A Matter of Degree - Article by Lanny Bassham

There appears to be a subtle but important division among performers. The first group are training to learn the sport or talent. The second group are training to compete and the third group are training to win. Advice given to one group might be inappropriate for another. For example, if one would ask me if taking food supplementation was important I would suggest no for group one, maybe for group two and absolutely for group three. For a shotgun shooter, is having a backup gun essential? For group one, probably not. Perhaps for group two and absolutely for group three. Everything gets more important the higher the level of achievement.

It is much the same with the mental skills. You can get away with a negative attitude if you want to just learn a sport. But, if you wish to dominate the sport you must abandon your negative ways and discipline yourself to the principles of positivity.

Positivity Principle Number One - What you think about matters. Every time you picture or talk about missing a target or ten-ring your Self Image thinks you have just missed it again and you have dramatically improved the chances of missing it in the future. So, if you wish to dominate your sport you cannot afford to think about your non-hits.

Positivity Principle Number Two - Your Self Image needs positive nourishment. When you do something correctly, like hitting a target, making a putt or closing a sale give yourself some recognition. Reward yourself. Say, "That's like me!" Remember, staying positive is only essential if you desire to win. If you can handle not winning you can afford to stay negative. But, if you wish to win, you must get positive and stay positive. It is a matter of degree.

This article appeared in a past MENTALCOACH newsletter - to sign up to receive the monthly newsletter go HERE

Rebecca Robinson Miss Texas 2008 visits Mental Management!

Miss Texas Rebecca Robinson attended a 1 day seminar with Lanny Bassham and Heather Sumlin yesterday 7-28-08. What an amazing and talented young lady! We were very impressed with Rebecca. She is a graduate of A&M with a degree in Spanish. Her ultimate dream job is to be a translator for the United Nations. Her platform is Viva Texas! Building Bridges through Bilingual Education.


This tap dancing 24 year old bilingual blonde is heading to Miss America in January and will be training with Mental Management for the next 6 months to help her be mentally prepared for the competition and the job! Yes Miss America is a JOB. In fact, as Miss Texas, Rebecca will have over 400 appearances and will speak to over 100,000 students across Texas. Miss Texas is a paid position and when you win you do not have time for school, family or time off - you are living your platform, spreading your message and preparing for Miss America (Your LAST competition of your pageant career). It is more than just a crown...it's a challenge!

Rebecca won over $10,000 in scholarship money at the Miss Texas pageant which she plans to use when she heads back to school to get her masters in a third language. The Miss America Organization is the largest source of scholarship assistance to young women in the world.

Pageantry is a different kind of sport - it is the only sport we know of where the better you are the shorter your career! Rebecca won Miss Texas and will only have 1 shot at the National competition. Most sports you can compete at the State and National level multiple times. In pageantry you only have a set number of years to compete at all and most will never compete on a national stage!

For more information on how you can prepare mentally for your pageant competition contact Heather Sumlin at heather@mentalmanagement.com or click here.

There is a great interview with Rebecca Robinson on CBS 19 called Miss Longview! Miss Texas! Miss America? Check it out!

Mental Toughness Course was a BLAST!

We had so much fun at Mental Toughness! This course was for athletes and performers ages 14-25 and took place during Eagle U. If you have not had the pleasure of attending please contact Richelle at Eagle U for more details. www.eagleu.com or success@eagleu.com - you can also email Heather Sumlin at heather@mentalmanagement.com



The first thing we did was identify what the students wanted to learn. We had 16 students in the class competing in a variety of activities: Soccer, Track, Boxing, Tennis, Football, Basketball, Dance, Pageantry, Volleyball, Softball and music.

Here is a list of what they wanted to learn during their 3 days with Mental Management instructors Lanny Bassham, Troy Bassham & Heather Sumlin:

How to obtain a Mental Advantage over Competition

Controlling Nerves & Pressure

How to enter performance with confidence

Controlling the negative

Staying positive

Gamesmanship – how to handle

Mental System (focus)

Second Guessing – Comparing Self to Others

Blocking Physical Pain

Dealing with Discouragement

Staying Consistent

Fear Control

Distraction Control

How to deal with Negative People

Transferring Practice to Competition

Learning from Mistakes

Who to listen to and who to shut out

Over-trying

Mental Energy


We spent our time going over the answers to these questions, we also had the students apply what they learned in a competition - BagGo competition. We split the class into groups to help with the application portion of the session and were able to give the pageant competitors different advice than the sport competitors to keep the students engaged and able to learn what they needed to know for their particular activity.

Here are some comments from several who attended the session:

Justin, VA - Boxing

“The point of focus part of the mental program worked amazingly the first time I used it. Blocking out my competitors and focusing me on not only the moment but also on the process where everything fell together. One good shot just led to the next.”

Brittany, LA – Pageantry and Sports

“If you believe, You Can Achieve”

Ashleigh, MD - Pageantry

“Mental Toughness has changed my life. I did not expect to walk away with this much useful information that I will incorporate into my life. Lanny Bassham is an inspiration to anyone competing. He truly cares about helping young individuals achieve their goals no matter what the sport is. Thank you very much for this eye opening experience.”

Jackson – Track – Long Distance Running

“This course will help anyone and everyone. To be honest, I think this was more helpful than the hundreds of hours I have invested in physical training.”

Bailey, OK – Pageantry and Dance

“It was amazing and it completely changed the way I mentally approach challenges.”

Brandon, TX - Tennis

“I thought I had a pretty good idea of how to be mentally tough, but there were so many aspects that I didn’t know or didn’t think would work that actually affected me for the better.”

Christina,RI - Pageantry

“Mental Toughness is amazing! In a few days I got the opportunity to be in the presence of Lanny and learn his approach on mentally preparing yourself for anything in life. I learned so much more in that short amount of time than in the 3 years I went to college. If you have not been to Mental Toughness, I highly recommend you go. It will help you and it give you an edge over everyone else. I loved it!!”

Faran, IL - Dance

“I never thought there was a way to control your performance, practice and mind mentally. After the Mental Management program I now know what it takes to be a successful positive and tenacious performer and competitor. Not only can Mental Toughness (Management) be used in competitions but also in everyday life to make you the best person you can possibly be.” Thank You

Becca, TX - Pageantry

Before Mental Toughness I has wishes. After this training I learned how to develop a six-year plan of success for my life. I am ready to live a complete life by getting what I want.”

Hannah, IL - Running

“People often make goals for themselves, but only truly passionate people know how to accomplish them. Mr. Bassham’s program uses his expertise and highly understandable methods to make even the most disheartened player learn how to achieve his or her own dreams. Thank you for a great and life-changing program!”

Sydney, VT - Pageantry

“Mental Toughness has prepared me for my competition and every aspect of my life. These tools will stick with me throughout the rest of my life and I know whatever I am competing in, I will perform like a winner.”

Stan, IL – Football & Track

“This course will help every sports player get to the next level.”

We hope to see YOU at the next Mental Toughness Seminar!

To see more photos of the Mental Toughness Session check out our Facebook Page where we have 2 photo albums with pics! Click Here To learn more about Mental Management click HERE by joining our email newsletter you can be informed immediately of new seminars like this one - click here to sign up.

Good Luck in Beijing! Mental Management Customer Warren Potent!

We are certain we have several customers heading to Beijing that we have never met and don't even know they are bound for the Olympics. In fact this article showed up through our Google Alert for Lanny's name today. Good Luck to Warren Potent of Australia as he heads for the competition of his life!

What a great article about patience and persistence and Warren mentions the Mental Management Videos that helped him gain confidence and lessen his nerves.

Here is a link to the article if you would like to read it.

For more information on Mental Management or Lanny Bassham please check out our website at www.mentalmanagement.com

Denton Chronicle Article on Lanny Bassham

Today an article on Lanny Bassham's Mental Toughness Course came out in the Denton Chronicle. Lanny is doing a Mental Toughness Seminar in Denton for Eagle U this week. The article is more about the background of Mental Management so please feel free to check it out.

Here is a link to the article.

If you have any questions regarding this article please call 972-899-9640 to speak to someone at Mental Management Systems.

Media interest in Lanny Bassham and the Olympics!

What a fun week we had this week with media attention!

Tuesday Lanny had an interview with the Dallas Morning News on what life is like to win a medal at the Olympics and how it changes your life.

Wednesday the Denton Chronicle called interviewing Lanny on his Mental Toughness Program.

Thursday the New York Times called and interviewed Lanny for an article on target panic for Olympic Archery - one of our students is 19 year old Brady Ellison who is favored to win a medal at the Olympics in archery.

Friday the Flower Mound Messenger called and interviewed Lanny for a story on who he is and what he does.

We also have several phone interviews with Radio Stations lined up to promote Lanny's new book "Freedom Flight - The Origins of Mental Power" during the Olympics.

If you know of a newspaper, magazine or radio station who would like to interview Lanny about the Olympics, Freedom Flight, Mental Management or his story please email info@mentalmanagement.com!

For more information on Mental training for competition check out our website at www.mentalmanagement.com

Shilah Phillips Stops By

Today Miss Texas 2006, Shilah Phillips stopped by the office to have lunch with us! We took some time out to catch up with Shilah on what she is doing now and what's coming up in her life. She is using her scholarship money winnings from Miss Texas and Miss America (she was 1st Runner Up to Miss America) and attending the University of North Texas in the Jazz Studies Program. She is pursuing her dream of being a professional entertainer and performs in the DFW area with a cover band. She is busy writing songs and recording a demo so we wish her the very best of luck as she continues to touch people through song!

Olympic Archer Brady Ellison Stops By for One Last Visit Before Beijing!

19 year old Brady Ellison will represent the US in Beijing at the Olympic Games. In preparation for this event he stopped back in to see Lanny today with his parents (Mel & Julie Nichols). What an impressive young man. Taking every last effort to make certain he is ready - Brady is taking his first journey to the Olympics very seriously. His work ethic, physical and mental preparedness have put him in the top 15 in the World and one of the favored ones to win a medal in China.

Recently he did a photo shoot for VIBE Magazine which featured several Olympians - the August issue highlights athletes in fashion clothing which took Brady out of his comfort zone and into a $800 Armani jacket and professional photo shoot.

This teenager is turning heads everywhere he goes and we are proud to call him a client and friend. He is mentally prepared, focused and excited for the up coming Olympics. Good Luck Brady!!

Check out Brady's website to learn more about his journey: click here

Here is an email we received from Mel Nichols Friday evening:

Mental Management has been such a important part of Brady's Olympic preparation. Brady has accomplished many of his goals to date very quickly and it has been because he uses your system. We are very thankful that you could make time to have one last session before we head to Beijing. Sorry for such short notice. We really enjoy when Lanny shares his Olympic stories with us. We learn from them and it gives us a idea as what to expect. When we left your office and headed back to the airport, Brady told me how greatfull he was that he uses the Mental Management System. It has made it very easy for Brady to compete at the highest level of competition. We will keep you informed how Brady is shooting when we are at the Olympics.

Thank You Very Much!

Mel



To Learn more about Mental Management check out our website at www.mentalmanagement.com

Adam Meyer WINS on GATEWAY TOUR!

Congratulations to Limited Elite student Adam Meyer for his WIN TODAY on the Gateway Tour.

Adam finished the DFW Series Tournament #6 at Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club shooting a bogey Free 65. For the 3 day tournament he shot 14 under par winning the tournament by 1 stroke.

Past Mental Management client Edward Loar placed 2nd in the same event.

Congratulation on your success!

Interested in mental training for your golf game? click here to learn more about Mental Management.

Last Chance to sign up for Mental Toughness!

Last chance to register for the Eagle U Mental Toughness Program - July 21 - 26 in Denton TX!! Registration ENDS THIS FRIDAY July 11th! This is an amazing opportunity, we are looking forward to helping students apply Mental Management to their sport, stage performance or business.

The information below is from the Eagle U website to describe this course with instructor and mentor, Olympic Gold Medalist, Lanny Bassham (he will be assisted by Heather Sumlin & Troy Bassham for this session).

Throughout our lives and our children's lives, we face defining moments that have a profound effect on our future. Some look back, and our children may look back, at those moments and wish they could do it over, or prepare differently, so that they, simply put, could have performed to their potential - the level they have reached many times in practice.

We have all witnessed the talented individual that did not reach their potential in sports, music, education, stage, screen, or countless other endeavors. They choked and became afraid to try again for fear of failure.

Eagle U offers a program designed to teach students a system to perform at their best on demand under pressure.

What gives Eagle "U" the expertise to provide this valuable system?

Teaching the Mental Toughness 5-day program is a member of the Eagle U faculty, Mr. Lanny Bassham. Lanny is a two time world champion, a 1976 Olympic gold medalist, author of With Winning in Mind & "Freedom Flight - The Origins of Mental Power" and the former mental preparation coach to nine countries' Olympic teams. Lanny has been training Olympians, corporations, and individuals wanting to improve their performance under pressure for over 30 years and is currently the mental preparation coach for 15 PGA Tour Players. Now the same proven system that makes the difference between excellence and average is available to your student through Eagle U.

It's about peak performance on demand when opportunity knocks.

Will your student move beyond fears and limiting beliefs, accomplish goals and reach their potential? By following a system that separates medal winners from the rest of the pack, your student will learn:

The three mental processes that control an excellent performance
How to turn deficiencies into strengths
The most powerful mental tools used by Olympic winners
Why 95% of all winning is accomplished by 5% of participants
The secrets of performing under the pressure of big competitions
Mastering the stress of life's defining moments
80% mental 20% technique

Growing up we all pursued our talents, practiced our sports, music, and hobbies, until we mentally gave up. Physically we had not even reached our peak. We were always coached how a particular activity is 80-90% mental and only 10-20% ability or technique, but we always spent 80-90% of our time practicing technique and trying to improve our ability. What about the mental preparation? The Mental Toughness seminar will provide the tools and a proven system to take your student to the next level, and teach them how to continually raise the bar with their own level of expectations in all their endeavors.

Eagle "U" is very proud to be able to make this program available to your student. Space will be limited to ensure personal attention. If you have any questions, please call us at 1-888-7 EAGLEU or 214-383-0577, or visit our website at www.eagleu.com

Yours in success,

Your Eagle "U" Team

For Mental Management clients - please let them know you were referred by Mental Management when you call for details and you will receive a $200 discount on your tuition - (not to be used with any other scholarship)

Mental Management Student take Miss Texas by STORM

pictured is Lanny Bassham and Taylor Lowery, Miss Teen Plano




pictured is Brooks Dennard, Miss Frisco, Brittany Forrester Miss North Texas, Lanny Bassham and Adrianna Nelson, Miss Plano




Miss Texas Pageant is over and we are excited to work with the New Miss Texas America in 2 weeks - Rebecca Robinson. This pageant competition was the toughest line up of girls I have ever seen! The talent was wonderful - even Lanny had a blast watching the top 10 finalist for both Miss Texas and Miss Teen Texas. Aside from Lanny losing his glasses in the auditorium and having to wear his shooting glasses at the Awards Ball (as you can see in the photos) it was a great evening!

Our clients did very well which helped add to the excitement:

Miss Texas Mental Management Clients:

Faith Bates, Miss Hunt County - 1st RU and Overall Interview, Overall Swimsuit and Overall Talent - preliminary Talent and Preliminary Swimsuit (as well as other awards I can't remember)
Adrianna Nelson, Miss Plano - 2nd RU and overall evening gown - preliminary talent and preliminary swimsuit
Brooks Dennard, Miss Frisco - 6th place
Brittany Forrester, Miss North Texas - 7th place - Overall Alpha Swimsuit
Erin Hunt, Miss Carrollton - 10th Place
Austen Brown, Miss Arlington - 11th place & non-finalist talent
Cassidy Arend, Miss Duncanville - non-finalist talent winner

Congrats girls!

Miss Teen Texas Mental Management Clients:

Taylor Lowery - 1st RU and preliminary talent
Lea Ciskowski - 4th RU
Morgan Fuller - 10th place and preliminary talent
Micayla Merrifield - 11th place
Hillary Sproul - 15th place and non-finalist talent

Congrats ladies!

You can watch the pageant online at www.misstexas.org until the end of July.

Interested in Mental Management training for your competition? Contact Heather Sumlin at Mental Management Systems 972-899-9640 or check out our website at www.mentalmanagement.com

Interested in competing in the Miss America System contact Jan Mitchell at jan@mpfo.com or click here for more details. Jan is a local director in Texas and can help point you in the right direction.