“People don’t understand that when I grew up,
I was never the most talented. I was never the biggest.
I was never the fastest. I certainly was never the strongest.
The only thing I had was my work ethic,
and that’s been what has gotten me this far.”
– Tiger Woods
As I write this email, in a few hours time,
Paul Dunne, a young 22 year old amateur golfer from a club
a few miles from where I live in Wicklow,
will tee off as the leader of one of the most prestigious
professional golf competitions in the world, The British Open.
He has broken all sorts of records on his journey this weekend
– and it has been very inspiring to watch.
It’s probably unlikely that Paul Dunne will win today
but you just never know…
It’s a story that has captured the sporting world’s attention and rightly so.
Yet another story in The Open that caught mine was
the continued tragic demise of Tiger Woods.
One of the most gifted golfers ever missed the cut for only
the 2nd time. He is clearly a shadow of his former self and he
isn’t even 40 yet.
There’s no doubt that Woods is as gifted as anyone who has ever played.
But what made him so unbelievably dominant from his first Masters win in 1997
to his last major victory at the 2008 U.S. Open was his mind.
Woods was smarter, tougher and more confident than anyone.
What’s more, his competitors knew that he was.
But not any more.
It’s a reminder that even the best of the best can fall from
grace if they’re not careful.
In my view, it’s nothing to do with his swing, putting or grip.
It’s all to do with what’s going on inside him.
And isn’t it the same for us all? Our performance in business, sport
and life is all to do with what’s going on inside us.
From what I understand, the best in the game believe that the person
who can help Tiger the most is Butch Harmon, a top golfing coach,
that Woods worked with and won with before firing him.
Yet apparently, Tiger is unlikely to approach him now because he’s too proud.
Woods isn’t going to give up, but he needs more than a great work ethic
to become a good or very good or even great player again.
He needs someone to help him get his mind right so that
he can believe again.
It’s a real life lesson: If things are not going the way we expect, it’s
a real strength, not weakness, to admit it and ask for help.
Yet all too often we are too proud to ask for that help
because our ego gets in the way.
Maybe we can all take the lesson from Tiger’s situation:
Where can I seek help to improve my results?
Next TimeShift Workshop Dates:
3 morning workshops over 4 weeks to build vital work and life changing habits.
This training helps you improve the output of your most precious resource – your time. It also improves your clarity, mindset and energy.
The next TimeShift workshop runs in Dublin from Wed 26th August.
All details and booking facility here.
The Autumn workshop is always well attended so if you’re interested, I’d advise booking soon.
Recent Blog Posts:
Man V Woman – A Coach’s Perpective
Busy Busy…
