Aim for the center of the green – NOT the hole (in one)

I am not much of a golfer, I have played a TOTAL of 20 rounds of 18 in my entire lifetime…

But I can usually play a round under 100 which is better than most social golfers.

That is a blog post for another day.

I wrote about the concept of stop doing what’s holding you back in a previous post on my Internet Mastery Blog.

Today’s lesson is the lesson of aiming for the center of the green instead of the hole.

Watch this video to fully grasp the meaning of NOT doing this.

Phil Mickelson is one of the all-time great golfers which proves that even the best struggle with this simple concept.

I often hear of people trying to thread the needle when they can’t even HOLD the needle let alone the thread in their fingers.

Simple examples include:

• Someone focusing on the top 5% when the bottom 95% isn’t working. I remember a friend of mine who worked as a 100% commission-based salesperson who would wake up late, get into work at 9, 9:30 sometimes even 10 AM and try to focus on ‘pressure closing’ strategies instead of getting up early, getting PREPARED and not forcing stuff down people’s throats BECAUSE he had limited time to call them. Instead of building rapport (aim for the center of the green) he was trying to PRESSURE CLOSE the sale (the hole).
• I’ve played B-grade squash players who are going for the kill shot that they are not good enough to hit EVEN WHEN THEY ARE OUT OF POSITION instead of hitting the safe shot, staying in the rally and having a chance of winning the point.
• I’ve had people on the verge of bankruptcy come to me and ask me strategic planning questions while they are on their corporate deathbed. As if it would help to get an extra $10,000 in the bank when it’s overdrawn $100,000 and is running a $30,000/month deficit.

Aiming for the centre of the green reduced my golf score by at least 10 shots, if not 20. It’s easier said than done, but y’know what?

Once you experience it for yourself and win games BECAUSE of this one strategy, you’ll soon get hooked – TO THE STRATEGY (and maybe even golf!).

Onward and upward!
Dr Marc Dussault

P.S.

Stephen Covey of ‘The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People” covered this in his book called “First Things First”. The reason I am posting this lesson for you is because it’s priceless in its simplicity and elegance.

In a recession when the going gets tough, you need SIMPLE and EASY strategies like this one to keep you winning the game of business and life.

Going for the center of the green means creating VALUE for clients and KNOWING that the money will flow. Once ON the green, it’s easier to putt than to chip in from the rough.

One last quick story: I had a friend who was in industrial real estate and for 3 years made $15,000 of base salary with $15,000 in operating costs (car, fuel, repairs, etc.) which meant he made no money. BUT he kept thinking he would make a killing on a big deal (the hole in one). Unfortunately he never got his hole-in-one 🙁

By the way, Ruben Putrananda who is a golf enthusiast sent me the golf video – go check out his website www.homedeclutterandfun.com. He’s upgrading it using the 1 percent improvement principle so you’ll want to bookmark it and take a look at it in a few weeks/months as it evolves!