This year, the U.S.A.’s national
golf championship was held in the state of Washington. Much fanfare heralded
the tournament, since the Pacific Northwest had never played host to a US Open
before, and the venue (Chambers Bay Golf Course, near Seattle) opened less than
a decade ago. The location, abutting Puget Sound, is visually stunning, and the
golf course is reminiscent of an old British links-style layout, in both its
overall design and in the abundance of sloping hillocks that test the skill and
patience of even the most experienced competitors. In defiance of stereotypes
about the region, too, not a drop of rain fell during the event, and blue skies
and brilliant sunshine were the rule.
But there was one big problem, and
many of the players in the field didn’t shy away from expressing their feelings
about it: namely, the greens were below the standard than professional golfers
expect in a major golf championship. A few of the competitors groused loudly
and publicly, and suggested that Chambers Bay should not be a future US Open
venue, barring an improvement in the quality of the putting surfaces.
Incidentally, putting played a conspicuous role in the outcome of the
tournament, as long-hitting Dustin Johnson missed a short stroke on the final
hole to hand Jordan Spieth an outright victory.
Nonetheless, one indication of an
exceptional championship golf course is its tendency to reward talent, skill,
and top-notch play. The winner of this year’s US Open was by no means
unheralded; Spieth was arguably the best male golfer in the world entering the
championship. Irrespective of the quality of the greens at Chambers Bay, a
great champion still found a way to prevail.
Focus
on the factors you can control; accept the circumstances you can’t.
Tempting though it may have been to
impugn the course conditions, and by extension, the staff and organizers of the
event, all of the competitors in this year’s US Open faced exactly same
obstacle to success. Whether a player loved the putting surfaces or hated them
made no difference to the reality of the situation; if he wanted an opportunity
to contend for the trophy, he would need to handle those greens to the best of
his ability.
Examples abound of challenges that
every business has to handle in order to compete: taxes, customer service and retention,
innovation, marketing, investment and fundraising, various categories of
paperwork. Often, these difficulties coincide with each other, or arise amid
unfavourable circumstances. The sooner you accept the circumstances you can’t
control, the more time you can to devote to offering a great product or service
to your customers, rather than making excuses.
Keep
your troubles in perspective.
The gripers at Chambers Bay probably
could have benefited from a little perspective.
Most amateur golfers would relish
the opportunity to putt on greens as smooth and verdant as the ones competitors
in the US Open were complaining about. (The typical green at a municipal golf
course is bumpy, pockmarked with divot holes, and peppered with patches of dead
grass.) On second thought, what percentage of the human population has the
opportunity to enjoy a regular round of golf at all—let alone play the game for a living?
Likewise, while there is nothing
easy about founding and maintaining a business, you should always try to
maintain a sense of perspective. At least you live in a country that affords
you the chance to become an entrepreneur and lead a comfortable lifestyle, all
while enjoying significant personal and political freedoms.
For the vast majority of people,
easy street doesn’t exist. But success is that much sweeter when you know
you’ve overcome adversity in order to attain it.
