- Tell us your success journey influencing the lives through golf? I have been so fortunate to have had the opportunity to play golf at a high level through college and professionally. Golf is such a wonderful sport that test an individual on all levels: mentally, emotionally, and physically. Early on in my coaching I realized I could have a more positive impact on my students if I went beyond the physical mechanics of the game. Through the years I have had so many students who have shared that the skills of focus, confidence, and emotional management that I coach helped them beyond the golf course. As I received more positive feedback from my students on this mental approach I knew it could work in the business world. After I wrote,Golf: The Ultimate Mind Game, I again received feedback that the book went beyond just golf performance, it could be used for life. That’s when I began doing corporate training using golf as the metaphor. I have had the pleasure of coaching all ages from 4 to 84 and beginners to professionals. Being able to share my coaching to so many diverse people has made me a better coach. Being mental performance coach for golf has now allowed me to expand into different sports like tennis, hockey, gymnastics, fencing, etc. The sport may be different, however the mental performance principles are the same.
2. What is your #1 advice you have for a young person who wants to follow your footsteps?
The two values I live by are service and curiosity. Throughout the years I have learned that my success in my career came down to servicing others and being curious about ways I can be better. It’s easy to get caught up with trends and quick fixes, however long-term success in coaching has to come down to making a difference with your clients. Being service focused instead of monetary focused built the foundation for my business. I got results, my clients were achieving their goals, and I was making a difference. The other value that keeps me growing as a coach is being curious. I have shifted from being judgmental of my competition, how others behave, and expectations of others. Now I’m curious about what makes people do what they do. With this mindset I’m always learning, instead of judging which blocks my ability to serve. Seek out different opinions within the field. It is easy to get stuck in the mindset of “I’ve figured it out”. As a coach I need to grow just the same as encouraging my clients to grow.
2. How timeless wisdom inside golf field can be applied for peak performance in any area of life?
Golf is the perfect sport to transition to life. Golf is an individual sport that requires focus, developing a strategy based on your skills, regulating emotions, patience, mental toughness to deal with adversity, and always provides immediate feedback. Golf teaches us to be present for this shot and going for a target. Everyday in life we are bombarded with distractions and those that succeed are able to remain focused on what is relevant toward a desire target. Golf teaches us how to use routines to be at our best for each challenge that arises. Life constantly comes to us with challenges and those that have routines that foster resilience will actually thrive when confronted with challenges. Golf is a never ending journey toward mastery. Once we think we have “it”, the game introduces another obstacle. Everyday we can practice a different facet of the game to get better. Also, as we get older the mental skills become even more important. Our mindset is a trained skill and golf and life require us to always be training our mindset.
Rick Sessinghaus Psy.D Biography
Rick Sessinghaus is an expert on the mindset principles that make or break performance on and off the field. His coaching has helped top junior, collegiate, and professional athletes reach new levels of performance. Rick has also provided seminars and consulting to business teams and leaders improving their bottom line. Rick’s coaching philosophy revolves around his PERFORM performance system.
With Rick’s PERFORM system one is evaluated on his or her mental skill, behavior under stress, and technical skills to uncover the best path for improvement. As a sought after speaker and trainer to those companies looking to improve the key skills of motivation, focus, confidence, and execution, Rick’s PERFORM system for mastering the mental game skills has been used in his unique business training format. Rick uses golf as the metaphor for improving business performance.
Rick’s book Golf: The Ultimate Mind Game has been featured in national golf magazines and used by leading golf instructors across the country as the “best resource to improve your mental game.” Rick uses the proven DISC assessment to develop high performance teams and having one understand how personality affects behavior. This is where Rick will develop content for each business’ challenges.
As a former professional golfer, Rick has now found more satisfaction helping others achieve their dreams than he did in his own competitive career. Long intrigued by the fact that physical skills were rarely the determining factor in athletic success, he studied the mental and emotional skills that make or break a performance. Adding to his Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communications, Rick received his Masters and Doctorate Degree in Applied Sports Psychology. As he continues to enrich the quality of people’s lives through his proven performance enhancement system, Rick is constantly researching the latest scientific findings pertinent to achievement in golf, business, and life.
· Member of the PGA (Professional Golfers Association of America)
· Certified Master Trainer of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
Mental Game Certified Professional
· 2008 Southern California PGA Metro Teacher of the Year
· Named Golf Tips Magazine Top 25 Instructors in America
· Certified Practitioner of Athlete Assessments’ DISC Profile
· Certified Human Potential Coach
· Visit www.PerformForSuccess.com
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