Slumps in sport and life typically last because we aren’t asking ourselves and each other the right questions.

Great questions demand great answers.
Here’s a few great ones (from Coach Todd Bowles) you should take into consideration if you or someone you know is going through a slump:

Do you know your job inside and out?
How good do you want to be?
How much did it take for you to get here?
How much will you lose when you leave here?
How hungry are you?

I believe in you, you should too!

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

You don't need much to create a team building exercise.

Physical metaphors for team building are some of my favorite things to do when working with a team. For that reason I keep an arsenal of drills to do with my teams weekly throughout the season.

More often than not, the drills seem like easy, mundane tasks that should take very little time to complete. However when you add in 20 personalties, voices, brains and abilities into the mix, it can get much harder.

Working together is not easy - but knowing how to work together makes everything else easy. This is why we must take the time to create cohesive team bonds within our groups and communities.

As I say in the video above, I really love drills where the team can set their own goals, strive to achieve them, and then set higher goals. Failure is a very real possibility with these drills, but guess what, it's also a very real possibility in life. Preparing for those moments and knowing how to respond together is how you create champions.

I believe in you, you should too.

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

Nervousness is part of the game; you can train for it like most things.

Emotion and sports have always been tied together. While some deal with the nerves that come in high-tension moments by burying them or shutting off their emotions altogether, I take the approach of getting very in touch with them, calling them out, and getting as present as I can in the moment.

Like most anxiety, when you feel it, you are most likely stuck in a moment from the past or are stuck contemplating the future. Neither of those two places is reality - right now is reality. If you are feeling something in the pit of your stomach, acknowledge that you are feeling it and call it out, then ask yourself, "What do I control within this situation?" and "What can I do right now in the present moment to effect the outcome."

Your brain may fight you on this - that's why it's important to practice being present as often as possible. That way, when you feel the pit of your stomach tighten, you have the tools to mentally unravel the beast and perform to the best of your ability.

I believe in you, you should too!

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

For the past ten years, I have practiced being present as much as possible. I fail often! When I started doing the exercises I talk about in this video, I could barely get through two minutes without my mind wandering uncontrollably.
I would get pissed at myself for not being able to stay focused.

Through practice and instruction, I realized that our mind's wandering is a completely normal and human thing to do. I stopped judging myself and began to focus on noticing when my mind would wander, then gently bring myself back to the present. This is where a breakthrough came in over my command of present-moment awareness. The more I practiced bringing myself back to being present, the better I got at it.

Now when I find myself focusing too much on the past or the present or things I cannot control, I am able to realize it and snap myself back to the present quickly. Even with that said, I still fail at this daily, but I fail with grace and give myself permission to be patient with this journey and get better every day. Give yourself that same gift - you are worth it!

I believe in you, you should too!

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

Having a role is more important than having a job title.

I’ve seen many young people identify and obsess over the job title on their business card. With our companies & teams, we wanted to change that, so we tried something different.

Unless required for an event, call, or another reason, we don’t have distinct job titles at our place of business - we have roles. Each person who works with me or plays for me has a clear understanding of our vision and mission and their role in helping to achieve that. There is also a clear understanding of how other people within the group operate to accomplish the collective goals we have set. Long story short - we have “Buy In”.

The result? Loyal, hard-working, and inspired TEAMMATES who I know are striving right next to me to accomplish our goals.

Even when someone decides to move on to another job or opportunity, I want them to part knowing they had a great experience with us, learned something with us, and will pass it on to others.

We are all in the people business whether we want to admit it or not. Make sure those around you know that you see them as people first, not a job title.

I believe in you, you should too!

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

My greatest sports injury taught me more about myself than any practice.

It taught me that I am more than just an athlete.

It taught me there are other ways to stay “in” the game other than just playing.

It taught me how to overcome massive adversity.

It taught me patience.

It taught me resolve.

It showed me how much I really do love the sport.

Injuries are adversity and adversity (although sometimes painful) are opportunities. Like most sports, if you sit still, bad things will happen.

If you are going through something like this right now, I believe in you, and you should too.

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

As athletes, we all know the feeling of “being in the zone.” But did you know this is something you can practice?

“The zone” is nothing more than complete present moment awareness. You are not worried about the future or the past, but what’s right in front of you.

Present moment awareness is something you can practice in your daily life through many different methods including meditation, focusing on an object, listening to music intently, or even just acknowledging your surroundings during a walk or drive.

The more you practice it the more you will improve your ability to access it.

Give yourself permission to be patient with your practice of this. Awareness of the concept in itself is a major life accomplishment.

I believe in you, you should too.

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

Hard work creates opportunity and results, restlessness creates stress and anxiety.

I used to think restlessness, or the need to find excitement in many activities, was an ally. In my 20’s, the result of this thinking was often working two full-time jobs and throwing projects on top of those to “get ahead”. Now don’t get me wrong, hard work was an asset. Those years allowed me to gain lots of experience that would come to help me down the line - but at what cost?

I realized that restlessness was a problem during my down times. I could not relax. I always had to find the “next” thing to do. I was being productive, right? This all came to a head when my children were young and I realized I was actively looking for work to do at night. Sometimes it was due to an unjustified need to stay busy, and other times I was subconsciously trying to avoid the challenges of raising a toddler. One night I was in my office and I realized I generally missed my kids (who were downstairs). That’s when it clicked. I stood up from my desk and went downstairs and spent time with them. From that day forward I made a pact with myself that, when possible, I would spend as much time presently focused with my kids as I could.

How does this apply to being patient at work? Hard work and restlessness are not the same things - but in my 20’s (and prob younger) I couldn’t separate the two. Had I known what I know now, I could have continued to work hard while choosing projects more carefully. I also would have allowed for more time with family, friends, and personal development. I would have calmed my mindset down thus saving me a lot of stress.

With all this said, I believe there are people younger than me that understand this and I believe there are people older than me who don’t. This is just when I discovered it on my journey and I wanted to pass it on to anyone that needed to hear it. Like most things we speak about here, it’s something that I still work on today - practice makes progress, not perfection.

I believe in you, you should too.

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

It's very common for teams to go through a mid-season lull, especially if you play a winter sport. However, with that said, not many teams take action to prepare for it.

If you're a coach, take the time to talk to your team about trust, communication and plans for the holiday time of year BEFORE the holidays arrive. Make them aware that "getting a little sick of each other" is normal for this time of year and we need to work through it as a team.

Remember, if you aren't communicating, people are most likely commiserating. Be proactive in preparing your troops for the holiday. I believe in you, you should too.

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com

The probability of you being a human being is about 1 in 10 to the 2,685,000th power, or 10 followed by 2,685,000 zeros (look this up, its true).

I try to start and finish each day by grounding myself in gratitude. It's an exercise that has gotten me through some extremely hard times in my life by providing some perspective of my place in the world and universe as a whole. Its a pathway to serenity.

We all have something we can be grateful for - find yours and remind yourself of them daily. I believe in you, you should too.

Share this episode with someone who you think should hear it, and let others know that you believe in them when deserved. It’s a small thing we can all do to leave this place better than we found it.

I believe in YOU, your friends, your family, your team, and the power of belief in each other, and you should too.

Tune into this micro podcast for bite size perspectives on trust, teamwork and life that will inspire and motivate you daily.

Contact me anytime at GameSevenGroup.com