IF I Had To Do It All Over Again My formula for success – Ready-Fire-Aim
If your are new to Moe’s golf swing or just beginning to learn the single plane golf swing I envy you. I want you to know how lucky you are.
You are extremely lucky because you have available to you all the tools, videos, training aids and technology to shortcut the learning process –When I found Moe, I did not have many of these tools.
There is one thing though, that I had that you may not have and this may keep you from finding the success that you strive for. Desire.
People ask me every day why Moe chose me. A reporter in 2002 asked him why he thought that I was the only one who could teach his golf swing. Moe in his eloquent simplicity said “Because he really wants it”. He was right.
Moe didn’t talk about talent, money, strength, physical attributes, or past successes. Moe, as usual, saw what was most important in a person – he saw desire. The desire to do whatever it took to achieve my goal.
My question to you is this: Do you have the desire? Do you want it?
The reason I ask you this question is because when you really want something you do whatever it takes. You go the extra mile and practice the extra hour. You ask for help when you need it and you willfully make things that seem impossible – possible. And throughout this process, you also understand that failure is a launching pad for success.
Desire gets you through the tough times and the times when you feel as though you are spinning your wheels. It gets you past the heartache of a bad round and the bad practice day. Desire is what holds you together when your friends think you are crazy for changing your golf swing.
Looking back at my time with Moe and how I learned his golf swing, I can now reflect on what it would be like to be starting over again. With that in mind, I thought I would give you my formula for success with the tools of today. But before I get into specifics, let me make a few things clear.
You must be mentally READY to learn.
This is a prerequisite for change. Most adults I have met have forgotten how to learn or they have never really known how. This might sound a bit critical but lets see if you fit into my definition of mentally ready – or not.
1. You are willing to accept getting worse before you get better.
2. You admit that you know nothing and are open to anything
3. You can stop judging yourself and your results.
4. You have complete commitment. This means you are not trying Moe’s swing but actually doing Moe’s swing.
5. You are willing to ask for help and accept the answers.
6. You are completely committed to getting it right.
Read the above questions carefully. If you can honestly answer YES to all of the questions, you are open to learning. If there are any questions that you hesitate to answer yes to, these issues will cause resistance to your learning.
Once you have fully committed to this learning process, let me share with you what I would do if I were to start all over again.
I would begin by preparing my surroundings for my success. Similar to removing the sweets and cookies from your house when you go on a diet, you must prepare your golf surroundings. I believe this is the basis for many successes and failures. This means you must purchase the necessary equipment, space, cameras, range membership etc. If you really want success, you must sacrifice for it. Once you have prepared your world for success, do this.
1. I would first learn exactly what I am trying to achieve – I would get educated.
This is an important step mostly because knowing the exact destination; you can start building a road map as well as monitor your progress. The goal is a Single Plane Golf Swing. The Model is Moe Norman.
2. I would Study as much Video of Moe as possible for comparison.
Most of us learn from watching. Watching Moe was a great learning tool for me. Luckily I watched Moe in person but there is plenty of video available to watch. Eventually you will get your own camera (see next step) and you will be able to compare yourself to Moe.
3. Get Training Aids to shorten the learning process
Get the tools you need to speed things up. This includes training clubs, PVC pipes, video cameras, computers etc. Do not hesitate to invest in your success.
4. Invest in instruction.
IT was not available to me as it is to you today. This is the shortcut to the learning process. You must get help, ask questions and work at the suggestions given. One teacher of mine once said an important thing to me. He said, even if you practice something and you can’t get it, you still learn from it. You learn how not to get it. All practice is good practice but great practice comes from knowing exactly what to practice so get help so you know what to do.
5. Develop a Practice Plan and Goal Book
Now that you have fully committed, acquired the necessary tools and invested in some instruction, set a plan. It might be a bit contrary to most people that I waited until the 5th step to set a practice plan and goal book however, I believe that you must have full commitment, involvement and investment or a plan will never work.
This is my Ready Fire Aim approach. Don’t hesitate to dive right in and get going and develop a plan as you go. You can’t plan for everything but with this approach, everything fits into the plan.
The above approach is my roadmap for success. Of course, there are other things I would do regarding how I would develop my golf swing. I will get further into these things in the next e-tips and webinars.
For now, get going on the above process and don’t look back. Success is just around the corner.
Todd Graves
