Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated. –Arnold Palmer

The game of golf is constantly providing lessons of humility, comradery, and resiliency!  And you never know when one of those lessons will rear up and hug you like a warm blanket.

It was a beautiful Fall day at the exclusive Crossvines Country Club outside Washington, DC. (Never heard of it?  Okay, fine, Poolesville!)  and we had a classic matchup of Young Guns vs. The Veterans.  A little bit of money and bragging rights were on the line and us old guys had a lot to prove to the whippersnappers.  Could we make up for a lack of distance with crafty short-game play?  And could we go beer for beer with two guys at the very top of their game?

After 10 holes, the answer was glaringly obvious.  Hard no!  But that didn’t mean we were throwing in the towel.  There was still a little magic left in our old bones!  At the critical 11th hole, my buddy was off the green facing a 20-yard chip for birdie.  We needed it to win the hole and stay in the match.  He lined up over the ball and then backed off. Upon readdress, he paused, looked up at all of us, and declared:

“This is makeable!”

And half a second later, he executed a smooth swing with a deft follow-through.  Hands of a surgeon!  The ball landed pillowy soft on the green, rolled for about 10 yards, and then disappeared like a little mouse running into the hole.  Bam!

He saw something we didn’t. Everything about the shot looked right to him before the attempt.  And once he pictured it, it was just a matter of executing with confidence.

And isn’t that the key to attacking all of our goals and dreams?

Seeing is Believing

Visualization is a key determinant of future success.  The entrepreneur has a clear vision of where the market is going and how they can take advantage of the existing competitive landscape.  The salesperson sees the steps necessary to complete the transaction long before the deal is signed.  The attorney knows the sets of questions to ask to lead to a favorable outcome.  The coach can detect latent talent in an athlete and craft a brilliant game plan to maximize success for his or her star player.  The athlete pictures a successful outcome long before any attempt is made.

Confidence stems from the ability to see the possibility of success.  But in order to see, we have to believe!  We have to believe that we are worthy.  We have to believe that positive outcomes are possible in this world.  We have to believe that we are due.  And we have to believe that, eventually, good things happen to good people.  Whatever our goal, our dream, our aspiration, we have to believe that it is makeable!

It Will Not Be Easy

But what happens when we clearly see the line and still miss the mark?  Visualization is not always enough.  There are so many random factors that can impact the outcome.  Unforeseen shifts in the market.  Disruptive technology that sprouts out of nowhere. Bad timing that is out of our control.  An arbitrary decision made outside our sphere of influence.  A bad bounce that simply didn’t go our way.  These losses hurt even more when we can so clearly picture victory.

The reality is that visualization and confidence do not guarantee success.  We will have to pivot.  We will have to keep the faith despite many failures.  We will have to dig deep to maintain our resilience.  But we have to maintain our confidence despite the overwhelming odds.  Because if we don’t believe we can do it, if we can’t see a path to victory, and if we lack confidence in our execution, then we are guaranteed to fall short of our goals.  And that is no way to play the game.

Keep it Simple

The very act of saddling back up after a failure builds our confidence.  Even if we lose time after time, exerting effort and staying positive will fuel our resilience.  We will continue to execute our plan.  We will continue to outwork our competition.  We will continue to visualize success.  We will continue to battle in the face of enormous odds.

No one promised us an easy path to success.  We may be facing a difficult road.  Our odds of winning may be dwindling.  The whispers from our detractors may now be reaching a fever pitch.  It may seem like we are finally hurtling toward that cliff.  But deep down we know better.  We have been here before.  And as long as we are still grinding, we can never be counted out.  Our situation is endlessly complicated.  But deceptively simple.

Close your eyes.  Take a deep breath.  Picture the shot.

This is makeable!