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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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FacebookGeoff 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
How To Change The Things I Want To Change
The Serenity Prayer – “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference,” Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr.
First, you must understand which of these three life principles fit your situation. You must ask yourself with sincere honesty if you have control over the only corner of the universe you can control – yourself. If you can change, then welcome courage into your life. It takes courage to step outside the confines of your own self-induced comfort zone. Yes, growth can be and usually is messy. With ease and grace you can move through what at times may seem like the valley of death or the roar of the lion.
The simplest and most direct method to change is acknowledged and felt within the concept of the Nike slogan…Just Do It! It is called having heart and desire; a one-minded focus and a definiteness of purpose; having a dream, and keeping on! Others would say never give up. I prefer keeping on keeping on. Always reminding your self to keep on.
Sometimes your dream may feel like a million miles away just a day or two before it actually manifests. Very often you are less than 3 feet from gold. Keep digging…keep on moving forward. Keeping on in the direction of your hearts desire is what really makes our heart sing. Just remember who you really are – a brilliant and magnificent human being…a spiritual being living a physical existence…a leading edge extension of Source Energy. It’s about feeling worthy, because you are born worthy. It’s about feeling deserving, because you are born deserving. It’s about being born of pure love and pure joy, because you are pure love and pure joy.
Love is all there is. I’m just reminding you until you remember. It’s our dance-with-life to be in vibrational harmony with this understanding…believing in our selves, loving our selves, allowing the Well-Being in, feeling outrageous joy, and knowing it! Jack Nicklaus and other great champions knew in their minds they would hit a great shot before they actually did it. You can too! It’s called being in The Zone – pure positive energy going with the flow ~. Our work therefore is to keep on reaching for more of these good feeling thoughts – the best feeling thoughts we can at this moment in time. Allow the spiral to move us upward ever enhancing more and more of the good stuff that life is serving up. Pretty soon we end resonating in these good feeling spaces more often than not. And when we’re a tad off we can embrace it that much better than before.
If by chance you’re feeling stuck, confused, upset, angry, disconnected, out of alignment, frustration and if by chance you’re “…repeating the same behaviors over and over again expecting different results,” Einstein’s definition of insanity, then you’ve got to change the way you think. Thinking about always choking, always getting nervous over an “important” putt, that you’re never going to get any better, that the demons or golf gods are getting the best of you, that you’re not that good, not that worthy, not that deserving, that you can’t, that you’re embarrassed or worried about looking good or pleasing others, that you’re playing against another opponent will only keep on drawing more of those experiences into your game. You cannot deactivate a negative belief in order to get better…it only draws more of the same experience into your life. Sure once you make the commitment to be something new there will appear to be obstacles or set backs or ridicule that lie in the way. These are all illusions. And you can find a way to move around them, over them, or through them. For the truth of the matter is, you can be, do, or have whatever your heart desires. And if you don’t know that, then that’s the problem.
In all of these incidences above where you find yourself struggling you are quite literally paddling against the current. You’re resisting the natural flow. The first place to begin is to stop paddling so hard, stop trying so hard to figure this out…find some relief. Here’s the deal: you’ve got to find a way to feel good without having “that” condition change. Your dream will arrive that much quicker if you can first be happy without it. Because just the thought of not having it is a form of limited belief, which keeps you stuck in a lack mentality. So, what do I do if I have thought some of these kinds of thoughts that have not been in my best interest?
· I’m afraid
· I’m worried
· I judge myself too harshly
· I beat myself up
· I get mad at myself too often
· I choke
· I suck
· I have negative thoughts that get the best of me
· I think I can’t
· I’m scared
· I don’t want to hold another back…by looking for my lost ball all the time
· I get the yips
· I get ahead of myself
· I lose focus
· I’m trying
· I hold on to past failures
· I get result oriented
· Sometimes I’m just not having any fun
· I’m supposed to be better
· I don’t want to embarrass myself
· I’m not worthy, not deserving
· I want to win so badly that I’m feeling the lack of winning
· Yeah but, if only, it’s someone else’s fault, it’s a bad lie, etc., etc., etc.
· Poor me
So, these are the kinds of thoughts that are currently out of wack with our desire that are holding us back from living the life of our dreams.
Let’s acknowledge the fact, that we’ve thought some thoughts are hindering us. And some of the things we have allowed to be part of our experience are not easy to change; otherwise we would have done so by now. We’re kind of lost and we’re asking for some kind of relief, some kind of help, some kind of guidance and understanding into the mystery of life on and off the golf course. We’re looking for some kind of courage to change the things we can. Ask.
You’ve asked and now it is given. It’s time to take that leap of faith and just do it! You’ve got your dream; now take some action. The how’s will begin to present them selves through your commitment. You will be shown the way through providence or divine inspiration. It is as simple and as complex as that!
Understand this – the way you are feeling before the golf shot is an exact match to what you will get. If you keep thinking what you’ve always thought, then you will always get what you’ve always gotten. Hmmm…change the way you think and feel and you will change what you will get…brilliant deduction Einstein.
What’s the solution? You’ve got to start training your subconscious mind to think like a champion.
You’ve got to start activating more beneficial beliefs. You’ve got to give more “airtime” upon what you want. You’ve got to point yourself into the direction of your desires, or what you prefer. In the moment you understand that I’m not there yet, but I’m at least pointed toward it. In other words, I am where I am. This is the literal and vibrational understanding of what it means to be at peace with your self – both on and off the golf course.
Pretty soon old beliefs will fade away so far, so fast that you have a hard time even remembering what it was like before. Pretty soon you’ll end up creating the life of your dreams. Our purpose in life is to create our purpose. It’s why we have a vision, desire, dreams, intuition, intention, and visualization. It’s the quickest way to get from where we are to where we want to be next. The same works for each golf shot as well. Paint the picture and gravitate towards it.
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
The Grind & The Zone
Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? In golf I liken the analogy of which comes first, The Grind or The Zone? Which comes first…The Grind so that we can find The Zone or relief so that we can avoid the struggle? How would we know what The Zone is unless we first experienced being out of The Zone and being in a struggle? Perhaps by working through these understandings we can choose to have better control over our own self.
We tend to create this image that golf is hard and it is a grind. While it is certainly an admirable trait to grind it out versus giving up, our aim is to find relief and align ourselves with feeling good, which gives us confidence and a belief in ourselves, otherwise known as being in The Zone. Whereas, The Grind is often thought of as a buckling-down approach—whatever it takes to scrape out our best. Admirable: yet not ideal.
Many of us have a tendency to make things out to be such a struggle, such a grind; most of us end up paddling real hard against the current because we think that is how golf and life is supposed to be: a constant challenge, a hard-fought battle, a grind. Who told you so? Some people even get so good at it, that they actually embrace the grind every time out, perhaps it’s a self-defense concept they created to allow them to make sense of it all. It’s like we hear them saying, “Hey look at me! I’m struggling really hard over here.” Or, after the round, “It was a real grind out there.” Sometimes we give them a pat on the back, “That’s my chip off the old block. Keep up the good work.” However, the truth be told, in those moments of the struggle we end up taking ourselves out of The Zone once again. The grind is some sort of resistance or rationalization that is blocking the flow of Well-Being, which is where The Zone exists. What is causing you to grind it out? And I know sometimes it just feels that way. I’m inviting you to relax into this game, find some relief and learn to go with the flow. Remember golf is supposed to be fun. Many think the answer is to keep on paddling really, really hard–beating more golf balls than ever before. This kind of repetitive vicious cycle keeps repeating itself over and over again. Like Einstein reminds us about the definition of insanity. You can’t solve a problem with the same energy that created it.
I hear you when thinking about how Tiger often talks about how much of a grind it was “out there.” I’m not saying this feeling doesn’t exist. I’m just saying we all can do a little bit better than we used too…even Tiger. And when we do a little bit better than we used too – we end up playing a little better. The spiral moves upward versus the other way around. The better it gets…the better it gets.
Tiger’s grind on the other hand may be slightly different from the rest of us mere mortals, wouldn’t you say? He misses three or four fairways or the pin by 25 feet on a couple occasions and he’s missed the shot. We end up in the blackberry bushes or tall weeds 30 yards from the green. His desires and expectations are a tad higher. Plus, he aligns his vibrational energy to match what he intends and expects. He executes and performs to what he visualizes more often than not. In other words, Tigers allows his intention to be. He’s in alignment with his asking. That’s what makes Tiger tick. What a mindset and focus. Imagine Tiger’s view of the field and that narrow window or rectangle of where he intends to play the shot giving his best effort in this moment on this particular shot or putt. Go be something similar to this mindset yourself. Begin visualizing and narrowing your field. The shot produces the swing, not the other way around. With a mindset like Tiger’s we too can become better tomorrow than we are today.
What you don’t hear is how often Tiger is actually clicking along and playing pretty well. He does play in the now. However, his mindset is always wanting to be better tomorrow than today. That’s his inspiration and motivation. Tiger appears to be never satisfied; yet he is still the greatest ever. He’s hungry and he’s humble. I’d be surprised if he isn’t absolutely ecstatic on the inside for everything he has accomplished and absolutely thrilled with how he plays when he’s on. What I see is that he doesn’t want to lose his edge. He just doesn’t want to be or get complacent. He’s on a mission. It’s called 19 majors – then perhaps more. To be the world’s best means you hold the most majors on your mantle.
Tiger really does play pretty damn good golf after it is all said and done; wouldn’t you say? When Tiger is on – which is often – he is pointing his kayak downstream and going with the flow. It’s just that simple. He’s in alignment with his Source and desire to be his absolute best…world’s best. What more is there? Tiger has set the bar and keeps breaking it. Tiger keeps imprinting even more of a champion’s self-image upon the inner workings of his subconscious mind…and so can you and I.
Wouldn’t it be easier to point your kayak in the direction of the current and simply go with the flow of the stream? Wouldn’t it be easier to allow yourself the freedom to build the sandcastle, skip the stone, or swing the club with your natural most inspired state of being and simply go with the flow? Wouldn’t it be easier to play like you practice, like no one is watching, or execute like it was your practice swing: effortless and less arduous? Wouldn’t it be easier to make your first putt more often than when you drop a second ball in its place? Second putts made. Wouldn’t it be easier if you really knew what you are doing when you are practicing and you were practicing mentally in The Zone? The Flow is The Zone. The Zone is always present. There is only The Zone, a source of Well-Being—which you are either allowing, or not. Everything else is resistance or a block or an obstacle to The Zone that is always flowing.
It’s really pretty simple; remove the resistance, block, or obstacle and allow the Well-Being in. Your Well-Being is The Zone. The Zone is always present. The Zone is going with the flow.
The best analogy I could give you is watching young children play. They’re in The Zone practically all the time. They don’t know any better or any different, they haven’t been socialized or conditioned to our cultural story yet. There is no fear of failure or fear of success they are just being themselves. They’re not being judged or think they are being judged. They don’t think about results, they just do it.
Coaches Notes: A deeper lesson in this whole process is how we encourage, support, and guide another. While our intentions may mean well there is a fine line between critiquing and judging performance and giving advice versus offering positive feedback and offering support and guidance. Asking what questions at the “right” time allows the student to reflect and perhaps make the changes themselves. Invite the student to ask the questions themselves. Invite the student to explore the understanding that the answer and wisdom lies within them. Pointing out body positions through a camera film perhaps allows the student to see potential opportunity for growth.
Another analogy of being in The Zone is when Tiger is throwing darts and sinking putts. Tiger focuses on the moment putting forth his very best effort on this drive, on this swing, and on this putt – and he’s not concerned about his result or outcome until after it happens, which in Tiger’s case most often is a great result. He’s tuned in, turned on, tapped in – he’s locked in on this very moment. Plus he’s like a kid having fun. Where did Tiger get his mental toughness? Was it from Mom and Pop, or within? Is it nurture or nature? Perhaps it’s a little bit of both exposures; whatever he allows to filter into his subconscious mind.
Be Intent – Be As You Wish To Seem
The law of attraction states that which is likened unto it self is drawn. Thoughts create things and thoughts create swings. We become what we think. Intentions are a form of focused thought, similar to a goal, a desire from within, or having a dream. To be intent is to set your intention upon your desire where you literally drown out any other reverberation to the contrary. My friend Melissa from New Zealand and friends have created an entire program called beintent.com focusing on inspiring and drawing out your gifts that lie within.
In the words of Socrates, this means to “be as you wish to seem.” Think about it. Simply be as you wish to seem is such a simple, yet enlightening understanding. The same goes for everything else in our life. Mahatma Gandhi declared that we must be the change we wish to see in the world. To be as you wish to seem comes from a calling deep within your soul…it is your hearts desire and this desire if strong enough will over-ride any other vibration or belief you may have – and most of us carry with us a limited belief system based upon following the ways of the world. Most of us have given up on our dreams and neglected this key inspiration that springs forth from our desire. The real key or secret is to break free from this limited based thinking, get back on your true path, listen to the whisper of your soul, and be your hearts desires – as you wish to seem and act as if it was so.
When we are being as we wish to seem we gravitate toward the picture we are painting in our minds eye. This is what Tiger Woods dreamt about long before he eventually became the world’s #1 golfer. Be as you wish to seem and act as if it is so. Then one day you wake up living your dream. And whenever you are not being as you wish to seem, stop, catch yourself, find relief, and reach for the best feeling thought you can. Tiger refuses to give in to any fear either real or imagined that is out of alignment with his thinking of who he choses to be and become. Tiger knows there is only Well-Being flowing to him and through him. He’s free to fully express himself to his full potential. Isn’t that what we all want - freedom to fully express ourselves to our full potential. You tell me what you want and I’ll show you how to get it! The answer: One by one we let go of all the resistances, obstacles, or illusions we’ve allowed to run our subconscious mind. “Removing the clouds does not cause the sun to shine, but merely reveals that which was hidden all along,” Dr. David R. Hawkins. You see The Zone is like the sun, always flowing.
What kind of golfer do you desire to be? What kind of a person do you desire to be? Go straight into being that. Neale Donald Walsch talks about this be, do, have principle in his Conversations with God books and international speaking engagements. The Be-Do-Have Paradigm is another universal and spiritual law of creation. Most people get it backwards; they think that when they finally have this, then they will be able to do that, and then they can be this. In his book, Conversations with God, Book 3, Neale Donald Walsch discusses this principle with greater clarity. And you can substitute your own descriptions as they relate to your life on and off the golf course. I use Neale’s template and add golf specific examples to it. I find this very interesting as all of life operates the same way.
Most people believe if they have a thing (more time, more money, more love, a better golf game), then they can finally do a thing (write a book, go on vacation, buy a home, take up a hobby, undertake a relationship, really play better golf), which will allow them to be a thing (happy, peaceful, content, in love, or a calm, confident golfer).
In actuality, they are reversing the Be-Do-Have Paradigm. In the universe as it really is (as opposed to how you think it is), “havingness” does not produce “beingness,” but the other way around. First you “be” a thing called “happy” (or “knowing,” or “wise,” or “compassionate,” “calm,” “clear,” or whatever), then you start “doing” things from this place of beingness—and soon you discover that what you are doing winds up bringing you the things you’ve always wanted to “have.”
The way to set this creative process (and that’s what this is . . . the process of creation) into motion is to look at what it is you want to “have,” ask yourself what you think you would “be” if you “had” that, then go right straight to being. In this way you reverse the way you’ve been using the Be-Do-Have Paradigm—in actuality, set it right—and work with, rather than against, the creative power of the universe. Here is the short way of stating this principle: In life, you do not have to do anything. It is all a question of what you are being.
As in golf, so in life it is a matter of what you are being. Your state of beingness sets the stage for what you are doing, what you will have, and for how you will play. Your state of being (focused, clear, creative, artistic, poetic, confident, relaxed, calm, present, machine-like) produces your doing (your takeaway, back swing, rhythm, tempo, lag, whip, strike, follow through) which allows you to have (scoring, enjoyment, fun, prize money). It is the order of life’s paradigm that matters. You are a human being first. So stop trying to find the right and perfect thing to do and start creating the right and perfect thing to be. Be your most inspired state of being on the golf course and allow yourself to do it. Then you will be having fun and the results, scoring, or prize money will take care of itself.
Be as you wish to seem, be your hearts desire, and listen to your feelings, which is the language of your soul. You are brilliant and magnificent, worthy and loved, and if you do not know that, then that’s the problem and it’s high time you get back in the game focusing on the solution. You can be, do, or have whatever your heart desires.
The Magic Formula
Want to play your best golf? It all starts here, right now. It all starts with a thought. We become what we think. A thought is the start of something bigger. Call it whatever you wish. A thought can be a goal, an intention, or a dream. Thoughts bubble up through our asking, which come through our dreams, our prayers, or our meditation. We all are asking beings with new desires. Living the life of our dreams is why we chose to come forth into this magnificent world filled with all kinds of ingredients to choose from.
Tiger first dreamt about being the best golfer in the world. That’s step #1. So, the magic formula works this way.
1. Have a dream and envision the end result first. Really involve all your senses.
2. Start now – take action. You don’t have to wait until you are ready. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to know how. You just have to take the next logical step. Commit to taking action – NOW! The how’s will come to you. Try on this quote largely attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
3. The how’s will come as soon as you fully commit and take action from the thoughts, which have given life to having a dream.
4. Manifestation is living the experience in which you created. One day you simply wake up realizing you are living your dream. It is as simple and as complex as that!
5. Remember the Magic Formula for success, which is absolutely the amount of joy that you feel:
Dream (end result) + Action (commitment) = How’s (Providence – divine inspiration) + manifestation (perceived understanding from the eye of the beholder that you are actually living your dream).
Remember you are brilliant, worthy, and magnificent just exactly as you are. Be who you really are. Align with the abundant stream of Well-Being. That’s what this “The Zone” stuff is all about. Go with the flow!
All successful people practice this formula whether they are aware of it or not. They harness the power of intention and commit to a goal or a dream and move forward—and you can do this too! We all have the same chemistry makeup and ability to succeed with the gifts and talents within us. And it’s all relative to each one of us. We all have our own unique gifts to offer humanity. What we are really asking for is the freedom to fully express ourselves to our full potential. This magic formula will set you on your way.
So, instead of just watching your heroes on television and saying, “I wish I had what they have,” which is a form of projection, focus, lock onto the moment, become mentally strong, and be it and do it yourself! We all are modeling something, we all can dream. Instead of thinking wistfully about the accomplishments of Tiger or Lorena (Ochoa) or any other exemplary person or athlete, choose to model who they are and what they do. Or decide to become something entirely new, on your own, that you envision yourself to be. You have the power within you. Take back your own power – Espavo.
Follow your bliss. Keep on keeping on.
There is such a thing as trying too hard
“Lighten up Rand you’re taking this way too serious,” Neale Donald Walsch.
It’s true I was taking my spirituality way too seriously. You know what, I’ve been taking my life way too seriously too. Come to think about it, I’ve been taking my golf way too serious as well. Too much uptight overly intense emotion or mood on the golf course is basically an expression of fear. It keeps us tight, free from expressing our full artistic potential. It also takes further away from The Zone. We’ve projected ourselves into the future (thinking and worrying about outcome) and out of the present moment, where focus and excellence abounds. One of the characteristics of being in The Zone is being present right here and right now.
This phenomenon known as being in the present moment, staying loose, free to fully express oneself, giving ones best effort in the here and now is exactly what Captain Paul Azinger was able to pull off with his players at the Ryder Cup. It certainly didn’t hurt having a Boo Weekly around telling of his orangutan story or galloping down the first fairway like Happy Gilmore. The team stayed present and focused and away from being too overly intense, a trying too hard to make it happen versus relaxing, having fun, and allowing it to happen. Did I mention that Captain Azinger also hired Ron Braund, a life coach to guide the way and support this intention?
Think about it. When do you play your best golf? When you are trying too hard, pressing to make it happen or when you are enjoying the moment and allowing it to happen? Are you taken it too serious or are you having fun? Too often I find myself getting all uptight and tense over what?
I invite you to find a new thought that will lighten you up. Reach for a better feeling thought. ‘Hey, I’m with my friends it’s a beautiful day. This isn’t life or death out there. My wife is still going to kiss me when I come home. Might as well relax into this…after all, golf is supposed to be fun.’ The moment you shed that weight will be the moment you begin playing well again. Why not start sooner! Just be who you really are. Embrace the highs and lows along the fairway of life for this too shall come to pass.
Life and Golf are supposed to be fun – right now!
Embrace the highs and lows along the fairway of life, give appreciation and gratitude along your stroll, and be happy right now – no matter what? Why, because life is unfolding perfectly just the way it is. Sometimes I like to think perfectly imperfect just the way it is. Nevertheless, when you go back and connect the dots to your life and golf, you too will understand why it is you went through the challenges you did, and how wonderful that really was for the agenda and growth of your soul.
In other words, can I take the punch in the gut (a ball hit out of bounds, in the weeds, picker bushes, tall rough, thick trees, 3 putts, dubbed chips, bad break, choked down the stretch, and on and on) and still feel good? If you can’t then that’s the problem – and what you resist, persists. Once this concept begins to sink deeply into the depths of your soul, your life and golf will never be the same ever again. Everything changes with this new perspective. And guess what…shhh…there will be fewer times where you actually do take the punch in the gut, which means you will get more of what you really do want more often then every before.
Likewise when things are going along extremely well and you begin to feel that extra stress and pressure to keep on performing outside your comfort zone, can you still feel good and embrace the present moment? By the way – I work directly with individuals about lowering their comfort zone - more about all of that later.
Here’s the key to getting what you want. First you have to know what you want. And the only way to know what you really want is to know yourself. And the only way to know yourself is to be yourself. And the only way to be yourself is to listen to your heart and feelings – the language of your soul. Isn’t that something, be who you really are – how simple, how profound. What I do is coach, guide, and support others in removing the blocks, obstacles, or resistances that lie in the way to The Zone – the going with the flow. If you can tell me what you want, I can show you how to get it.
Back to being happy right now. My mentor, Neale Donald Walsch recently stated, “On this day of your life, dear friend, I believe God wants you to know…that you can be happy right here, not tomorrow, not in ten minutes, but now. You can be happy right now. Byron Katie said that, and she is right. Happiness is allowing yourself to be okay with what is, rather than wishing for, and bemoaning, what is not. Obviously, what is is what is supposed to be, or it would not be. The rest is just you, arguing with life. Somewhere along the way you will have to learn to just Trust Life. (Read that, “Trust God.”) Why not start today?”
Trust life and let life know that it can trust you.
Once you learn to just trust life that it is unfolding perfectly imperfect just the way it is, you can then move from what-is to what-is becoming or what you prefer. The moment you embrace the opposite of who you really are is the moment you evolve in quantum leaps to what we do prefer. Because if we keep giving our attention to what-is then we keep regurgitating the same story over and over again. It’s why Tiger is constantly thinking about becoming even better. I invite you to do the same.
Embrace what-is, be happy now, and eagerly anticipate what-is becoming, what you prefer to be next. Point yourself, your kayak downstream into the direction of your dreams. Got it?
The first two questions must be answered in this order, followed by the third:
1) Who am I?
2) Where am I going? And finally…
3) Who’s coming with me?
Tiger Did It Again
“I’d say, ‘Tiger, I promise you,’” Earl says as we look upon his son’s unmistakably steely gaze, ‘“ That you’ll never meet another person as mentally tough as you in your entire life.’ And he hasn’t. And he never will.” To view this Nike TV commercial click Nike’s Website.
Tiger did it again. What an incredible show, perhaps his greatest golf tournament to date. He etched his U.S. Open victory into the laurels of all eternity to inspire all humanity throughout the world to new levels of consciousness. Nike and Pops and Michael Jordan were all correct with their thinking that Tiger will do more for the game of golf and life than Jordan did for basketball – and I thought that would be an unattainable feat, and he will do more to inspire humanity because of his golfing skills.
The good news is what lies within Tiger lies within all of us as well. Ali understood this power (I am the greatest of all time), so did Andrew Carnegie, JFK, Gandhi, and Napolean Hill – the father of personal growth, among many others like Lord Buddha, Lord Krishna, and Lord Jesus. “For you too shall do all of these things and more.” There’s only one way to go – and that’s up! We all can develop and harness this energy even more than ever before – it’s a simple matter of belief, connecting with our authentic (higher) Self, and evolving our consciousness within. Tiger understands what’s it like to be a spiritual being and so can you.
The greatest discovery in the 20th century can be summed up in five simple, yet oh so powerful words – We Become What We Think. Tiger is becoming what he thinks, and he thinks and desires to become even better. Thoughts create swings and everything else. In order to play like a champion, you’ve got to first think like one. Whatever we feed into our conscious mind (thoughts, dreams, goals, intentions), and allow to filter in, take root, and implant and imprint into our subconscious mind (our self-image belief system) becomes our comfort zone, which runs everything in our life: relationships; health; money; God (spirituality); career; fun; leisure; yes even our golf game. It is as simple and as complex as that.
Although it might appear that the rest of us mere mortals are so far behind the eight ball, after all, Tiger received this understanding right from the get-go through Mom and Pops, not to mention how gifted he is…yet we all can develop and take back our own power within. What else is there, throw in the towel and settle for mediocrity? Never. What lies within another, what you see and project in another, lies within all of us. It’s time to recreate yourself anew building a winner’s or champion’s self-image becoming the grandest version of the greatest vision ever you held about who you really are. Wake up! It all starts with a thought, an intention, a dream. Isn’t it about time to revisit your dreams and have one – ones that uplifts, inspires, and empowers you to enjoy life, to be happy now, and to play inspired golf with outrageous joy!
Learn to intuitively align yourself and connect with this Source Energy, this Well-Being stream that is always flowing to you and through you. In life we call it going with the flow. In golf we call it The Zone.
Warmly,
Rand Marquardt
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