Daily Inspiration: Golf – “REAL confidence is having confidence in your confidence!”

“REAL confidence is having confidence in your confidence!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Ok, I’ll close out the week with a golf story. Why not – it’s been a bit of a working holiday as I head off to my keynote later this morning after a fantastic week!

My big golf highlight? I got onto the green on an iconic island-hole #17 at Makani Golf Course on the Big Island, Hawaii.n That’s it. That’s what I’ve got to report. It’s just a golf shot. But at the heart of it, it’s a story about confidence.

After all, putting things into perspective, this was no small feat, and indeed, took years of effort, because as with many golfers, I had developed an unhealthy obsessive fear of water. Every time I would come up to water – a river, pond, or something else – would be a cause for trepidation. My old course a few years back had us cross the river 9 times – meaning that the feeling of continual failure could often be reinforced until it became obsessive. And so, over the years, I’ve been working to fix this unhealthy mindset, by working on my confidence.

Confidence? Today, I stuck my shot within 15 feet of the hole and almost made the putt for birdie. Once I had accomplished this entirely meaningless task, I observed to my wife that I went at the hole with confidence in my confidence – I knew I could stick it to the green and not go in the water. Golf – as is everything – is a mental game – and if you can conquer the mental game, you can do great things. Confidence matters. Having confidence in your confidence REALLY matters.

And that, of course, becomes today’s quote.

I’ll admit that like many aficionados of the game, I am obsessed with the sport – but this only came on about 15 years ago after my youngest son (now 28) became EXTREMELY good at it. I figure if I were to get out for a round with him, I’d better have a pretty decent game – he currently sports a 1-handicap. (If you don’t know the sport, that means he is REALLY good.) This means that I am continually playing and working on my game – I was out about 100 times last year. (I think I need to get out more!)

My obsession doesn’t just come from that – it comes from the fact that one of the most prestigious sports organizations in the world – the PGA of America – has invited me in twice for a keynote on the future of the industry. Years later, I’ve learned that the talk I gave to the AGM of the association in 2010 still resonates strongly; I still get contacted by various PGA Pros who tell me about the impact that it had on their thinking about the future of the industry they love, and what they need to constantly embrace creative, innovative thinking.

Not only that, but I’ve got an entire domain dedicated to the game and the business topic of innovation – which you can find, of course, over at https://jimcarroll.golf.

Over on that page, you can find a ton of video clips having to do with innovation, the future of the industry, and the link between the speed of change in the industry and the rest of the business world. I’ve got an entire leadership keynote topic found there that links the sport of golf to business today.

Let’s just say, I’ve got a lot of golf on my mind, and the fact that I was able to draw the week to a close with a great round just brings a smile to my mind.

Because it’s a great thing to have confidence in your confidence!

(Until the next time!)