One of the big issues I had to deal with during my challenge was keeping up the determination to keep at it. To keep driving up to the range every night when all I wanted to do was sit in front of the TV with a glass of wine. To keep getting up early to putt on the carpet or watch yet another golf video instead of just watching a spaghetti western and relaxing.
I learnt a vast array of tricks and techniques to keep my motivation for the project and one of them was to observe and read biographies of highly successful people in other industries who had achieved great things. It very often put my challenge into context and helped me get up and out there again with renewed enthusiasm. In fact the challenge itself started not as a result of a golf book but as result of a book by an incerdible Irish entrepreneur called Bill Cullen who wrote a book called “It’s a long way from Penny Apples
The stories of him getting up at 5.00 a.m. to help his mother and grandmother before he went to school and working all afternoon and evening seemed to make my silly little challenge to play one really good round of golf pale into insignifigance.
I watched Simon Cowell on “This is your life” last night and had a similar epiphany. He described a story how early in his career he thought it would be a good tactic to get established TV stars to record songs. He chose Robson Green and Jerome Flyn from a popular TV program, at that time, called “Soldier Soldier”. He felt they were perfect for a big hit.
“I’m rich – and sadly you’re not”
So he approached them with the idea. They told him “No”. So he approached them again and again and again. They kept saying “No” and he kept at it. They got so annoyed with him that they got his lawyer to send him a letter saying that if he didn’t stop they’d get a distraint order on him. But this didn’t stop him. he just changed his tack and started to badger the mother of Jerome Green.
Needless to say he eventually got what he wanted. The song became a huge, huge it. It doesn’t matter that it was actually pretty terrible – he got what he wanted.
There are countless tales like this from his career and regardless what you think of him he has become enormously successful in what he does. And hugely wealthy.
That ability to keep at it, regardless of what anyone tells you, is an absolutely guaranteed way to eventual success in almost any field. It’s like the Tiger smirk when somebody criticises him. You just know he doesn’t rate their opinion and he’ll just keep on being Tiger and doing what Tiger does.
I’m working on a couple of work projects at the moment that I have convinced myself are difficult. But the truth is that I haven’t got close to applying the level of dedication to it that Simon Cowell did with Robson and Green or Bill Cullen did all those years ago. But as I read those stories the ability to get going again just surges back into me and it starts to seem easy.
One of the key principles is to keep on doing things but change the angle of approach.
When they made the golfmovie with kevin Costner they wanted to get real pro´s to be in the movie.
They got none.
Until one got the idea, they sent invitations to the wifes of the pro´s and said,
we invite you and your husband to meet kevin costner for a dinner.
They got the pro´s.
Brilliant story. But of course most of us just give up and never look at that new angle of attack. It’s one of the crucial skills in all endeavours.
One of the things I preach in my day to day business with clients is to keep looking at other businesses and industries for different ideas and more importantly not to be scared to try those out in their business.
Within my golf challenge I took ideas from many other sports (and business) to help me succeed in the challenge.
Thanks for the response.
John
I started golf back in 1989 or so, some friends pulled me along to hit balls ona field. yes, a field. I hurt my hand and curious as I am I looked for different ways tos wing a club. I found natural golf at the time. I started out doing that for a time, played fully one year 1996 before i moved and then let golf hang on the shelf.
I started over 2004, I now found the inventor of natural golf had a new swing(LPG), so I started doing that. I never order the training equipment since I decided it cant be that hard.
I played a little 2004, a lot more 2004 and 2005 with a 2006 with 80 rounds.
Each year I improved.
This year I looked back on the season, I went back to check everything, grip, stance and so on, I made adjustment to my energy level, I adjusted my mental approach. 20+ hours on the range working made irons go straighter than ever.
Today I am playing golf much differently, I cant even compare to previous seasons at all.
I hit the shots where I want them to go, my short game have always been good but now its even better.
The only club still needed to be adjusted is the driver. Everything else in my game works really well.
Today I shot an 82 on really bad greens, winter here has been cold and the spring not so good, just recently the summer warmth has started. 82 dosnt seem so good when my aim is par or better, however, last year I shot 78 as my best and had to work so hard to go low 80.
Today 82 was easy and would been better if the greens would have grass on them. The good thing though, I got to hit them close or the putt is to hazardours to do.
My handicap as 11.1 is soon going to go way down, the score is going to go down fast.
This year I applied everything I coach other people including golfers in my own game, and made adjustments in everything I found lacking in some areas. I could ahve gone on playing as i did last year but for me i wanted to be a scratch player, even if its just my home course that still seems for me to be the gameideal to play the course as it was laid out to be.
For me the adjustments are done with that result in mind, looking for other sources, and i also have a nack to find the key bits that produce results and for me as early in the season my game is on a whole different level.
I nailed a j4 on the green one yard from the pin and it was like nothing at all. Considering last year i hardly if ever could hit the green.
Btw, your story to make subpar is a great achivement and only proves that people even experts knows nothing about beliefs, power of planning and the ability to do the work to get the result wanted.
Golf have never been more fun or easier.
I will post when I make my first subpar round
Your best
/Robert