Learn How to Leave Certainty at the Door

In 2003, I was flipping channels and came across the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on ESPN. I became fascinated as I watched Chris Moneymaker maneuver his way to the title.

I had never watched Texas Holdem Poker but as I watched; I was mesmerized by how quickly they evaluated the situation and made decisions. They had to make decisions quickly which could determine their WSOP life.

Since then, I have made it a “must-watch” TV for the WSOP Main Event. In 2009, after the Miracle on the Hudson, I was the security director for Tony Robbins. We were at one of his UPW events and as I was doing a security check, I looked up and saw a gentleman by the name of Steve Dannenmann.

Steve was the 2005 WSOP Main Event runner-up and walked away with $4,250,000 due to this second-place finish. I approached him, introduced myself, and told him I was a fan. Steve is an everyday kind of guy from Baltimore. Very genuine and friendly. He told me when I came to Baltimore, please let him know.

The next year I was doing a book signing for our book “Brace for Impact” in Baltimore at Barnes and Nobles and invited him. He came to the signing and we went out for dinner after the event.

As we ate, I asked him about how he made his run to the final table. It was an amazing learning experience. He shared people think it’s more luck than skill but he told me, that luck plays a part but your mindset, skill and decision making are more important.

I asked him as a novice poker enthusiast, what is the first thing he would suggest someone focus on. He gave me some technical pointers but what is more important was you need to learn how to leave certainty at the door.

At first, I had to think about that statement. For much of my life, I have focused on creating certainty for my family, my business, my health. I received good or excellent results by doing this but as I learned and now teach in my coaching, if you give a good effort, you get fair rewards and if you give an excellent effort you get good rewards.

But when you give an outstanding effort, you get outstanding rewards. It doesn’t seem fair but as my father told me many years ago, life isn’t fair.

When you give an outstanding effort, you have to go out of your comfort zone and need to be consistent, determined, willing to work for it and leave your certainty at the door.

Those who get the outstanding rewards are the ones who do that. That’s what Steve did to be runner up in the 2005 WSOP. He embraced uncertainty, was consistent , was focused and determined and put the work in. And he still didn’t win but he did receive outstanding rewards.

I look back through my life at the times I received outstanding rewards and this was the same formula I employed.

When you go through a situation such as a plane crash, you definately leave certainty at the door. You call upon all the moments in your life that have prepared you for that moment and they come to the forefront at just the right time.

I just watched Katie Ledecky win the 1500 meter swim in the Olympics. It was a magical race but it was what was shown while she was competing and after that made it stand out for me.

The announcer said she usually gets a stich in her side at about the 1000 meter mark but fights through it ( I know what this feels like and it isn’t fun); checking her certainty at the door. She has swum over 23900 miles in her career; consistent, determined and put the work in. And in her interview, she said as she swam, she was thinking about all the people that helped her get to that point; gratitude.

On January 15,2009 , the Captain called on his moments when he learned how to glide a plane and got an Airbus 320 down to give 150 passengers an opportunity to live. He checked his certainty at the door. He had to be consistent, determined and had put the work into learning how to glide a plane to get an outstanding result. He gave an outstanding effort and received outstanding rewards.

On August 6, 2021, when I went back into the Hudson River to swim with the Navy SEALS the first time, Coach Patty reminded me that I need to learn to be uncomfortable to get the outcome, another way of saying check your certainty at the door. I succeeded in re-learning how to swim in 100 days and completing the 3.1 mile swim. I had to be consistent, determined and was willing to work for it.

As Tony Robbins often says, ” I pity those who are going for excellence, as there is another level where all the rewards are, OUTSTANDING, which is another way of saying STANDING OUT.”

If you want to be outstanding at anything, you first have to be willing to leave certainty at the door. You need to be consistent, be determined and willing to work for it. And if you do, that is when you will stand on the medal stand and be recognized for being one of the best in your field.

Learn to embrace uncertainty by leaving your certainty at the door. That will ignite opportunities that you may have never had the chance to encounter. And your life will be transformed and you will

Create your flight plan for your future and live a LIMITLESS LIFE.