That’s an adaptation of a quote by golfing great Bobby Jones. It’s a reference to the fact that success in golf is largely  mental . You can have all the natural talent you wish, but your mindset is the difference between talent and being a winner. Look at Tiger Woods. For years he dominated the sport. A big change in his personal life and how it’s affected his mind, have reduced him to just another pro golfer. Will he win again? Only time will tell. However, the key to Tiger rising to the top of his sport once again, is between his own ears. If Tiger can regain his focus, and tune out all the internal noise, he may once again rise to greatness.

The same applies to networking. It’s all between your ears, all in your mind. You can master all the concepts, strategies and ideas on Earth, but your mindset is the key. As I mentioned in the golf example above, the difference between mediocrity and greatness is all up to you.

What holds talented people back in life. sports and business? The difference is in how they think.  Fear and self doubt are the enemy. The ability to tune them out and focus on winning is what makes us great… or not. Why should what you think matter, when it comes to networking? What difference would it make anyway? Back to our golfing example for a moment. In the 2008 US Open Championship, Tiger was 1 stroke behind going to the 18th green. He needed to make a rather long putt, in order to force a playoff. Not only did he make the putt, it was done before he ever hit the ball. Why is that? Tiger knew the ball was going to go in. You could see it in his eyes, the focus, determination and the vision to make that high pressure putt. Would another golfer have made the putt, and extended the tournament to a playoff? I doubt it. Tiger was in a zone that few of his peers will ever know. Tiger went on to win the 2008 US Open, by forcing another playoff by making a second 18th green, high pressure putt. His opponent finally erred and Tiger won $1.35 million. Fast forward 3 years, and I don’t think Tiger could do what he did in 2008, or any of the other 70+ tournaments he has won.

In networking you MUST have the right frame of mind. You MUST believe in yourself. You MUST be able to see yourself as a winner. You MUST have the ability to tune out the self doubt and fear. If not, you will FAIL to be a winner. Do you want more business? Do you want better and stronger relationships? Do you want to be focused, strategic, and results driven. you CAN do it. Your mindset is all that keeps you from achieving great things.