Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Zen Golf


DON'T LET THE TITLE STOP YOU FOR REVIEWING THIS

Zen ( YOU Fill In The Blank)
By Dr. Joseph Parent

Date Review Posted:  February 18, 2013
Authors:  Dr. Joseph Parent
Release Date:  June 2002

  CCCCC  (A case could be made that I would only review the best of the best because if while reading a book it does not hold my interest, I would not finish it and therefore would not review it.)

Format:  If I had listed the actual title of the book a lot of people who have gotten this far would go no further because they don’t play golf.  That would be a HUGE mistake.  The title of the book is actually Zen Golf – Mastering The Mental Game. 

It could just as easily been entitled, Zen Life; or Zen Business; or Zen Selling; or just about Zen anything because the principles discussed by Dr. Parent apply to all of these and more but especially “life”, not just golf

Reason For Reading THIS book:  I am a golfer so when I saw the title of the book, it intrigued me.  After I read the book, I immediately purchased the book on CD.  At the time I taught a lot of real estate classes and the principles contained in the book aided me tremendously in my teaching skills.  As stated above, it could and does apply to just about any business or anyone’s life in general.

Number Of Times I Have Read This Book:  Three times plus listened to the CD several times while traveling.

Brief Summary of Content:   Zen Golf is only 200 pages in length.  I say this because I usually list the title of each chapter to pique interest.  However, there are too many, 78 in all, to list.  Each chapter can stand alone in regards to content; you don’t need to read one to read another.  The following are a few examples, most are not self-explanatory:

Empty Your Cup (personal favorite; great for teachers)
Four Kinds of Students (personal favorite; great for teachers)
Thinking Outside the Box (personal favorite; great for teachers)
Cover the Roads with Leather
How Big Is Your Mind?
You Are Not Your Thoughts
Basic Goodness
Unconditional Confidence
Clearing the Interference
The vividness of the Moment
Bacon and Eggs Breakfast (personal favorite, great for teachers)
More Curious Than Afraid
Avoid the Anyways
Dive Under the Waves
Cool, Calm and Collected
Listen to Your Intuition
Cultivating and Strengthening Awareness
Synchronizing Body and Mind
Give Up Control to Get Control
You Produce What You Fear
Can You Put A Cat In A Box
To Care or Not to Care
How to Make a Flower blossom
Pebbles in the Bowl
Untie the Sandbags
Fire Your Evil Caddie (I especially like this one)
Accentuate the Positive
Uplifted Body, Uplifted Mind
You Can’t Stop The Waves, but You Can Learn to Surf
Why Are You Still Carrying Her?  (Another personal favorite)
Gentle, Inquisitive, Fearless

About the book:  What did I learn from it?  About 90% of the book is NOT about golf at all, it is about life in general and your attitude towards it.  Dr. Parent opens your mind to be more aware about what you are thinking and how to think better thoughts to help you achieve whatever it is you want to achieve.  Even the 10% that is related to golf could just as easily apply to sales, management, teaching, research, etc.

The best part is that Dr. Parent reinforces his points with stories and examples you will not soon forget.  When faced with a situation in my real estate business I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have instantly recalled a story from the book that helped me to respond as compared to react to the situation.


Who Should Read the Book?    Everyone!  Not just golfers!


Final Test:  Would I read the book again?  ABSOLUTELY AND I WILL!

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