Brian Manzella
Administrator
Winning is not a sometimes thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have never been on the Top 100 or Top 50 lists, never won National Teacher of The Year, never been on the best seller list, or have never stood on the 18th green when a player of mine won a Major. There are other nice accolades, but they are not what the best strive for. The best strives to be first. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.
Every time a golf instructor goes to ply his trade he's got to teach from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to teach. Some guys teach with their heads. That's O.K. you've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to teach with your heart, with every fiber of your body. You've got to want to learn better information, and better ways to implement that information everyday. If you're lucky enough to find a guy to teach you with a lot of head and a lot of heart, who never stops learning or improving, you've got a teacher for life.
Running a teaching organization is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.
It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.
And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.
I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.
There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have never been on the Top 100 or Top 50 lists, never won National Teacher of The Year, never been on the best seller list, or have never stood on the 18th green when a player of mine won a Major. There are other nice accolades, but they are not what the best strive for. The best strives to be first. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.
Every time a golf instructor goes to ply his trade he's got to teach from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to teach. Some guys teach with their heads. That's O.K. you've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to teach with your heart, with every fiber of your body. You've got to want to learn better information, and better ways to implement that information everyday. If you're lucky enough to find a guy to teach you with a lot of head and a lot of heart, who never stops learning or improving, you've got a teacher for life.
Running a teaching organization is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.
It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.
And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.
I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.
