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Inspirational Leadership On The Links

Guest post by: Michael Hume

Article Overview: People are inspired by greatness. But they're also inspired by the honest effort to achieve it. Some of the most inspirational leaders I've ever known were young, talented people who hadn't put in anything close to 10,000 hours, but who were clearly and visibly on their own personal program toward greatness....

Inspirational Leadership On The Links

U.S. Women's Open Showed The Payoff For Hard Work Last Saturday, since we're privileged to live nearby (and since my business gives me the flexibility to do such things), we were part of the throng of people who turned out at Colorado Springs' Broadmoor Resort to watch the U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship.

If you are a golfer, even (perhaps especially) if you're a guy, you should watch the pro women ply their craft... you'll learn a ton about how to strike the golf ball. And if you're a business person, or a leader seeking to increase your ability to inspire your people, you could take away great lessons in personal responsibility and inspirational leadership from these women.

I play golf, and I'm enough of a fan to watch the tournaments on TV and to have attended several tournaments as a spectator. Saturday I was reminded of why I love to watch these ladies at work: they WORK. That's not to say that their swings are overwrought, or that they swing too hard. The fact is, you see them between rounds, early in the morning, all the time, working on their game.

They're out there on the putting green. They're chipping endless shots out of the practice bunkers. They're on the driving range, swinging away. These women seem to be living lives which are endless golf lessons, and they'll tell you they learn more about the game every time they swing a club.

And that's why they know, within a tight range, where the ball's going to end up when they set up for a shot in a tournament.

I think about some of the twenty-something kids I know who are these girls' age, and I try to picture those kids doing that much work to get good at something. The fact is, the overwhelming majority won't do it. They'd be bored to tears. In fact, Harvard Business Review reported a new study that shows that fewer U.S. high schoolers than previously say they'd work at all if they had plenty of money. But it's a simple fact that you have to do the boring stuff, over and over, for days and weeks and years, to become great at anything.

A recent documentary about 1970s chess great Bobby Fischer made the same point. They say the greats in any profession put in at least 10,000 hours learning and practicing their craft. I used to tell singers under my direction essentially the same thing: "As soon as you've gone over this song 500 times, you'll have it locked in, and you'll never forget it." And there's no shortcut.

Do you need talent? Sure. But we all have much greater talents than almost all of us ever realize. I would argue that anyone who's interested enough in golf, or chess, or singing, or leadership to spend the 10,000 hours learning it... that person has enough talent. We all know that the most talented competitor doesn't always win. That's why someone invented the phrase "Heart of a Champion."

People are inspired by greatness. But they're also inspired by the honest effort to achieve it. Some of the most inspirational leaders I've ever known were young, talented people who hadn't put in anything close to 10,000 hours, but who were clearly and visibly on their own personal program toward greatness.

If you're looking for the inspiration to become great, get out there and start swinging. Start on your 10,000 hours. Do the boring stuff. And when you pause to reflect, look around and see if there are others watching you, taking cues, and embarking on their own journey... thanks to the inspiration you've given them.

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Article Tags: entrepreneurship, health wealth and happiness, inspirational leadership, personal responsibility



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