Passion Over Talent–Each and Every Time!
The Ryder Cup is an awesome event and one the Baby Boomer so looks forward to watching every two years. Unfortunately, for Team USA, even with “homefield” advantage and, “on paper”, the most talented, bowed to Team Europe for the second straight time. Why? Well, I believe the answer is quite simple–it’s passion over talent each and every time!
Hey, there’s no doubt the Ryder Cup field presents you with 24 of the most talented golfers in the world. Yes, overall, Team USA “on paper” was the more talented team, but here you have 22 of the top 30 golfers in the world participating in this magnificent event with each and every golfer being so very talented.
Granted, “homefield” advantage when the Ryder Cup is played in America isn’t really an advantage as most of the Europeans have a home here and play year-round on the PGA Tour. So, this year’s Ryder Cup was basically being played on level and equal terms. WTBS it’s obvious passion was the determining factor in who won this year’s Ryder Cup.
In the Baby Boomer’s humble opinion, the Americans will always be at a somewhat disadvantage merely because they’re “privileged”. Yes, they’re raised in America, many of their fathers are golf professionals, they live the country club life, and have been taught the game since childhood–“privileged”! While, on the other hand, none of this is necessarily the case when it comes to the Europeans. Another determining factor is when you’re considered to be “privileged”, you are also made to feel special. Special people, at times, become prima donnas who carry a very high opinion of themselves making it difficult for them to be good team members. This makes it so much more difficult to be passionate or to inspire passion in those who aren’t good team members.
Of course, this is where the Ryder Cup Captains come into play with their number one goal being to inspire their team to work together as a team in creating passion and team spirit. Yes, the Ryder Cup Captain is the leader, but again the key is whether he truly possesses the necessary leadership skills to truly lead.
This year’s USA Ryder Cup Captain was Keegan Bradley who initially failed to instill the passion necessary to ensure victory for the USA Team. Yes, he himself appears to be passionate, but only in an emotional way seemingly to be all over the place with his highs and lows. Truly, not a formula for success and certainly an individual who did his very best just falling short after an embarrassing start due to his lacking leadership skills. Although the USA Team finally, on the last day, showed some passion and almost made a miraculous comeback to win the Ryder Cup.
On the other hand, the European Team Captain was Luke Donald who created a passion in his team which led them to victory in a very cool, calm, and collected manner–he exudes leadership skills! He also had help and used it to his advantage due to the obnoxious and foul-mouthed NY fan base who were so shamefully pitiful. Folks, a fan roots enthusiastically for their team while showing respect for the opposition! Remember, at the end of the day it’s just a game and only a form of entertainment.
When creating the team we did at JL, while in the transportation industry, we merely drove our clients safely from point A to point B. Hey, it wasn’t rocket science, we didn’t cure cancer, solve world hunger, nor create world peace, but what we did was done to the best of our ability and with passion. Experience was gained through frequency and repetition which required you to be disciplined and practice good habits. To be disciplined requires self-discipline which means you do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it even when you don’t want to do it! We were passionate!
Folks, I certainly understand the importance and need of talent in order to be successful. However, talent without passion leads to unfulfillment. Passion provides the necessary motivation and drive to endure and overcome challenges ultimately leading to success. Passion is an innate characteristic which comes deeply from within and is the difference between winning and losing. For me, it’s passion over talent–each and every time!!