Tip or Plan?

Last week I started watching the golf channels show The Haney Project. If you are unfamiliar with the show or the sport it is about a golf coach that goes from helping the professionals to the amateur ranks; more specifically celebrity amateurs that are trying to get better. The first season was with Charles Barkley and this being the fourth season Hank Haney is working with Michael Phelps. Just a quick side note, Hank used to work with Tiger Woods, and now he is working with the most decorated Olympian in history, not to bad!

I watch because it is entertaining but I also watch because I want to see what one of the best coaches is doing and how he is getting results, because that will help me get better as a coach.

This past episode he and Michael were separated due to schedules and Michael was playing at a Pro-Am golf tournament. He was running into other professional golfers who were giving him “tips” on his swing and how he could improve. The camera showed at least 3 people talking to him and giving him advice. Then it pans to Hank who is watching this recorded video just shaking his head and his response was this, “all of these people are very well intended. They want to see Michael do well. But there is a difference between a tip and a plan. Michael needs a plan not a tip.”

Basically what he was saying was that in anything you do, whether it is in finance, fitness or sport, everyone has a “tip” for you. Do this and you will get this result. They make it seem so matter of fact easy. But... It does not take into account the “big picture”. In everything you do you need a plan. It is one thing to do P90X but it is not a plan that is lasting. It is one thing to invest in a stock but it is not a financial plan.

Speaking from a fitness prospective, look to create a plan for yourself or find someone that can help you create a plan.

See the big picture and move towards that.

Tips only get you so far, they do not last.