Do Everything You Could

"Remember, the greatest performers have a workman like mindset when it comes to preparation. They are gritty in their preparation, doing everything they could rather than just what they should."

-- Brian Levenson

Great Way To Increase Joy

"Another great way to increase joy is to journal or read about joy. The research on the impact of gratitude journaling on our happiness is overwhelming. I worked with a basketball player who used to read an encouraging letter from his grandfather before every game.  Writing and reading about joy can often overwhelm the stress of a big event. It’s very hard to be grateful and stressed at the same time. When we tap into gratitude, we tap into joy, which allows us to tap into our play mind for performance."

-- Brian Levenson

The Joy of Being Playful

"Joy actually creates positive physical energy. Moments of joy when performing are often what help performers get over past failures and cast off boulders of stress. According to research, joy increases our dopamine levels, which increases activity in the brain associated with “high-level cognition”—memory, attention, creativity, and motivation. What helps create joy? Being playful. As play researcher and author Peter Gray points out, “The predominant emotions of play are interest and joy.”"

-- Brian Levenson

Work In Preparation

"Certainly, hard work alone doesn’t beget success. Environment, support, natural affinity, and talent may all play a role. But focusing on work in preparation gives you a better opportunity for success."

-- Brian Levenson

The Power of Play

"Too many of us are stuck in that “work” mindset, trying all the time to be serious, grounded, and intensely focused on delivering what’s expected of us. “Play” doesn’t come into it. I see it with students taking standardized tests and with executives presenting in the board room.  Many approach big performances with stress and tension, which can hinder them. In reality, we need to bring our playful selves to work, especially in times of performance."

-- Brian Levenson

Be Open To Other Ideas

"Intellectual humility, just one more aspect of this concept, is an acknowledgement that you might be wrong. (Yes, you.) When we have intellectual humility, we create a space for possibility and an openness to others’ ideas—about how to train, how to improve, how to shift our next performance based on changes in our environment. After all, the best idea today won’t be the best idea a year from now."

-- Brian Levenson

Burn The Boats

"The ancient Greeks were famous for burning their own boats when they traveled across the sea to fight. Burning the boats allowed them to tap into their fearlessness because it eliminated the option of retreat."

-- Brian Levenson

Leverage The Agony of Defeat

"People are not failures; they simply have failed in their attempts. Great performers use a failure or mistake as a litmus test. Then they leverage the agony of defeat, doing everything in their power to make sure it won’t happen in the future."

-- Brian Levenson

The Enemy of Success

"Create habits that force you to fight complacency in preparation. Remember, complacency is the enemy of success."

-- Brian Levenson

Being Uncomfortable is a Never Ending Cycle

"Discomfort isn’t simply about work ethic. I’ve seen people with a strong work ethic become very comfortable in their training. Their growth slows down, they become complacent, and those top performers start to slide. You can show up every day to do your job, to train, to put in the hours of practice—and still not take it to the level of an elite performer in preparation. They push themselves to do things that their brain is saying are impossible. Being uncomfortable is a  ever-ending cycle that begins anew every time their performance ends."

-- Brian Levenson

Control What You Can Control

"When we trust in our process, what we really are focused on is controlling what we can control: our own actions. 'Control what you can control' has become a mantra for professional athletes as they prime their minds for the uncertainties of a performance. Simply listing all the things that are in your control and all the things that are out of your control during a performance can be extremely helpful. It reminds us why we rely on our process."

-- Brian Levenson

Expose Yourself to Life Time Experimentation

"Try a new food. Do something you have never done before. Tinker with an idea you’ve had. Pick up a new hobby. Simply exposing yourself to experimentation throughout your daily life will help you experiment with your craft." 

-- Brian Levenson

The How That Guides Us Toward Action

"If-then and why thinking are huge for preparation—for theorizing, experimenting, and testing—but when performing, we want to be how thinkers. When we think in terms of how, we create a commitment to ourselves to find a solution. How guides us toward action."

-- Brian Levenson

Experimentation in Preparation

"Experimentation in preparation is all about opening yourself to new ideas, new situations, new environments, and new challenges; it’s about conducting research so you can gain the clarity you need to trust your process."

-- Brian Levenson

Experimenting Opens Up Possibility

"If you don’t take the time to experiment in the lab during preparation, how will your genius emerge? Where will your creativity spark? How will you feel confident when it’s time to perform? Experimenting opens up possibility. It allows us to test limits."

-- Brian Levenson

Ask Questions To Solve Problems

"Questions are the tool of the curious, enabling performers to get to the root causes of their results—for better and for worse. Asking questions helps us solve problems, iterate and innovate, and do better over the long term."

-- Brian Levenson

Why Train Your Mind To Be Adaptable

"When you train your mind to be adaptable, it learns how to deal with difficult environments. Your mind will become more agile, and your capacity in performance will grow."

-- Brian Levenson

Why You Need To Make Time For Play

"Hard, gritty work needs to be cherished during preparation. When we come to the performance feeling like we’ve done everything we could to prepare, it frees us up to enjoy the performance. If we are all work and no play, we will never be able to maximize our potential. If we don’t make time for play, we won’t be able to see the true results of all our hard work."

-- Brian Levenson

In Pursuit of The Bigger Goal

"Look at the greatest performers in your profession, and you will find that they add the “ERs,” or “extra reps.” The great ones don’t want to just be strong; they want to be strongER. They don’t want to be fast; they want to be fastER. They don’t want to be smart; they want to be smartER. And they are willing to persevere and do whatever they can possibly do to make that happen, all in pursuit of their bigger goal."

-- Brian Levenson

What Came Before The Effortless

"As observers of experts, we are often in awe of their ability to play and perform in a way that seems almost effortless. But the performance is the final product—what came before the play is almost always years of hard work in preparation."

-- Brian Levenson