Archives for August 2018

“Risk failure, faster!” – Futurist  Jim Carroll

I’ve got one more week of summer before I get back on the road, with a whole series of exciting keynotes for the fall. It’s been a summer of golf! And I started the season, scared of my driver! As a late-in-life starter, I have, like many, a slice, caused by bad swing mechanics. It’s a challenge to fix, and so for much of the summer, I managed the problem by avoiding it. Until I decided it was time to deal with realty. I was fitted for a new driver about 2 weeks ago, and it should arrive any day. It’s built for my swing, with the idea that we should build some comfort with the process before building a path to fix the problem. I’m good with that. While waiting for it to arrive, I’ve been working with a similar demo driver. I’ve been forcing myself to use it in cases where I might not – where there is trouble on the right, or some ‘liquid fairway’,’ or a narrowing of the course arteries. I’ve been willing to risk my overall game in order to build some comfort with the overall plan.
And you know what? It’s working! My fairway accuracy is hovering between 65 and 85 per cent! The driver is shaped a bit for my swing and in effect, I’m playing with my new ‘straight slice.’ It’s sort of like the arrival of parabolic skis 30 years ago – let’s make it easier for the new comer to take part in this fabulous sport.
I think sometimes, our fear of failure can outweigh our need to change. That’s my lesson from my experience with my driver anxiety, and I’m pretty sure this will become another powerful story I will use on stage in the coming months.