Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many of us have a daily ritual that we are so accustomed to we do not even give it a second thought. We accept our daily routine as a normal part of life and allow ourselves to become part of the status quo. We may not find these daily rituals that we participate in appealing, but we continue to tolerate them. The danger of this comfort zone that we develop by falling into a routine is that we may lose sight of what we really want to do with ourselves. Many people blindly accept the norm and are skeptical of change even though not making that change may be holding them back from the personal greatness that lies inside them.

Everybody has glimpses of what they would like to do differently in their lives. For some people, it is becoming self-employed. For others, it may be to finally start working out and lose some weight. We all have a dream. For most of us though, there is this invisible force, this “logic”, telling us to just keep doing what we are doing. It is easier that way, right?

Nevertheless, every once in a while, we may get the feeling that we are capable of so much more , that we want to do something different, that we are destined for greater things. We all have an idea, a personal goal, an invention that resides in us, waiting for the right time to come springing out. However, someone— ourselves or someone close to us — quickly talks us out of it, saying that we are better off just continuing doing what we are doing.

Unfortunately, we often let ourselves or other individuals convince us that our desires are not legitimate and we ignore these aspirations for years, or sometimes a lifetime. We often let mediocrity into our life just for a short while. We usually allow it to stay long past its welcome until it is no longer just a guest, but rather a permanent resident in our thoughts and lifestyle. We slowly begin to accept mediocrity as a way of life. We save everything we want to change about ourselves and the world for tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it is a tomorrow that never comes for most of us. We sacrifice our present moment for a future that doesn’t exist. And this is how, over time, we settle down and slowly forget who we truly are, what our dreams are, what greatness we are capable of and what we could become. But the dream never dies. It is there, waiting for the time to come forward and realize its true potential. Greatness is there, within each one of us, waiting to be born.

Everyone Has a Vision

Every once in a while we may get a fleeting glimpse of our hidden greatness. In those glimpses, anything becomes possible. Fear turns into incredible courage and unshakable confidence. “If” turns into “when.” “I would like to” turns into “I will”. Boredom turns into passion, pessimism into optimism. Absolutely anything is possible. The only thing that can stop us is ourselves.

It is during these times of vision that we are the most empowered to make a change in our lives. We can choose to continue to do the same things we have always done and get the same results, or we can make the decision that today is the day that we are going to challenge ourselves and create the person we want to be. By leveraging the power of decision, you have the capacity to change any and every part of your life in an instant.

Perhaps the best thing that you can do during these times of vision is to let your imagination go wild and dream up anything and everything you would like to achieve. This is where your initial visions of what you want to achieve originate from and will most likely serve as your primary source of motivation in the future. Remember to think big and don’t let logic hold you back. This is a brainstorming session and the emphasis is to think of what could be if you wanted it to be.

My Personal Journey

When I was in high school I knew that I wanted to run track and field at the University of Oregon, which is one of the best collegiate track programs in the country, home of the legendary Steve Prefontane and the birthplace of Nike. Needless to say, it has an extremely rich athletic history.

I knew what direction I wanted to go with my athletic endeavors, but was not quite sure how to get there. I needed a map that showed me how to get where I wanted to go and also needed some guidance to help keep me focused, upbeat and committed to my cause.

It was during this search for guidance and knowledge that I met an individual by the name of Vern Gambetta. Vern is a respected member of the strength and conditioning community and is extremely knowledgeable in the development of sport specific power, strength and flexibility along with injury prevention. I had contacted him looking for some advice on enhancing my sprinting speed and he was generous enough to take me under his wing and educate me on various sports performance enhancement topics. Vern was an individual that completely revolutionized my views on training and I continue to use his teachings to this day.

At the same time Vern had introduced me to a track coach at the University of Illinois named Gary Winckler. Gary was a coach that had experienced tremendous success developing sprinters. He had produced numerous collegiate and world champions, with his latest being 2003 women’s 100 meter World Champion Perdita Felicien. Gary was a significant influence in my early development as a sprinter and was also instrumental in initially getting the attention of the University of Oregon and their sprint coach, Tony Veney.

I came from a very small high school, so naturally there were a lot of individuals that doubted me. Only one other athlete from my school had ever gone on to participate in Division 1 sports, so naturally many of my peers thought that I was being unrealistic. Despite all the individuals that doubted me, I never lost faith in my commitment to my cause or my ability to achieve my goals.

Mission Accomplished

With a lot of hard work I eventually achieved my goal and made it to the University of Oregon to run track. I spent two years training with Coach Veney to further develop my sprint technique and power levels. I also worked extensively with Jimmy Radcliffe to drastically improve my strength levels, core power and resistance to injury. These two gentlemen were extremely influential mentors that gave me an incredible amount of performance enhancement knowledge.

This journey to get from my small high school to a Division 1 track powerhouse was an extremely positive and powerful experience for me that taught me a lot about persistence and vision. However, none of it would have been possible if I had not initially dreamed big and thought of what could be. I developed a vision and committed myself 100% to following the steps needed to realize that vision. In the end I achieved the goals that I set for myself and learned a few important life lessons in the process.

Get Help and Guidance When Developing Your Plan

My point with this is to show that when you have the right people helping you to develop your plan and help you stay focused, walking your path, whatever that path my be, becomes so much easier. Find someone that has done what you want to do and go to them for advice. These types of individuals have a proven track record and systems that work.

For me, it was finding track coaches who knew what needed to be done for me to run faster and had experience making sprinters run faster. For you, it my be finding a golf conditioning specialist (like Sonic Boom Golf) that has helped many different levels of golfers increase their power levels and increase the distance of their drives. If taking strokes off your score and adding yards to your drives is a goal then the Pure Power Program will give you the map for improved performance and will help you stay on course so you can achieve your goals.

Take Action!

While your first steps should be thinking of what you want to achieve and outlining your plan to achieve your goals, the most important step is to actually take action. An idea or a plan is just an idea or a plan until action is taken. Never forget that action is the catalyst for all change.

Be forewarned that any kind of lifestyle modification will be met with internal resistance. Change is difficult for everyone. It is human nature to be resistant to change. However, once you realize that there is more to be gained by trying something different than by staying where you are, you will find it much easier to get yourself to take action and formulate a plan for the new you.

The next chapter discusses in detail the fuel for creating the new you: goals.

Chapter 9-Motivation Summary:

• Most of us lose sight of our dreams and ambitions because we get caught up in the day to day events of our lives.
  
• Next time you feel like doing something different or making a change, commit to giving your idea a chance.
  
• Align yourself with individuals who will help you stay focused, upbeat and committed to your cause.
  
• Once you identify something you want to pursue, it is critical that you develop a plan to get there. If you are not sure how to get where you want to go, work with someone who has either done what you want to do or has experience helping others achieve goals similar to yours and learn from them.
  
• If your goal is playing better golf then Sonic Boom Golf can help you formulate a plan tailored to your specific situation and help you achieve your goals. We have extensive experience in helping golfers of all levels rapidly improve all facets of their game while at the same time get in great shape and lose those stubborn pounds.
  
• Making a decision to change yourself and outlining a plan is a great first step, but a real decision is measured by the fact that you are taking action. So when you decide that you want to do something, take action and make it happen! If your goal is to improve your golf game then let the Pure Power Program outline your plan and help you get started on the path to more distance and lower scores.