming & Hall, 2002).
On average, Olympic-level athletes practice imagery about 4 times a week, for 10 to 15 minutes per session.
Doing both physical training and imagery is more effective than just practicing physically (Hird et al., 1991).
Your brain literally can’t tell the difference between a real experience and a deeply imagined one. That’s why it works.
My Imagery Breakthrough (aka, How I Became a Shooter)
Back in high school, I was not a great shooter—about 60% from the free throw line and too nervous to even shoot threes. Then I went to this super weird basketball camp the summer before junior year.
On day one, they handed us two posters:
A close-up of the rim
A multiple-exposure photo of a ball swooshing through the hoop
We were told to “shoot” 20 free throws at each poster—without a ball. Just stare at the poster, close your eyes, and go through your shooting motion. Perfect form. Perfect swish. Over and over.
I kept doing it every night that fall. By the next season?
90% from the line.
Nothing else had changed—except my mind. I had done thousands of perfect reps in my head.
Why Imagery is a Cheat Code for Athletes
You can do it anywhere—on the bus, lying in bed, during class (sorry teachers).
It never gets tired—your brain doesn’t need rest days.
You always get it right—you can rehearse perfect form every time.
It works when you’re injured—keep training your mind while your body recovers.
How to Start Imagery Today
Here’s a quick routine to try:
Pick a specific skill you want to improve (free throws, a penalty kick, a clean landing, etc.)
Close your eyes and imagine it in high-def. Feel your body. Hear the crowd or the silence. Smell the gym. Go through it like it's real.
Make it perfect. Every time.
Do it for 5–10 minutes, a few times a week.
That’s it. Simple, but powerful.
Bottom Line
If you’re not using imagery yet, you’re leaving free performance gains on the table. It’s a secret weapon—used by the elite, available to everyone. Train your mind like you train your body, and you'll unlock a new level.
In the next few blog posts I’ll be going over some specifics of how to improve your imagery skills, and how and when to use them.
What’s Next?
In the next few blog posts, I’ll break down:
How to get better at imagery (even if you think you “can’t visualize”)
When to use it for maximum impact (before games, during injury recovery, right after a mistake, and more)
How to build your own mental highlight reel so you can rep your best self anytime, anywhere
Stay tuned—your mental game is about to get a serious upgrade. 🔥
Habits: The Foundation of Greatness
You’ve probably heard of setting goals—maybe you’ve even set a few: Win state, break 50 in the 400, make varsity. That’s awesome. But here’s the real talk: your goals mean nothing without the habits to back them up.
In an earlier post, I broke down the three levels of goals: Outcome, Performance, and Process. But there’s a fourth level—and it’s actually the foundation of all the others: Habits.
I’ve got to give credit where it’s due—most of what I’m about to share comes straight from James Clear’s absolute banger of a book, Atomic Habits. If you want to level up your life and performance, go grab that book. Seriously. Game-changer.
So, What Is a Habit?
A habit is something you do on autopilot—no thinking, just doing. And it follows a predictable loop:
Cue – Something triggers your brain.
Craving – You want to change your state.
Response – You take an action to satisfy the craving.
Reward – You feel good (or at least, better), reinforcing the behavior.
Sounds kind of simple, right? That’s the point. Simple doesn’t mean easy.
A Good Habit in Action:
Cue: You wake up feeling stiff.
Craving: You want to shake off that stiffness.
Response: You roll out a mat and stretch for 10 minutes.
Reward: You feel loose, limber, and ready to take on the day.
Now here’s the kicker: stretching hurts—at first. And your brain hates pain. So while the reward is real, your brain is also battling the negative reinforcement of discomfort.
But what if you built that stretch into your identity? “I’m the kind of athlete who takes care of my body.” Now that’s power.
A Not-So-Great Habit:
Cue: You’re driving home from practice, and you’re starving.
Craving: You want food. Fast.
Response: You hit the McDonald’s drive-thru and go big.
Reward: Your brain lights up from the salt, fat, and carbs. Hunger = gone.
That habit feels amazing in the moment. But over time? Low energy, weight gain, and slower recovery. The real cost shows up way down the road—and that’s exactly why bad habits are hard to break.
Habits = Your Secret Weapon
Want to perform better? Recover faster? Stay more consistent? Stack habits that support your goals. Things like:
Getting 8+ hours of sleep
Doing 5 minutes of mobility work every night
Eating real food instead of junk
Drinking water before practice instead of soda
When these behaviors become automatic, they don’t drain your willpower. They just happen. Like brushing your teeth—but for performance.
Build Better Habits Like This:
Clear lays out a simple framework for habit hacking:
To build a habit:
Make it obvious (leave your gear out, set a reminder)
Make it attractive (pair it with something fun)
Make it easy (start with 2 minutes)
Make it satisfying (track it, celebrate wins)
To break a bad habit:
Make it invisible (hide the junk food)
Make it unattractive (connect it with consequences)
Make it difficult (add friction)
Make it unsatisfying (remove rewards)
Final Word
Want to be elite? Build the habits of elite athletes. Not someday—now. One rep, one stretch, one healthy meal at a time. Do that consistently, and your goals won’t just be dreams—they’ll be checkpoints.
And seriously, grab Atomic Habits and sign up for James Clear’s newsletter. It’s quick, actionable, and always on point.
Go build something great.
If you want some help establishing the habits of a champion or getting rid of the ones that are holding you back, please reach out using the contact form.
Unlocking Potential: Goal Setting with Sentinel & Stevensville Track Teams
Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to work with 185 athletes from the Sentinel and Stevensville High School track teams on the power of goal setting. Seeing so many dedicated young athletes eager to push their limits and grow was truly inspiring.
We broke down a framework for effective goal setting, focusing on creating clear, measurable, and achievable objectives that keep motivation high and performance sharp. Whether it was fine-tuning race times, building endurance, or mastering technique, these athletes left with a game plan for success.
A huge thank you to the coaches for welcoming me onto the track and trusting me to contribute to their team’s development. Your leadership and commitment to these athletes’ success go beyond competition—it’s about building a mindset for life.
To the athletes: Keep pushing, keep believing, and keep working your process. The goals you set today shape the victories of tomorrow.
If you're a coach, athlete, or business leader looking to elevate performance through mental training, I’d love to bring this seminar to your team. Reach out to book a session and start setting goals that lead to real results.
Let’s get to work!
Goals Seminar With Sentinel Track & Field
I’m thrilled to be delivering a seminar on effective goal setting to the 149 athletes and 14 coaches of the Sentinel High School Track & Field team today. I look forward to watching these kids unlock their full potential.
This is the first of three seminars that I’ll be doing with Sentinel T&F. I consider these seminars a form of community outreach and a way to give back to this wonderful city. If you’d like me to run a seminar with your team, reach out to me using the contact link in the header. I don’t discriminate based on school affiliation, but for today: “GO SPARTANS!”
Welcome Sentinel Track and Field
I’ve taken on another track and field team this spring. I look forward to working with new coach and former U of M standout pentathlete Erika McLeod and the entire Missoula Sentinel High School team to elevate everyone to their highest and best.
Welcome Stevensville Track and Field
I’d like to welcome coach Chris Jones and the Stevensville High School Track and Field team to the Mindworks family. I look forward to working with you throughout the season to unlock your full potential.
Congratulations to Bruins Bantam Hockey
Congratulations to the Missoula Bruins. Their Bantam A team won the state tournament this past weekend. Possibly more impressively, the Bantam B team came from the second-to-last seed to finish as runner up in their tournament. I’m very proud of all of the players and coaches.
3 Goal Types
Don’t put success in someone else’s control.
3 Types of SMART Goals
SMART goals can be broken down into three types:
Result - Relies on your performance as well as the performance of competitors. E.g. team placement at a meet or individual placement in events.
Performance - Independent of competitors. E.g. personal bests in the weight room or on the track or results of some kind of skills test.
Process - Activities or attitudes separate from but related to performance. E.g. have fun, support team mates, be vocal.
Focusing on process and performance rather than outcome might be the most important concept in all of sport psychology. If competitors base success on results rather than performance or process, then their confidence will be unstable. A cyclist can get a lift if one of their competitors is under the weather or a sprinter can crash if someone outleans them by a nose. Don’t let someone else affect your perception of success.
SMART Goals
A journey without a destination is just wandering.
If you don’t know where to steer the ship, then you’re not going to get anywhere. Goals provide the headings. They can change over time, but it is important to always be trying to get somewhere.
I’m going to do a quick goals primer.
SMART Goals
Specific - “Get better,” isn’t a goal, it’s a wish. “Increase leg strength,” is.
Measurable - Put a number on it. By how much do you want to increase leg strength and by what measure. If the goal is mental, like motivation or self-belief, then put a rating scale on it. Just make sure you can track your goals with numbers.
Achievable - I’m 54 years old with no cartilage in my knees. I’m not going to squat 500lb in this lifetime. I can still set a goal around leg strength but it has to be something believable.
Relevant - Many of us have many different things we want to accomplish. The more you dissipate your attention and energy, though, the less you’ll get done. Make sure your goals align with your primary objective.
Time-bound - Give your goal a deadline. If you put something vaguely in the future then it will remain there forever.
Mental Skills Training
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says, “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” This has come to be called the “first victory.” Mental skills training (MST) is learning how to win that first victory.
The Art of War was written in the 6th century BC and is still studied by strategists in war and sport.
Bill Bellichick says that the only sign that he had hanging in the Patriots locker room was a quote from The Art of War, “Every battle is won before it is fought.”
What are you doing to win your first victory?