“Some people love to lead
And some refuse to dance.
Some play it safely, other take a chance.
Still it’s all a mystery
This place we call the world
Where most live as oysters
While some become pearls.”
– Lyric from Jimmy Buffett’s “Oysters and Pearls”
It’s Masters Week, which is sort of a religious experience for me. My wife calls my condition an “unhealthy attachment” to the game of golf. She may be right, especially this week. That said, Jimmy’s lyrics summon up a consideration of what makes one great. It is something of a mystery, but consider the words of Alfred Wright in Sports Illustrated, circa 1963.
“Jack Nicklaus’ dominance is overwhelming and inevitable as nightfall. He is absolutely too strong, too determined, too skillful to be side-tracked or delayed.”
Jack is still the best to have ever played the game of golf. How can we learn from his example?
Strength can be built — of muscle or of mind. Determination is a decision. Skill can be honed.
Difference makers are as inevitable as nightfall. They love to lead.
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