Some people are more successful at reaching their goals than others.  Why is this the case?

Being flexible in one’s attitude is surely a key ingredient of achieving ultimate success?  Whilst one may be taught to do something in a particular way that does not mean it will meet every challenge successfully.  One must be willing to challenge the norm and to be flexible in attitude as one strives to achieve one’s goals.

In recent years I penned an expression “Education Enlightens; Experience Educates”.  Think about it.  Why have many of the most successful people in the world achieved success despite failing in their studies or perhaps dropping out of university along the way.  The recently deceased Steve Jobs of Apple fame and Bill Gates of Microsoft are two such examples.  As far as I am aware another famous non-graduate is South African entrepreneur Johann Rupert.  Despite their apparent lack of a formal post school education they have all achieved amazing success.  All were subsequently acknowledged and have been awarded an array of honorary degrees and other awards.

In golf, why have people like Bubba Watson and Jim Furyk succeeded where other supposedly technically more proficient players have failed despite having theoretically inferior golf swings?  Each man has stuck to what made him play the game successfully in the first instance.  Their fathers and their subsequent coaches enlightened them and they have successfully used their experience to develop their talent around the core of what they had.  Perhaps their goal setting is more specific and less flexible?  But having said this, have Bubba Watson’s goals changed since he won the US Masters this year.  Is he flexible enough to have decided to change his goals and his playing schedule?  His recent schedule suggests a great deal of flexibility on his part.

All of the aforementioned gentlemen, both businessmen and sportsmen, gained an initial education that enlightened them; but they then used their experience to grow and enhance their lives with a great deal of flexibility thrown into the equation.

Achieving whatever goal it is that one has set for oneself requires personal insight and honest and regular monitoring of one’s progress.  It requires a flexible and objective attitude.  This can include input from those friends and family that one trusts; or by observing how others act and react in different circumstances and then learning from their successes or failures; or by being self critical and self analytical and learning from one’s own experiences.

We need to learn how to replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves.  Be inflexible in ensuring that you know how well you are doing against your set goals; but at the same time be flexible enough to adjust your behaviour or your strategies according to your achievements. And be flexible in your life schedule and allow time to ensure that you check your progress frequently – it can be daily, weekly or monthly – depending on your goals.

Oh, and to improve your golf swing you need to be flexible in your Lats!

Ron Boon