May 14, 2020
Golf and Life Quotes
"What the mind believes, the body will achieve" is a quote from Wild Bill Mehlhorn a professional golfer and teacher from the 1920's and 30's. This is one of my favorite quotes from over 125 golf and life quotes that I have accumulated over that past thirty years. I would like to share a few of my favorites with you.
Many of the quotes are from successful winners in sports and life that have possessed that little bit extra that enabled them to achieve greater heights. Their belief in themselves pushed them through tough stretches to reach their goals. Not giving up and going the extra mile is central to a successful career in whatever the endeavor. "Persistent people begin their success, where others end in failure." -Edward Eggleston. "The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." and "Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is." - Vince Lombardi. "You never really lose until you stop trying." - Mike Ditka. "Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it." - George Halas.
"Concentration is why some athletes are better than others. You develop that concentration in training. You can't be lackadaisical in training and concentrate in competition." - Edwin Moses. "You play the way you practice." - Pop Warner. "Everybody has a will to win. What we need to talk about is the will to practice to win." - Bobby Knight. Bobby Knight also said that "Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one". All great athletes or leaders have a vision. They see what they want to happen. The more they train that belief, the more entrenched it becomes in their psyche and the more real it becomes as a result.
A Sports Illustrated article about Tiger Woods, when he was in college, featured a list of 11 affirmations that he had hung on his wall of his dorm. He recited each affirmation 10 times, three times a day. He said that he had been doing this since he was six years old. The affirmations were: I will my own destiny - I believe in me -I smile at obstacles - I am firm in my resolve - I fulfill my resolutions powerfully - My strength is great - I stick to it, easily, naturally - My will moves mountains - I focus and give it my all - My decisions are strong - I do it all with my heart. It is generally considered that Tiger is one of the most mentally tough competitors sports was even seen. His mental strength didn't just happen; it was nurtured and strengthened with persistence and determination. Tiger practiced hard on the physical, but all the mental and visionary work put him in a class of his own.
In my list of quotes there are many from John Wooden. This is my favorite from him. "Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming." If you would like a copy of my nine page collection of quotes, please email me and I would be glad to send them to you. My last quote is from Theodore Roosevelt. "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again' who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause' who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring."
