Adam Scott just won The Masters.
If you follow golf you know that Adam has had an immense pressure to win his first major. He’s been considered one of the best in the game to never have won a major, which is a title no one in the game really wants. It’s almost better to be seen as not being a great player so you don’t have such high expectations.
Adam also had the weight of an entire country on his shoulders. An Australian had never before won The Masters. There were many close calls including a few heartbreaking losses for Greg Norman, the biggest golfing star to emerge from Down Under.
Even with all the pressure Adam was able to win. His victory is a reminder of some timeless qualities in life that lead to success including with business blogging.
Blogging Is a Long-Term Strategy
I’m a big believer that golf mimics live in many ways. In both you’ll get your share of breaks. Some are good and some are bad. They almost always even out in the end. You can’t really control the breaks that come your way. The only thing you can control is how you respond.
Adam has had his share of bad breaks over the years including his failure to make just one par in last year’s Open Championship, which he lost despite having a four shot lead with four holes to go. He didn’t let the outcome get him down. He used the experience as a positive to motivate him to do well. He knew he could compete.
That’s a long-term thought process.
Golf is very much a long-term strategy. Adam and all other professional golfers have spent their lifetimes learning how to play golf at the highest level. A small tweak in strategy can tip the scales one way or the other, but it’s the sum of all the effort over the long-term that leads to success.
You aren’t going to launch a blog tomorrow and instantly have traffic, leads and sales. It takes time and hard work to build a collection of content that will deliver returns, but with all that hard work you can eventually reap the rewards for many years.
Overcoming Frustration
We just mentioned that Adam Scott blew his chance to win the Open Championship. Golf is a very frustrating game. There have been many, pros even, that have been taken to their knees by the game. The sum of all the bad breaks over the years can lead even the best to quit the game.
It’s the same with a business blog. There will be high levels of frustration. You’ll write a post you’re sure is a winner. You promote it and hear nothing but crickets. It’s a dud.
That is often enough to frustrate most people, which leads them to give up on blogging before they even have a chance to get started.
Failure is not a reason to quit. Failure is an opportunity to learn and overcome a challenge.
I always look up to golfers that turn bad breaks and failure into challenges.
Adam Scott turned his failure at the Open into an opportunity to win the next major. He now can say he has the courage and drive to take a huge hit and come back on top.
It’s an outlook we could all use in life and in business.