A tribute to the 99ers: We are not invisible.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A lesson from the eyes of Tiger.

Long before Tiger Woods was a punchline for late night talk shows he was the best golfer in the world. Ever. Maybe except for Bobby Jones but that's not pertinent to the rest of this, so Tiger Woods was the best golfer in the world. Ever.

In August, 1996 Tiger Woods left the collegiate ranks and became a pro golfer. From 1997 through 2007 Tiger was PGA Player of the year 9 times during those 11 years. What happened in 1998 (see #3) and 2004? Tiger Woods changed his golf swing. Why did he change his swing? In 1998 he wanted to become more consistent and versatile.  More consistent than "Player of the Year'? In 2004 he felt like he could become better. Better than "Player of the Year" the last 5 years? The old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" didn't apply. A self-driven need for excellence moved Tiger and both times the "lost year" paid off for multiple years that followed.  Tiger obviously understands the difference between investment and expense.

For 99ers the message is clear. Tiger was willing to change a successful formula and rebuild his swing to get even better.  As a 99er, I don't have to risk the downside of change.  I can re-evaluate my resume, job search, networking etc. without fear of failure. I can rethink my position on "surviving the new economy" to find ways to "thrive in the new economy". I'm already at/near the bottom.  The risk of not achieving is here.  Changes I make can only improve my prospects. The time for bold action is now.

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