Special Invitation for Members
We all know how important persistence can be in golf. And that one of the secrets of being persistent is knowing that “the minute ago does not matter, what matters is the minute to come”. When we keep that in mind, we do not allow for a bad shot to take our enthusiasm away. Unexpectedly, we make that “masters shot” and think “it is possible after all…”. That is what keeps us going ahead until the end and coming back again another day.
Life spends life trying to teach that. One day I received this chronicle in my e-mail, which, in other words, said that we, the adults, should be ashamed of losing enthusiasm after failure, for the only reason why we ever learned to walk is because the child in us never gave up even after so many falls. Children never lose hope.
Well, if the idea was to make me feel shame, it worked and it came at the right time, because, in that exact moment, I was really down. That same chronicle yet made its way to having me remembering about this particular class in college when we were studying about Aleijadinho’s life, a great character in the History of Brazil. This man, due to leprosy, lost one arm and half the other, also one leg and half the other, and his nose. Still, with a little sledgehammer tied to what was left of his arm and a knife in his mouth, he managed to sculpture one of a World Heritage Site: amongst other things, 12 statues representing the 12 apostles, in the city of São João Del Rey, state of Minas Gerais. His life story also made me feel ashamed. The shame of having ever said that I could not do whatever it was. From that class on, I decided never to say “I can’t”. In fact, the example he set is what helped me face many situations which I could spend a whole day telling you about. I did not give up, and overcame each one of them.
I am sure that you have overcome many challenges in your life. And if you think about it, you will see that in all of them your victory was due to your willing, believing and persisting. You will also notice that the greatness of your victory has nothing to do with the size of your problem, but with how big you are before it. Every challenge has an index, and every soul a handicap.
Now, here I am facing another one. One which is not just mine, but ours. For marketing is the result of each others’ attitudes. Each time we welcome a visitor, throw the rubbish in the proper place, repair one divot… we are increasing the value of our club and attracting more people to our space and to our sport. Every time I arrive and look at our yet-so-young golf course with so many things still to be done, I see a baby like the one in the picture above and remember my child heart. That, which would not get intimidated by the never ending floor between a couch and a chair. My sight was always focusing on the chair, never on the extension of what kept me from it. Only this time, the chair is a course filled with flowers and many child hearts striving to overcome their handicaps. And the floor is the fact that the contribution we give every month for maintenance, cannot buy and place that many flowers, and the fact that none of us can do all that all by themselves in such a little time.
Thus, my invitation is in fact a call out to, on July 3rd, together, our child hearts defeat an 18-whole course by planting, every two or three of us, one little garden in each tee. No matter the handicap. In a Stableford Match Play Scramble, everybody wins! HERE IS THE PLAN
Marina Leal
MARKETING :: LAS PALMAS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
Category: news
