The winner of 18 major championships (along with 10 more on the Champions Tour), Jack Nicklaus is considered the greatest golfer of all time.
Off the course, Nicklaus is a champion as well. He runs a hugely-successful business, he raises millions for charity every year, and he’s a true family man with a 56-year marriage and five children who all remain close. In 2005, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Here’s what this mega-achiever says is an important key to his success, both on and off the golf course…
I have this belief about life and golf that has carried me through many tough situations, including dealing with the changes in my body over the years. It goes like this—once the gun has gone off, you keep quiet and get on with the job as best you can. The more you let your mind dwell on negatives, of whatever type, the larger they grow and the greater the risk you will convert them into excuses.
You can think of life as a game—like a game of golf. In life there are always obstacles to overcome, as in golf there are trees to clear, bunkers to avoid, and water to negotiate.
There are always uncertainties in life, as in golf, where you have to compete with the wind, the rain, the rough, and slow or quick greens.
In life, as in golf, it’s all about choosing the best options. In life and in golf you are playing against yourself—and against the hazards of the course and the hazards of the journey.
– Jack Nicklaus, from his book Golf & Life
Nicklaus is essentially talking about the power of commitment.
Once you decide on your goal, you have to lower your head and go after it with intense focus and die-hard commitment. There are going to be plenty of obstacles on the way to achieving your goal—whatever it may be—but you can’t dwell on those obstacles and you can’t let those obstacles become excuses.
Any worthwhile goal is going to be difficult to achieve and if you’re not 100% committed to achieving it, you’ll find plenty of reasons to give up.
If you give yourself permission to complain and make excuses, you’ll start thinking about backing out of your commitment. The best of the best never do this. They face obstacles head-on and they focus on all the reasons they CAN accomplish their goal. They remain committed to the goal no matter what comes their way.
Once you’ve made the decision to go for a goal that is important to you, don’t look back, don’t complain, and don’t stop forging ahead.
