TIGER WOODS - 3 Quotes

I am a fan of excellence, and so the following quotes by golfing great Tiger Woods recently caught my attention:

"I smile at obstacles."

"My will can move mountains."

"I will do it with all my heart."

This is a great approach to solving problems and facing challenges in life.

"I smile at obstacles."

Most of the time, we cringe, avoid and complain when a tough obstacle layes in front of us. Unfortunately, none of that solves a problem. Often, problems just get worse.

Smiling at obstacles means we know that we're bigger than the problems facing us, because we know we will learn and become stronger and wiser through solving them.

Instead of complaining about challenges, we can see them as gifts. Most every problem or challenge comes with a gift in its hands. The gift is what we will learn through solving the problems and facing the challenges.

Problems and challenges can either define you or refine you.

"My will can move mountains"

What this quote means, I believe, is that when we focus our energy on the problems before us, they are in trouble. The ability to understand where you are, look at where you exactly want to go, create a plan to get there, and then work the plan for all you are worth brings incredible rewards.

"I will do it with all my heart"

I believe most people sleepwalk through life. Just stand outside a large office building on a Monday morning. You'll see people in trances, sleepwalking through their day.

Yet when we bring all our heart to any activity, we come alive and actually have the opportunity to live the way we say we want to.

All of us know folks who brings their whole heart to what they do. Don't you love being around them?

Why not be one of those people yourself?

When we bring our whole heart to a problem or challenge, it is easier to solve, and we just might have fun along the way.

There is a saying that there is a time in the life of every problem or challenge when it is big enough to notice, and small enough to solve easily.

When you bring these three skills to the table, you will notice problems early, solve them easily and grow more than you ever thought you would.

TIGER WOODS - SILENCES HIS CRITICS

What did we uncover after Tiger's win at the Memorial? For one, that the world's No. 1 player loves to silence his critics.

Woods hit all 14 fairways, something the world's No. 1 player had not done in six years and now has accomplished just six times in his PGA Tour career. He saw Woods hit 13 of 18 greens. He watched him somehow gouge a flop shot out of the deep rough that trundled into the hole for an eagle.

Woods hit approach shots stiff at the 17th and 18th holes that set up birdies to cap a final-round 65 and a 1-stroke victory over Jim Furyk.

"I tried not to watch him, but it's hard not to," said Letzig, who began the day tied with Woods, 4 shots back, and ended up tied for 14th. "Some of the shots are just unreal. He's a lot better than everybody else. It's tough because it's golf to us. The way he plays, the way he hits his irons ... it's unreal."

Woods made seven birdies, an eagle and two bogeys and won for the second time this year since coming back from knee surgery.

"It was just a matter of time," Woods said. "It came together this week."

"My practice sessions started getting longer at home," he said. "Hit more balls, play more golf, all these things. People don't realize you need to do that. You need to have that ability. You can't just think about your swing and how to be great the next day. I needed to do the reps and do some good practice sessions the past couple of weeks.

"I knew I could do this. It's just a matter of give me a little bit of time. I just came off a pretty extended break, and I was close to winning, but the game wasn't quite there when I really needed it on Sunday. I rectified that."

But his indifferent play at all three of those tournaments left him vulnerable to the critics. His game was second-guessed .

"I wish you'd all quit ticking him off," said Furyk, laughing, after a final-hole birdie left him 1 shot short of Woods. "Wish you'd quit chapping him so much and make him come back and keep proving stuff. Tiger Woods is always Tiger Woods. He can't be 100 percent every week, but I'm sure he answered a lot of questions today."

If you're keeping track, that's two victories in seven starts this year for Woods. He now trails tournament host Jack Nicklaus by six for second place on the all-time PGA Tour victory list.

TIGER - The Most Coachable

Renowned golf instructor Hank Haney got a surprising wake-up call at 6am. The voice on the other end belonged to his most renowned pupil, Tiger Woods, who is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Tiger wanted to know what the game plan was.

Woods underwent surgery on April 15, two days after he finished second in the Masters. It's the third time the knee has been scoped. The only thing Haney knows for sure is, Tiger won't compete again until he believes he's ready.

Haney explained. "He's kind of pointing toward playing in the open. Just so long as he can prepare like he normally prepares. That's all he cares about. The guy works so hard, it's incredible.”

"Rehab takes a lot of work. But that's not something that's difficult for him. He'll go above and beyond anything anyone else could possibly do to get ready.”

Tiger has won 13 majors, second on the all-time list, five behind Jack Nicklaus, the man he's been chasing since he was a kid growing up in Southern California. He has won nine of the last 12 times he's played. To go with two seconds and a fifth.

"He's the most coachable student I've ever had," Haney stressed. "I've never seen anyone who wants to learn more. He could care less about anything that he's already done. All he knows is, what are we doing today to get better than yesterday. And what are we going to work on tomorrow. That's the way he is, every single day. It's an absolute challenge. My job is to just try and point him in the right direction. He'll figure it out from there."

"That's what great ones do. With Michael Jordan, if a guy would say he was going to shut him down, he'd go for 60 points. If nobody said anything, he'd just go for 30. So whenever anyone says something I make sure Tiger knows about it.”

"For Tiger, this is just another hill to climb. He likes to climb hills, heck he likes to climb mountains. That's what he does. That's why he's Tiger Woods."