Last weekend, I played golf with friends, and one of them brought his father, Bob. In his younger days, Bob was an accomplished golfer, having won the club championship numerous times. At 94, his drives may only go 100 yards, but his focus, love of learning, and joy in the game are proof of a lifetime built on habits and mindsets that work.
What struck me was this: when things didn’t go well—like landing in a bunker or missing a putt—Bob didn’t get rattled. He’d laugh, shrug it off, and say, “You can do better than that.” Then he’d step up, realign, and hit the next shot, knowing there was nothing he could do about the last one.
That same mindset came up in a conversation I had this week with the daughter of a client. She’s working in a technology incubator, launching a company based on her Master’s thesis. She and her team are putting in long hours, testing ideas, and pushing hard to get their product to market.
Her dad told me the stress was wearing her down, so we met to discuss the mental and emotional aspects of innovation. She admitted the project likely won’t pan out. She’s discouraged, but she also knows that failure is part of the process.
I told her it was too bad the project wasn’t working, but her attitude was exactly right. Whether you’re at the very start of your career or toward the end of it, success comes from the same place — the willingness to keep showing up, learn from the last swing, and take the next one with intention.
What’s next isn’t always a dramatic leap. More often, it’s the quiet, steady choice to keep moving, to realign, to try again.
So ask yourself:
- Where have you stalled because a “shot” didn’t go as planned?
- What’s the smallest next step you can take to get back in motion?
- And are you willing to keep taking the next shot, even when the last one missed?
If you’re ready to figure out your own What’s Next, that’s what I help people do—turn possibility into purpose, and purpose into action. I was hoping you could send me a note, and let’s map it out together.
