Many of you know I’m taking golf lessons on the side and have practically fell in love with the game.
But I just had a revelation from golf that could help you with your focus in music (and truth be told, some of the biggest breakthroughs come from other “places” like this.)
Think about the golf course for a second…
There are 18 holes.
You start at hole 1.
There is no way to move to hole 2 or 3 without first completing hole 1.
You can’t take out your driver, hit the ball halfway, and then decide you like hole 4 over to the left… and start aiming for it instead of finishing the hole you’re on.
There is an order and structure you have to follow. It’s inherent in the game.
Hole 1 leads to hole 2… then to hole 3… then to hole 4, and on to the final 18th hole (depending on the golf course).
But guess what many of us do in our musical pursuits?
We bounce around without focus… especially us ear musicians. We sit down to practice with no goals or purpose.
I attempted to tackle this issue with my free 37-pg report, “The Missing Chapter.” It talks about creating a structured practice session and all the elements that should be included.
But sometimes, it takes simple analogies like this golf one to reveal something so powerful to us. (If you want ongoing inspiration like this, listen to motivational programs by people like Tony Robbins).
So the next time you feel the urge to stop one thing prematurely and start another, remember the golf course.
Hole 1, hole 2, hole 3, hole 4.
If you finish a whole faster than you should (under par), great! Move on to the next hole… you’re ahead.
But the importance is that you have key goals (e.g. – playing a particular song in all 12 keys in 12 weeks) and you stick to them.
“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
-Tony Robbins
Until next time —
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