Hello peeps! I feel like this is the first time I have ever blogged or written and article. Probably because I haven’t written about anything of substance in a long while…. this one will be no exception:) I started this blog in 2009 and it has been a very important outlet for me in many ways. Whether it is sharing a video tip, writing an article that was on my mind about golf instruction or whatever was going on in my life or just creating content to allow you into my little world. My goals for my social media campaign (as the SM experts would call it) have changed as my job and life have changed but it doesn’t give me the right to disconnect from the world which I feel that I have done a little lately. Moving from a nationally ranked golf school to an exclusive private country club setting has changed my focus from trying to get my information out to the entire golf world to now a group of 1000 members at my club. The communication hasn’t stopped, it has just been geared towards the fish bowl instead of the ocean. Its been good because it has helped me to streamline my goals for my life and my business into these categories that I am passionate about. 1) I want to help as many young teaching professionals become better than me starting with my outstanding staff (Maggie Simons, Josh Spragins) by sharing information and practicalities that have helped me along the way 2) become a better coach to my elite juniors that I have an opportunity to assist in getting better and playing golf in college. 3) Creating some balance in my life to spend more time with my wife and kids…not entirely in that particular order I might say. probably 3-1-2.
A Thought On Goals
Even as a young professional, I have always been a goal setter. Every year I would set down and write out on a note card what I wanted to accomplish for that year. Some of you that have heard me do talks at my seminars know that this is what pushed me in the direction of teaching full time when I was a head professional. When all of your goals line up to you becoming a “Top Teacher” you soon realize that you are in the wrong place to accomplish that goal. After sitting down with my staff recently for our yearly goals setting session (key #1 tell someone about your goals for accountability) I I realized that I had gotten loose with some of my daily practices that have helped me along the way. The beauty of sharing information or helping others is that it is a “Two Way Street”. When I have the opportunity to mentor or share with another individual, it reminds me of things that I may have forgotten or took for granted which allows me to continually learn from these experiences. Danaa Rader is the best that I have ever been around when it comes to setting goals. She helped me simplify my list. She used to say” Your goals should not look like a to-do list.” ….And every goal should have and ACTION plan behind it. This would be a detailed step by step plan to get to the end result.
Getting Back To The Basics
If you haven’t guessed already, this is going to become a very random…journal like writing space that I will try to do every couple of days. It may be a couple of sentences or it might be an article of epic proportion. I don’t know what will come out of it. All I know is I will be writing and sharing my thoughts. As I reflect on the last couple of years, it is very easy when you have some success, to get lazy in the practices that got your there….So here is my list of what I will be doing more of in 2016.
- Reading more real books – Based on my library that I stare at eveytime I sit in front of the computer, I would guess that I have read close to 300 books on golf instruction, leadership, personal development, coaching, marketing, business etc. With everything nearly on the internet and social media I have found myslelf just reading articles and papers, which is not bad but I have to get back to real reading which will require me to sit in a quiet place…..loads of benefit here!
- Travel to watch other teachers work – I used to do this all the time but now with youtube and facebook we tend to get lazy in gathering information and lose the face to face, live aspect that is real life. I am always honored when other teachers come to watch me work but it doesn’t give me the excuse to not do the same.
- Better Use of Downtime – I used to listen to at lest an hour every day of some audio presentation, audio book or lecture dealing with personal development, leadership, management etc. (in the car to and from work). I am pretty sure I have a few degrees from Automobile University. Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, John Maxwell and Brian Tracy are some of my favorites. Now its itunes and podcasts that are getting popular which I have been fortunate to be a part of a few. 3A. I am going to work on my golf game this year. I still have some game left in me and I still love to play so scheduling practice, playing with members and signing up for a few tournaments will be on my list.
- Finish my Ebook – I have a book that I wrote a year and a half ago that I never got published. I need to go through and see what I like and what i want to change and get it out there. If any of you have a good blueprint for the process of this, let me know. Time For Action!
That is the theme for this year….ACTION! We all spend alot of time online, at seminars, gathering information, doing research. It is now time to implement what you know and make it work for your situation. This year my focus is on “Long Term Coaching Programs.” Why? That is for another blog post.
Coaching Secret For The Day: Learn how to deal with poeple and read body language first before you worry about learning and administering the information in a golf lesson. Read a book on learning styles, personalities or body language and it will be easier to get your students to be accepting to new information and to ultimately trust you as a person and their coach
Required reading: How to win friends and influence people by Carnegie, Winning with People by John Maxwell 
and Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hil
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I am interested in what you think. Leave a comment below and don’t be afraid to share.
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Talk to you tomorrow,
Guru
I am very excited to team up with best coaching platform in golf today, Edufii. This is an opportunity to step onto my lesson tee, observe lessons with all level of players where I use cutting edge technology as well as old school methods of getting results. Click on the link below to check out my Team page which gives you all the information that you need to get started……..
The Golf Guru Show 