“You can change your world by changing your self-image.” That line from Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s Psycho-Cybernetics has shaped more of my life than I ever realized in my early years on the ice. Back then, training wasn’t just about physical endurance - it was a constant negotiation with the stories I told myself. This is who I am. I finish strong.
That mindset became the engine behind every breakthrough. It’s the same principle I share now as a high performance strategist and motivational speaker - your internal dialogue becomes your internal blueprint. Change the image, and you change the output. And when you commit to practicing that shift daily, you don’t just improve your performance - you transform your entire world.
When I think back to my years on the ice, fatigue was never just physical. The real battle was the internal dialogue. On the toughest days, my mind searched for excuses: Someone else is more gifted. Someone else is stronger. Someone else has better genetics. Those thoughts felt like quicksand.
The turning point came when I realized that the story I repeated internally wasn’t just commentary - it was my blueprint. And if I didn’t change it, my results wouldn’t change either.
That’s when I began replacing those limiting thoughts with identity-based language: “This is who I am. I am someone who finishes strong.” In that moment, my training shifted. I wasn’t trying to force motivation. I was shaping an identity.
What people often misunderstand is that self-talk is not about hyping yourself up - it’s about reprogramming. When I later spoke about this I bring that energy on stage as a professional speaker, I emphasized that motivation is fickle. Some days it shows up. Some days it doesn’t. But identity? Identity stays.
That’s why identity-driven language is so powerful. You’re not just pushing through a moment. You’re reshaping your internal operating system.
We are creatures of habit. Our default is to slip back into reactivity. We honk at traffic. We spiral after a single email. We allow tiny triggers to dictate our emotional climate. But understanding this human tendency isn’t a weakness - it’s our advantage.
Mental rehearsal became one of my most powerful tools. I would visualize the person I wanted to show up as - not the tired version of me, not the reactive version, but the one who was calm, deliberate, disciplined, and composed.
Back then, I used those old-school yellow post-it notes on mirrors and walls, reminders taped to my training journal, cues sprinkled throughout my day. Each note carried a message for my future self. Each message was a nudge back into alignment.
It wasn’t about perfection. It was about consistency. It was about interrupting old patterns before they spiraled out of control. That’s why I often speak about the role of mental repetition in motivation and leadership circles - to help turn that light switch back on. From Me to We. Leaders, whether on the ice, in business, or in family life, aren’t defined by big moments. They’re defined by the small, repeated decisions that no one sees.
Every time you redirect your thoughts, you strengthen the neural pathway of the person you’re becoming. It’s not glamorous. It’s not instant. But it’s transformational.
This is how you begin to change your world - by changing the internal mechanism that interprets it.
And here’s the truth: the world changes when you change. When you shift your internal self-image, the external world reacts differently. Your relationships shift. Your confidence shifts. Your emotional responses shift. Your opportunities shift. Change yourself, and the world inevitably follows.
Becoming someone new doesn’t happen by accident. It takes practice. It takes noticing your automatic reactions. It takes catching the small moments where you slip into old identity. And it takes courage to rewrite the story before it solidifies.
Here’s what I learned:
If you’re willing to become aware of the story you tell yourself, and bold enough to challenge it, you can shape a version of yourself that feels truer, stronger, and more aligned with who you want to be.
The principle is simple but profound: seek progress, not perfection. Track it. Celebrate it. Recognize it. Every small course correction matters.
The more intentional you become with your self-image, the more powerful your actions become.
At the end of the day, everything comes back to this truth: the world you experience is filtered through the image you hold of yourself. If you see yourself as capable, you act capable. If you see yourself as someone who follows through, you follow through. If you see yourself as someone who finishes strong, you finish strong.
That’s the gift of self-image; it’s not fixed. You can reshape it. You can train it. You can elevate it. You can become someone new - a mindset often emphasized by me as in the role of a professional speaker who has become obsessed with mastering personal transformation.
You have far more influence over who you’re becoming than you realize. You’re not limited by old stories, past labels, or outdated interpretations. Your identity isn’t fixed - it’s rewritable. With consistency, practice, and intention, you can reshape the way you see yourself and step into a stronger, more aligned version of who you choose to be.