C
Center
Center yourself.
01
The Magic Pill
Tool 01
The Magic Pill
Imagine there's something that will:
- Increase your focus and concentration
- Decrease stress and anxiety
- Help you slow the game and your mind down
- Take you from a highly emotional state to a grounded, calm, confident state
And this magic pill is free to take whenever you want with no negative side effects — only positive.
What is it? Your breath. It's the MVP of the entire Major League Mindset system.
AOB: Awareness of Breath
We all take about 22,000 breaths a day. The majority of people don't have awareness of it — and they're doing it incorrectly. When we step out of our comfort zone or face a high-pressure situation, the first thing to go is our breath. We breathe shallow or hold our breath, which triggers fight-or-flight and makes us tense and tight.
The breath is the antidote to that.
The Big League Breath
- 01Put one hand on your chest, one on your belly (diaphragm).
- 02Inhale slowly through your nose, down into your belly — like you're blowing up a balloon.
- 03Your chest and shoulders should NOT move. Only your belly expands.
- 04Exhale slowly and gently back out through your nose.
The biggest thing I've learned that has really helped me with my everyday life is the AOB — awareness of breath. In high pressure situations I tend to tense up and my breaths get really short. Having that thought in my head, or even writing it down on a glove before a game... it helps me calm myself down whether it's in the box, in the classroom, anywhere.
The 3 C's
When you take a Big League Breath, you:
C
Control
Control yourself.
C
Connect
Connect to the best within yourself.
When you control your breath, you control your mind. When you control your mind, you control yourself. And when you control yourself, you have better control over your performance.
02
Know Yourself
Tool 02
Know Yourself (BFS)
To play with excellence consistently, you have to know yourself very well. The goal is to become the world's greatest expert on one subject: yourself.
At any given moment, your mental state is made up of three things:
B
Body Language
How you carry yourself physically.
F
Focus
Where your attention is directed.
S
Self-Talk
The voice inside your head.
Body Language
If you want to feel more confident and powerful at any given moment, carry yourself like the best version of you. Science has proven that within just a couple minutes of carrying yourself with big, powerful body language, your stress goes down and your testosterone (feelings of confidence and power) goes up.
Your body tells your brain how to feel. Project on the outside the way you want to feel on the inside.
Focus
Your ability to navigate distractions and zero in on the task at hand. The goal is to be in the present moment — not the past, not the future. What's always in the present moment? Your feet.
If your mind starts wandering, take a breath, look down at your feet, feel yourself connected to the ground. Boom — you're back in the present moment.
Self-Talk
This is the most important thing you have going on. The brain simply believes what you tell it most.
For normal humans, 80% of our thoughts are negative. We're not normal. We're 1-percenters. Let's get that under 50%.
Quick exercise: map your BFS — your best vs. your worst
- 01Body language. At your best — chest out, head high, 10 feet tall? At your worst — slumped, head down, weak?
- 02Focus. At your best — locked in, present moment? At your worst — scattered, thinking about past mistakes or future worries?
- 03Self-talk. At your best — confident, encouraging? At your worst — doubtful, negative, "don't mess up"?
Build awareness of which version is in control at any given moment. That awareness is the first step to change.
03
Control the Controllables
Tool 03
Control the Controllables
This is the #1 mental skill — the foundation of everything else.
It's easy to say "control what you can control." It's harder to do. But the greatest separator from good to great to elite isn't physical talent — it's mental toughness. And the foundation of mental toughness is controlling the controllables.
In your control
- Your effort
- Your attitude
- Your response to adversity
- Your preparation
- Your body language
- Your focus
- Your self-talk
Out of your control
- Umpires / refs
- Weather
- Results / outcomes
- What others think
- Playing time
- Coaches' decisions
- Your opponent
REAP the benefits
When you master controlling the controllables, you REAP the rewards:
+
More Fun
You enjoy the game again.
+
More Confidence
You create it, not hope for it.
−
Less Pressure
You focus on process, not outcomes.
−
Less Fear
You play free and loose.
When you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail. When you are prepared both mentally and physically — especially mentally — it leads to you being free.
Your new mission: become better than all of your competition at controlling the controllables. Do this, and two things happen — you'll have more fun and your results will go through the roof.
04
Bring It On
Tool 04
Bring It On
These are the three most powerful words you can ever say.
When you're out of your comfort zone — big game, bases loaded, two outs, facing the best pitcher — your heart rate goes up. You feel those nervous feelings in your body.
Here's the truth: you're not nervous. You're excited. Your body is giving you energy.
Anxiety is just nervousness without the breath. We're all going to feel that nervousness — but if we use our breath, it takes all of that away.
The Reframe
If you perceive those feelings as "I'm nervous" — you'll get more nervous about being nervous. But if you perceive them as "I'm excited, my body's giving me energy" — you channel it as fuel.
Instead of
"Oh no, I'm nervous. Why am I nervous? Don't mess up."
Say
"Thank you, body. You're giving me energy. Bring it on."
Game 7, 2016 World Series. Bottom of the 8th, two outs. They bring in Aroldis Chapman to face me. I'm on deck. My heart is racing. But I start to control it with my breath. Then I flip the switch into the hungry lion. I feed it: "Bring it on, Chapman. This is what I train for. Bring it on. I'm confident. I'm powerful. I'm undeniable." Does that guarantee I come through? No. Does it guarantee I increase my odds? Yep.
Put it all together — the reset sequence
- 01Breathe. Take a Big League Breath. Belly expands, chest stays still.
- 02Body. Reset your posture. Chest out, chin up, carry yourself like you're unstoppable.
- 03Bring it on. Say it. Repeat it. "Bring it on. This is what I train for. Bring it on."
That's the system. Three tools working together. The same system Brandon used in high school, at UVA, in the minor leagues, and in Game 7 of the World Series.
Three times he hit rock bottom. Three times the same system brought him back.