“Percentage players die broke too.” - Phil Mickelson's lesson for entrepreneurs - playing for great

Sitting at lunch eating soup and reading about yesterday's Masters victory and came across this great article that applies to entrepreneurs...

Phil Mickelson's second shot off pine straw on 13th hole earned him victory at The Masters - Tours & News - Golf.com

The story talks about Mickelson's shot from 209 yards out, through trees, with water in front of the green, 187 yards carry, was not exactly a percentage play. Nonetheless in what others saw as risk he saw opportunity...

" Phil Mickelson decided to go for it. He is 39 years old, fast approaching 40. He has won major championships, and he has lost major championships, and over the years he has learned to pick the moment. This was his moment. This was his time to win the Masters. This was the time to hit the shot. He had to go, right? He's Phil Mickelson. It's in his nature.

.......But would he really have won more if he played it safe? Is it ever really that simple? All his life, Phil Mickelson has had this talent for making golf balls do remarkable things, for making them pop over trees and skid under branches and turn around bushes and roll up to the cup like a car pulling into a driveway....

....This is Mickelson. Sure, he always could play smarter. Of course, he always could pull back just a little. But the beautiful thing about golf is that, in the end, it's all about what you have to give. This is what Phil Mickelson has to give. He saw the opening, he saw the flagstick, and he had to hit the shot. He set up with 6-iron and steadied himself, then hit the shot just to the left of the tree and watched it fly right at the flag, watched it clear the creek, watched it settle three feet from the hole. And then, he listened happily to the roar that sounded like it would never quiet. "

Entrepreneurs by nature see risk but they also see opportunity. Whether you're an entrepreneur or intrapreneur are you going for it? When's the last time you tested your ability and swung for the green?

Phil Mickelson said it best when he distinguished the difference between "smart" and great".

.... Mickelson said. “I mean a great shot is when you pull it off. A smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it.”....

Sometimes you just have to play for great