In his excellent book “Game. Set. Life. Peak Performance for Sports and Life,” motivational speaker and tennis pro Ed Tseng offers tips on such topics as performing under pressure, focus, relaxation, increasing energy, having confidence, setting and attaining goals, and having more fun. In a chapter on overcoming fear and taking risks he tells of Barbara Hillary, an African-American woman who, after beating lung cancer at the age of 75, decided she wanted to walk across the North Pole. “Barbara Hillary took a risk, and guess what? Now she’s planning to trek to the South Pole!”

The U.S. Open is underway and Tseng – who has just finished a speaking gig there – will share his “peak performance and mental fitness” tips at Mrs. G’s TV & Appliance Store on Thursday, September 3, 6 to 8 p.m., followed by an opportunity to watch the U.S. Open on the store’s new 82-inch Mitsubishi Home Theater. It’s free but please RSVP to 609-882-1444 (mention this bog) or rich@mrsgs.com.

Tseng laces his advice with sports celebrity anecdotes. On the following Thursday (September 10) at a Princeton Chamber lunch, four-time Emmy winner and Broadway star Bill Boggs relates entertainment celebrity anecdotes as he shares success strategies from his book at a Princeton Chamber lunch. His talk: “Got What It Takes? Successful People Reveal How They Made it To the Top” is another good chance to “reset your life.” Call 609-924-1775 or info@princetonchamber.org

Everybody gets nervous, whether before a presentation or a tennis match. Tseng quotes Georgia O’Keefe: “I have been terrified every day of my life, but that has never stopped me from doing everything I wanted to do.”

Quoting Tseng: “Taking risks can be compared to working out. When you work out, you need to do the right exercises and do it consistently. Your mind is the same; you have to train your mind to practice taking risks.

“During a talk I gave for Disney employees, I walked on broken glass to prove a point. At first, I was nervous, but I did it anyway. The glass walk is a metaphor for taking risks and getting out of your comfort zone.

“Fear keeps us where we are. Fear keeps us from reaching our potential. If you carefully live your life, then the people that take risks will quickly surpass you.

“Are you willing to give up what you want now for what you want MOST?

“Even if you don’t win, you can still learn. You actually learn MORE from a loss than a win. It’s great if you can treat your pursuit of a goal as a game.

Tseng quotes Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”

O’Keefe Image from Wikipedia: Georgia O’Keeffe, Ram’s Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills,1935, The Brooklyn Museum