You may have heard…
Mark the day. April 14, 2019.
Tiger Woods won the Master’s Tournament at Augusta National.
“Who?” you say.
Tiger Woods. Remember him?
Sure you do. The kid that started playing golf when he was 3.
Coached by his dad to become one of the biggest names in golf –
for as long as I can remember.
Young. Good-looking. Mega-rich. Unbeatable.
Cheated on his wife? Divorced? Scandalized?
Suffered from relentless back injuries which kept him off the course
and cost him title after title? It’s been 10 years since he won his last major
tournament.
Went from ranking #1 in the world to ranking 1,999th less than 18 months ago?
Written off by millions as a fallen champion?
You remember now, right?
“Oh! That Tiger Woods! Sure, I remember now.”
Good, because he’s back!
Despite having to endure his public failures, his private health issues,
despite everyone writing him off as a has-been, Tiger’s back.
Most of us get down on ourselves, give up if only one or two people
ridicule us, or poo-poo our ideas and dreams.
Tiger had millions of people counting him out. But he said, “Hell no!”
He was lucky.
He was lucky he kept true to his own vision of Tiger, not the
He was lucky he never gave up on himself.
He was lucky that despite agonizing back pain and relentless setbacks, he still got out there and played whenever he could.
He was lucky to not be deterred by failing miserably in front of the fans who adored him. Could you?
He was lucky he sought out the best physicians and surgeons to help fix what needed fixing.
He was lucky he kept or regained his focus when his marriage and career were simultaneously in the toilet.
He was lucky to focus on the process of playing great golf, not the wins and losses.
He was lucky he ignored the masses and never gave up on himself and his dreams.
How lucky are you?
Here’s how you can cash in on Tiger’s “lucky” win…apply the lessons! Follow his example.
Most of us fail because we are waiting on a different kind of luck than Tiger.
We’re waiting for outside forces to deliver luck. Tiger understands that you make your own luck by concentrating on the one force in this world you can control…YOU and your reaction to everything that happens.
A loss can devastate some, motivate others. The choice is always up to you how to respond.
Tiger chose to fight for his dreams. How about you?
It’s been ten years since his last major victory. Many of us would have given up.
Gone “quietly into that good night”.
Not Tiger. He raged, raged at the dying of his championship light.
And he’s back folks!
I hope you will be inspired by Tiger to get on, or keep on keeping on with your dreams too.
It’s not over ’til…
Well, who the hell knows when it’s over?
It’s not over ’til you say it’s over.
Elder prompted me recently to get back into art.
Sketches, painting. Maybe I’ll be great in 10 years. But that’s not the point. I enjoy the process and look forward to practicing every day.
What would you try or retry if time nor talent mattered?
What do you love just doing?
“Bene Vivere!”
ElderBob Schwarztrauber
