“I have been impressed with the the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” – Leonardo DaVinci Ever heard of Harvey Penick? He is known as one of the greatest golf instructors of all time. He once authored a book titled, “Little Red Book – Lessons and Teachings From a Lifetime of Golf.” Harvey talks about life’s lessons and tells the story of his son-in-law’s pleads for Harvey to teach him the game of golf. Instead, he tells him to purchase a nice set of golf clubs and just go enjoy himself. Well, six months later, the son-in-law approaches Harvey and is disheartened. He tells him that he is terrible at golf and desperately needs his help. He asks his father-in-law, “when can I have my first lesson?” Harvey replied, “you already have it! You first needed to find out how desperately you needed my help. That’s lesson number one. Now, we begin on the others.” One of the greatest stumbling blocks to success is thinking we know how to succeed. If you can dream of success and if you have a personality that accepts the inherent risk of daring, your own strengths can blind you from seeing your ignorance! You must seek out the knowledge and wisdom that you will need to succeed! Tiger Woods is arguably one of the greatest golfers of all time and he still has plenty of “gas in the tank” to compete for many more years. Yet, he has a swing coach and in fact, has had several throughout his career. Any professional athlete worth his salt has a fitness trainer, a technique trainer, a sports psychologist, a nutritionist, and personal advisor. It may appear that their professional success is a solo performance on the stage, the fairway, or on the court; however, there’s always an army of knowledge-power behind that athlete’s “gifted” success story. Harvey Penick’s talent is taking naturally gifted golfers and turning them into great golfers. Knowledge is power and the “know-how” is priceless! There are three words that I want you to grasp with your mind and “know-how:” KNOWLEDGE – the accumulation of facts UNDERSTANDING – the ability to distinguish between various shades of gray and to discern or see the subtle differences between one piece of information and another WISDOM – the mature knowledge of experience when the facts and the understanding are put to use at the right time and the right combination “Facts” or “knowledge” tell you how a golfball flies through the air. “Understanding” helps you produce the desired effect on the ball depending on your stance, grip, or swing. “Wisdom” is knowing when and where to use your skill. Many of you are involved in real estate investing. FACT: a majority of millionaires in the USA made...
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“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” – Paulo Coelho I relish professional sports! I’m sure you have your favorites, me too! Here are a few of my favorite athletes/coaches from both the present and the past. Russell Wilson & Pete Carroll (NFL), Joe Giardia & Kevin Trout (MLB), Chael Sonnen & Georges St. Pierre (UFC), Nick Sabin (SEC), Bubba Watson & Jack Nicklaus (PGA). Each of these men are great examples of accomplishment and were great representatives of their sport. However, in my opinion, the all-time best athlete for any sport is the PGA’s Jack Nicklaus. He holds the record for the most major tournament wins. I loved the way he would handle the extreme pressure on that week’s course and engineer his success. To this day, he remains a great ambassador for golf at all levels. I recall once watching Nicklaus on television competing in a tournament. It was his last stroke, on the 18th hole, on the final day of the tournament. If he made the putt he would win the tournament. The television cameras followed his every move on the green as he meticulously read the slant and the condition of the putting surface. Finally, he took his stance and lined-up his putter. The cameraman zeroed-in on his golf ball. I anxiously watched for Nicklaus to wait until the fly moved off of his ball. To the contrary, he smoothly drew back the club and firmly stroked the ball and sank the putt for the win! He kept his attention focused! The post-game interviewer was obviously eager to speak with Jack Nicklaus after another amazing win. After congratulating him, the interviewer asked the question that everyone fan at home wanted to ask: “Didn’t that fly disturb you? How did you sink that putt with that distraction?” Nicklaus’ response was pure genius! He replied, “I didn’t come to this tournament to chase flies; I came to play golf and win!” By understanding the simple eloquence of that response, it’s easy to grasp our next Step to Sure Success: “Focused Attention.” If you remain able and willing to say “no” to any and every distraction that clamors for your attention and keep your attention focused, you will be successful. Knowing your strengths will help you stay focused. It can also encourage you to seek help in order to further develop areas in which help is required. Many of our hidden strengths are under-developed and additional education and mentoring have the ability to boost one’s potential. Like a golfer getting lessons under the watchful eye of a great swing coach, your talents can be developed into greatness! Perhaps another name for this step could be “Burn...
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“It’s like a cast of actors; you’re all working together closely under pressure to produce something everyday. And when we put up an issue, it’s like the curtains opening on a new play. I really like that daily sense of surprise.” – David Talbot The Sochi Winter Olympics recently came to a close. Every two years, I find that special stream of patriotism rise as I cheer for our American athletes watching them compete with the best of the best on the world’s platform. When I recall the Olympics, specifically the summer games, I often envision the weight lifting competition. There are a multitude of special events, but the “snatch” and the “clean and jerk” require the lifter to pick-up the barbell from the ground and push it over their head, keeping it under control for a specified time determined by the rules. A buzzer then sounds when the time has expired. While the lifter is holding the weight in the air, he is “under the pressure.” To stay “under the pressure” is to be patient, waiting for the judges to sound the buzzer. The judges are watching to see if the lifter maintains control while “under the pressure.” That pressure can expose bad technique, weakness in the body, or loss of self-control. No one in business, or sports for that matter, disputes the fact that they are always in stiff competition and that competition can get pretty cut-throat! Just ask Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan about nasty competitors! As you may recall, she was the female skater from the 1994 Winter Olympic Games who had her knee smashed severely by a member of her competitors team. Even more disturbing, they were both on Team USA! Ouch! But weightlifting is a personal competition. Sure, one is competing against the others, but the event itself is a solo performance; just you and the weight. If your competitor wins, it wasn’t because of their preventing you from winning; it was because you were not as strong, your technique was weak, or you just couldn’t handle the pressure! Forget about what your competition is lifting! Rather, focus on your event – your business – your team – your opportunity to win with what you do have. Don’t waste your time agonizing over your opponents muscle mass. Learn from their techniques but always remember that while they may win the event, that doesn’t necessarily mean you lost. In business, your competitor may win the contract or earn more wealth, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also win and profit immensely. Even in the Olympics, silver and bronze are still noted as winners on the podium alongside the gold! In Olympic weightlifting, the competition isn’t allowed to heckle or jeer you. But in business, no such rules exist! Your competition may try to make your path to success miserable...
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“My life changed the day I moved beyond just wishing for things and I started earning them. That is the day I learned that we don’t get what we wish for, we get what we work for.” – Steve Maraboli Along the road to success, you will likely find yourself questioning why you’re pushing so hard? So let me ask you, “why are you pushing so hard?” Over the course of this multi-part series, we’ve talked about “sure success.” What do I mean by that? My point is that success is not just an achievement or the number of dollar bills one has accrued. Success isn’t merely a nicer office or driving a bigger, more expensive automobile. My mentor once told me a (true) story about a famous American pop music singer/songwriter who confided in him his story of pursuing his teenage music ambition. This musician/songwriter had written music for Elvis Presley and others, but later decided that he wanted his own band and stardom. This man sold millions of his own albums and by every measurement of the world’s standards, he was certainly a success. But he later confided in my mentor that despite his success, he was still unhappy with his life and his achievements! His words were, “I sacrificed and hurt my wife, my children and my parents and family to get to where I was. In truth, I felt like a total failure.” He went on to say, “I thought if a man could make enough money to do what he wanted to do and go where he wanted to go, he would be a success and be happy. But I wasn’t.” I also recall a quote from popular NFL football coach after taking the reigns of a very prominent NFL team. His words have never left me. He boldly stated, “I told my family that I want a Super Bowl ring more than I want anything and I’m gonna get it, even if it means losing you.” Well, he got his Super Bowl ring and along the way, lost his family! But I’ve often wondered how his (now) ex-wife and children felt when he made that statement. Was he successful? Sure, he got his Super Bowl ring. He attained his goal and he’s arguably one of the best NFL coaches in recent history. But is the price he paid for a ring, fame, and publicity really worth it?! I cannot imagine how I would feel if my father made those statements! I am not of he opinion that you have to choose one or the other in life. But if you do have to make a decision such as family or fame, I plead with you to choose the more noble path to sure success! You see, some people attain success without having earned it; others, have earned it but have...
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