Dale Carnegie, the author of how to win friends and influence people, was once asked to be the inaugural speaker of the graduating class of 1929 at Harvard University. He was asked back by the same class at their 20-year reunion.
As he greeted the class at the door he collected information on each of them. Occasionally he would stop to write something on a piece of paper that he would then tuck back into his pocket.
Later, when the group had gathered in the main function hall, quietly sitting in their seats, Mr. Carnegie asked the class to recall the speech he had given them on goals 20 years prior. He then asked the group to stand up if they had goals that they wished to obtain. The entire room stood up. He then asked that the people who had the goals written down on paper remain standing.
Half of the room sat down in their seats. Carnegie then asked, of the people standing, how many read those goals every day? Again, roughly half of the remaining people sat down. With maybe a dozen people left, Carnegie asked, which of the remaining carried those goals on their person daily.
Only four people remained.
Standing, Mr. Carnegie then pulled the piece of paper that he had tucked away from making his notes at the door when he was greeting the group. He told the class that he had written on this piece of paper three names. These names were who he thought from his brief conversation at the door were the most successful people in the room that night.
As he read the names, they were the same people standing and as it turned out the fourth person came late and was never greeted by Mr. Carnegie at the door.
The power to manifest our intentions, desires, or our goals -- all three being the same thing -- lies in our attention to them. Sometimes we refer to this attention as our focus.
It is focus and it becomes our energy. Whenever you put your attention on something it will grow stronger. This of course can work in either direction for the good or bad. For example, during a round of golf if you put your attention on something negative like a swing flaw, or you just don't seem to be dropping any putts. These are the thoughts that bring about an energy shift toward the less desirable results.
The quality of your attention coupled with an unflappable intention is like seeds in fertile soil. You can take a perfectly good seed and throw it into the rocks, or the weeds. It will not amount to much. Both attention and intention are needed to create good golf, or good life if that is what you so seek.
Your intention is in the future, it is the goal and when action is taken toward such intent that action is in the present moment, the now, it is your attention, your awareness. The attention is weak without intention. Accept the present moment as the place to start now and intend the future.
I was working with a new student this past week. He is a young man still in high school and a good junior player. He has played in several U.S. junior tournaments and held his own with a few wins in the match play. When I asked him how he had been playing, his retort, which is a character trait of the better players was, "I am hitting it very solid but I just can't make anything."
He did not realize that he was a walking contradiction. His intentions were good ones; he has strong desires to be a great player. However, the words that he has been speaking are divergent to his goals and desires. We sat and spoke about this stuff for a while. I shared with him some of the wisdom that has simply been passed on from the beginning of time, really.
Truly, the people who wrote stories in the Bible spoke about sub-atomic physics. I asked him to go about his week and start saying, "my putting is coming around," and say it even when the putts weren't falling. He went out and shot 70 with 29 putts.
Not a bad start.
This next week he will start to develop his language to match his desires even deeper, something to the effect of -- I am finding my stroke and the hole is just looking bigger to me these days. This language will continue just like the description he used for his full shots, solid. Once we are coming up on some tournaments the words and thoughts will have built the desire, and will turn it into a reality. It takes some faith along with attention to your intentions and it will work.
If you are interested in finding out more go to www.7mythsofgolf.com.
