The Four D's to Success
Desire, Dedication, Determination, Direction
Hello Golf Friends:
What are your keys to success in business, life, and all that you do? In launching “The Complete Golfer Golf Academy” at Heritage Isles CC in Tampa, FL this summer I have been able to focus all my professional attention on golf. I’ve worked with players of all ages and abilities. I spent a week with Neil Johnson back in WI getting him ready for stage one of Web. Com Q school, in which he was a successful qualifier for stage 2. I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in Neil’s golf life for the past 20 years or so. Neil embodies the four D’s as he pursues his dream of PGA golf.
Sure, Neil is working full time at this. It’s his career. It’s his livelihood. It’s his passion. No, we can’t compare ourselves to tour players. But what about these people and their goals?
Player 1
50 years old. I’ve been working with him for two years. Solid 5 hdcp. But he has never won the coveted “Belt Championship” that his group plays for on a monthly basis. Last Saturday, he did! He sent me a pic of “The Belt” now in his possession. His last statement was about growth: “Now, its time to work towards scratch.”
Player 2
58 years old. This is his first summer with me.” Paul, I’ve been playing for about 3 years. I want to get good enough to play in my club events and not be embarrassed. I want to break 90!” He’s gone from 25 hdcp to 21. He has played a couple of club events now. Low score this summer is 91. We do a lesson a week.
Player 3
52 years old. “Paul, I’m a 6 hdcp and my goal is to get to scratch so that I can compete in some of the FSGA events and maybe some bigger senior events. “ I’ll be starting with him next Monday for the first “official” lesson.
Player 4
18 years old. “Paul, My goal and dream is to earn a college golf scholarship in two years time.” We have 1-2 lessons a week and while the scores aren’t dropping rapidly the swing characteristics and short game needed to do it are evident. Now, time to work on “The total package”.
So, we all have different golf goals based on what we want to achieve. What I’ve seen from these four players and many others that I teach and have taught over the last 17 years can be described in my “Four D’s To Success”
While I’m applying them to the game of golf, I think they can easily be applied to the game of life. I know I’ve used these to get my lifetime passion of full time instruction off the ground and will continue to use them to make it a great success.
1. Desire
A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen (to me, the want has to be much stronger than the wish!) To be successful you must truly want to be successful. It has to be a drive and burn inside you that nothing will get in the way with. You will exhaust all feasible possibilities to attain this.
2. Determination
Firmness of purpose; resoluteness. Understanding your desire in such a way that you make the effort to work at it. That you ride out the waves of discouragement keeping the end in mind and understanding the JOURNEY you are on to get there. For if you truly believe in your soul that you can do it, you will do it. “I’m going to do this?” “I’m all in on this!” “I understand there may be some rough patches but this is what I’m meant to do!”
3. Dedication
The activity of giving your time and energy to something you think is important. THIS IS THE ACTION PHASE; THE DOING PHASE! Because of your desire and determination you have chosen to take the time and action to get it done! In golf, it is a combination of study, lessons, practice, playing. Its giving up a little of something else so that you can get to work on what you need to do to for the best chance of success.
4. Direction
As an instructor (and also tournament player) this is a two part definition. First, Direction is a course, path, road you travel to fulfill your desire. It’s the JOURNEY part! Second, It’s having the people around you that will support, encourage, manage you along the journey. Understand that it is easy, even okay to lose our direction occasionally. That’s life! It’s pitfalls; it’s basements and always taking the steps up; the steps needed to get to where we know we should be.
I remember a few years ago I caught a great rainbow picture and I posted on facebook: Someday, I’m going to find what’s on the other side of that rainbow. Last week, the rainbow made ground contact about 150 yards from me! It was AMAZING! So, as we continue to search for that other side of the rainbow, always know that sticking with FOUR D’s will help get you that POT O’ GOLD!
Until next month,
Paul Meyer The Complete Golfer Golf Academy