Recently, I played in a charity golf tournament which I enjoyed very much. I was playing with friends, conducting a little business, and it was all for a wonderful, charitable cause. While out on the course, I was thinking a bit about how the game of golf parallels in many ways, our approach to our business. This last week end, while on the tread mill, I was watching the U. S. Open Golf Tournament in which any person in the world, including you and I, can compete for a Championship. Once again, my mind wandered toward the analogy of golf and business. I suppose the best way for me to illustrate what I’m talking about is to ask you some questions about how golf and business parallel each other. Here are a few:
- Do you take it seriously? Or, is it just a hobby?
- Would you get up at any hour to make it happen? Or, must it happen around your schedule?
- When things don’t go your way, do you make excuses, blame others or get angry? Or, do you go on and prepare your next move?
- Do you practice, practice, practice in a never ending effort to get better? Or, do you just show up and hope for the best?
- Are you impeccably honest… no matter what? Or, do you make inappropriate moves when others aren’t looking?
- Do you love the competition? Or, are you intimidated by it?
- When you have a slump, do you work harder to break through it? Or, do you quit?
- When you have a successful moment, are you humble? Or, do you gloat?
- Do you play by the rules? Or, do you cheat?
- Do you dress the part, and act like a professional? Or, do you just not care?
Click on this link to see my favorite golf highlight of all time. Imagine if we all had Tiger Woods’ intensity in everything we did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1I55z-x6zc
I’m not usually a big sports analogy guy, but I do think these are pretty good questions to be asking yourself even if you’ve never picked up a golf club.
TERRY Talks 