"There's a difference between losing and being beaten. Being beaten means your opponent is better than you - faster, stronger, or more talented. The goal is not to lose, which you can only do to yourself."

As you might guess, those words came from an extremely successful coach.

Larry Gelwix was coach of the Highland Rugby Team in Utah from 1976 to 2012, amassing a record of 419-10.

They were US high school national champions 20 times, and even placed 3rd in 1998 when asked to represent the nation at the World Rugby Championship.

His program was so impressive there was even a movie made about them (Forever Strong).

When asked in an interview how he has been so successful, Gelwix replied, "We always win."

If you're like me, you laughed a little at this seemingly obvious wise guy comment.

Except he wasn't joking.

WIN is an acronym which stands for "What's Important Now?"

You see, he was a master at getting his players to focus on the present moment. He stressed this daily.

Big deal, right? Anyone can do that.

But how many times you've been distracted at work thinking about things other than your job.

Or the times you were with your family but were thinking about work.

When you get right down to it, most of us struggle to keep our minds in the moment all the time.

We worry about the future, or dwell on the past.

Kids are no different, especially during the heat of battle.

Thinking about the mistake they made earlier.

Worrying about whether they'll win the game.

Dwelling on the next play, or the next opponent, or what they'll do after the game.

Gelwix made this the #1 thing he emphasized to his players, year in and year out.

That's how you avoid beating yourself.

You anticipate your teammates moves and snuff out your opponent's strategies faster when you are fully focused on what's going on right now.

Practices are more productive, accelerating team growth over the course of a season.

That 98% winning percentage over a 35 year period?

It didn't happen by accident.

If you came here looking for a fancy strategy on how you can succeed, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

The trick to your success, or mine, or anyone else's, is to become great at mastering the present moment.

When you're at practice, stay 100% dialed in to the skills you're working on.

Same goes for games, workouts, school, time with friends and family.

Not only will you develop faster, you'll enjoy what you're doing at a higher level.

It will also lower your stress level, which often stems from worry about some future possible outcome that may or may not ever happen.

Being present requires no additional time commitment, and costs nothing to implement.

It may require breaking some bad habits, but it'll be worth it in the end.

Maybe this article wasn't the most captivating experience of your life, and your mind drifted a few times as you were reading.

If so, let's make that the end of an era for you. Become mindful of the present moment as often as you can.

Positive results will follow.

Guaranteed.