How to courageously create a life and build a legacy you love?
“Leadership means to take control of you, to be the driving force of your life and decisions.” - Justin Burrowes.
Being honest with yourself about what you want to do with your life, even when it flies in the face of other people’s expectations is the first step to taking control, the second, is being courageous and bold in charting the course and taking the required actions! Justin ended his junior golfing career as the back-to-back 18 and under Caribbean Champion. His next step is moving from Amateur Golfer to Professional golfer.
Full disclosure, Justin is my son!
He discovered golf at age 6, and at that time, he was more interested in riding in the golf cart, but that quickly changed to playing. He says one of his early and impactful memories was “being out on the course, I was mainly interested in driving up and down the rolling hills in the golf cart. I enjoyed being outdoors, taking in the terrain and the scenery. In hindsight, it was important because it’s a great reminder of one of the reasons why I play!”
Now with over ten years of experience in playing, the 21-year-old golf champion’s mindset has transformed exponentially. He is playing the long game. He understands there is so much that goes in to getting where he wants to go.
Here are 3 tips that he believes are essential for every leader, whether it’s your life you’re leading or your company!
1. Embrace Failure.
Though this may be difficult, the golf champion believes that all losses are great opportunities for learning and growth. After going through multiple losses before becoming one of the Caribbean’s best golfers, he believes that the losses are great lessons and if you are willing to go beyond the immediate disappointment, the lessons can set you up for great successes.
Justin accepts that sometimes you can get caught up in licking your wounds after a loss or failure, but if you accept that games always have winners and losers and the only thing that changes are the players, then a big mindset shift can take place. You can start to notice what got you the results without beating yourself up, what you did well and what areas require some additional work and then create a plan for the next round and what you will do in- between rounds.
One of the things I notice Justin does very well is he moves forward with good enough, always ready and willing to step up to the plate. He does not allow perfection to hinder progress. He tweaks and adjust as he goes.
2. Choose the right environment.
While you can’t always control your environment, you can control your perspective about it and make it work for you. “Because I grew up in Jamaica, I didn’t have the golf resources that other people in other environments have. Most other countries, even those within the Caribbean like San Juan and Dom Rep have far more resources, in terms of quality golf courses, training facilities, equipment, variety of golf coaches, country and community support as well as competition. I understood how important my environment is to my outcome and so I created my own environment that prepared me to compete at the highest level. What that meant was, I was mindful of the people I surrounded myself with, I became very attuned to how they impacted my energy and attention”.
Justin realized how influential your environment is on decisions, which led him to understanding the power of choice and that even poor decisions are powerful learning opportunities. Ultimately, he believes that your ideal environment may not always feel comfortable, instead, see it as a place where you can grow into becoming your best self.
3. Know yourself.
All of us have the opportunity to uncover and discover ourselves. It is our willingness to accept that our outcomes are directly linked to what we think and believe. Justin says “If you are willing to learn about yourself, understand why you do what you do and address what you discover with compassion and care, you will make the biggest step in living to your full potential. When you do this, you will bring awareness to yourself about what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are; both will give you insights on what to focus on and what areas you can further develop. Instead of seeing your weaknesses as weak, see them as opportunities to become super-powers”.
Justin quickly recognized that he was not a patient person and sometimes that impatience cost him a round and sometimes it cost the quality of a relationship. He practiced being patient on the golf course to work on that area of himself and now prides himself on patience being one of his superpowers.
No matter your career or where you are in your life now, we are all leaders of our own lives. Take time to reflect on what being a leader means to you. Then decide on where you want to go.
I’m Nadine Seaga and I’m a Mindset & Leadership Coach, Founder & Chief Energy Officer (CEO) of People Development Consultants. I can help you to harness your full potential and the full potential of those you lead! Check out my website at www.pdconsults.com for more information or shoot me an email at nadine@pdconsults.com to connect and get started on this life-changing work.