We have to stop meeting like this…..Seriously,…
 I mean have you ever had déjà vu? Have you ever had déjà vu?
Please keep in mind that although this is told from MY perspective. The USA Memory Championship is not about Ron White. It is about all the mental athletes, Tony Dottino, Karen Pinson, Ed Pinson, Marshal Tarley, the rest of the organizers and most importantly the human brain. But because this MY blog I will tell my story here….
 Back story - for those of you just now tuning in now at home. I am a 2 time USA Memory Champion. I finished 2nd place to Nelson Dellis in 2011. Last year, in 2011, in the final round of the tournament Nelson and I were the final two competitors left out of 50ish and in 5 minutes I memorized 71 playing cards. Which is good, the bad news is that Nelson memorized 104. He became the champion.
 Now fast forward to December 2011. 8 months had passed and it was now 100 days before the tournament. This is the mark where I buckle down and begin training furiously. So on December 1st, I opened up my training journal and memorized a deck of cards for the first time since the tournament. My score was 1 minute 37 sec. The best I had ever done at a tournament was 1 minute 27. So with no training for 8 months I had only lost 10 seconds. Just for grins I tried it again that day, 1 minute 35 seconds. Again, good score for the USA Memory Championship.
 Then the wheels began turning in my head. 2011 had been a monster mental struggle of a year for me. I had my record for cards broken, lost the USA Memory Championship after 3 months of intense training, relationship trouble and then I attempted a massive memorization project that took 2 months out of my summer and eventually fell short.  2011 was anything but fun for me, it seemed one set back after another. So as I looked forward in December to 2012 I had to ask myself what my top two goals for 2012 were. With little mental debate I settled on:
- Fun!
- Build infrastructure in my business to maximize and multiply profits
 So after 1 day of training in Dec. for the upcoming 2012 USA Memory Championship, I closed my training journal and decided this year I would not be training for the tournament. In reality the winner of the tournament gets massive PR and that is always good for business. On the other hand, sales calls and marketing are even better. How much $$ did I make in sales after I was on Good Morning America, Martha Stewart or CBS Early Show? I don’t know. It is hard to say. But the immediate rush of sales might have been just a few thousand. On the other hand, a good speech can generate much more.  As much as I wanted to train, I had to focus on my business.
I didn’t publicize I wasn’t training for the tournament, instead I just focused on my business. I accomplished some major business goals December-March and I don’t regret for one second choosing my business over the tournament. I was reluctant to post that I didn’t train this year here, it could be considered bragging or poor sportsmanship because I actually ended up doing well. I share because it is just part of my story this year. Please understand I am telling a story of how it went down, I am not rationalizing a loss. Even with INTENSE training beating Nelson would have been a task that I don’t know that I could have accomplished. He is a top mental athlete and currently at the top of his game. Which also factored into my decision.
 The day of the tournament I walked in INCREDIBLY relaxed! I had nothing to prove and no title to defend. I was loose as a goose. I was wearing a cowboy hat just to remind myself to have fun. How can you not have fun while wearing a cowboy hat?
 In December I attend a speech that Glenn Morshower (actor from tv show 24) gave and in it Glenn had the audience rolling with laughter when he said to stay loose and relaxed he would put food in his underwear before an audition. How can you be too serious and stressed with food in your underwear!
 So, you guess it…..before the tournament I loaded up my underwear! As I walked the halls of the tournament I had Doritos and Gummy Bears in my underwear. If there was any danger that I would take this tournament too seriously and stress out too much, the gummy bears sticking to me insured I would be smiling with my secret knowledge and what I find to be one heck of a funny joke!! Hahahaha
At one point in the tournament, I started getting nervous and stressed and I reminded myself, ‘DUDE! Don’t take yourself so seriously! You are a man with GUMMY BEARS in his UNDERWEAR!!’ I immediately chilled out…..