What has worked in the past? I keep notes of lessons and things like that. So you know, you go back and you look over, is that the right thing I need to be doing right now? I'm working well, I'm working at the right things, I've got the right information. You know, if you've got those three things, then everything will be fine. The best lessons come from your own experiences. That is, if you take the time to capture them. Welcome to Howl Leaders Lead. I'm David Novak and every week I have conversations with the very best leaders in the world to help you become the best leader that you can be. Well, it's April and that means we can all officially start getting into master 's mode. I know I am and after this episode, you will be too, because today I'm talking with Danny Willett. He's a professional golfer in the 2016 master's champion. He won his green jacket and one of the wildest Sunday back nines I can remember . And in today's episode, he tells a story from that day that you absolutely cannot miss. You'll also see that Danny is a thoughtful and intentional guy. He's great at documenting his own experiences and learning from that habit has helped him refine his game and it's helped him pivot when things aren't working. Because let's face it, just like golf leadership is full of ups and downs, but when you're intentional about tracking your progress and reflecting on it, it's a lot easier to fix what's not working and get back on track. So here's my conversation with my good friend, and soon to be yours, Danny Wil lett. I had the distinct pleasure of getting to play with you. You weren't my partner , but I got to play with you in the Seminole Pro member and you were so much fun to play with you were laid back. When you play in a real golf tournament, you know, a tour event. How does your demeanor shift or does it? Yeah, I think it's changed over the years. I think it was probably really, really serious when I first got on tour and then, you know, I'm not, I'm not old, but I'm not young. You know, being on tour for 15 years, you kind of, you realize that if you're serious all the time, it's just hard. It's tiring. It's mentally exhausting. So yeah, I've tried to get a little bit more laid back. I think it helps. It helps me perform better. It helps me enjoy the game better . I'm really lucky. I get to play golf for a living. So, you know, you should be enjoying it anyway. So, so yeah, try to be good. If I could be more like that, like I was at Semin ole every time, I think, you know, I'd probably play better anyway. I was going to ask you, you know, how hard is it, you know, when you're, when you're, you got the Masters coming up to how challenges is it to just get that kind of relaxed energy and fun perspective when you're walking around the grounds of Augusta National. I find it really hard. It's a really tough balance and like between you're trying to take your job seriously. You're trying to be as professional as you can, but actually then also knowing that when you play with your friends and like when we played and you're in that relaxed state and enjoying it, you're enjoying it. You actually enable yourself to play better anyway. So, it 's a really fine line. I think that I think that certain guys over the years have done it incredibly well professionally. And then certain guys, you can see it almost put too much pressure on when they 're playing and take it too seriously and ultimately don't enjoy it and don't play well. So yeah, it's a real juggle between, you know, how much, how much to enjoy it, how much to relax. And then, you know, also when you need to, how much to focus in and crack on. As I mentioned at the top of the show, you won the green jacket in 2016. What's it like, you know, when you're driving in as a past champion, you're coming up Magnolia Lane. What, what kind of feelings do you have? Every time goosebumps. Every time you turn in the gate and the sheriff's, you know, say hello, welcome you back, Mr. Love the Tavi back. You know, I know, I know all the guys up in the locker room. And as you drive down Magnolia, I'm really fortunate now obviously that my lock ers at the top, just above the turning circle there. So the first thing I always do is go upstairs, pop the jacket on and then come out on that balcony and look back down Magnolia back out to the entrance and yeah, I mean, it gives me goosebumps talking about it. It's a real place and yeah, very fortunate. I'll be, you know, that I can go back there. Danny, what's a story from winning the Masters that maybe you've never told before? I mean, something that happened that you kind of know happened but never really talked about it. It's a crazy week. That week was all crazy. My little boy was born just before I wasn't going to go. He was you, Master Sunday. He came early. Nick was fine. So she was like, you know, go, you need to go. She's it was only my second Masters and I played well the year before and she was like, you know, I've been fine. I've got my family. I'm all good. You go, go play, you know, because I was playing really well at the time. The fact that I was, you know, we talked about just before, you know, being relaxed. I took seven of my friends out. We hired two houses down the road and we had a blast. We had a great week. You know, we were grilling out, you know, every night we were, you know, laughing, joking, you know, without a glass of wine. We just just really relaxing chilling out. And then, you know, you find yourself in a surreal moment on the back nine on Sunday when you've got a chance. And one of the one of the ones that a few people know, not loads of people is that and you might know where this bathroom is. But from that whole week, the most one of the most important moments of that whole week was on 15. I tapped in for, I tapped in for par and at the time I was thinking I was still too behind everyone. You know, there was a massive like, Oh, when I look up round that massive leaderboard on 15 and Jordan are just obviously messed around on 12 and they changed his score from whatever he was at the time. I think seven to seven to three. And at the time I was at four. So then all of a sudden that we've gone from chasing chasing chasing to leading the masters with three holes to go and Westy was in so we were playing Westy Westy was in second. He just chipped him for e agles like a really crazy 50 minutes. But then there is, if anyone's ever been fortunate enough to go. My little sacred place now at Augusta there's a little bathroom off the back of 16 T down setback in the woods and I needed to pay. So I've gone down, I've gone down, I've gone down into this into this little bathroom and the most surreal quiet, you know it's loud. Everyone it's so busy around that corner around 16 and 15 green. And I just had a little 20, 30 seconds of peace I had a P and I've looked in the mirror washmans looked in the mirror and said, you know, this is, this is what you know, again, goosebumps everywhere. This is what you practice for. You know, you've got to make five more good swings and try and all a couple of puts and in 45 minutes time we'll see where we're at. So just to really just it's like it's almost like someone at the time you needed like a little getaway box someone who just kind of dropped a toilet, a bathroom just where I needed it just at the right time for me to go and have a minute on my own. And just like kind of get my thoughts gather myself and be like, right, you know, you're playing really well but like keep pressing, put the foot down. Five good swings, couple of puts and you know after we get done we'll see and then lo and behold if 45 minutes an hour later. We're done we're done some pretty cool things. You can say that again. I heard that your coach at the time, you know, the legendary Pete Cowan had been preaching to you to be comfortable and uncomfortable situations. Say more about that. Basically with golf, I mean, I've been comfortable on a golf course a few times when you've been playing really well you play golf yourself. Sometimes you feel comfortable. And sometimes you just don't. You just everything doesn't nothing feels right. And me and Pete got to a stage where it didn't matter what situation I was in. I was I knew that I knew that we'd honed in and I had the tools to play all the correct shots at the right time. So the uncomfortable situation is the fact that you're in a position to an image championship, a highly pressurized situation. But because of the work that we've done over countless amounts of years, I knew that regardless of how that was going to pan out. I was going to have the tools in my armory, the shots in my armory to be able to get out of a bad situation or to hit good shots and whole puts and and do whatever. I think it's we got to a stage where I felt like nearly bulletproof in that you know you could hit terrible golf shots. But I knew that I had the ability to to to kind of get out of this to play well and to hit the shot to get me back in position and ultimately keep playing well . And it was just that is basically getting used to you know, the uncomfortable missing golf is under pressure on the back nine. But unfortunately, that's where we all want to be every Sunday. So you bet you best get used to it. It's a nice feeling to have. But it's also can destroy people because it's hard winning is hard getting over the line in the gold tournament is hard. But we got to the stage where and I think you know in all the tournaments I've won. I'm pretty good down the stretch because when I'm in that position I know that I'm playing well and I know that I've got all the array of shots to help me complete the task in hand which is to try and win a golf tournament. So, you know, when when you're in that situation you come out of the bathroom. You've got the call. Was there a that's seminal moment where you said, Hey, this is my time. This is got I'm going to win this sucker. This is this is my time. I don't know if I ever thought it until I'd finished, but there's a there's a really good clip of the I hit a back foot drawing eight iron into 16 and there 's a really good. I like watching a video because it's my eyes. I look like I'm about to go into a fight. Like I'm just I know that I've hit the a perfect on 16 and the glare in my eyes is just of like, I don't know just that was probably out of all the shots I hit down the stretch that was one of the best and that was when after hitting that I was like, you know, this is, this is a perfect opportunity for me to now go ahead and really, you know, put the throttle down and I ended up making to West the end of making for. So from nowhere in 25 minutes, I've gone from being three behind to one in front to now three and from just a like a, I mean, talk about a crazy roller coaster of emotions and of everything that goes into it, you know, especially, you know, around that golf course and yeah, it was just a really surreal. It's really surreal. 45 minutes. So you go to Butler cabin. Now you got this green jacket being put on you and you're the Masters champion and then you're the Masters champion forever, you know, and that never goes away. What's the biggest perk of being a Masters champion that that no one ever really talks about. The list is the list is endless. It's just an honor. It really isn't on a real privilege to be. I say every year ago back on the Tuesday to champions dinner and I pinch myself I'm sat there look around the room and I'm like, I feel like a bit of an imposter here. Like, you know, it's like I've stolen someone's jacket and kind of snuck into the champions dinner and I'm sitting there but, you know, you're in that you're in that room with, you know, there's usually between 30 and 33, you know, living past champions and we obviously gather on that Tuesday for dinner and it's just a real privilege, a real honor. The plumbing, you know, you get to take the jacket for a year off off site, you know, obviously, you can't take the jacket off site. And until you win it again. So now mine sits in a gusser and it sits in the locker next to was in. But for that first year afterwards you can take it and you can showcase the green jacket around the world, you know, I travel around the world played, you know, countless golf tournaments around the world and was able to take it and fortunately I've got to wear it Wimbledon in the Royal box which in the Royal box which was pretty cool and to a few other venues and it's, yeah, there 's just, yeah, the perks are the perks are pretty endless to it. Hi everyone it's Kula from Hal leaders lead and if you're seeing my face right now it means you're watching this interview on YouTube. I want to say thanks. Thanks for watching it on YouTube and if you love the show, subscribe to the channel so you never miss an episode. And if you like one of the episodes, let us know in the comments. I want to just give a shout out to a couple folks who have left some positive reviews. This guy says you are a great podcaster David shout out David you are a great podcaster. Someone else said earned a subscribe to the channel I listened from start to end. Guys, these conversations are incredible as you know and if you love them hit subscribe on our channel leave a comment. If you love one of the episodes it'll help us in our mission to make the world a better place by developing better leaders. And you know we truly believe that better workplaces, better communities and a better world starts with better leaders and when you help this podcast grow, it helps us do more of that so subscribe to the channel let us know if you love one of the shows. And now we might even feature you in one of the episodes so subscribe to the channel today and thank you so much for listening. You know a lot of leaders have their challenges with imposter syndrome. That's something that people talk about you know how do you work through it. I found it really hard I was I mean I still I'm an incredible golfer but you know I was ninth in the world after Augusta and the differences I didn't realize how big winning that tournament was and I really struggled for like 12 18 months there was cameras following me everywhere as soon as I got on property any golf tournament there was cameras there and you know a tournament I quite like to keep myself to myself and then all of a sudden that's gone that ability to to have your own time or to have you know a bit of a head off or an argument with coaches or whatever something doesn't feel right just everything changes so you can't I kind of felt like I stopped being me and started to almost make sure that I was doing everything you know right by the cameras and making sure you know I wasn't swearing or doing anything you know I mean just just a really strange place to be when I was struggling with my game and then people were then watching and then because of TV and Internet and everything people then had their ability to have their say on why they thought I was struggling and without really knowing me and I got delved into you know reading what people were putting on Facebook and the Instagrams of what it wasn't and then it kind of made me feel like I wasn't deserving of what I just accomplished and it was a really strange place you know I'd come off the highest of highs of like the last kind of three or four months and all of a sudden pretty quickly I was in quite a low place with my game of golf and then because of that then I was like well maybe people are right maybe I did just get lucky this one time and did just you know do this and you know and then like I said I go into the room at the Champions dinner every year and I look around and I'm like you know legends of the game you know that I've looked up to for years and I do it to I mean I still sit there now like I said you look around you go you know how the how the hell did I get in this room but then for me it was you know I've obviously I've got great people around me and my wife you know mainly and you are there because you weren't you weren't it you heard it it's not it's not given to you no one gives you no one gives you you know these things with especially with engulf you've got to earn and for me it was just a constant reminder of the fact that I was there I'm in that position because I earned it through playing good golf you know and through all the hard work that I put in over the previous 20 years you know these things don't happen you know overnight everyone always talks about this overnight success well it's not it's 20 years leads to leads to a good week that eventually then people will say that but so yeah mine was just a real good dedication of going back to processes and trying to work hard and work through it and it took me three just shy of three years to win again after a gusta and that win was probably the sweetest one and because I'd kind of overcome a lot of challenges within it and came back from real depths of depths of despair and real dark places within golf and myself and ultimately came through it but yeah it's just just working through the processes and the fact of the matter is like you say you know you won that day but you spent 20 years get to that day and you know you got to give yourself a little bit of credit not many people get to wear that green jacket and you had the skill to really pull that up you know you mentioned your wife Nick you know and she'd be in such a strong supporter to you we can tell how much winning the Masters is meant to you what does it come to mean to your family it's funny actually my two boys still they don't care I don't think they call you dad you know you get home and it's daddy and it's you get home on a Friday night and they look at you and go why are you home so early it's like well I didn't play very well so you get to spend the weekend with me now but yeah it's I mean for us as a family you know obviously Zach had just been born and you know my mom and dad and stuff it's just they were all really proud of obviously been able to do it so it's you know I look back and I'm you know you try and speak to yourself as as like in a third person and go you know you'd like I said you weren't it you did well you know you should be proud of yourself and all this stuff and for me it's it's it's more of a it's an amazing thing to have done but a lot of the time when you win a tournament it's the relief is why people end up being so happy about it's the relief of finally finally been able to do it and then the people around you obviously they see how hard you work nixies are to work every day and what I do so I think for her as well it was the relief of you know getting you know getting a reward for all the hard work you put in and you know she sacrifices more than anyone she's you know she keeps everything together within the family you know because I go I am and get to play golf half the year and I think she was obviously incredibly proud of what we did and but luckily for me it's not changed how we are as a family it's just it kind of just adds to the fact that you know we we for me you know you get the recognition of being a major champion but if I'd have never won the Masters and I'd have never won another golf tournament you know fortunately for me I don't think Nick would care which is ultimately why you know we we we we we work so well and we are so good as a family. I want to shift gears for a second here Danny you know and I want to take you back what would be a story from your childhood that really shaped the kind of leader you are today the kind of person you are today. I think just you know for me my whole life really has been about grit and determination and just trying to work harder and I think that that for me just comes back to having two older brothers that I try to beat in every sport and couldn't until I found golf and then it was good because it was the main it was the only sport where you know size doesn't matter age doesn't matter you know it's a skill set and then I think from that and being able to beat them you know and then that kind of gave them that little bit of a determination to keep practicing see how good I got you know I wasn't the best in Sheffield I wasn't the best in my county I wasn't the best in the country you know for a long long time but just kept knocking down the doors and just kept working and kept grinding until eventually you know I was the best in my region I was the best in England as a junior as an adult you know I was number one amateur in the world being a leader of you know the group of lads that played for England played for Yorkshire and for me I constantly try to set an example of work ethic was was the main thing you know the guys who get up and would go to training camps in Spain with England and you know when I had to be the quickest I had to do the most push ups I had to get the best skills challenge scores I had to shoot the best score and for me it was just a constant endless work of trying to be beat everyone day in day out and I think that came from you know me having to really compare to all the brothers that I was just trying to be on a daily basis at whatever we did and yeah it's you know come from a very normal family background the main thing that in all of it that ever that always ever comes back to his hard work like we were saying early nothing's gifted if you work hard and do the right things you know eventually you know you keep knocking on the door and eventually that door will open when you put that hard work in and you know and you you you you you're you're working your way and you get this belief that finally that maybe you can really turn golf into your crew do you think that required a technical skill or was it mental that took you to the next level I mean you know the realization that you could do it or that you just kept getting better at the technical side of the game I think they go hand in hand I've spoken to many a psychologist about it and you speak to coaches about it you know some psychologists will say that you can think you way to better scores and then coaches will say well your technique needs to be at a level to where you can do that so I'm like I think they go perfectly hand in hand I think the more that you work the better you work and the better you get technically I think that gives you the belief that if you didn't already have it and then that then enables you to then step up in terms of then how you think about what you know and how you can go ahead and play well and that then gives you the confidence to play well and you know in front of millions of people and and kind of do your job and it 's for me they really are you know stepping stones that go you know really closely hand in hand the better you get golf the more conference it gives you it's very hard to gain conference when things aren't technically in a great place some people can do it I'm not amazing at doing that but I've worked hard at knowing that if I just keep doing the right things eventually because I've done it now two or three times in my career it's been a bit of a roller coaster if I keep doing those things you know eventually you will get a peek again if you are in a trough you will get to a peek again and it's just about putting the timing you play in pro am's every week so you get exposed to a lot of terrific business leaders and you know like like you they're very competitive I'm sure you know what do you see is the characteristics of the leaders that you've been around that you admire the most? Yeah I've been really fortunate to meet some great this game's really enabled me to meet some great people the main thing that I see with all of them is they work the butt off all the time you know I many of the guys I get to play with now are most of the time you know mid 60s they've built great businesses up over 30, 40 years and these guys are still getting up at 5 in the morning so working out a little bit starting the day doing you know doing things that if you were to tell a 22 year old guy 22 year old me to do that I would have maybe done it but like you look at the fact that they just unwavering and a couple of people I've got in my head specifically run wavering at how hard they work to try and just keep pushing and keep getting better a friend of mine I was down I saw him in Puerto Rico last week and I said what you doing just retire and he's like I'm working harder now than I ever have and I'm like why and he's like because he's exact words to me which were quite clever on it he said because why would I give up my advantage that I've built up over 35 years now I can really really really take it you know to a to a to an insane level and I 'm you know I'm there thinking you know if I was successful is am I might hang my shoes up and retire but you know for him to say that he's working as hard as ever I'm like right let's stop dinner I'm going to the I'm going back to the range and it is but it is it's everyone that you speak to and everyone that's successful there that I know that I now know as a friend they just they just work hard and that is ultimately in life what it comes down to you're coming back you know you're coming back from a an injury that you had that sidelined you for 18 months or so you know and setbacks like this can happen to all of us you know and they keep us from performing the way we know we can what did you learn about yourself in terms of how to work through that and a handle a setback that keeps you from you know being on your game and playing the game that you love so much yeah it was it was tough yeah I had double labrum surgery on my left shoulder it was it was hard I was I should have probably done it earlier in hindsight now because it's worked out great but sitting on the sofa watch first remember the first two or three months sat on the sofa with my arm and a sling watching guys playing golf and I'm like you know will I ever get to play again I don't know how it's going to go the surgery apparently went well but the same this the same thing I got I got a great team around me and we had a really good rehab process and one of the main things that I did that I think helped me both physically and mentally as I kept a diary of what I did day by day a to see how much load I was putting through the shoulder to make sure I didn't do too much and be just to just so that if you ever have an a bad day you can look back through that and actually say to yourself you know what I've worked I've worked really hard to get back to where I am like don't get down don't get down if one day it doesn't feel great or you feel like you've had a setback with it you know just actually just keep logging up the days of doing good work with it and getting back and the same as golf the same as business you work and work and work and then nothing happens and all of a sudden something kind of came really nicely together about four months after I'd had it and I went from feeling like not sure about this to to actually really taking off and the rehab really went really well and I got a lot stronger really quickly because I've done them little baby steps for so long the boring mundane baby steps that enabled me to then go ahead and really crack on with the rehab and get it to where it is so yeah yeah the but like I said the main thing there for me was was keeping a I 've not really ever done it before with other things but kept a diary just more for the mental side of than anything you know you know you're in the house all day on your own you know moping around there's nothing that you can do you're in a sling you know basically nothing you can do so you know that little logbook is of work just so that you can look back at it now I also understand that you oftentimes not necessarily from a diary standpoint in terms of your golf you but you do jot it down or write down some key points about the lessons that you take in or when you're hitting the ball a certain way of feeling good talk more about that and the impact that's had on your performance you know capturing just your journey of golf as you as you learn. Yeah so it's a lot easier these days with obviously technology and phones and but yeah I've got hundreds of books and for me whenever I have a good lesson or a good day really try and take out at the end of the day really try and take out what it was you know what what was it was it a feeling was it something technical was it something mental what which every area was trying trying take out and then I now leave voice notes and write stuff down or even video myself if it's something technical I'll video myself whilst talking so that you can really really try and almost relive that moment you know if you are struggling at some point in the future. The best thing I think with that is you if the more detailed you can write it down you know the more into it you can get and you can close your eyes and almost then visualize a certain movement or a certain feeling. So I did a lot of visualization stuff with a guy called Jason Goldsmith who was fabulous in terms of performance and visualization keys to try and help you with that and so for me yeah the writing down the notes being able to write them down as thoroughly as possible or like I said leave you know I'd be able to visualize either a swing or a golf course or a shot you know to try and help you you know if that shot ever came back up or help you to do something the next day or whatever it may be. You know it's funny thing Jason is maybe my best friend in life you know and he 's an awesome guy you know it's great that you you've got so much from him and you know when you're working so hard like you obviously do and you know you're doing the right things but you're getting the results that you you think are going to be coming. What do you do I mean how do you how do you look at that. I think there's like one or two ways and I've done both and tried and tested both and they both do work it just depends on what you need. I either just keep head down gung ho keep working just keep pressing on and knowing that at some point you will get through it. And then all the other one that I think sometimes you do then need if things really are clicking is like a full reset. So like for me that'd be like clubs down for a month maybe. And almost to this stage where you get that burning desire again to to want to practice I play golf for a living it's fantastic but at the same time it is a job it's it's what I used to you know to to to live to fund my family to do the things we do so. I think that sometimes the you can get quite boring and repetitive just going up and practicing day after day after day so it's it's quite nice when you get that burning desire inside is that you want to go practice. You know and sometimes when things aren't going your way that that desire that you know that that fire goes out you know pretty quickly when things aren't going your way. So for me I think it's one it's either. I think when I had the shoulder surgery actually it was quite a nice time for me because when I eventually did get back to hitting balls again. I was like a little kid I was excited about about hitting balls to see how it would feel. So I think that for me I've tried to use this the shoulder surgery as it's like a forced reset almost my body saying you know you needed this to get better you need it to heal. You know and now being able to actually now really press on and and I think that's why. At least I feel like I'm really trying to enjoy the game more because I've had that little bit of a force reset but now you can put the work ethic back in there and get back to working you know as hard as you can. So yeah I think you can do both and luckily the last kind of 18 months it's kind of I've had the nice little mix of actually being able to put both into practice. We'll be back with the rest of my conversation with Danny Willett in just a moment. Well the world lost the legend and I lost a dear friend when junior Bridgeman passed away a few weeks ago. He was the definition of a truly great man. He was an NBA great who went on to become an even more incredible businessman. All while living the kind of life that blessed and served others. To honor his memory I wanted to share this inside of his from our conversation on how leaders lead. When you look at our company whether it's heartland in the United States or you know Canada, Canadian bottling company in Canada. What we've tried to do is instill that hometown attitude that you're in this city or that city you know you are part of that community there. You are there to make a difference in the community and to make a difference with the people that are involved with you and to just make it a great place not just to work but to a great place for the community. And I think we've instill that hometown attitude that hometown pride I mean we just won the bottler of the year by beverage digest here in the United States and in Canada we were awarded one of the best places to work in the whole country of Canada. So I think we're doing something right, but it's all stem from the fact that it 's been about. We say not just the people that work there but the families because you know when you hire someone someone comes to work with you. And you're basically hiring their family. And so we say in the United States here we've got 2300 families that we're responsible for. And we don't take that lightly because what we decisions we make don't just affect that one person is coming to work but it affects that whole family. And in a positive way or a negative way. And so that's something that we don't take lightly and really focus on you know in every decision that we have to make. It's well worth your time to go back to episode 123 and learn more from the one and only junior Bridgman. I've heard you talk about not performing as well as you wanted to in the 2016 Ryder Cup and Hazel team you know and you know that's such a huge event, you know, for the world and particularly Europeans are always like so much fun to watch I love the passion that you guys have. You know you see you didn't play your best in that kind of situation. How long does it take you to get over something like that and is it. Is it linger with you or can you get back into the present just move on. No that one that one stung that one took a while. And it's an interesting one the radical phenomenal phenomenal event obviously I had a pretty terrible experience purely because I was not playing very well. It's a really strange week and the radical is a really strange week and I'll try and explain. So on a on a on a Sunday of a golf tournament on the back nine you've worked and you've played your way into being in that position of pressure. You're in that position because you've played well. So yes that you feel pressure because you're in a situation that you're going to win a golf tournament, but you know that you're playing well to actually get in that position. So the Ryder cups obviously you get in the radical over a, you know, one or a two year period on the point system. So when I won a gusta I was basically a lock I was already in. The unfortunate then thing is that my form then had a downturn so I won in April and this was you know six months later in September. So you then got I then got thrown into a pressured situation of being you know raining master champion and a major winner. I didn't have the game at the time to back up the pressure that I was under. Because I just wasn't playing well. So I'd already at my spot in the team, but that particular week I wasn't playing well so I'd not I'd not like I'd not earned. So the team before but just not that week. So it's a really strange situation to be in in that I was there and I was I was a major winner but I wasn't playing very well and then to put you then under the in the in that little pressure cooker of what it was at Hazel team it was a very Americanized golf course against a very good American team. And you know I'm put there and I'm expected to play well I'm expecting myself to play well but I'm just struggling. And it just it was it was a it was a horrible week for me and it took that took the best part six months to kind of get over. Once again you know being everything being scrutinized everything being watched what you do and didn't handle a situation great and it took me a while to to kind of figure out you know how to get over it and what to do. You're in these pressure situations all the time I mean you're going to be going back to the Augusta's master champion you're going to be teeing it up and you got that pressure. What have you learned about handling pressure that other leaders could could pick up. I think you've really got to take it in your stride and I always say that you know pressure 95% of the time 99% of the time pressure is a privilege, especially in what I do. If I feel really under extreme pressure it's because I'm doing something really good. So for me it's it's taking it and using it and being able to go back for me and relive the shots that I fit under extreme pressure and knowing that I fit great shots under extreme pressure. So I can and will do it again. And again I think it's the same within any business or any leadership role in if you're feeling under pressure for something there's a reason. And it's most of the time it's a good reason because something special could maybe come from the situation that you're putting yourself in whether it's you feel pressure going into a business meeting. You know for us we feel pressure going on to the first tee on a on a third or a Saturday or a Sunday every week we tee up. We're trying to change our lives and winning the golf tournament. So that that is that is pressure but it's only pressure because something really cool can happen, you know, at the end of it and the end goal. I love that you know it's you reframe it it's a it's a privilege and you wouldn 't be having to pressure you if you weren't damn good exactly you know if I felt no pressure on a daily basis and I'm playing some pretty rubbish golf. You know, now you mentioned you got a full team around you at the physio your coaches. What's good coaching look like from your perspective what have you learned, you know, working with some of the best coaches in the world. I now use coaches as more of like a sounding board. I'm 37 years old I've had I 've had thousands and thousands of hours of lessons. And I probably still use snippets of every single coach I've ever seen. So now what I'm trying to do with my coach at the minute is we're trying to do the basic things really well day in day out, tick off the things that I can achieve on my own really easily you know set up how you stand to it how you post is all that kind of easy stuff. And now it's more of like I said a sounding board of right if I, you know if I make this move or do this in the backswing this is going to, you know, make sure the club does this on the way down. It's more of I'm almost trying to organize it in my own headers to where I can semi coach myself, but using Andy as a really good sounding board and other pair of eyes, because I miss things at times, even on a video I'll miss things I don't see all of it put together. And the coaches now I would, like I said I've had enough lessons as to where it 's not that someone's going to teach me something but I'm not going to reinvent a golf swing, you know it's more just making sure that I do the right things enough times repetition wise as to where you start from and set up and kind of make sure that everything from there is built as built around it. And you're right hand person out there and of course you know how do you, how do you build that relationship as a leader. It's, it's an interesting one I think depending on who you are as a person, you need someone next year to either be very similar or the exact opposite, especially with in golf. You need someone to be able to, I want to go for a silly shot over water from 270, you know, you either need someone who's going to be, if it's possible someone who's going to really back you up and tell you that that's definitely the play and that's the right thing to do. Or some people need someone who were the exact opposite end of the spectrum and be really cautious and say well no that's the least statistically we should do this and, and kind of go from here so, for me, you've really got to find which side of that you want my I'm not a kid now is my best friends by my his best man at my wedding is that God for other to to Zach. But we've known each other for years and we've played lots of golf together. So he knows my game probably better than anyone else around so I've gone down that route of a very good golfer in his own right that knows my game really well but then also a friend because we spend 12 hours a day with them six days a week, 26 weeks a year, you know you spend more time spend more time with them than your wife most of the time so you know you need to make sure that you get on as well. But yeah I think that you need you either need someone who's going to really compliment what you do. And at the same time if there's a decision needs to be made, you know you need to respect each other enough that you're going to listen to what you know what the other one's saying You know Danny this has been so much fun and and I want to have some more with what I call my lightning round of questions are you ready for this corner. Okay , what three words best describe you selfless, generous, hardworking. If you could be one person besides yourself for a day who would it be out of your life. You've been a Jack back in the day. Your biggest pet peeve, Todd iness, who would play you in a movie. Daniel Craig. What feels more like home, the US or UK UK. What's your favorite non golf sport to watch football soccer football. Who would be in your dream force or your dad or alive Hogan, Jack and Tiger. Imagine this is your final round of the big tournament. You're on the 18th hole apart for and you need a birdie to win. But someone has to hit your shots for you. Who would hit your drive. Rory. Who's hitting your approach shot. Scott Sheffler. Who's putting. Ben Crenshaw. If you could pick any golf tournament to win in the next 12 months. What would it be. Oh, it's hard when there's only one. It'd be a wealth to a gust or the open. What's the one thing you do just for you. My time in the gym is probably my my alone time on my own. Besides your family, what's your most prized possession? Probably my green jacket that's hung up in my locker. If I turned on the radio in your car, what would I hear? Currently would be 97.5 country. Would you believe? Favorite country song. I like Morgan Wall and stuff. Luke Combs. Obviously a bit different. There's I've got a real funky mix on my playlist. What's something about you? Few people would know the fact that I listen to country music and English. Boy listens to country music. What's one of your daily rituals? Something that you never miss. That first morning coffee. There you go. We're out on the lightning round. Good job. Appreciate it. Danny outside the golf course. Are there other business ventures you're involved in? And what's that part of your career with life? Yeah, so we do a few things. My wife used to be in real estate. So we've got a few properties all around the world and then recently started to get involved in a few like things that I wouldn't ordinarily get involved with. Safe and fair and just water to that I've just got involved in. Quite a few other guys that I know and trust their opinions on are involved as well. And so that's going to be an interesting one. Great sparkle more in just water and safe and fair are coming up with a range of snacks that basically are like completely allergen free, really healthy, really good for you. And we all know what's going on at the minute with food, not only in America, but back home that there's so much rubbish that people put in the food these days that it was something that, you know, I got involved because I think it's a great company, but also something that's close to my heart in that you know I 've got two young kids and I want them to eat better. I want to eat better. I want to, you know, live as long as possible and do the right thing so yeah there are a couple of the ones that were going down right now so excited to see, you know, kind of how that goes. What kind of paths I can create and help and yeah and just see it's an interesting one up, you know for us our main business is golf. You know we end our money playing golf and that's what we do but, you know, you 're obviously a celebrity okay and as a celebrity in a professional golf or you have a brand, you know, how do you how do you think about your brand and leveraging that in the future as you think about business. I think that it may is it may is a golfer that brand is being very good in Europe I'm really well known in Europe in America a little bit, but really trying to push the brand of just being being a better version of yourself each and every day and trying to do things better and really trying to prove to people that you know from a really normal background and a normal upbringing and you know if you if you put the work in and do the right things you can achieve, you know, incredible things that you never thought of possible and you know, fortunately if I've been able to do that you and your wife Nick you have two young kids you mentioned you know how do you how do you lead at home leading at home is a completely different skill set altogether from leading anywhere else when you employ people to do work such as a coach's or cad is ultimately if you say something they listen, where is it home, home is a very different thing. So for me, I love being at home. I love seeing how the boys grow up and how they do things and it is a real challenge to to instill you know I'm trying to instill great values within what they do while still trying to have a good time with it, but while still trying to make sure that the discipline it's out of everything that I do in life being a husband and a father are by far and away the most challenging yet the remote rewarding things ever. So it's yeah just trying to instill everything that I was fortunate enough that my parents instilled on me, like I said trying to be trying to be hard with them to make sure that they are disciplined but ultimately still you know you want to love them and just hope that you know whatever they do in life they're going to enjoy. You know it's interesting your career had a substance down you've been ninth in world masters champion and then you've like you said you got off your game for a really long time you had to go through the struggles of all of that you know that happens in business as well you know and for all leaders you know you have the good year and then somehow things slip and you don't make plan or you don't get done what you want to get done. What coaching would you give to other leaders in terms of you know how to get back on track. I think you've really got to go back down the route of you know what has worked in the past. Like I said I kept I keep notes of lessons and things like that so you know you go back and you look over is that the right thing I need to be doing right now. So for me it's you need to look at to something need to change. If it does then you're better off doing it sooner rather than later. I think a lot of the times when I've had a slump that's lasted a bit too long. I've maybe held on to things for too long and worked at the wrong things. You know like I was saying before it's like you have a bit of a reset you know you need to weigh up you know I'm doing the right things I'm working well I'm working at the right things I've got the right information. You know if you've got those three things then everything will be fine but you need to really seriously question and ask yourself if those things are correct. Are you working hard enough. Are you working at the right things have you got the right people around with the correct knowledge you know to help you all thrive and do well. What are you feeling about your game going into this Masters Danny. You know what I'm pretty I'm pretty optimistic. The practice at home is going really well I've not played much yet since because of the medical stuff but some years I've gone into a gush and I've been playing poorly but I'm in a really nice place at the minute where I know what I 'm wanting to do I know what I want to do within the golf swing I know what I want to do within certain areas of the golf game and so I'm actually really excited to go back this year and and hopefully I've a really good crack at it played great first round last year. And then the shoulder tied a little bit so but yeah now I'm excited about the next kind of 12 18 months of golf and what I'm out to do. And when you look to the future what do you see as your unfinished business Danny. I'd love to be in contention in some more majors and I'd love to be playing some more Ryder Cup's again. The right the to win one major in anyone's career is a fantastic fee I've won eight times around the world. I really would like to get back on a Ryder Cup team and have what I would consider a great Ryder Cup not only for myself but for Europe. Whether that's this time round or in a few years I don't know but that would be definitely a part of unfinished business that before my career ended I would like to resurrect. I hope that definitely happens and last question here. What's one piece of advice you'd give to anyone who wants to be a better leader . I would say trusting yourself you are ultimately you are your CEO your own boss and you've got to trust that gut instinct and and and listen to it and go with it. Fantastic Danny and I want to thank you so much for taking the time to be on this podcast this conversation's been fantastic and you have a lot of great insights people are going to learn from and appreciate you very much you're a hell of a guy. No, no thank you I appreciate it's good fun. If you've watched this show for a while you probably know I'm a big proponent of active learning and Danny is a great example of an active learner someone who doesn't just collect information but also applies it. I love how he writes things down reflects on them and uses them to get better too often we just barrel through our work without stopping to capture what we 've learned. But when you take notes on your life whether it's lessons from a big win or a tough setback you give yourself a roadmap for improvement that is what separates top performers they don't just move forward blindly they track their progress they study what's working and they make adjustments along the way. So here's an idea at the end of each day this week write down one thing you learn. It could be something that went well something that didn't or just an insight you don't want to forget because remember the lessons you write down today become the wisdom you rely on tomorrow. Do you want to know how leaders lead what we learned today is the great leaders take notes then learn from them coming up next on how leaders lead is Mary Bear the chair and CEO of General Motors. The truth was really our message to the entire company don't just give us something that optimizes your area but it was that frustration of decisions coming to us that weren't the whole truth because they didn't look at it from an enterprise perspective let's get to the truth that what someone wants it to be what is it how can you demonstrate it with information data and information so we can make the very best decision quickly. So be sure to subscribe to YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts so you don 't miss it. Thanks again for tuning in to another episode of How leaders lead where every Thursday you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world. I make it a point to give you something simple on each episode that you can apply to your business so that you will become the best leader that you can be.