As a child, I was captivated by people who did extraordinary things. The American space age was in full swing, and after the rumble in the jungle, Mohammed Ali was the most famous athlete on the planet. In this age, there were many inspiring geniuses. My source of inspiration was sports, and I would watch for hours superstar athletes on a black-and-white TV.
My Heroes were world boxing champion Mohammed Ali, athletics stars Daily Thomson, and Alberto Juantorena, football players Yohan Crouf, Gordon Banks, and Pele, tennis icons John Mcenroe, Boris Becker, and Stephi Graf, Austrian skier Franz Klammar, golfers Seve Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson.
Little did I know as I grew up and travelled with the European Golf tour I would on occasion bump into some of these superstar athletes and engage in conversation.
From my experiences and observations on the European Tour, I realized that one of the most important factors that determine the success of an athlete is the number of inspirational people that surround them. This was evident when I was asked to join the 2014 Ryder Cup team at the Gleneagles Country Club.
What was significant about this event was the fact that team captain Paul McGinley created an inspirational environment for his team. There were effigies of the late Seve Ballesteros one of the greatest Ryder Cup players of all time on every wall. His message to the team was also televised daily. Additionally, there were motivational speakers from successful teams from other sports. For example, Alex Ferguson from Manchester United Football Club.
Former captains who had led successful Ryder Cup teams in the past were also present, such as Jose Maria Olazabal and Sam Torrance. There were also accomplished players from the last European victory in Medina, such as Nicolas Colsaerts and Luke Donald. Major winners such as Padraig Harrington and Nick Faldo, were also present and respected multiple tour winners such as Miguel Jimenez were helping the team. Even the fish in the fish tanks were white and blue, the colours of the European Team.
In addition to this infusion, the team itself contained many of the protagonists from the victory at Medina in 2012. Medina had witnessed the greatest comeback from a European team in the history of the sport. The victory is now known as the miracle in Medina. Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy were part of that team and throughout the tournament, they constantly bequeathed their stories of this famous episode in golfing history.
Significantly, it should be noted, that despite their victory at Medina in 2012, the 2014 European team were underdogs. Indeed, most of the players had poor form and the mighty Americans were dominating the scene on the PGA tour. Despite the disadvantage, the 2014 Ryder Cup team ended up with one of the biggest victories in Ryder Cup history.
This awesome personal experience made me realise inspirational people make a big difference and are essential for excellence in performance and success.