Unless you’ve been quarantined at a military facility in Roswell after a close encounter of the third kind, you’ve heard of Tim Tebow. The starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos elicits an all or none response from virtually everyone. You either love Tim Tebow or you hate him. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t have a vehement opinion on the guy. But whether you want to hug Timmy or punch him in the neck, his motivation, attitude, and work ethic are second to none–and those are a couple of lessons we could all benefit from.
Attitude and Motivation
I have never seen a guy with more faith in his teammates and his staff. The guy is so humble it’s almost sickening. In interview after interview, Tebow told reporters he knew he wasn’t a top quarterback, that he knew he couldn’t have pulled off those wins without the help of his teammates and coaching staff. Then he brushed off their criticism and negativity like it was snow falling in his hair. No one can tell Tim Tebow anything he doesn’t already know. He understands his downfalls and knows what he needs to do to improve–and he goes out and tries to do it. He refuses to listen to the haters who tell him he’s never going to be better. He believes that he can succeed with hard work (and maybe a little divine intervention) and doesn’t let anyone influence him negatively.
Work Ethic
Tim Tebow knows he’s never going to be a Joe Montana or a Peyton Manning. He knows he’s not the biggest, the toughest, the fastest person on the field, but he works day in and day out to improve. He is constantly striving to get better. In 2008, the year Florida won the National Title, Tebow didn’t lose a game all year–until he played Ole Miss. The Rebels beat the Gators 31-30. After the game, Tebow stood on the podium and did something he was entirely unaccustomed to–he apologized. “I’m sorry. I’m extremely sorry,” he said. “We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida’s never done here. But I promise you one thing: a lot of good will come out of this.” And then he vowed to be better. “You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season and you’ll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season, and you’ll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of this season.” And they didn’t lose another game all season. Florida ended the season with a record of 13-1 and went on to win the National Title game against the Oklahoma Sooners.
But what does this have to do with golf, you’re asking? Maybe you don’t have the natural talent of Tiger Woods. Maybe golf will never be an easy game for you no matter how much you love it. But with the right attitude and work ethic, your game will improve. You only need to believe it (and work hard) to achieve it.
Tee Time at Ole Miss 