Five Great Exercises to Focus Your Thoughts on Your Target

I've been asked to write a series of articles for Want Better Golf. It's a great blog that all golfers should consider following. The article below is the second for Want Better Golf.

Five Great Exercises to Focus Your Thoughts on Your Target
Have you ever driven home on autopilot? We’ve all done so. After a long day on the job, we put the car in drive and our mind wanders. We’re paying very little conscious attention to the task of driving! And by some miracle, we arrive home, with very little memory of the drive we’ve just completed.

(This is a very dangerous habit by the way, and not recommended!)

We play golf the same way! (This is not nearly as dangerous, but also not as much fun as it could be.) We wander through most rounds on autopilot, exerting very little control over the direction of our thoughts. And by some miracle, we eventually hole the ball 18 times and then wonder what went wrong.

We established in previous posts that the ball will usually follow the direction of our thoughts. We shape our shots, bend the ball, with our thoughts. Even though we may focus our eyes on a very specific target in the fairway, if we’re thinking about the out of bounds along the left, our ball will likely head left.

To be more successful, we must focus both our eyes AND our thoughts on our intended target!

This is easier said than done, so here are a few exercises, off course and/or off season, to help hone these skills. These are progressively more difficult.

SIMPLY FOCUS YOUR EYES AND THOUGHTS ON AN OBJECT

Simply sit alone in a quiet room and focus both your eyes and your thoughts on any particular object. This sound simple doesn’t it. It’s not! Set an alarm for one minute, just 60 seconds, and try to focus your thoughts. You’ll find lots of other thoughts – what’s for supper, when do I have to pick up the children, did I leave that report on my boss’s desk, etc. – will drift into your mind. Each time this happens, just let those other thoughts go, and then bring your mind back to focusing, your thoughts, on just that one object. Keep trying.

ADD YOUR GOLF STANCE

Repeat the above exercise, but this time do so holding a golf club, in your stance, as if you’re about to hit a shot. Repeat this as often as you like.

PRACTICE THINKING AND PUTTING

In this exercise, you’re actually going to hit some putts. Set up your target and then get into your stance. Take one last look at your target. While doing so, focus your mind as well; focus your thoughts, on the intended target. Then bring your eyes back to the ball, while holding the thought of the target in your mind. And putt. Repeat this as often as you like.

FOCUS YOUR THOUGHTS IN A BUSY ROOM/AREA

It’s one thing to focus your thoughts when you’re all alone. It’s quite another to do so with some distractions. On a golf course, our partners generally respect the fact that we’re taking a shot by standing still, quietly. But they’re still there. They’re still watching. We’ve all experienced those first-tee jitters. And sometimes they’re not so quiet, or so still. Sometimes a group in another fairway causes a distraction.

In this exercise, repeat the first exercise, focusing your eyes and your thoughts on one particular object, but do so in a busy, noisy, distracting environment. Repeat as often as you like.

FOCUS YOUR THOUGHTS WHEN UNDER STRESS

Lastly, let’s introduce some stress. Most of us face times, often daily or weekly, when the stress of our job or other aspects of life are simply getting to us. This is a great opportunity to again repeat the first exercise. Just as in life, on the golf course there are times when we feel stress. The ability to focus both your eyes and your mind/thoughts on one particular object, even when under a great deal of stress, will definitely improve your golf game.

We’ll continue to explore the mind in future posts. For now, make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

Focus Your Thoughts, Not Simply Your Eyes

I've been asked to write a series of articles for Want Better Golf. It's a great blog that all golfers should consider following. The article below is the second for Want Better Golf.

Focus Your Thoughts, Not Simply Your Eyes

We’ve all heard for years, ‘focus on a very specific target’ for each golf shot. The middle of the fairway isn’t good enough. Teaching professionals tell us to select a particular blade of grass, or a target line delineated by a specific tree trunk in the distance, or some other extremely narrow landmark!

Time and time again, we focus our eyes on some bizarrely narrow target and swing away. And time and time again, our ball slices right – for all you right-handed players – into the woods, or hooks left, into the rough. What’s gone wrong?

In an article last week we learned how our thoughts actually shape our golf shots. While the magician uses trickery to bend a spoon, every golfer uses his/her mind to shape each shot! This truly is magic!

The problem lies in communication, or, as is mentioned in the epic film Cool Hand Luke, ‘a failure to communicate!’

It’s not enough to focus our EYES on that very specific, very particular target. We must also focus our thoughts on that very same target! Teaching professionals say focus, and so we focus, with our eyes. That’s not enough. We must also focus our thoughts!

Let’s illustrate with another example. For me, this is a painful example, borrowed from many rounds of golf I’ve played on my home course. The front nine includes a fair share of challenges, but for the most part I generally find myself in good position off the tee and make my way around nicely (for me). I then move on to holes 10 and 11, and the fun begins.

Ten is a long, straight par 5 with OB left and a massive forest to the right. Try as I might, I’ve found it very difficult to focus my thoughts on this hole. I can focus my eyes very specifically on a target in the right-middle portion of the fairway. But my thoughts always seem to include ‘OB’. And often, my ball hooks dead left, out of bounds.

Eventually I limp on to the 11th. And yes, you guessed it, OB right and a world of hurt – trees skirted by sand bunkers and punishing rough – up the left on this mostly straight, long, uphill par 4. Once again I focus my eyes on my target, and try as I might, quite often, once again ‘OB’ creeps into my thoughts. I pull the trigger and watch helplessly as my ball slices into the great beyond, OB.

That’s back to back holes, with a hook left OB on 10 and a slice right OB on 11! Repeatedly! In the middle of an otherwise great round of golf!

It’s not mechanics. It’s my thought patterns. Once again, I’m bending the ball with my thoughts.

We’ll continue to explore this topic in future articles and we’ll suggest some off-course exercises to help. This stuff isn’t easy. Believe me, I know!

For now, just be honest with yourself, and evaluate how well you focus both your eyes and your thoughts on your intended target.

And of course, make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

Bending Golf Balls with Your Mind

I've been asked to write a series of articles for Want Better Golf. It's a great blog that all golfers should consider following. The article below is the first for Want Better Golf.


Bending Golf Balls with Your Mind

Have you ever seen a magician bend a spoon with nothing more than the power of his mind? Incredible, wasn’t it?

Actually, no, it wasn’t incredible at all. It was likely just a trick, not magic. But do you know that you can and do accomplish the very same feat with your golf ball! You bend your shots left and right, simply with the power of your mind! And that’s far more magical than the spoon trick.

Yes, I’m treading into the great unknown. I’m exploring the power of the mind. Let me share just one study with you.

This study has been repeated hundreds of times, by many different researchers, using thousands of study volunteers, in many different countries, over many different decades. (And by the way, yes, this is just the tip of the iceberg in this field of research!) This will get technical for just a moment, but trust me; we’ll get back to golf soon!

So picture this. A volunteer is left alone in a small room. There’s a chair in which she’s seated, a small table in front of her, and a computer monitor on the table. The computer monitor is hooked up to a computer in another room. The computer is programmed with a random number generator. Every few seconds a “1” or a “0” will appear on the screen. By definition, because it’s a RANDOM number generator, there will be roughly an equal number of 1’s and 0’s.

The volunteer is then asked to pick a number, either 1 or 0, and to then focus her mind, her thoughts, on that number. Are you ready for the punch line?

If the volunteer focuses on 1, the RANDOM number generator generates more 1’s. If she focuses on 0’s, more 0’s appear. Over and over and over again, this same result appears.

The study volunteers affect the RANDOM number generator, with nothing more than their minds! Kind of makes you think – excuse the pun – doesn’t it. I wonder if my mind affects my golf shots in a similar way.

The answer, of course, is YES!

Have you ever stood on the tee and focused on the danger. You tee up your ball, take your stance, fully aligned right down the middle. Your physical body is set up perfectly. But then you steal a glance at the water along the right. Oh, and there’s all those deep sand bunkers down the left. You think, just for a split second, ‘well, sand is better than water!’ You continue the thought, ‘no water.’ And you swing....

And you watch helplessly as your ball slices or draws directly for the water.

We’ll continue on this subject in the near future. Watch for more posts!

For now though, whether you’re actively playing or in your offseason, maybe think about your thought patterns as you play a typical round. What do you think about? Be honest with yourself. You might be surprised.

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

Great Wayne Dyer Quote

I came across a quote this morning that I simply had to share.

"As you think so shall you be! Since you cannot physically experience another person, you can only experience them in your mind. Conclusion: All of the other people in your life are simply thoughts in your mind. Not physical beings to you, but thoughts. Your relationships are all in how you think about the other people of your life. Your experience of all those people is only in your mind. Your feelings about your lovers come from your thoughts. For example, they may in fact behave in ways that you find offensive. However, your relationship to them when they behave offensively is not determined by their behavior, it is determined only by how you choose to relate to that behavior. Their actions are theirs, you cannot own them, you cannot be them, you can only process them in your mind." -Wayne Dyer

I hope you enjoyed this insight.

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

An Evening in Celebration of My Mom

On Saturday evening I had the pleasure of accompanying my Mom to an event in her honour. For many years now she’s been a dedicated member of the Eastern Star. Roughly a year ago she accepted the duties and honour of being the District Deputy Grand Matron. On Saturday evening, Eastern Star members, family and friends, from far and wide, gathered to celebrate her year of service.

We walked through a processional/receiving line before I accompanied Mom up on stage. We sat there through many speeches, jokes, presentations and performances. Mom received many gifts and accolades.

My two boys sat in the audience, just in front of the stage, with other family members, snapping pictures of the entire event. Many other photographers were also quite noticeably busy.

Nearing the end of the formal portion of the evening, the emcee offered me the opportunity to stand at the microphone and say a few words. An opportunity I readily accepted, of course. I happily explained how proud we all are of Mom’s achievement and dedication. Of course, I also took the opportunity to do a little roasting, and to tell a few jokes, and to offer much thanks to all attendees.

The formal portion of the evening wrapped up with my Mom at the microphone, thanking the many, many people that supported her as she fulfilled her duties.

Afterwards we all retired to the basement of the town hall for refreshments and more laughter. My boys continued taking photographs, except now while one of them took each shot, the other somehow randomly popped up in the background of EACH and EVERY picture. Good fun.

Mom has worked very hard this past year. She’s worked long hours, driven great distances to attend so many meetings, and made countless phone calls and trips to see others. All without a dime of remuneration. She did so because she loved what she was doing.

I couldn’t help but think, as I sat there on stage beside my Mom throughout the evening, what would our businesses be like, what would our retail experiences be like, what would our economy and our lives be like, if everyone, if every single worker, thoroughly enjoyed his/her vocation?

Can you even begin to imagine?

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

Astounding Tax-Advantaged Services for Those Buying or Selling Businesses

I met with a friend and colleague yesterday morning. He works in the field of investment vehicles and life insurance products, and along with his partner and their great team, provides fantastic service and value. He’s also, quite simply, one of the finest gentlemen that I’ve ever known.

I’m excited for him. He’s recently launched a new service entrepreneurs that are either buying or selling a business.

Through various mechanisms he helps buyers use pre-tax dollars, rather than post-tax dollars, to complete the transaction. He’s also developed strategies that ensure the seller realizes the entire purchase price largely tax-free.

He’s reviewed these mechanisms with CRA and has received their stamp of approval. This is all entirely in full compliance with all tax laws. As I mentioned, he’s one of the finest gentlemen I know. He would never assemble nor offer services that were shady in any manner.

If you’d like to learn more, let me know. Since I don’t have his permission to do so, I have not mentioned his name.

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

My Role Emerges

I’ve been quiet of late, on this blog at least, as I seem to have lost my voice. I haven’t lost my actual voice, my real voice. My sons have come close to that experience in the past few weeks, fighting colds and pneumonia in fact. But that’s not been the case with me. Rather, I’ve lost my blogging voice.

In a more positive light, perhaps I’ve just temporarily misplaced my blogging voice.

The process of developing our first Parmasters golf training center locally, and also developing four more similar centers across southwestern Ontario, has been life changing. I’ve grown and evolved, learned a great deal about many aspects of the business and learned a great deal about myself as well.

It’s become clear to me that my role does not lie within one particular golf training center. Indeed, my role in life, the value that I bring, and my passion, does not lie within any one particular business.

I enjoy working with entrepreneurs, helping them grow their businesses. I have many skills, and a wealth of knowledge and experience, that allow me to bring great value to entrepreneurs in many different ways.

It’s become clear to me that I’m meant to build – and help build – businesses.

On a daily basis I work to develop Parmasters KW. I also work to develop my other businesses. And I also work with other local entrepreneurs to develop their businesses.

There’s much happening, on all of these fronts. There are new developments within Parmasters KW and within the effort to develop centers across all of southwestern Ontario. We’re also considering broadening our efforts into the GTA. There’s much happening within my other business interests. And my consulting clients – current, past and future – are all growing and evolving their businesses in exciting new ways.

For more than 15 years, I’ve worked with many different entrepreneurs, many different clients, consulting on various projects. I’ve always done so as a sideline, during weekends and evenings. The only change, now, is that I’m now working in this realm full-time.

As time goes by, perhaps I’ll share more on these various businesses, mine and my clients. As time goes by, perhaps I’ll share more about my growth and development into this new role in life.

And as time goes by, perhaps I’ll regain my blogging voice.

In the meantime, make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

Alfred Adler Quotes

I’ve been away the past two weekends, traveling. The trips didn’t take me far, but still disrupted my normal weekend routines. While both weekends were very well spent, and I wouldn’t change a thing, it is nice to enjoy a little free, unstructured time.

My work weeks – and it’s likely the same for everyone reading this – tend to be quite structured, quite busy, and often quite hectic. I thus look to weekends for a little breathing space, a little unstructured time, time that affords more strategic and exploratory thinking.

I came across the following quote, which I found quite interesting, a while ago. It comes from late 19th-century / early 20th century psychologist, Alfred Adler.

“What do you first do when you learn to swim? You make mistakes, do you not? And what happens? You make other mistakes, and when you have made all the mistakes you possibly can without drowning – and some of them many times over – what do you find? That you can swim? Well – life is just the same as learning to swim! Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live!” -Alfred Adler

And in looking into Adler a little further, I came across a few more quotes that also resonated.

“Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations.” –Alfred Adler

“There is a law that man should love his neighbour as himself. In a few hundred years it should be as natural to mankind as breathing or the upright gait; but if he does not learn it he must perish.” –Alfred Adler

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

Aegis Announces Indianapolis Facility to be Corporate Store

Parmasters HQ, now Aegis Investment Management, issued the following media release today.

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!


Aegis announces grand opening of Parmasters Golf Training Center in Noblesville, Indiana

VANCOUVER, Feb. 16 /CNW/ - Aegis Investment Management (Golf) Inc. ("Aegis" or "the Company") (TSV-V:AIM) announced today the opening of its Parmasters Golf Training Center in Noblesville, Indiana. The facility will be open to the public in April with Grand Opening ceremonies to be held May 1st, 2010.

"Spearheaded by our team at corporate headquarters in Vancouver, we have signed a six unit Area Development Agreement for Greater Indianapolis, Indiana," said Tom Matzen, President and CEO of Aegis. "As part of that agreement, our Noblesville facility becomes the first Parmasters Center in the Indianapolis area and our second fully operating Parmasters Center in the U.S."

The Company has appointed Aegis' Director of Business Golf, Allen Bonk, to lead the Noblesville project and to hire the on-site Indiana-based team. Working alongside Allen will be Greg Keller who has been appointed General Manager of the facility and Sam Foley who has been appointed Director of Golf. As a corporately run center, the Noblesville facility will provide Aegis with direct sales revenues, along with valuable opportunity to showcase what makes Parmasters revolutionary in the world of golf training.

"We look forward to the formal opening of the Noblesville Parmasters Center. Our center is unlike any other indoor golf facility in the state of Indiana, highlighted by the 2,500 square foot short game area, along with state of the art corporate meeting rooms with world-class audio and visual technology to ensure any meeting or presentation is a resounding success," said Allen Bonk, Director of Business Golf for Aegis Investment Management. "As part of our marketing efforts prior to the facility's opening, we have signed up 515 promotional short-game memberships in the first month of offering them. That sets a new record for Parmasters. We have had an excellent response from the general public who are interested in becoming members at this beautiful facility, and from local businesses keen to participate in joint community-based marketing initiatives, including our Community Partners Program."

About Aegis Investment Management (Golf), Inc.

Aegis Investment Management (Golf), Inc. is a Vancouver-based company focused on developing and marketing golf-related franchises. Aegis' current brands include; Parmasters Golf Training Centers, the world's first franchised year-round indoor golf training centers; Links Golf Cafes, housed in each full-sized Parmasters Golf Training Center, along with selected stand-alone locations; and Quantum Business Golf Seminars, designed to teach the difference between a business meeting and a business round of golf to effectively leverage golf for business. The Company's main brand, Parmasters Golf Training Centers, has been selected as a Top 50 Franchise in North America by the Franchise Business Review for four years in a row, beginning in 2006. Aegis currently has one golf training center franchise operating in Memphis, Tennessee, one Quantum Business Golf Franchise operating in Vancouver, British Columbia, and eight Regional Franchisors operating in the United States, Canada, the Middle East and China. The Company has a total of 225 franchises awarded across their three franchise brands. For more information, visit www.aegisinvestmentmanagement.com.

Forward Looking Information

Certain information in this press release is forward-looking within the meaning of certain securities laws, and is subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions. This forward-looking information includes, among other things, information with respect to the Company's beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. The words "may", "could", "should", "would", "suspect", "outlook", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "plan", "target" and similar words and expressions are used to identify forward-looking information. The forward-looking information in this press release describes the Company's expectations as of the date of this press release. The results or events anticipated or predicted in such forward-looking information may differ materially from actual results or events. Material factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from a conclusion, forecast or projection in such forward-looking information include, among others, risks arising from general economic conditions and adverse industry events.

The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on forward-looking information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF AEGIS AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SEDAR: 00024645E

For further information: Tom Matzen, President and CEO, Aegis Investment Management (Golf), Inc., Telephone: 1-800-663-2331, Fax: 1-800-416-6325, Email: info@aegisinvestmentmanagement.com, Corporate URL: www.aegisinvestmentmanagement.com, Franchise URL: www.YourGolfFranchise.com

If One Lacks Life Skills, One Equally Lacks Golf Skills

Then the corollary must be, if one lacks the skills necessary to thrive in one’s life, then one also lacks the skills necessary to thrive throughout a round of golf.

Two days ago I posited that “the skills necessary to thrive during a round of golf are the very same skills required to thrive in one’s life.” Ergo, should those requisite life skills be wanting, then one cannot hope to thrive throughout a round of golf.

Golf is most assuredly a physical game, a game of doing, a game of motion, coordination, execution. Most definitely, golf requires certain physical skills. Indeed, we at Parmasters teach those requisite physical skills. We offer Straight-Line Golf (TM), the "simplest, most accurate way to hit a golf ball." Further still, we guarantee results. If we don’t improve your golf game by at least 25 percent, you get your money back, or we’ll work with you until you do achieve at least a 25 percent improvement.

Golf, however, is also very much a mental game, an emotional game, a game fraught with internal struggle, a game that brings the possibility of the entire gamut of human emotions.

Put simply, if you lack the requisite skills to live a joyful, balanced, fulfilling life, REGARDLESS OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, then you also lack the requisite skills to enjoy a joyful, balanced, fulfilling round of golf.

I capitalized “REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES” as emphasis. For life is not simply about organizing one’s circumstances in such a way that brings you joy and contentment. Life is equally about finding joy and contentment in all circumstances, regardless of how closely, or not, said circumstances mimic your ideal.

Similarly, golf is not simply about executing every shot perfectly, in such a manner such that the outcome of each shot brings you joy and contentment. As Tin Cup said, “perfection is unattainable.” Golf is equally about finding joy and contentment in all outcomes, regardless of how closely, or not, said outcomes mimic your desired ideal.

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

Life Skills Are Also Golf Skills

The skills necessary to thrive during a round of golf are the very same skills required to thrive in one’s life.

I thought about leaving it at that, saying nothing more. But perhaps some justification, some elaboration, some defence indeed, may be helpful.

We’ve all heard and/or said, repeatedly, that a round of golf brings similar trials and tribulations, highs and lows, good bounces and the other, as life. A round of golf provides, in fact, a microcosm of life itself, at least emotionally so.

A typical round of golf includes events and experiences that beget a full range of human emotions, from exhilaration to despair, joy to sorrow, and everything in between. Golfers often face great challenges and overcome them, realizing a great outcome. And oftentimes, these great challenges are not overcome. Similarly golfers often face golden opportunities, birdie opportunities, and sometimes miss.

Each new round of golf mimics the beginning of a new year, January 1, no matter the actual date of the round. Each tee block mimics the beginning of a new day. The parallels are endless.

In life, as in golf, we all face both good times and the other. We live through events that cause us to experience a full range of human emotions. We face challenges and overcome. We face challenges and sometimes succumb. And we find golden opportunities, with great potential, and sometimes miss.

The key, most teachers seem to agree, to a fulfilling and joyful life is to maintain a sense of balance. To feel the full range of emotions, deal with them, and then move on to experience more of life. We must focus upon what we want, not that which we want not. We must be in the moment, living life now, not lamenting the past nor fretting o’er the future. We must maintain perspective, not imbuing events nor circumstances with more importance than they truly embody. We must love and respect ourselves, just as we love and respect others. We must, above all else, enjoy life. For, why else might we be here?

In golf, it is the same. The keys to a fulfilling and joyful life also unlock the possibility of a fulfilling and joyful round of golf. A golfer must maintain the skills to feel and process the full range of human emotions. The golfer must focus upon that which he/she wants. The golfer must live in the now, in the moment, and he/she must certainly maintain perspective. Golfers of all abilities, every golfer, must maintain a healthy respect and love of themselves, of their skills, of their “game.”

And above all else, a golfer must seek to enjoy each round of golf. For indeed, why else is he/she there?

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

My One New Year’s Resolution

Many of you established “resolutions” in the last few days. Many people choose New Year’s Eve as a time to establish new goals, to “resolve” to accomplish some achievement, or to accomplish some change in habit, or in their body image, etc. And I wish you all, all the very best with your resolutions.

I prefer to speak of and focus on my “intentions” and I try to do so roughly 365 days each year. I may establish new intentions, or refine old ones, pretty much any day of the year. And thus, for me, New Year’s Eve tends to come and go without much fanfare, at least in the resolution-setting department.

And so, this year perhaps is a little different. Because this year, I established one New Year’s Resolution: Before 2010 ends, Parmasters KW will be built, open and serving thousands of happy members and others each and every month.

The challenges faced on this day, January 4, 2010, are quite the same as those faced one week ago, on December 27, 2009. Regardless, before we ring in 2011, Parmasters KW will be a reality.

This, I resolve.

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all! Let’s make 2010 an incredible year!



You can find the original photo here.

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!