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I’m sharing this story in hopes that it helps someone listen to their body, stop procrastinating, and realize how important health, relationships, and community truly are before it’s too late. Three months ago, I went to New York City with my kids for the New York Rangers 100 year anniversary celebration. I was grateful to be included and reconnect with so many great people and memories. Just before all of this happened, I had the opportunity to speak to around 100 anesthesio

The loudest player is not always the leader. Sometimes the strongest presence on a team is the athlete who stays calm after a mistake, notices when a teammate is struggling, and knows when to speak less so someone else can step forward. Athletic leadership often gets pictured as big speeches, intense commands, and constant direction. That version has its place in rare moments, but it can become exhausting. It can also make teammates dependent on one voice. Quiet leadership wo

A captain is easy to spot when the jersey has a letter on it. The harder skill is acting like one when nobody has officially named you anything. Every team has formal leaders. Coaches pick them, teammates vote for them, or tradition points to them. But every strong team also has quiet leaders who set the pace in practice, calm the bench after a bad shift, clean up small mistakes before they become big ones, and bring people back to the standard when emotions run high. This is

A volleyball match can turn on one breath. A serve drops in. A pass shanks off the platform. A hitter gets stuffed. The next point starts fast, and the player who can reset first has an edge. That is where meditation fits volleyball. Not as a quiet hobby far away from competition, but as a practical skill for the space between plays. The goal is simple: train attention, calm the nervous system, and return to the next ball with a clear mind. Volleyball Meditation is not about

A tennis match can turn in a few seconds. One tight forehand, one rushed second serve, one argument with yourself after a missed sitter, and focus starts to slip. The body may still be on court, but the mind is replaying the last point or worrying about the next one. That is where tennis meditation helps. It is not about sitting cross-legged beside the baseline or trying to feel calm all the time. It is the practice of bringing attention back to the present point, again and a

A soccer match can turn on one rushed touch, one late scan, or one moment of frustration after a missed chance. Fitness and skill matter, but so does the space between stimulus and response. That space is where composure lives. Soccer meditation is a simple way to train that space. It helps players notice pressure without getting swallowed by it, reset after mistakes, and bring fuller attention to the next pass, run, tackle, or shot. This is not about sitting cross-legged for

A coach’s words can stay with an athlete for years. So can a coach’s silence, body language, and reaction after a mistake. Great coaching is not only about drawing up better plays or designing harder workouts. Those things matter, but athletes are not machines. They perform through pressure, doubt, fatigue, frustration, and the need to belong. The best coaches understand that the person comes before the performance. That does not mean lowering standards. It means building the

A great warm-up can get the body loose, but it does not always quiet the mind. Athletes know the feeling well: the body is ready, the plan is clear, and then nerves, doubt, frustration, or overthinking start to crowd the moment. Meditation gives athletes a way to train that part of performance. It is not magic. It does not replace conditioning, skill work, coaching, sleep, or smart recovery. But practiced consistently, meditation can help athletes improve attention, handle pr

A hockey game can turn on one breath. A missed pass, a bad bounce, a loud bench, a heavy forecheck, and the mind starts skating faster than the feet. The best players do more than train their legs and hands. They train the space between stimulus and response. Hockey meditation is not about sitting still for an hour or pretending competition is peaceful. It is a practical mental skill for a fast, physical sport. It helps players notice pressure without getting swallowed by it.

Eating can become automatic. A handful of crackers while standing at the counter. Lunch answered between messages. Dinner eaten so quickly that the body barely has time to register it. Mindful eating offers a calmer way back to food, one meal at a time. At its heart, mindful eating is the practice of paying attention while eating. That sounds simple, but it can change the whole experience. It invites awareness of hunger, fullness, taste, texture, emotions, habits, and the env

The hardest part of sleep is often not sleep itself. It is the hour before it, when the body is tired but the mind is still sorting, planning, replaying, and checking for one more thing. Sleep meditation gives that busy mind something calm to do. Instead of trying to force sleep, it guides attention toward breath, body sensations, sound, or simple imagery. The goal is not to “perform” meditation well. The goal is to create the conditions where rest is easier to enter. This gu

Skills like focus, self-awareness, communication, and emotional control rarely improve by accident. They grow through small, repeated lessons that people can use in real life, during a tough conversation, before a performance, while managing stress, or when trying to get important work done. That is the purpose of the Life Skills Mini Audio Series available through Hartman Academy on Healthy Mindset. These are short audio courses built around practical personal and profession

Most people do not lose their peace all at once. They lose it in small moments: checking the phone without thinking, replaying an awkward conversation, rushing through meals, or worrying about something that has not happened yet. Mindfulness is the practice of noticing those moments while they are happening. It sounds simple, but it can change the way a day feels from the inside. At its core, mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment with openness and less judg

The body can be ready before the mind is steady. A runner may have warmed up well, a basketball player may know the playbook, and a goalkeeper may have studied every angle, yet one surge of nerves can pull attention away from the next move. Meditation gives athletes a way back to the present. It trains the skill of noticing what is happening without getting dragged around by it. That matters before competition, during pressure, after mistakes, and through long training cycles

A match can turn on one rushed breath. A missed free throw, a tense start, a sloppy final rep, or a panic spike before competition often begins in the same place: the nervous system shifts too high, too fast. Box breathing gives athletes a simple way to regain control without needing equipment, a quiet room, or a long meditation session. It is a four-part breathing pattern that can steady your attention, reduce pre-performance nerves, and help you return to the next play with

Baseball gives the mind too much time to wander. A hitter waits between pitches. A pitcher stands alone with the ball. A fielder can go quiet for three innings, then face one hard chance that decides the game. That space is part of what makes the sport beautiful. It is also what makes it mentally demanding. Physical skill matters, but baseball often turns on attention. Can a hitter stay present after a bad call? Can a pitcher reset after walking the leadoff batter? Can an inf

A champion does not stand in the wreckage of a lost opportunity and build a house out of excuses. That does not mean champions never feel regret. They do. They replay moments. They study mistakes. They know the weight of one missed rep, one lazy detail, one second of hesitation. The difference is what they do next. A world-class mindset does not live in “if I would have,” “I should have,” or “I could have.” That language belongs to people who want the reward without respectin

10 Things That Helped J.J. Davis Change His Life By Mike Hartman Everyone loves a comeback story, but real change rarely happens overnight. Former Major League Baseball player J.J. Davis experienced success, setbacks, and life lessons that ultimately led him down a different path. When I asked J.J. what had the biggest impact on helping him move forward and create positive change in his life, he shared ten simple but powerful influences. These are the ten things J.J. believes