Mental Toughness for Pageantry Audio Download Now Available

Mental Toughness for Pageantry is an Audio CD or Download for the pageant contestant who wants to gain a mental edge in competition and learn how to control her mind under pressure. This is the same information Heather Sumlin teaches in her Mental Management for Pageantry Classes!

Perfect fit for Teen, Miss and Mrs. contestants as well as parents of contestants.

This download includes over 3 hours of information specific to pageantry.

This Audio Program Includes:

• How to apply the Mental Management System to pageant competition
• How to think before, during and after each phase to improve your chances of performing your best under pressure
• The Goal Getting System
• Special Interview section
• Special section for parents/directors
• Much more

Many people ask - how does this Audio compare to "What Every Pageant Contestant Should Know First About the Mental Game" - that was the first step - this is the rest of the journey! Mental Toughness for Pageantry is everything I think a pageant contestant should know about the mental game not just what comes first! This new audio is also over 3 times as long!

Feel free to call 972-899-9640 with any questions or ORDER HERE.

Living Life Like a Champion by Heather Bassham Sumlin

Recently this blog post was submitted for a blog contest through Brian Tracy's website and I was excited to find out it was picked as an "Honorable Mention" article. The only way to win the contest was through votes but my article was chosen due to it's content and being powerful and inspirational. They had over 500 entries so this really is an honor for me. Below is the article and I posted it here because I think the message is important for anyone striving to succeed in pageantry. This article is based on teachings from my Father, Olympic Champion, Lanny Bassham.

I grew up with an Olympic Champion as a Father. As a kid I didn’t realize how rare Olympic Gold was and how few people actually achieve becoming the absolute best in their field. I know what winning looks like and I realize it takes hard work, dedication and motivation to achieve success. But until the last few years I never took the time to appreciate how important my Father’s lessons are to my life. Today, I realize that not only are the lessons relevant to my goals in life but my journey to personal success has been made easier by the teachings my Father raised me to believe.

His lessons are fairly simple and here are three you can implement today:

“Determine a Dream Worth Trading Your Life For” When my Father was in college his grandfather was dying and these are the last words he told my Dad before he passed. “I never did anything a typical man couldn’t have done. I never forced myself to step outside of my comfort zone and try something scary or unknown. I regret that. Determine a dream worth trading your life for, because you are!” Every day we are trading our lives for something. We are heading down a path toward something; make sure it’s something you really care about, something exciting, something worth trading your time and your life to achieve. Make your days on this earth count and matter by stepping outside your comfort zone, forcing yourself to get uncomfortable and daring to live your dreams.

“Giving it 110% is a sure way to lose!” WOW! Everyone I knew outside of my family believed you had to give it 110% to be successful but the Olympic Champion who raised me said otherwise. If you give it all you’ve got and focus on winning or on the outcome only, you are pulled to over-try. The number one reason good performers fail in competition is because they try too hard, it matters too much and they focus on the results not the journey. Try putting more than 100% of the water needed to fit in a glass, it will overflow and you have a mess. Same thing with effort, too much makes a mess!

“Discipline Yourself to Become a Solution-Based Thinker” Looking back on my childhood I realize that we didn’t dwell on problems in our family. My father forced us to focus on what we needed to do differently, not what we did wrong. This method of correction helped to shape my self-image as a young child and truly created a positive outlook on life. My daily goals became attainable because I was focusing on how to make things happen and not what went wrong. I never heard my parents argue about why things couldn’t happen or discuss their misfortune. I only heard talk about how they were going to make it possible. We were encouraged to dream, to find solutions to our problems and to think outside the typical box everyone else was dwelling in.

I live in the same world as everyone else. I know times are tough and people are struggling. I realize that life is not all roses and rainbows but growing up I was told that there is nothing realistic about winning an Olympic Gold Medal. Life is not about being realistic or ordinary. Life is about taking the time to step outside of the ordinary and striving each day to do something new, become a better you and live your passion. So determine your dream, give it just enough effort to make it possible and focus on solutions when the problems head your way. Live the life of a Champion because although your dreams may not be Gold, they are worth striving to achieve.

Heather Sumlin is a Mental Coach and Director of Performance Programs for Mental Management Systems. Mental Management was founded in 1977 by Olympic Champion, Lanny Bassham. We teach athletes, business professionals and stage performers how to gain a mental edge in competition. www.mentalmanagement.com

Twitter @HeatherSumlin

Email Heather (heather@mentalmanagement.com)

Snow and Ice Leads to Inspirational Brainstorming

Snow and Ice Leads to Inspirational Brainstorming I've seen snow and ice storms before and as a kid I remember one winter where were got 18 inches in Seguin Texas where I grew up. But I don't remember a time when we were out of school for 4 days in a row. I told my 14 year old son not to expect this again so enjoy your unexpected vacation from school. Working from home over the snow week allowed me the opportunity to have some meaningful conversations with people who inspire me. I had the honor of talking to Cathy Lemkau Herd the other day. She was 1st RU to Miss America in 1993 as Miss Iowa, today she is a mother of 3 and a pageant coach. Brain storming with her is always fun and gets my mind racing on new ideas. After talking to her I was energized and excited to complete some projects I have been working on. I relate to Cathy very well and consider her as someone who is positive, motivated, self-driven and inspirational. I should talk to her more often. I also had the pleasure of talking with a friend of mine from high school, Jun Lee. Jun's brother, Eun-chul, was a student of my Father's for many, many years and he even won an Olympic Gold Medal using Mental Management. As a competitive golfer Jun was on her way to the becoming a successful Professional player when an injury cut her career short. What is inspiring about Jun is she never talks about the disappointment she felt when her goal was unrealized and she has never commented on her injury in a negative light to me. She took it as an opportunity to head down a new path. She became a designer, using a talent she knew existed but hadn't had the time to perfect. She is one of those people who wakes up every morning happy, with no regrets and never complains about life but looks for the positive in every opportunity. When I talk to her I am motivated to focus on my goals, I'm inspired to dream big and take on new challenges. I took the time during snow week to have meaningful conversations with people who inspire me to be a better me. By doing this I am building my self-image. I am becoming an even better version of myself. I'm a positive person but I still need to be inspired from time to time. We all do. Is there someone you would like to talk to this week to inspire you to dream big, see your value, focus on your goals, etc.? Could be a family member or close friend but I also want you to think outside the box and pick someone you haven't talked to in a while. Someone you respect and is a positive influence on you. Someone you can brain storm with about your future, your goals, your preparation for pageant, your platform, your career ambition. Someone who will help you dream big and inspire you to see opportunities in the challenges that come your way. If you don't know who that person is for you, find one - or two or three. You are always growing, always changing and always becoming - it is the people you have meaningful conversations with that help speed up that growth. Are you focusing on moving forward, or are you stuck in a rut? Think about it - make a list of people who inspire you and make a point to reach out to those people when you need inspiration. By Heather Sumlin 972-899-9640 heather@mentalmanagement.com http://www.mentalmanagement.com (feel free to email me with comments and questions) Posted in the February Pageant Newsletter from Mental Management - www.mentalmanagement.com to sign up

Determine a Dream Worth Trading Your Life For! Lanny Bassham

This article was posted in the January issue of MENTALCOACH monthly email newsletter. In the new 3rd Edition of With Winning in Mind Lanny tells a story about his grandfather which is a great prelude to our goal setting topic for this month: My grandfather was a mail carrier in the central Texas town of Comanche. As a young teen I loved to help him deliver mail out in the county because he would let me drive. Granddad taught all his grandkids to drive a car. He did not seem to mind if we ran over things and his old Ford sedan had the dings to prove it. He made us feel grown up and there was always a Dr. Pepper and a bag of peanuts as a treat at the end of the route. When I was in my first year in college he had a heart attack while visiting us. It was something he was not able to overcome. At the hospital we were all allowed some private time with him and I knew it was probably the last time I would be with him. As I sat down next to his bed he gave me some sound advice that has been with me all of my life. "Lanny, as I face the end I regret that I've never done anything in my life that a typical person couldn't have done. I always made the safe choice, never taking a risk. I've never been out of the state of Texas. I've never competed in anything, joined anything or built anything. I've done a good job of dodging the perils of life but in the process I missed a part of living! Don't let the caution keep you from experiencing life. Go out and find a dream worth trading your life for because in the end, that is what you are doing. Set big goals. You do not want to end up regretting your life." That was the last thing my grandfather said to me. Everyday you are trading your life. Once a moment is gone you will never get it back - you traded it for something. Each moment you spend in anger you could have been spending in happiness. Every moment you spend not believing in your ability, could have been a moment spent pursuing your dreams. Determine a dream worth trading your life for. Determine what you want to accomplish in 2011. Your life is being spent one day at a time whether you are working towards a goal or not. You are always trading time for something. Make it count this year. Focus on the things you want to improve and get started today. What are your goals for this new year? What is the dream you possess that is worth trading your life for? Make sure you go past simply writing the goals down - take the time to work through the Mental Management Goal Setting System to have a better chance of obtaining your goals this year. (this goal setting system can be found in the book "With Winning in Mind" - the new audio version of With Winning in Mind 3rd Edition Lanny has added more information on this topic)