​Do you have Game?  How about a Game Face?  Can other people tell if you’re ready for action and “in the zone”?  Swimming phenom Michael Phelps has it, has one and has a way of making it known!  If you’re not a fan of watching the Olympics, you should be if for this reason alone.  Moments like Phelp’s Game Face, ahead of winning his 20th Gold Medal (now 21), are priceless!

In case you sadly missed it, here’s a link to Phelps’s latest Game Face, plus a few more: CLICK HERE If you’re wondering what this has to do with my cultivation(s), I’ll get there shortly!

While Phelps was mentally preparing for his 200 meter butterfly event, a staunch swimming competitor of his, South African Chad Le Clos, was busy flapping his arms, shadow boxing and dancing about in the “ready room” and directly in front of Phelps.  It’s not the first time he has poked at Phelps. Many would consider Le Clos’s actions a form of non-verbal taunting; one look at Phelp’s expression just might reveal how he felt about the gestures and gyrations.

What fascinates me about this situation, aside from the human theatre of it all, is that:

• Phelps is intense, focused and channeling his energy into some sort of super-human personal battery.
• Le Clos is spewing energy all about the room and presumably casting it around Phelps, if not directly at him.
• Phelps took his own energy, added what he gathered out of the atmosphere from Le Clos, and put a full charge on his own performance battery.

This electrical charge was something that Tesla would love to figure out for its cars.  Phelps was the epitome of Focus, Discipline and then Action.  Oh, and when he tapped that internal battery, what thrilling action it was:

• Phelps won his 20th Gold Medal!
• Le Clos just got wet and finished without a medal. 

When it was time to perform, Phelps delivered. Leading up to that moment, his mental and physical energy management was something to behold.  I wish I knew exactly what thoughts he was channeling in those pre-game moments, but that might take all the fun out of all the viral meme material he has created with one magnificent expression!

There’s one more lesson that comes to mind:  Don’t poke at a hungry bear!

​Congratulations, Michael Phelps and Team USA.  You make us proud to be Americans and to realize that America is great because of people with your spirit, your energy, your talent, and your Game Face!