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New Release
The Fairway Of Life
Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow ~
Rand Scott Marquardt
Life & Mental Golf Performance Coach 
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FacebookThe Secret is The Law of Attraction…
…And it works every time with everything, including our golf game. So…don’t settle for mediocrity, and don’t settle for less anymore.
First, you must ask for what you clearly want – set an intention, visualize your goal, have a dream… Clearly state your end result, whether it is to break 100, be a 7-handicap golfer by the end of summer, or as in the case of Andrew Ruthkoski from Muskegon, Michigan play on the PGA Tour and be top 10 in the world. Like Nick Faldo keeps repeating, we gravitate toward the picture we are painting. Act as if it is so. If you just pretend on a daily basis, no matter how far-fetched, or scary, or silly it may seem that “it” is yours for the taken. Stars will realign and Providence will move through you – you will be shown how, but not until you fully commit. Visualize your end result…stop…take a snapshot picture of what that looks like, notice where you are now…and then make the necessary changes one at a time.
Step two, the second you commit God / The Universe answers – what you really, really want you get. Likewise, what you really, really don’t want you get. Apply this principle to everything, including what you’re thinking with every shot. Yes, we always get what we ask for – even lack or where we don’t want to go. Wanting something and not having it is a lack mentality. “Ask wisely, with love, for everything you want,” Mark Victor Hansen. Simply let it be and give thanks.
Whenever negative thoughts come up begin shifting your attention and thinking to more and more beneficial thoughts and beliefs – gradually you will drown out the negative ones and one day you’ll wake up a new you, letting go of old foolish self-sabotaging behaviors…wondering how it used to be with a smile on your face appreciating becoming your new desire. There is a process in creating a champion’s self-image, which runs everything in our life, including our golf game.
The third step in this process is that you align with this Well-Being, this pure positive energy and allow it in. This is what golfers call being in The Zone…and you can be there more often than ever before. Just take the next logical step. It’s dream plus action, which equals how plus manifestation. The how’s will be clearly shown once you fully commit. Pretty soon…you’re living the life of your dreams. Be patient and embrace the process – growth can be, and usually is messy. Most will want to quit, run away, or crawl back into their shell – or worse blame others and come up with all kinds of excuses. Take responsibility for being the creator of your life and you will be well on your way. You are God’s greatest creation, and you are meant to win!
I emphasis all of this again and again – because most will fail to set such a lofty goal for several negative based reasons, and many will die with the music still in them. Many have “wishful thinking” thoughts waiting to be ready. Summers pass and years go by. The time is now…and you will not have to think but for one second why you received this message today. Most will think they are undeserving or unworthy. Few will trust in the power of intentions and live the life of their dreams.
Remember challenges, adversity, and obstacles are what builds and strengthens our internal fortitude. We are both challenged in this life and blessed with amazing gifts.
For a deeper understanding of these amazing life principles be sure to pick up a copy of my new book, The Fairway of Life: Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow ~.
Namaste,
Rand Marquardt
Life & Mental Golf Performance Coach
Inspiring Excellence Within!
P.S. Remember: Life & Golf are supposed to be fun
“Why am I such a chicken,” Dinara Safina
The 2009 Women’s French Open Final
Tennis and golf are similar sports when it comes to the mind, mental toughness, handling pressure and stress…anxiety, fears, being in the now versus getting ahead of ourselves.
First, congratulations to #7 Swetlana Kuznetsova defeating Dinara Safina #1 in The French Open final 6-4, 6-2.
I enjoy watching those pursuing excellence in their sport of choice. I enjoy observing how athletes handle themselves in being their best. We can learn from the triumphs and the disasters, and treating those two imposters just the same, as Bobby Jones finally began to understand after years of coming in second.
As a life & mental golf performance coach I can certainly relate to the play from both of these tennis giants. I can feel their emotions and thoughts. Swetlana came out on top today…she was the one who was more calm and relaxed. Her thoughts were to go out there and, “have fun and enjoy it.” The pressure fell too deeply on the one who wanted it so badly she ended up pushing it further away. You could see it slipping as she missed shots and started pressing. Finally, she let it out in front of the whole world to see and hear, “Why am I such a chicken,” almost gesturing to her coach as she expressed her truth to herself. Why am I such a chicken is a great question to ask ourselves.
NBC TV announcers and analysts Mary Carillo and John McEnroe stated many keen observations about this match. It is my mission to pass these observations on to you in hopes that you and I will take our own game to new levels of mental toughness overcoming the fears, the chicken, or demons that lie within us.
Carillo and McEnroe picked up upon this energy as they witnessed the negative emotions, tenseness, and mental roadblocks get the best of the world’s #1. Carillo noted that Safina allows her nakedness to come through, often expressing her emotions when she breaks down, often crying. It’s my feeling that Safina wants it so badly that she pushes it further away. She prepares herself for this moment…yet the moment got the best of her. She gets ahead of herself and out of the now, and it is in the now where The Zone resides. “Just get out of your own way,” Carillo stated. “Easier said than done Mary, it’s a whole lot cozier up here,” McEnroe noted. “Just stay in the moment here…classic one shot at a time and this match would be far from over,” McEnroe continued as we all felt the pressure on Safina’s shoulders. As the breakdown continued there is a tendency to spiral further out of control, McEnroe reiterated, “You can see how the nerves are wreaking havoc on Safina.” The double fault to end the match ended the nightmare.
Now it’s a question of what can Safina do to keep her faith and belief in herself, so that the nightmare goes away? The answer: you’ve got to keep activating more and more beneficial beliefs and allow them to take root into your self-image, which is lodged within your subconscious brain, which runs everything in your life, including your tennis and golf game. Eventually you give more “air time” to beneficial beliefs and you literally drown out less beneficial ones – you become a new you.
So how do we create a winner’s self-image? Is it a perception that in order to win we then can believe in ourselves, that we are losers unless we win? Or, do we believe in ourselves, be happy, enjoy the moment and let winning take care of it self? How does one win? What is the secret or magic formula? What is the answer to all of this madness? How does one overcome “throwing up” all over oneself on the golf course – similar to what Safina just experienced in The 2009 French Open Final? What can we learn from all of this? What can we do to build that champions self-image?
Sit with these questions and answer them on your own. What do you think? Yes, we must experience this ourselves if we so choose to put ourselves on the line. My answer: it’s about creating a winner’s or champions self-image of ourselves. I show and tell you how to do this in Chapter 15 of my book The Fairway of Life. How much time you invest in yourself is a direct match to what you will reap. For now, seek to find good feeling thoughts no matter what. Stay in the now, and remember golf, like life and tennis, are supposed to be fun!
Dinara Safina is a great champion…and if she doesn’t know it…then that’s the problem! The same goes for all of us. Feed your mind, heart, and soul the nutrition that empowers you – the gift of believing in yourself, and loving yourself just exactly as you are…all the while gravitating toward the picture you are painting of what you prefer. Act as if it is so. “Be as you wish to seem,” Socrates
“I refuse to give into fear, real or imagined, or to be afraid either consciously or unconsciously of anything or anyone.”
“I smile at my obstacles.”
—Tiger Woods
The 2009 Masters
What drama. What story lines. From the poor beginnings as a 10-year old caddy, Argentine Angel Cabrera emerges as The Masters Champion, his second major after winning the 2007 U.S. Open. Angel took pride in never needing a sports psychologist at his side. Instead, he opted for his trusty pack of cigarettes. There is more than one way to skin a cat. If Angel ever does get rattled it’s after some poor execution where he gets down on himself. On this day, for this occasion, he was the one left standing - for himself and perhaps - for the memory and honor of his fellow countrymen Roberto De Vicenzo.
The 2009 Masters began with some fireworks right from the get-go. The cool Texan, Chad Campbell, started off in record setting form opening with 5 straight birdies. Kenny Perry was playing on house money having accomplished more than he ever imagined with his golf. “Everything is a bonus,” he told us. He’s grateful and appreciative, a true gentlemen and sportsman. He set his goal to play in the 2008 Ryder Cup and now to win 20 times on tour and compete in majors. Everything is going along according to hoyle. It always does. The universe is always yielding to our desires and our asking; now it is up to us to allow it in. Anthony Kim found out he was taking his first round at Augusta National Golf Club way too serious. With the tragic death of Angel’s baseball pitcher, Nick Adenhart, it put it all into perspective for Kim. Life is a precious gift, “That could’ve been me,” he said with a somber heart. Kim set a Masters record with 11 birdies in his second round of golf, posting a 65.
Then came Sunday. First it was Phil to make a charge, next it was Tiger. The roars were deafening throughout the tall pines and magnolias, several groups ahead of the leaders. Everyone was following the two giants - the energy was maddening. The stage was set for a memorable Masters. Then Phil missed two short putts, and Tiger bogeyed…again. Soon after #’s 1 & 2 in the world exited the stage, three were left standing.
Besides the sheer exhilaration of just watching such an event, Nick Faldo provided extraordinary commentary into his own psyche, a past 3-time Masters Champion in 1989, 1990, and 1996. Personally, I resonate with his philosophy more than any other. On the inside I’m not too sure if Faldo’s philosophy is too much different than Cabrera’s mental mindset. It’s just a matter of what works and how we end up believing in ourselves, or not? Cabrera came from nothing but pure desire and sure will. He emerged from the caddy ranks onto the biggest stage of them all - winning a green jacket. Faldo had dreams too. He set intentions; he let his will and his belief in himself turn him into the champion that he is. He practiced training his mind. The key is to find out which way works for you.
Faldo says, “You really got to believe you will make everything. Today I will hole everything.” In order to pull off the shots you need:
Inner courage
Inner knowing
Inner self-belief
Faldo says, “What it takes is to be totally in the moment.” You need:
Creative visualization
A wonderfully def touch
And from high above the Georgia pines the golfing gods on your side
Faldo talks about meditating and how the new guys look at him and say, what’s that? He talks about how he used to meditate twice a day, which allows him to become more present, more peaceful, and helps set the tone and intention for his day and his round.
I write about all of these things in my book, The Fairway of Life: Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow due out in mid-May. The best way is to find out what way works for you. Remember: my way is merely one-way and there are plenty of paths. Do you like what you are seeing with the results in your golf game? Are you making strides? What small action step can you take today that will make you a better you and a better player tomorrow?
Perhaps we can all agree that no matter what: life and golf is supposed to be fun!
Phil Mickelson – Practicing the Infallible Formula
In all my years in life coaching and life education: in processing, growing, and evolving, perhaps the quickest way to get you from where you are to where you desire to be is by practicing the Infallible Formula. Once you’re on your path of where you desire to be through your dreams, desires, visualizations and of course taking action, practicing the Infallible Formula will provide a new level of understanding. They say a great teacher teaches what they desire to learn or understand the most. The Infallible Formula states: cause another to become that which you desire to be your self. That’s exactly what Mickelson is doing now, and what other PGA teaching professionals have been doing all along. It’s why they get better themselves.
Phil Mickelson was interviewed this past weekend during his fine play in the 2009 CA Championship at Doral – The Blue Monster in Miami. Phil was describing the Infallible Formula in his words of how he understood that you teach what you want to be yourself. “Simplifying my techniques and to articulate and translate it so everybody can do it has forced me to simplify my own game and, consequently, I’ve never chipped or hit bunker shots as well,” said Mickelson, who added that he has never felt so good standing over a shot in his career as he does these days. Not too mention the way he’s freewheeling his Galloway FT-9 driver as well.
Mickelson recently put out a short-game video for the masses and said that has helped his own precision game get to be “as good as it’s ever been.” Gosh, here I thought he was already pretty dang good – one of the best in world. Now, he’s even better than he used to be!
Excerpts from Chapter 10 – Golf Vices of The Fairway of Life: Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow ~.
Coaches Notes: Encourage others you play with to be there best and this will make you a better golfer. * In 2009 this formula is making Phil Mickelson a better short game player because he’s causing others to be better with their short game. Plus he articulates and practices the simplicity of his message at the same time. Isn’t it a lot more fun when the both of you are playing well? And if the other plays well enough to win the prize congratulate them on their fine play. Never root against another, never hope another misses, and never play for the money. Phil truly desires that Tiger will get back to being his best. The thrill of competition stimulates our desire to be our best. Play your game to the best of your God-given talent and perhaps you’ll inspire another to be their best as well. Remember: life is like a circle. What you do for another, you also do for yourself. And what you do for yourself, you also do for another. Do it with pureness of heart, with kind spirit, and genuine compassion, and your life will be blessed even more. And so shall it be.
Geoff Ogilvy – A model of ideal demeanor
Geoff Ogilvy is playing in the finals of the World Golf Championship Match Play event this weekend against Paul Casey, another cool cucumber when it comes to going with the flow. As we often hear from golf announcers Ogilvy wasn’t always this way. The following dialogue is an excerpt from The Fairway of Life: Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow ~ due out very soon.
The challenge for most people is that they do not embrace, and cannot accept their bad golf shots and end up hanging on to their negative energy, which once again draws them back out of The Zone. If you cannot accept what you do not like, you will keep repeating those same behaviors over and over and over again. What you resist; persists. It’s a Catch 22: You want to get mad at your bad golf shots or what you might consider bad breaks, yet the more angry or frustrated you get, the slower the process to change and get better. Anger and frustration only keeps us stuck in a never-ending repetitive cycle. Anger and frustration do not exist in The Zone . . . you won’t either. The challenge is acceptance of “what is” so you can move into what you prefer. And once you begin to accept what just happened, you will evolve much quicker to what you prefer. Once you stop beating up on yourself and relax you start playing better. Works every time and you know that! The challenge is the discipline in the moment. All you have is this moment. You do have a choice.
Simple Secret Reminder # 20 - You Have a Choice: To Be Angry, or Not
Remember: What you resist persists
Interview excerpts with Geoff Ogilvy – 2006 US Open Champion
By John Huggan, Golf Digest June 10, 2007
Q: As a young player, were you impatient on the golf course?
A: Oh, yeah. I was horrendous. I could hit five good shots in a row, then one bad one, but remember only the bad one. I’m sure I was a nightmare when I was 16 or 17, as many at that age are.
Q: What sort of stuff did you do?
A: I’d throw clubs around. I broke a few. I used a lot of four-letter words. The temper stuff is easy to fix psychologically. You either get angry or you don’t get angry; you have a choice.
I realize now that I was getting angry for everyone else around me, not for me. When you get that, that’s the day you fix it. When you play by yourself, you never smack the bag with the club, or get angry…ever… because there’s no audience. That’s my theory, anyway. After you hit a shot you get angry because you want the person you’re trying to impress to think that you’re better than this. I think that’s the root of it for nine out of 10 people. The other one is purely psycho.
Geoff Ogilvy is in the process of mastering his own mental toughness, and it shows by his outward expression of being calm more often than before. Does he still kick his putter and want to scream bloody murder? Sure, who doesn’t? The key is to be able to ground yourself and find a way to either accept or allow this negative emotion to pass through you. If we truly seek to obtain optimal results it begins with a calm heart and self-control.
“A calm heart and self-control are necessary if one is to obtain good results. If we are not in control of ourselves but instead let our impatience or anger interfere, then our work is no longer of any value. Keeping your attention focused, alert, ready to handle ably and intelligently any situation which may arise—this is mindfulness.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
Better Tomorrow
“The greatest thing about tomorrow is I will be better than I am today. I will be better as a golfer, and I will be better as a person. That’s the beauty of tomorrow. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better. It’s a lifelong ambition to get better.”
Tiger Woods said that and he was right. Yet let us not lose sight of today. Remember to enjoy the journey that each present moment has to offer. Embrace each experience (the highs and the lows) while eagerly anticipating your next step down The Fairway of Life.
My purpose and intention is to attract all of those desiring to become a better golfer, a better human being. And in this message, you never know what might come out of this. Like myself, I invite you to embrace the same message that Dr. Wayne Dyer aspires too. “I am no better than anyone else, I am just becoming better than I used to be.”
There are 27 million golfers in the United States of America and perhaps a half billion world-wide. Most, if not all, have experienced some form of anger, frustration, fear of failing or success, and never seem to get any better. It’s a vicious cycle once it starts. This is why I do what I do. I have been there myself. I’m here to offer a new way, a new hope, a new understanding about golf and life…a new understanding that can change everything. This is my unique gift that I offer humanity – the half a billion golfers on the face of the earth. It doesn’t matter if you simply wish to have more fun, break 90, or lower your stroke average by a couple tenths – this program is for all who are drawn to hear this message.
It is my intention to ease the vicious cycle of fear and frustration that we have all allowed to run our lives. How do we do this? By telling a new story, by having a dream, by acting as if it is so for what we do desire, by reaching for better feeling thoughts, by being out of our mind, by allowing the flow of Well-Being, by connecting with who we really are, and by going with the flow – being in The Zone. It’s all of these things and even more. Stay tuned – it’s about being tuned in, turned on, and tapped in.
How does this happen? The first step is to ASK! You must ask for what it is you desire. Next, the universe will answer – always does. The third step is to align with your asking vibrationally and allow it to be. Remember: the “yeah buts” kill the whole deal.
Once you do fully commit to your hearts desire you will be shown the way…miracles unfold as Providence moves too:
· Attitude and demeanor changes
· Awareness and observation heightens
· Consciousness expands
· Understanding increases
· Confidence soars
· Fears melt away
· Shots fly on line
· Putts drop
And so shall it be. Give thanks and gratitude with each next logical step of the way!
Warmly,
“Coach” Rand
Life & Mental Golf Performance Coach
Sport & Athletic Administration, MA
Inspiring Excellence Within!
P.S. It’s not too late to sign-up to participate in our live winter
coaching sessions from the comfort of your home tele-conference style… There are audio coaching files available to get you caught up to speed if you so choose. What are you more committed too?Just click the link below and join in the fun! Isn’t it about time you get back into the game with the desire to more fully express yourself with freedom and less internal resistance!
http://randmarquardt.com/mentaledgegolfcoachingprogram.htm
Divine Feelings in 2009 - Part II
We play out best in life and golf when we are being our most inspired state of being, whatever that is for each of us. What are those feelings of being that most resonate with you when you are being your best? Are you being clear, wise, connected, knowing? Or are you being happy, peaceful, following your bliss? Are you feeling exhilaration, eager anticipation, or calmness in the moment like a simple stroll in the park? Whatever your most inspired state of being and how you feel when you are being your best is what I am asking you to reach for. The more we train ourselves into being this first, the easier it will be to have what we desire, and do what we wanted all along - play our best golf! I’m simply inviting you to go straight into being that. Here’s a few mental tips to practice in your daily routine. Take a few minutes each day to practice feeling the divine feelings that make you feel good.
Now in the stillness of your soul or meditation or prayer of your mind, body, and spirit feel the feelings and real involve all your senses to anchor (or remind) you to what your soul is really after. That’s all I’m really doing reminding you to what you already know. To better serve you and anchor these feelings simply follow these 8 steps or make up your own:
1. Call forth the sights or images that align with your feelings. It could be your dream, your meditation, your prayer, a calm lake, a gentle flowing stream, or recalling those special moments when you were playing your best golf. Simply allow yourself to see the images you have called forth to anchor that divine feeling you wish to experience.
2. Call forth the feelings that align with your most inspired state of being. Am I feeling appreciation, gratitude, humility, peace, harmony, joy, love, and Well-Being flow through my body? Am I feeling empowered, on fire, freedom to express, and a feeling of just knowing? Am I being clear, wise, connected, or happy? Am I being who I really am? Am I going with the flow? Personally, I have a humble, yet inspired feeling that when I’m playing my best golf I feel I am on top of the world, and I am most grateful to Source Energy in experiencing that. I thank God for allowing this wonderful state of being to flow to me and through me.
3. Call forth the sounds or vibrations that most resonate with that feeling. It could be church bells, birds chirping, or a favorite song on your mp3 player, a well-struck golf ball, or communication with Source Energy. Example: When I’m in The Zone I hear the Bruce Springsteen song lyrics, “…whoa oh oh I’m on fire.” Then I go on with other thoughts about life or nature until it is time to hit another golf shot. I’m resonating in the now feeling good. Identify what vibration that would smell like? Pure, natural, pine trees, cedar, chocolate, fresh cut crass, or magic in the air? Tiger Woods and his caddie, Stevie pay attention to all of these senses between golf shots even the smell of a hot dog from the gallery. It helps to ground us in the present moment. What are the colors that you most associate with? Are they green like nature, or blue like the sky, or white like the fallen snow, or red like the pureness of heart?
4. Next, find a sentence or two that will affirm these feelings. Find, a phrase or an expression of your highest Self. “I am an extension of Source Energy and Well-Being flows to me and through me.” It could be your mantra or prayer. It could come from an inspirational quote, song, or from a poem. “I’m on fire.” Pick one or two of these phrases that most align with the agenda of your soul as you “Follow your bliss,” by Joseph Campbell. Pick a word that will describe these feelings, like “Serenity,” “Peaceful,” or “Joy.”
5. As you visualize upon these feelings and your ideal state of being allow the wisdom within you to take action as you gravite towards the picture you paint in your dreams. Now that you can see and feel and be what your end result or dream may look like simply take action, and as Socrates used to say, “Be as you wish to seem.” Take action that will support your journey along your true path and simply act as if it is so. Simply behave as if you already have this. No worries because once you make the commitment to be this, the hows will present themselves in a most enlightening and awe-inspiring way. God works in mystery ways my friends and very often you will be presented with this understanding in ways beyond your wildest imagination. Ask and it is given. Now be aware and align yourself with your asking and soon you will be living this manifestation, this life of your dreams. Be as you wish to seem and act as if it so. Let Go and let God. Go ahead and take action and ground yourself with these new thoughts, which form our behavior that will ultimately get deposited into the treasury of your subconscious mind – that runs everything in your life including your golf game. The thoughts, words, and action forming your new behavior will come in many forms, just as does God. You cannot miss them once you listen. Your job is to be who you really are, follow your bliss and be as you wish to seem. Be the feelings of the divine expression of who you really are and then you will do, act, and behave from that state which will produce your having what you wanted all along. You simply sync up with how life really works.
6. Remember The Magic Formula: End Result (your dream, your intention) plus Action (just take the next logical step) equals The Hows (divine inspiration) plus Manifestation (living your dream). You live the life of your dreams.
7. Journal, create a vision board, post notes, anchor yourself with your newfound desire, and take action. Keep on asking yourself, will this make me a better me?
8. Now, go to sleep with this new intention and really involve all your senses and feelings. Spend 5-10 minutes visualizing and giving thanks. Wake up in the morning feeling good. Spend another 5-10 minutes visualizing and giving thanks. Show up big with everyone in your life and embrace the uggs, and the highs and lows along The Fairway of Life. It’s all a “perfect plan” unfolding right in front of your eyes. Spend 15-20 minutes meditating or being still every day away from all the normal noise of the world and things to do. Very soon you won’t have to worry about your New Years Resolutions because you’ll be living your dream and becoming everything you desired all along. It all comes full circle. “Be as you wish to seem,” Socrates.
Warmly,
Coach
Divine Feelings in 2009 - Part I
Okay, so you’ve got your vision or New Years golf resolution picture clearly painted in your minds eye, and you’ve declared out loud in front of others what you truly desire to be as a golfer this coming year; a lower handicap, more free to express yourself, break 90 on a consistent basis, a better putter, or world’s #1. You have haven’t you? Declaring out loud in front of another sets this whole process (commitment) of Providence (divine inspiration) into motion. Without a direction we become like the ship without a rudder. Reflect upon the wisdom of Albert Einstein, “Imagine your ideal future. Your imagination is your preview to life’s coming attractions.” You will become what you think about. You will gravitate towards the desire of your highest ambition. The mystery is solved when you decide to choose these things rather than waiting to someday discover them by chance. Remember the ending of this quote largely attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “…Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
Kenny Perry, a PGA Tour veteran even surprised himself with doing some goal setting in 2008 by achieving his goal of being on the Ryder Cup team, saying something to the affect (paraphrasing), ‘Perhaps there is something here, something more to take a look at…’ Yes Kenny, you achieved because you put your mind and commitment upon this intention and believed it to be so. What’s new for 2009?
You see this first step is what keeps so many stuck in the same comfort zone rut year after year. While this concept seems so simple most golfers have no idea where they are going with their golf game, yet alone where they are going in life and the evolution and agenda of their soul. Most golfers think struggle and hard work on the range and body position is the key to a good golf game. I agree that practice and range work is part of this process, however I would replace the concept of struggle with allowing it to be. I also invite my students to first set an intention or a New Years golf resolution first. For a current review of creating a New Years golf resolution please read my last blog dated 12/30/08 to get yourself up to speed with this vital first step…then you will begin your journey by taking action and life will unfold as easily and as logically as Spock might say, ‘My calculations tell me that if you just take the next logical step you will 100% achieve the results you desire.’ All life is asking and all you are asking of yourself is just taking the next logical step. And when we do this we naturally allow the process to unfold in perfect timing. This is The Secret of the universe. It’s called The Law of Attraction – that which is likened unto it self is drawn. We Become What We Think.
The Secret (or the answer and wisdom) lies within you. It is the alignment with who you really are. It is the connection with Source Energy that allows the flow of Well-Being. It is this alignment and connection that is sought after by all. It is these expressions of alignment of Well-Being and this connection with life that we all desire to experience. It is the key to our peace, happiness, and joy within. Success is actually the amount of joy that we feel. What is it that you wish to be and feel? What state of beingness most inspires you? Go straight into being and feeling that both in life and on the golf course.
Another way to describe this alignment and connection is what are these feelings or expressions do you most desire to align with? What divine feeling do you want to explore or align with this coming year? What is the feeling, the frequency, or vibration? What is this energy that most resonates within your soul? Please take a moment to reflect and journal about this energy and this feeling.
What is this feeling? How will this feeling serve to make the dream (your dream) of the sacred universe come true? How does this feeling serve the greater whole?
* Help those around you?
* Heal your own heart?
* Make me a better me?
* Stretch beyond your comfort zone? Take risks? Color outside the box?
* Play golf & life like it is meant to be – for FUN!
* Step into the calling and next highest demonstration of your soul?
* Listen to the agenda of your soul. What the soul is after is the highest expression of who you really are. Feelings are the language of the soul. What is this feeling?
* How will this or these feeling(s) allow you to recreate yourself anew? And…
* “Become the grandest version of the greatest vision ever you have held about who you really are,” Neale Donald Walsch?
We all have these feelings, these levels of consciousness and connection with All That Is, this vibrational energy when we align with the frequency that resonates within our soul right inside us all the time. You see frustration and anxiety comes from not listening to one’s soul. Our job, therefore, is to align with our higher Self and these divine feelings and activate them. Think of it as a wake up call. Many of us have been going through life in a slumber sleep walk being tossed and reacting to life here and there as it unfolds as if it is by default, now I am asking you and reminding you to simply wake up again and choose to create intentionally. Wake up to the highest most divine expression of who you really are. Your soul has brought you to what you are being right now. Jesus described it this way, “Once I was lost and now I am found.” What is the divine feeling of being found?
…Stay tuned for the second half of this story
New Years Golf Resolution
On February 19, 2005 at 10:45 a.m. in the dead nuts of winter in Northern Michigan I announced my intention out loud to my friend Chris Shepler, “I’m gonna drop my handicap down to a 5 or less by July 4th.” I must have been leading up to this declaration having just come off yet another disappointing season barely breaking 80 only but a few times all year and seeing my handicap rise to over a 10 in both official and league play.
Now at the time I had no idea what this meant or if I could even achieve such a lofty goal. However, that’s the magic formula. That’s part of The Secret, which is the Law of Attraction. You must be willing to make a commitment in order to evolve into the direction of your dreams and desires. Although my personal guinea pig experiment did have a happy ending even though I endured a few set backs, some ridicule, plenty of growth experiences to work through (in golf we call these demons), and several feelings of just not knowing what might happen along my journey. Not only did I observe and witness my handicap drop from a 10 to a 7 to a 5 then to a 4.3, I also set a new intention in July, “I’m gonna drop my handicap to a 2 or less by the end of the summer.” I put into practice all that I have come to understand through applying the life principles to the game of golf. Providence moved to me and through me.
I ended the 2005 golf season as a 1.2 handicap golfer. I’m living my dream having played the best golf of my life for the last four years. As a soon to be 50-year old my handicap has fluctuated between a .7 and a 2.4 ever since. I also want you to know that my average handicap during my prime hovered around a six.
Why did all of this unfold like it did? It’s because I decided to make a bold commitment and set an outrageous intention – first! I decided to make a commitment and play full out – that’s what my life coaching has really taught and reminded me about – being a powerful creator in this amazing process or game of life. I invite you to do something similar and unique to your own game and life. Become a better or more authentic person on the inside, a better putter, better short game player, better at handling your emotions, have more fun, lower your handicap, or be more free to fully express yourself. Learn to play golf with eager anticipation and to your full potential.
The hows will eventually show themselves once you make a commitment. Providence will move through you. First, set a powerful intention or New Years golf resolution. Call it whatever you want. Plan your next move of becoming this dream with audacity and execute with vigor in your gitty up. Audacity in its purest form is extreme boldness, recklessly brave with a fearlessly one-minded focus. Vigor is a form of intense healthy growth while thriving to be your absolute best. This is the kind of outrageous enthusiasm involving mental toughness, physical well-being, and spiritual energy that inspires us to become that which we desire to be when one chooses their definiteness of purpose.
Am I out of the woods? Am I always playing with my A game, certainly not! Yet I am extremely grateful to be where I am. In the big picture of life on and off the golf course; life now becomes such an awe-inspiring and amazing adventure. It’s a journey I have now come to call The Fairway of Life.
Remember: Fortune Favors the Bold. Plan your next move with audacity and vigor right now. Why wait a second longer…go ahead and post your intention and tell another. I’ll help guide you into becoming the next grandest version of the greatest vision ever you held about who you really are. Tune in for the free teleconference winter / spring 2009 Mental Edge Coaching session coming soon. Sign up to receive the free newsletter with other gifts. Invite your friends. 2009 is going to be the best golf year ever!
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