CONSISTENCY
David Sapolis

Consistency

Part I:
Decisions + Actions = Success

Consistency.
The art of being able to perform at will, in a harmonious connection with our thoughts and actions. Confidence is a prerequisite for consistency. Confidence is nothing more than having faith in our abilities. Faith that we can and will achieve a certain task or goal. Faith that we can and will be successful. Consistency is the road to success. Success is the reward for hard work. So how to we get there? There are as many answers as there are people in this world. I will begin by saying that there is no way to become successful without working hard at it. Success is earned. It doesn't fall on your lap or fall from the sky like condor shit, it's earned. Plain and simple. If confidence is the prerequisite, and consistency is the road, what is the vehicle?

Opportunity.
Learn that word. Know it, know where to find it, know how it smells, know what it looks like coming at you, and what it looks like going past you. Learn to hear it, speak it, and ride it. There is no vehicle more powerful on the road to success and glory. It is the Porsche on the road to success. There is no substitute.

Once we have the vehicle, and we are traveling on the right road, we need to get to our destination. We'll need fuel (determination), food (positive reinforcement) and preventive maintenance (support). Now we are ready to start the vehicle we call opportunity. For this we need the keys, which is an open mind, and willingness to do whatever we have to in order to achieve our goals. Now that we have the keys, we must start the engine, just starting the engine doesn't mean we're going anywhere, now does it? We need to put the car in gear (get up off of our asses) and point ourselves in the proper direction. How do we get pointed in the proper direction? Identify our goals. Be specific, and be realistic without selling yourself short. DECIDE exactly what you want to achieve, and then go there.

Decisions.
To decide, means to take action. Decisons without actions are worthless. You can decide to take the trash out, but it will sit there until you take some kind of action to get where it needs to go. THIS IS TRUE. TRY IT !!! If we do not take action, we do not not get a result.

Now that we have made our decisions and we are on the road, we can now watch as we pass the others we see on our raod to success. There are "the doormats" we walk over as we calmly walk through another opened door. "The doormats" give us that puzzled, stepped on look. There are "the watchers", who do nothing but watch the success of others.

There's the people waiting on the bus.... "the woulda-coulda-shoulda's" and "the wish-I-was", and their cousin "the I'll-never-be". They are all waiting on the bus. They are wishing and hoping that someday it will stop and pick them up and TAKE them down the road of success. Someday.....!?! Oh....and look over there! There's "The talker". He sure does talk about getting there, but damn, he's going nowhere fast... and he's going the wrong way! There's "the faithful companion"...latching on to somebody else's coat tail... being followed closely behind by "the critic" and "the poser"!!! In our vehicle of opportunity, we drive right by, heading straight for our predetermined destination. Why? Because now you are "a do-er". Do-ers believe in action. Actions complete things. Actions complete goals.

If we stay in the right direction, maintain our intensity, and always believe in what we are doing, we will get to our destination. These rules can be applied to pool as well as in life. I follow a three part rule:

#1 Always try !!!
#2 If trying doesn't work, try harder !!!
#3 Never, never, never give up !!!

In pool, nobody ever got good by accident. It takes thousands of hours of applying Perfect applications of the basics. Perfect pool relies on the fundamentals and basics in much the same way a chain relies on its links. Weaken one link and the chain becomes useless. If you have a weak link, you must identify it. Once it is identified, you must work hard to make your weakness your strength.

EXAMPLE
Max Schmeling once said, "I can beat Joe Louis. I've found a weakness." And he did. Bigger than anything, Joe Louis was knocked out by Schmeling and laid on the canvas as if he was fast asleep. It was a picture nobody ever thought they would see. So they asked Max how he did it. "I found a weakness. He drops his guard during a certain combination of punches and I found a way to get my punch in there." Well, Joe Louis read that. In the next fight he damn near killed Schmeling. He found out what his weakness was and he did someting about it. What's your weak link? An erratic break shot? Poor position play? Piss poor safeties? Lack of concentration? Do you miss the easy ones?

I can guarantee you that every 100+ runner evolved from similar defects in their own games. Learning to overcome obstacles is what it comes down to. I hope this has been useful and helpful to you.

Blackjack

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