“It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. It took one afternoon on the golf course.”
I totally resonated with the last few words famously quoted by former Baseball Hall of Famer, Hank Aaron.
Not having picked up my golf clubs for quite a few years, I wanted those statistics to change.
And the decision to shift my thinking happened when packing up to move to the USA. With a limited baggage allowance and space at a premium I made a deliberate commitment to replace a pair of designer heels for my hardly-worn, FootJoys.
It was time to get back on the horse… at least the golf course!
So imagine my delight when my sister-in-law and avid golfer, Lindy Waldman, joined me from San Diego for a game at my local golf course [Raccoon Creek Golf Club], where I was able to put my money where my mouth was and don those shoes and my skort and take to the fairway once again…
Having had zero practice prior…. plus having Mo, an experienced golfer and retired CEO, join us … was a little nerve-wracking to say the least, but I swallowed my pride and ponied up for my first shot in 20 years!
Missed!
And missed again!
‘Dammit!’ I muttered, ‘Not again!’
Then…whack! The sound of my driver hitting that ball was seriously like music to my ears… albeit 50 feet of music!
And that’s when these FOUR!! lessons really began!
⛳ Accept the misses and look for the learnings
At each miss, my higher self stepped in to ‘have a chat’ to my victim self. ‘Bernadette‘, I said, ‘you are playing the par, you are not playing Mo or Lindy. And they don’t care what your swing is like or how many shots you take or how awkward you feel you look, because they, too, are playing the par. Their own par!’ The learnings are found inside our own thinking when we choose to get honest with ourselves and elevate that thinking to be more philosophical than emotional. In our role as salespeople, we might appear to be on that metaphorical fairway with our team mates, yet we are really all just playing the par – we are playing against ourselves and making sure to get that deal home in as few shots as possible.
⛳ Decide your direction and then keep your eye only on the ball
⛳ Realise your body and mind are both intertwined
- A lack of hydration to loosen up the connective tissue around our muscles and organs to help keep our body out of fight and flight mode
- Too many micro-thoughts creeping into our nervous system without us realising from prior stresses that haven’t been addressed,
- Not enough sleep, not enough socialising, over-thinking and pressure to be perfect or
- A lack of faith in our ability to lighten up and trust ourselves.
We owe it to ourselves to listen to our mind, body and spirit.
⛳ Find Your 19th Hole
How often do we fall off the horse in our role as sales leaders or salespeople and are too proud to get back up or take too long to do so?
- Whether it be prospecting activity where procrastination rules.
- Whether it be defaulting to the same conversations without stretching our curiosity.
- Whether it be falling back into the same victim mindset when things don’t go to plan.
However you play your game… make sure one of your rules is to finish the day by relaxing and celebrating all the things you did right, in the way that best aligns to your values.
And as usual,
EVENT ORGANIZERS (Video below) – As a speaker, my programs help CEOs of future-focussed sales organizations, who are concerned as to how to help their sales teams stand out more in a heavily competitive environment, gain the lead by securing more profitable and purposeful sales.