You’re a Little Off Balance…. You Need Rhythm Too!

In early April I knew I was going to be completely absorbed in the opening of our new business venture and that stress levels could become elevated from time to time; I needed a way to deflate that stress. I tried yoga and I liked it but I wanted an outdoor sporting activity where I could also make some new friends. I envisioned my late business partner and mentor sitting me down and whispering in my ear, “Ike, you are starting a new business and you need to get out there and do something fun! Make new friends, challenge yourself, try something brand new – why not play some golf?” S.D.B. always knew how to press those buttons!

I thought about trying it out more than once. I always said, “Who has the time for golf?” I’m now into my fourth month of learning to play and the other day Richie Packish, the PGA golf pro at Spanish Wells Country Club took hold of my arm and said, “Ike, your balance is not so hot and you really need to work on your posture! Let’s take a few weeks off from lessons and you hit the gym and do those exercises I gave you! Balance and rhythm is everything in developing a good golf swing!” “You need good posture too.” Richie said as he walked away bouncing the golf ball on the face of the head of the club.

So, how did I get out of balance, have crummy posture and no rhythm? I thought about this the other day and it seems while I was expanding my horizons on sabbatical, I kind of let myself go - physically. Gained a few pounds, stopped working out and worst of all - stopped taking long walks around the neighborhood or the beach. I needed to change my habits and make time for what I needed as much as for what I wanted. How could I change things around so that I wanted what I needed!

I had participated in a special training a few years back that addressed this very thing. I took out my notes from the training sessions and I immediately knew which technique I had to employ to change old habits to new habits. I had to visualize myself as a thinner, light-on-his feet golfer; who swung the club with grace, rhythm and aplomb. These techniques are explained in sports books like “The Inner Game of Tennis – The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance” by Timothy Galleway. http://tinyurl.com/22sgdj2

Often, I am looking in my schedule to find time for not only practicing or playing golf, but also getting to the gym and going for walks on the beach! If we tie changing habits to accomplishing something we need, we will be more inclined to do it! When we tie changing habits to something we enjoy it’s easier to make the changes.

He Said, “Bring the big stick!”

Do you like getting an expert’s opinion? Doing things by trial and error is frustrating, time consuming and expensive. Two months ago, I decided to learn how to play golf. I value the advice of two experts; my cousin Bruce, who generously gave me some golf clubs and Richie the golf pro, who’s teaching me how to play. My cousin ‘took apart’ the local golf store to find used clubs to round out the set. He made sure they were just perfect for me! I learned from Richie the pro, that cousin Bruce found a high quality used driver that would cost at least $400 brand new. My entire set of clubs, including the used irons and woods; re-gripping and bag costs only $400. It sure pays to rely upon the voice of experience. I saved lots of time and money!

I’ve done some homework these past two months. I discovered there’s a lot more to golf then I ever could imagine. I learned how important it is to play with a set of clubs that match my ability level. My web research revealed, “Whilst it's tempting to use the big stick, how often are you really going to be using it on course? The driver is a hard club for a beginner to control. The majority of beginners would be better served with a 3 wood to achieve decent results”. I avoided practicing with the driver until a recent lesson when Richie said “bring the big stick to the range.” “Oh no, I thought, I haven’t taken even one swing with it.” It turns out I have a natural swing with the driver and it is the strongest part of my game. Every player is unique and every situation is different.

When I was a CPA practitioner, clients would often ask,” What would you do? My answer:” I can provide you with accurate information and all my experience and expertise. I can be an objective sounding board and together we can examine all the options available for you to make a sound business decision. However, you are always the best judge of what is right for you.

I like to work with experts, but I trust my business intuition, experience, training and common sense. My father was an expert with tools and home improvement. “I use my ‘know how’ to set up the project in my mind. Once the project begins I use my ‘gut feelings’ to actually do the job!” This also applies when working with experts and consultants. Before the project begins, do your homework and ask practical questions. Once the project begins, make sure it’s progressing according to your needs. Give your constant input along the way.

It’s wise to seek the advice of experts in all areas of life. Keep doing your homework until the project is finished. You will want your consultant to see the whole picture… to understand your personal goals and aspirations. Rely on your consultant’s expertise to present options and choices and rely on yourself to make the best decisions for your future.

Breaking Away!

I originally wrote this blog entry for our new website that will be launched on July 12th, or perhaps July 15th. Hopefully you will be seeing parts of this blog post again very soon. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you may recall me mentioning it earlier when I said it would be launched July 5th. Those of you who have launched a website, or a business or even a blog... I'm sure you can appreciate this (flexible) time line. Hopefully the upcoming launch also explains the 2 week gap from my last blog post!

After completing this post for the new website (due sometime in July!), I realized that it would be the next chapter in the story I began sharing in my initial blog post here on "From Scratch to Riches." So allow me to share with you how we got to scratch...

Sitting on the steps of the New York City Library I was filled with self doubt and questioning whether I had made the right decision. I had just left the accounting firm I helped build. I was there for fourteen years. I broke away from the firm and I was on my own. Even though I had advised hundreds of businesses concerning their finances I had never been in control of my very own business. Sitting between the famous Library Lions on those steps I truly felt I was walking into a jungle with nothing but my wits and intuition to guide me. In reality, this was not the case, because I was equipped with training and experience... but I sure was nervous!

As a partner in a regional CPA firm in New York City, I was responsible for internal operations. I developed the billing and management systems and trained the junior accountants during their first year. When I joined the firm there was three partners, two bookkeepers and me. I was the accounting staff.

When I left we had close to 60 employees, 5 partners and three offices in NYC, Chicago and West Palm Beach, Fl. The growth of the firm had been phenomenal. I suggested to the other partners that we modernize our internal systems. I was put in charge of the project. I still remember walking into the office of the most senior partner and his bald head just visible over the pages of his huge client ledger book. All he needed was a quill pen and a green eye shade and he would have looked like he came right out of a Dickens’s novel. This was going to be a big challenge indeed!

Over the next several years I gained valuable experience upgrading the management systems of the firm and spearheading the conversion of our client base from manual books to automated systems. The accounting world was in the midst of huge changes due to the development of the personal computer and I was in the eye of the storm. Actually, this situation reminds me of today, how some businesses are embracing social media marketing while others are resisting using it. Twenty-five years ago some small businesses were resisting automation itself!

As it turned out, my fears and worries never came to pass, my clients followed me, new clients developed and before long I had a staff of four to manage. This was a new business but it was not started from scratch. I started with several clients, a line of credit with the bank and a reputation that invited referrals. I bought a state of the art computer system which had 3 terminals, a magnetic tape backup system, and used 40 megabytes of memory. Yes, that’s right 40 megs. It cost $ 20,000 too!

But this time I am starting from scratch. We have computers, access to capital, and state of the art management systems. But our new client base is entirely from scratch; as my wife (and co-founder of our business), and I develop new friendships, new contacts and build new collaborations from scratch. We've already made new friends, joined new clubs, taken on new hobbies and interests. All things you do when you are starting from scratch.; not even realizing all the benefits in learning new things and building new relationships.

Ironically in golf, scratch is a good thing; a very good thing. To be a scratch golfer means you shoot par or better. I think scratch may very well be a good thing all around.