Extraordinary Results

Extraordinary results are achieved by focusing in golf.  It's really the practice not the play.

In marketing or in any business it's essentially lead generation.  Where will you be without clients?  It's the "One Thing" that is necessary each day.

In golf,

It's grinding away at every shot and focusing on the end result.

It's when you're ready to throw in the towel and then you perservere just one more time.

It's when your spirit says "no" but God says "yes you can" that differences are made and seen.

Today will be spent practicing for the break through that can only come when focus and practice come together.  It's what we're expecting to happen and by God's grace it will.

Getting Ready For Independence

As our forefathers acknowledged, we are a nation under God and created equal in every aspect of our lives.  While we are all equal we are not all gifted in the same pursuits.  As we near the next tournament, there is much cause for celebration because we are free to perform not only expressing our God given talents but displaying the evidence of lessons learned and practiced.

It is imcumbent on us all to realize that the freedom to pursue our dreams is directly related to costs other have paid for this freedom. We acknowledge those in our family who have served to keep our country free our grandfather, Horace Self who fought as a Marine in the South Pacific in WWII and his brothers Grady and Frank who served in the Marines and Airforce respectively during WWII, and Billy the youngest who served during the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missle crisis.  Grandfather Fritz Dillenberg who served during the Korean Conflict, our uncle who served in Viet Nam, my brother served in the Army (two tours in Iraq and one in Korea) and currently my brother-in-law Marshall Moore who is active duty in the Airforce.  It is to all of these that have served as well as millions of other Americans who have proudly put their lives on the line for our freedom that we owe our opportunities.  Without our freedom there would be no golf tournaments, public or private corporations or citizens who are free to pursue their dreams whatever they might be.

That is why our Founding Fathers acknowledged God as the source of our rights: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. . . . For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred honor. That is why we are able to celebrate our Independance Today and are free to pursue our hopes and dreams.  Tomorrow we will chase our dreams with vengeance.

Deal of the Day: Save 50% off God's Promises for the American Patriot on July 3rd with coupon code FGDAILY at checkout!

Frustrating Start

Excitement in seeing old friends and the hope of a good first tournament plagued the focus of the weary traveler.  Months of daily pratice and hard work finishing up with these great students has taken it's toll.  One could observe that it has been a good year full of painful growth that culminated with a successful year of teaching.  From the beginning, it was known to all, that this wouldn't be a cake walk. In the end we are hopeful that the development of these young minds has been sparked with the fuel of enlightenment through the encouragement and caring devotion of their teacher resulting in a taste for achievement.

This summer brings the test of discipline, focus and determination.  To put all of this in perspective, golfers are basically like the CEO's of the top 200 corporations not only in the United States but in Europe, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia and many other countries.  A golfer must be at the top of his physical strength, emotional health and training to endure.  One must attribute the combination of these traits to God given abilities as well as a continual dependance upon the one who created the Universe and has the power to affect every result.  CEO's begin their preparation with prep schools, universities and graduate schools that produce the finest education and prepare their graduates for high achievement.

Love for the game of golf begins early, education and training lasts a lifetime, and achieving the goal of becoming a winner on the tour is a result of these combined efforts as well as divine intervention.  If you observe most of the stars on the tour, they are humbled when it all comes together for them and know that they haven't accomplished their goals on their own.  Thus it is in this game of life God elevates those who acknowledge His presence when He is ready to do so.  The Bible says "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt You at the proper time."  We don't know what the future holds but we know who holds the future.

In preparing for the next tournament we're preparing with a new coach and new techniques and a lot of practice.  Not sure if this is right but it seems we were pointed in this direction.  This is no longer just for fun and socialization.  It's a life focus.  It's being the best by eliminating distractions, working hard, doing our best and leaving the results to our creator.

Thanks to you all for following our efforts.  It's a wonderful opportunity for growth and hopefully enlightenment!

Today's practice round complete and all is well.  Buying a fishing license this evening in hope's of catching Walleye.  Napped and watched a movie this afternoon.  Tonight catching up with old friends in Yankton and getting ready for qualifier tomorrow.  Praying that practice results in good results.  Nite nite.

2013 Dakota's Tour Begins

After leaving for Kansas City last Saturday, Stephen connected with his friend and former co-worker Chad and enjoyed a round of golf in Kansas City that he arranged. From there traveled to Sioux Falls, SD and played golf on Sunday with Derrick a sponsor in last years Sioux Falls event.  Derrick and his wife are so excited to be expecting their first child in the near future and the visit was very enjoyable.

Hit the road on Monday morning and arrived at grandmother Schweitzer's, in Jamestown, ND around noon.  After some lunch, left to meet my last summer's coach to pick up some clubs he had m ade for me.  Showed him my swing and he called his students out to watch me hit.  That's a really good feeling.  Think I'm off to a good start.

Traveled to Vermillion on Wednesday and checked into camp grounds.  Tried out the new A/C that my brother and I installed in his conversion van that he let me borrow for the trip and it works well. Should sleep like a baby tonight. Practice round today, qualifier tomorrow then tournament play, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Got a good feeling about this one!

Real Estate Investments for Golfers (Others too)

In a recent Forbes blog post, multimillionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson declared that today’s record-low interest rates made this the best time to buy homes in fifty years. “If you don’t own a home, buy one,” Paulson said. “If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.” Why should we care what Paulson thinks? Well, he was among the few to accurately predict the subprime collapse and, while no one has a crystal ball, a closer look at the numbers supports his call to action.
Historically low interest rates are the key…and they aren’t likely to hang around for long.
As we wrote in SHIFT, buyers who “choose to wait until prices come down more” are gambling that interest rates will hold steady or drop. The truth is even a 10 percent drop in home prices is nullified by a 1 percent increase in interest rates. The figure below illustrates how this works for a $250,000 home purchase and the relative likelihood of each scenario.
To figure out which was a smarter bet–counting on home prices to fall further or interest rates to rise–our research department took the last ten years of monthly home price and mortgage interest rate data and ran the numbers to see which was more likely: an increase in mortgage rates or a further drop in home prices. Here’s what we found:
A one percent increase in mortgage rates is ten times more likely to happen than a ten percent drop in home prices.
A one percent rate increase more than offsets a ten percent reduction in home prices.
When interest rates fall by one percent, the total interest paid is almost three times more than the interest savings from a ten percent drop in home prices.
The probability of both happening at the same time is ridiculously small, and homeowners would still pay 15 percent more in interest over the life of the loan.
Interest rates have dominated the news in recent months as we’ve shattered record low after record low. Potential home buyers need to understand the positive financial impact low interest rates have on the cost of home ownership and the thousands of dollars that can be saved over the life of a typical mortgage loan. For those who can afford to buy, trade up, or invest, our current market presents a lifetime opportunity.

Arnold's Park Practice Round

Today golfer and fellow competitor played the front nine of the course during a practice round. They are looking forward to the tournament tomorrow and really enjoying the surroundings.

After the round, traveled to a house provided by the tournament. It is an amazing home of some generous friends of the tournament. (Golfer is pictured outside the home)

Attended a meet and greet at the golf course tonight and a wonderful meal was provided. (two of the golfer's favorites were served for dinner (Prime Rib and Cherry Cream Cheese Pie).

They are on the way back to the home and are going swimming with their host family tonight and looking forward to the competition tomorrow.