Think Like a Warrior: The Five Inner Beliefs That Make You Unstoppable (Sports for the Soul Book 1)

by Darrin Donnelly

“What does it mean to have a warrior’s mindset? It means that we go into battles knowing that sometimes we will win and sometimes we will lose. But regardless of the outcome, a warrior never, ever, ever gives up or backs down from the next fight. A warrior never quits. A warrior must make the decision that no matter what challenge he is currently facing or what setback he went through in the past, he is going to charge ahead again and again with reckless abandon.

“A warrior is born in the face of adversity.

the bigger the setback, the greater the comeback.

I can’t help but wonder if last week’s setback happened for a reason. It’s the perfect opportunity for each and every one of us to be born again as warriors. To prove to the world—and ourselves—what we’re really made of. Last week’s setback is nothing more than the setup for an epic comeback.”

“When faced with adversity, a man must make a decision,” I said. “He can decide to cower back in disappointment and regret, thinking that it’s all just too difficult to go

on. That’s what most people do. That’s what makes them average.

“It’s a choice you have to make. Whether to be a warrior or a quitter is a choice that you must make. Each one of you is

responsible for that choice. I want to know, right now, who chooses to be a warrior?”

As those thoughts ran through my head, I realized that the beliefs I’d been mentally repeating every day were seeping into my mind and changing the way I viewed the world. They were shaping who I was and the way I was living my life.

I’m not sure if there’s a better feeling for a coach, teacher, or any other type of leader than to hear the message he’s been teaching repeated by those he’s trying to lead. When the leader can stand back and watch his team lead each other, it’s a magical feeling.

the will to win and the will to excel are more important than the results that follow.

you can never be apathetic or complacent. You have to keep striving, keep moving forward, keep excelling, and chasing new goals.

“When it comes to winning and losing, I believe that while you can’t always be first, you have to believe that you should have been first.

“A man will only rise as high as his confidence level,”

“And confidence is all about how you approach the unknowable.”

Champions, however, approach the unknowable realm with confidence and faith.

“Whether you walk into the unknown with faith or fear determines your future.”

“Every action you take and every decision you make is done out of either faith or fear,”

“It’s a choice we’re all constantly making, usually without even realizing it. Are you walking forward in faith or fear? The answer will determine your success.

“Man will only go as far as his faith and confi...

You defeat defeatism with confidence. The more confidence you have, the more faith you have, the more you believe in yourself and your abilities; the more success and happiness you will have in life.

confidence is a precious commodity. It must be continuously protected and built upon. It’s the energy that drives you forward and determines your future.”

“The fastest and easiest way to build confidence is

through preparation. If a man knows that he’s put in the work and the study and made the sacrifices necessary to be successful at something, he can be confident that he has a huge advantage over those who were not willing to pay such a price.

“For a man to be confident in a task, he must know that he has done everything possible to properly prepare for i...

“Another way to increase confidence is to raise the bar of expectations for yourself and your team. The other coaches talked to you a lot about this, but it bears repeating here. If you refuse to settle for anything less than your best, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish....

“Studying people who have already done what you wish to do is another way to quickly and easily build confidence. If they accomplished something you seek to accomplish, simply do what they did and there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to accomplish the same.

who have gone before you, learn how they did it, learn from both their successes and their failures. This is another simple way to build confidence, but most people don’t think to do the simple things that lead to success.

“From a leader’s perspective, he can quickly build confidence in his troops by letting them know that he believes in ...

“Everyone needs to have someone they trust telling them they believe in them. And the most important person who can tell you this is you.

You have to tell yourself again and again that you have what it takes to succeed. There is tremendous power in self-talk and the right self-talk quickly produces self-confidence. Always tell yourself that you can do it. Never talk down to yourself. This is an important one. Make sure you understand how powerful self-talk is.”

“You must also make it a habit of visualizing your future success,”

“Use your imagination to see yourself achieving your dreams. Take some time to dream vividly and think about what it will look and feel like when you accomplish your goals.

“The fastest way to lose confidence is to dwell on past mistakes. Once an error is made, learn from it, then put it out of your mind. The mistake has served its purpose, now it must be forgotten. If you dwell on the mistake, you’ll create new fears in your mind. And fear is the enemy of confidence and faith.”

“No reason to dwell on past mistakes,”

“The point is to learn from those mistakes. Recognize

before. It’s time to become the person you were born to become. It’s time to achieve greatness. A man can be as great as he wants to be if he has sincere confidence, courage, determination, and faith.

“It starts with always choosing faith over fear. Everything will work out for the best if you make it a habit of choosing faith over fear.”

The source of my faith and confidence has always been rooted

in something even more powerful than the things we’ve already talked about. Without this source, I wouldn’t have accomplished a thing.”

“My faith in a higher power, my faith in God, has always been the center of my life and the source of my strength and confidence,”

“The higher power that resides in the realm outside of what we can see and touch, this is where I found my confidence. I don’t know where else a man could ever find the type of faith I’m talking about.

“In God is where I find my assurance that everything will work out for those who give their very best. I firmly believe that. I have total confidence and total trust in ...

“You see, when we place our dependence on God, we no longer have to worry. This type of faith allows us to be bold, even recklessly bold, in the pursuit of our dreams. Faith in God takes confidence to a whole new level. It provides us with help along the way as well as sureness in our action. We can know ...

“When you have that type of faith, there is nothing to fear. There is no match for ...

“I believe we all have a moral obligation to use the talents God has given us and to pursue the dreams God has placed in our hearts. And that means working extremely hard to enhance those talents and chase those dreams. We must see ourselves as co-creators with the Creator.

By reaching our limit and then pushing even further. That is how we give our best. That is how we achieve greatness.

“If you give anything less than your best, you’re not only cheating yourself, you’re also cheating your Maker. You have a responsibility to become the best version of yourself, the person God made you to be. Too many people back down or quit before they give their all.”

They may hope and pray and call that faith, but all along

God is waiting for them to get off the couch and start boldly pursuing what it is they desire.