Life & Success Lessons From The Golf Course 2: It’s About The Process

Since the first time I ever swung a golf club the ball was going so straight and so far, my assumption that I had all this natural talent was almost inevitable ;). Of-course, the next times I went out I was expecting similar results, but then discovered that my “natural talent” needed much honing. On one of my best strokes, the ball moved an inch but that club went about 50 yards. What was happening was that I was so focused on getting the ball to go straight and far, I forgot to attend to the steps in the process that will get me that result.

Many people do the same thing with their goals. They focus so much on their desired result that the process is overlooked. Sometimes that desired result is not necessarily the goal, but a result of a successful goal completion. For example while I was thinking of where I wanted the ball to go, the goal was actually to make contact with the ball in a way that makes it go far and straight. There was a process involving my stance, my grip, back and forward swings and more. If you focus so much on succeeding that you attend to the steps to achieving that, then you are almost defeating the purpose of the action, but that’s not the only danger.

My out of whack golf swing was not only failing to get me the desired results, it was also introducing an element of frustration which was most discouraging. That’s one of the main reasons that many people don’t achieve their goals: when they start off and don’t find themselves getting the desired result they start to lose motivation and become so discouraged that they forgo the pursuit.

If I said that the goal of an entrepreneur was not to make money most people would think that I’m out of my mind, but I mean that. The goal of anyone starting out in a business or even a new career, is not to make money; it’s to build a strong foundation, an organization which will continuously generate income. When I started out in my career, I wanted to develop the reputation of being the type of employee that organizations wanted and would be willing to promote- That in turn gave me more money. When I started out in business it was the same- build the reputations that made clients want to work with me. As a result of the organization I built and the reputation I have earned, individuals and organizations want to work with me and when the contracts come the money follows.

As a golfer (yes, I just called myself a golfer already) I had to get myself to thinking that “it’s not about the ball. It’s about the process.” If you ever see my lips moving before a stroke that’s likely what I’m saying to myself. I took a couple of lessons and the pro was surprised to hear that my eyes are closed during my swing. When I keep my eyes open I start to make it more about the ball and less about the process, resulting in some amusing/frustrating moments. If I take the time to set up my shot and am confident in the preparation I don’t have to see the ball to know I’m going to hit it. If I’m true to my process, my head will still stay down even if I’m not looking.

In business it’s the same way. It’s not about the money; rather process that leads to having money coming in. If you just focus on making money and don’t invest in delivering a product or service, you may get lucky and make a bit of money, just like I could accidentally get a good swing, but that does not guarantee recurrence. Unless your lucky day in business generates billions so you never need to make another dime, you need a plan that allows recurring luck.

When you focus on the product or service that will bring value to your client and an organizational structure that will allow you to continue to provide this value, then your luck shall runneth over. You will not need to focus on the money because the system you have in place will be making the money for you. I always say that preparation is the best luck in the world and an unlimited supply is always available for us to take as much as we want.

Don’t take this to mean that I am advising against setting financial goals. I believe that those are quite valuable. A financial goal is still important because when you know how much money you want to make you, get a better idea of how much work you have to do to make your system generate the level of income desired.

 I’m just saying though…

Dream Big… Live Bigger…

DrJudiC

www.DrJudiC.com