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Golf
It’s All About the Journey
I want to talk to you about golf. Don’t worry, this isn’t a blog about my new favourite hobby—it’s about running a business and the surprising similarities I’ve found between swinging a stick on some grass and being an entrepreneur.
The Journey, Not Just the Game
For me, golf isn’t about the game; it’s about the journey—and it’s a long one. This mindset sets me apart from those just trying to beat the guy next to them. Golf, I’ve found, is the perfect mentor for running a business.
In golf, if you focus on simply making par, you’ll likely miss that crucial putt. Instead, you need to master the process and trust your skills to get from the tee box to the green. Keep your head down, don’t focus on the flag—just watch the ball. It’s a great parallel to running a business.
The Business of Golf: It’s More Than Just the Swing
When I started playing again, I thought it was all about hitting the ball, but it’s far more complex than that. First, you learn to hit a driver, then your irons, then pitch, and finally putt. Once you’ve mastered those four swings, you have to adapt to whatever nature throws at you—ground conditions, wind, rain, and more. Sound familiar? In business, one minute you’re the marketing guy, the next you’re the delivery driver. There’s so much in common, yet it’s rarely talked about.
The Mental Side: Overcoming Doubt and Fear
Once you’ve mastered the physical side of golf, it’s the mental game that really tests you. Dealing with doubt and fear on the golf course mirrors what we go through every day in business. It can be crippling. But I’d rather deal with mental challenges on the golf course than in business, where it could affect my finances (my wife might have a different opinion on that!).
With 500 things to think about before your swing, you must have practiced enough that those thoughts don’t consciously enter your mind when you’re playing. Similarly, in business, so much of your experience becomes second nature, so you can focus on new challenges as they arise.
Facing the Fear: The Real Test
Add a bit of self-doubt before every swing, and you’ve got a sport that mirrors the reality of business: balancing multiple spinning plates, with one likely to fall. You need to face the fear of messing up and keep moving forward.
Golf and Business: A Perfect Match
So, where am I going with this?
Golf and entrepreneurship are a perfect match. Golf teaches us to focus on the journey, not just the goal—because it takes years to master. In business, you get one plate spinning, and another falls. It’s the same process: you keep going, handling more plates, and discovering new ones to balance.
Like business, golf can be pretty messy at first. But with every mistake, you get better, and the zig-zag of progress starts to straighten. If that’s not a good metaphor for running a business, I don’t know what is.
Inspiring Others: It’s About the Journey, Not the End Goal
The key difference, though, is that golf is about perfecting your own journey. But running a business is about inspiring others to join you on that journey.
One of the hardest things about running a business is managing the doubt and fear your team faces. There’s a fog surrounding the business, and at the start, you’re the one who can see through it. People often say that finding your way through the fog is about reading signs or listening to the universe—but however you do it, it’s going to set you apart, and you’ll need to bring your team with you.
Dealing with Doubt: How to Keep Going
If I’d let myself become fixated on the end goal of success, instead of focusing on the journey, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
So much has gone wrong in our short journey so far, and each setback comes with fear and doubt that I have to face, both for myself and my team. It’s a huge challenge dealing with your own self-doubt, let alone managing other people’s.
That’s why I love golf. It teaches me patience and helps me see my business as a holistic journey, not just a series of wins and losses. Golf has become a therapy session with a bit of learning thrown in.
The Power of the Journey
It still surprises me how many people give up at the first sign of difficulty. The world is so connected now, with information passing instantly, and people seem to expect success right away. It’s like the world shies away from the journey and just talks about the end result.
My advice for anyone facing fear and anxiety is to find a way to deal with it. Golf works for me, it might work for you, but if it doesn’t, don’t stop searching. You have to conquer that anxiety, or you’ll never be happy, no matter how successful you become.
If people focused more on the journey—and making it beautiful—I think they’d be more successful in the long run. Of course, like golf, there are good days and bad days. Sometimes you can get a huge leap forward, only to take a few steps back the next.
The Beauty of the Journey
The beauty of focusing on the journey and not the end goal is that when you experience big lows, you know it’s not the end—just a speed bump on a long and winding road.
Will Ryles
Entrepreneur & Founder | Yellowstone Accounts
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