THE ED MYLETT SHOW - Visualize Your Victory W/ Phil Mickelson

Episode Date: May 19, 2020

When the pressure is on and your biggest dreams and goals are on the line... when all eyes are on you... how do you EXECUTE with clarity and accuracy? You VISUALIZE your victory! This week's interview breaks down the path to victory and I could think of NO ONE BETTER to join us in this conversation than my dear friend and one of the top 5 golfers of ALL TIME, Phil "Lefty" Mickelson! Phil is one of the GREATEST athletes from the last 2 decades in ANY SPORT! He's in the World Golf Hall of Fame (and still playing), he's won 44 PGA Tour, 51 professional wins, 5 Majors, 3 Masters and has spent 700+ weeks in the top 10 golfers in the world! And what's even more inspiring is that his professional wins are minuscule compared to the type of father, husband, and friend he is! It is my delight to bring you inside the mind of a true GOAT! Ever wonder what the difference is between the person who finishes #1 and the person who finishes last? In this interview, you'll learn the secret formula YOU need if you want to be able to pull away from the masses, sharpen your skills and your mental preparation and bring home the WIN. Whether you are trying to win in sports, in business, in your relationships, in your faith, in your fitness, in any area of your life, the formula is the same! Learn how one of the most successful athletes trains his brain in PREPARATION to win and how to turn visualizing your victory into an obsession! Remember, our obsessions become our possessions! If you are ready to attain your biggest victory, this interview is for you!  

This is the Edmmerlich show. Alright, welcome back to Max out everybody. I am so excited for the gentleman that I've asked to be on the program today. I have one of the greatest athletes of the last two decades in any sport. He also happens to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. And I'm excited to have him on, not just because he's a great athlete, but because of the things I know about him personally as well,

but from an athlete standpoint, which is how you know him, he's a World Golf Hall of Fame member already, but well, he's still playing. 44 PGA Tour of Winds, 51 professional wins, five majors, three masters, 700 plus weeks in the top 10 in the world. And like I said, and that's his part of his resume, but the thing that I'm the most impressed about between our mutual friends is the kind of husband he is, the kind of father he is, friend, and also the way that I've watched him treat people, even my own children, when he didn't even know they were my own children at our club from time to time.

He's a good man, and I'm gonna get a whole bunch of out of his brain today. So please welcome Phil Mikkelson to the show. Phil, thanks for being there, brother. My pleasure, thanks for having me on. I'm glad we had a chance to do this. Yeah, I am too, man. And there's so much I wanna ask you.

Everyone, this show today is just sort of selfish, because if I could make a list of the people I'd want on, you guys always get your guests on. Phil has been on my list for a long time because, and I'll tell you all why, the show is called Max Out for a Reason. It's about mentally getting yourself to that elite level in life. And I think in the golf world, there's no more articulate person than this man that's here with us today.

So we're going to go all over the place, brother. Family, golf, mindset, everything. So I wanna start out, my son's gonna play college golf next year. Nice. And so he asked me to stick one question in there, and I figured I'd put it in first. So, you know, a lot of entrepreneurs listen to this,

and they're at different levels. You and I both know people have done pretty well in business. You know, they're successful, and then you and I know some of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time in your chosen craft. You've got to that, you know, wanted, you're in the top 10 players, arguably top five players in the history of a game that you play of your sport. And I'm just curious, my son asked me, ask Phil, what's the difference between the number 50 player in the world and the number one player in the world and is there a difference also

between the guys that make the PGA tour that never get there that are these great players that play on the mini tours what's the separator between number 50 and number one and even those that get to the top one 30 or so on the PGA tour and quite never get there what do you think the separator is so I can answer that with a lot of different ways but I would give you one example of a young player that came to me after Just coming out of college and he said listen I'm trying to play the tour and I'm struggling with putts inside three feet and I gave him a drill that was given to me by Jackie Perk where you have to make 103 footers in a row and if you miss one you have to start over and so

I was struggling with short putts when I went and worked with Jackie He gave it to me and it took me two days For hours and hours before I finally got all hundred and row in fact the first time I got it I missed the 100th pot and then I made the next hundred pots and so I gave it to this guy and I ran into them two weeks later I said hey, how's it going? He says I made it to 50 and then I kind of I kind of stopped and It's that the difference there is that I was willing to do whatever it took, however long it took,

until I reached that goal of making 100 buds. And he was like, yeah, if I get it grade and if not, it was no big deal. And so obviously he's not still playing. That's kind of the difference between making it and not making it is that complete one of that mindset of just seeing what you have to do and doing whatever it takes not making it is that complete one of that mindset of just seeing what you have to do and doing whatever it takes to get it.

The difference between like the number one guy and the fifth-year guy on tour, let's say, a lot of it has to do with his ability to visualize, to see shots before it happens. So a lot of people have the ability to execute the shot, but if you can't see the shot you're trying to execute, you'll never be able to hit it. And the people that see the clearest, that visualize the clearest, rise to the top. And the guys that are just slightly behind, tend to not see things as clearly. That's the best way for me to put it. They're not able to visualize their success and to see what exactly they want to do right

away. It's interesting. There's an entrepreneur almost sort of surprise up. I get paid to coach people too. And I'll say, give me some of your top five goals. I'm always amazed by how vague people even are. The specificity of even the goal itself. And then I'll ask an elite athlete and it's like, I'm hit 330, 114 RBI's, 36 home runs. They know exactly what it is.

But the visualization part, do you do that before you play? Or are you talking about over the shot only? I'm just curious. Do you describe the two types? So visualizing and mental preparation is every bit as effective as physical preparation. There was a study done 25 years ago involving free throws and you had three subjects. One only shot, only physically shot three throw, free throws. One group only was able to visualize shooting

free throws for a week or two and then the next group was able to do both, visualize and shoot and the ones that visualized solely performed every bit as well as the ones that were able to physically do it and visualize and the ones that had no visualization was quite a bit behind the other two groups. And so when you visualize, you visualize perfection, you visualize hitting the shot the way you want to. And so I remember just before the Masters one year I had missed the cut in the week before I was playing terrible. I did not hit any balls for five days. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday leading up to the Masters because I wasn't physically able to hit it the way I wanted to but what I would do is I would lay at home, I would grab a club and I would visualize making a perfect swing. I would visualize hitting a perfect shot. I played nine holes in those five days and I ended up

finishing third. I didn't win, but I played some really good golf by far better than what I played the week before by just using mental rehearsal and preparation. So it's a powerful tool that you really need to combine it with physical practice, but it's a great way to get yourself ready because you only see yourself doing it the proper way, doing it perfectly.

Yeah, that's the thing I'm telling you for an old time. I had a baseball injury in college. And this is so important in business. Athletes know this, and I read a book about 20 years ago called the Corporate Athlete by named Gropel. And his contention back in the day was that business people were going to begin to perform an act like athletes.

And that the mental preparation, the mental rehearsal, I took it very seriously. I attribute that to be 50% of my success of businesses, my obsession with visualization and dreaming and clarity and repeating because your mind gravitates towards what it's most familiar with. So if your mind's most familiar with the perfect shot, the perfectly executed meaning, the perfectly executed close, you gravitate in that direction.

If it's obsessed with the failure, the fear or something, beg it moves towards that as well. And ironically, he said, Phil, at the same time, he saw athletes would begin to act more like CEOs. And I watch guys like you, or LeBron James, or the Tiger Woods, as your business man now as well. Years ago, there was Nick, listen Palmer, and a few handful of guys.

Now the rest of you, your company, you're a brand within yourself. And when I was reading your resume, I'm curious, just, I'd say 51 wins, 44 on tour, five majors, top 10 player of all time, maybe top five player of all time. Has your career turned out the way you thought it would? Is it more or less, or about what you expected it to be?

It's close to what I thought would be. I actually thought I would win all four majors. I still have the US open to go. And I might have a couple of reasonable shots at it. But I always thought I would win all four. But getting back to what you were talking about, the visualization, the CEOs have a vision and they're able to see things that others aren't. And then they know exactly how they're going to implement this to get that,

to reach that goal. And in golf, I'm able to see shots that others just don't see. And so, rather than try to articulate or whatever, I just demonstrate or show, and that's what CEOs do. They have the ability to visualize how they're going to achieve success and business, where others just don't have that vision, and that's what separates those entrepreneurs that are able to visualize it and see something that's going to be successful and others don't have that vision. That's so good, brother.

So you guys, that's why I wanted to mom, I told you. So I'm curious, that thing you have, sometimes our greatest talent can be our greatest curse. So I was in born with a bunch of talents, but one of them is pretty good at talking, pretty good articulator. God gave me a pretty deep voice. I've used all those things to my advantage in business. So I've been able to motivate and inspire people with my words. I've also said some stupid things in my life that have come back to hurt me with that same gift. And in your case, you know, in the beginning of your career, the first, you know, you were 13 years, I think, on tour before you won your first major. A lot of wins,

very successful. But everybody, you're looking one of the greatest players of all time. And I think there's something to be said for the fact that it took this man 13 years, correct me if I'm wrong, Phil, to win your first major. And I'd like you to talk about the patience that required, but also was there a modification in the way you approach the game? In other words, just because I have a vision, I could see it, sometimes executing a different approach sometimes serves us, and it served you on the golf course. Have you changed that at all, or did you just finally catch up to your talent and win?

So you're exactly right, and there was a turning point and in those 13 years I never doubted that I wouldn't win majors. I never doubted that I would win multiple majors But something had to click to put you over the top because there is a difference between a major and a regular tournament The penalty for a miss hit is much more severe You have to control your emotions a lot more because you'll get frustrated after hitting a good shot and end up with a bad score or a bogey.

So it can be a bigger challenge, let's say. Well, before the O4 masters, I ended up working with Dave Pell's and one of the things that we decided to do was better preparation. So I ended up going to Augusta with him and spent three days hitting shots into every green of where I wanted to be. So there would be spots where the pin would be, and I knew I wanted to be in such and such place.

I would hit that shot over and over. And then, if I, in the tournament, I was there, I've already hit that shot, I was much better prepared. And so I tried to make the major course, like my home course, where I knew where every ball was going to end up, every place you wanted to be, I had hit that shot before, knew what it was going to do. So it was the preparation that changed.

And my first event after preparing like that was the O4 Masters, which ended up winning. He ends up winning. Speaking of preparation, there's this guy Peyton Manning that I've got to know a little bit the last six months. I just, I interviewed Peyton for my coaching group and it leads me to something I want people to know

about that you're involved with and I want to ask you a question about preparation. So you're involved with something called the match champions for charity. If everybody doesn't know, there's this epic event last year, the match, fill against Tiger, Phil won. I think he picked up a couple bucks. I think it was like 10 million bucks or something for one day. But you got something going right now. It's you and Brady, Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson against Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning on May 24th.

What should we know about that? So, there's a couple of things. The first thing is that all $10 million being paid to the players are being donated to COVID-19 relief efforts. So, it's cool that these guys have stepped up to use their platform to provide entertainment, but also to help others in need. We'll try to cover all the bases from healthcare workers that need some assistance as well as small businesses and all the people that are affected will be able to try to create some

relief revenue for those people. The other thing that's cool is that in the first match, Tiger and I clammed up the back nine. When you're playing that much money, it's hard to talk smack. So we were quiet and this match having partners will get more out of us. So we have no caddies. So Tom Brady and myself will be discussing each dot for each of us. What we're thinking will be talking smack amongst each other as well as to the other team.

And paint manning is such a so good at that that there's going to be be a lot more banter it'll be a lot more entertaining than the first one where where it was just Tiger myself. Are you gonna win or do you not know? Oh no no I'm definitely gonna win now keep in mind we were going to play this at another course we're gonna play it somewhere else in Florida Tiger lost the first match and was he's so upset that he forced us to go to his home courts and I'm not kidding. We are at his home courts because Tiger and he wants to win and so there's nothing I would love more than the opportunity to go to his home courts and give them a bad memory.

That's awesome. We'll talk about you in Tiger in a minute, but I want people to... I'm this fear, I have dominant crews because the UFC fighter, we fought this weekend for the Bantum Wade Championship for the UFC. Good buddy of mine. In fact, in the very room I'm in, I interviewed him for the show. And when I was interviewing him, he said,

you know, I think there's a handful of moments in your life that can define you. You know, and you kind of sometimes, you sometimes you don't know your in them, sometimes you know your in them. And it's a matter of winning that fight making that pot and I kind of believe that's true. Maybe there's five or 10. I don't think you get one shot in your life if you're a prepare you might get more than one. But what is it like take us through your body? I know you've made a million pots to win tournaments in college in high school as a junior, but it's 2004

You're at Augusta national There's a lot of pressure on you. You're the best player to ever not win a major People were talking about hey, there's this thing. He's gonna do. He's gonna try to hit a shot He shouldn't hit on the back nine. He's not gonna win. You're over about an 18 foot club I want everybody in the world to listen to this you're driving in your car. I want you to picture with this man a shot he shouldn't hit on the back nine, he's not gonna win. You're over about an 18 foot cut. I want everybody in the world to listen to this. If you're driving in your car, I want you to picture with this man had 13 years on tour.

You have to picture this. He was expected to be a great player. People expected Phil Mickelson to come out on tour. He won a tournament on the PGA tour as a freaking amateur, right? And now you're over that moment. You're now in the moment. It's about an 18-foot putt. I think the most prestigious golf tournament

in the world, the Masters, you make this putt, you're winning the Masters by all intensive purposes. What goes through your freaking mind in a moment like that, is it just another putt or is that different? And what do you do to execute under that kind of pressure? So the visualization is the most important thing. So I stood behind that pot and I saw it go in over and over

and then I let that feeling of what the stroke was going to have to be, enter my body. And as I walk up to the ball, I try to maintain that feel. I try to maintain that sense of what it feels like to create that stroke and that role. Just like I did the AIDAR and into the 18th green, to set that shot up, I'm visualizing the shot, I'm seeing the way I want the ball to fly,

and I'm letting the feeling enter my body of what it feels like to create that shot through all the many hours of practice. And I try to hold that feeling so that I can get over the ball and just recreate it and let it happen, kind of get out of my way, make it almost a reactionary sport. Like in basketball, when you get the ball, you just see the hoop and you shoot it and you have this intrinsic feel of what it feels like to make that shot.

I try to let golf be much like that where I visualize and see the shot and then feeling inner my body and react to it, rather than have a series of conscious thoughts and so over that part and I'm visualizing the ball tracking down, rolling into the cup and I'm feeling intrinsically what it feels like to create that stroke as I'm standing behind the ball, walking up to the ball over the ball and I try to create that feel while I still have it. If I lose it, back away. You back away and go back through that routine again. So everybody, listen to me. You're an entrepreneur, you're a business owner,

you're an athlete, listen to this. Do you have that kind of level of preparation and you're big meeting, you're big moment? Are you visualizing to that extent? And I'm curious, I've always wanted to know this because I played golf, and if I had an 18 foot putt to win the Masters, let me tell you what we creep into my mind. I'd be afraid I'd hit a five-piece past and miss the comeback putt.

The reason I say that to you is, I know that's what an amateur thinks, but I'd be thinking, I want to make this putt, butt and the butt creeps in. I don't think I'd play golf with guys that play on your tour that are friends of mine who have confessed to me. I've asked them, hey, they've made a cut with guys that play on your tour that are friends of mine who have confessed to me I've asked them hey, they've made a cut He's your guys on your tour. I'm not gonna say who they are and I've asked him What do you think and over the t-shot on Saturday on one after you've made the cut? And I'm not exaggerating. I've had guys tell me professional golfers PGA tour golfers tell me don't top it

I'm not kidding don't top it and I'm not kidding, don't top it. And just shock me, you're at that level and you still have that fear. Does the fear creep in for you of some type and if it does, how do you ward it off? Why do I ask that? I ask that still because a lot of the people that are listening to this are gonna have

that big meeting, that one client they meet, that one thing, and I know fear creeps in for them because they've not been there before. Have they mentally reversed it? Maybe they would be. But do you get fear when you're out there and you do anything if you do experience it? You cannot play fearful. Playing golf with fear is a recipe for failure. And you cannot visualize what you don't want to have happen. You have to visualize what you do. And what I see a lot of players struggle when things go bad and their inability to control

their thoughts and refocus on what they want to have happen and the thought of what they don't want to have happen continues to enter their mind over and over, and they don't have the ability to push that out and refocus on what they actually want to have happen. I find meditation is the best way to practice that because when you focus on a particular point, whether it be the tip of a candle or such, you have to control your thoughts and thoughts will enter in from all areas and you have to be able to push those out and refocus on that candle or what you're trying to focus on. That ability to control your thoughts

ultimately will lead to success, I believe in whatever your line of work is because you have to be able to see what you want to have happen and push out those negative thoughts of what you don't want to have happen at will, you've got to be able to control your thoughts. You feel like that's a, does it give you confidence that maybe you have that muscle that other guys don't have? Do you, are you conscious like that's a, does it give you confidence that maybe you have that muscle

that other guys don't have? Are you conscious of that? Can you almost, you're playing with a guy or you know stuff like is that a part of your swag, your confidence that you believe you have that ability and even at your level, not everybody does? I do believe that and I also have a very quick memory and the ability to put things behind me and refocus on what I want to have happen. So every golf swing that I make, I'm trying to create a certain feeling and create a certain

shot. I'm not trying to fix the previous swing. And I see a lot of people try to fix what went wrong before and they're working out of the negative rather than create a great shot for the next one. So I'm always trying to work out of the positive. And so I have this belief that even if I hit a few bad shots, my next one is going to be great. And I see it pulling, coming off exactly the way I want to. I feel it before I hit it, and I try to create that. And it doesn't always work. And the reason I'm able to articulate

is because I've had the same struggles. I've had the same struggle of dealing with fearful shots or fearing what I don't want to have happened, seeing what I don't want to have happened, and now that I've gone through that and I've learned how to control my thoughts even better, I'm able to articulate it better. So I just want to stay in the middle of this just so you know, this is one of my favorite conversations ever, just so you know, we've done several hundred of these. We won't go the three and a half hours I won't't do about but I got to ask you. It's 2016 I'm going everywhere brother. You know what I'm gonna ask you. It's 2016 Those you that are not huge golf fans fill needs to win the US open win the career grants life and he's come close

A bazillion times to win in the US open. I think I have the right here. I'm pretty good at golf history Maybe I'm wrong you can correct me. 2016, Phil's gonna win the US Open. And I think you bogey to 16th hole, you come back, you par 17, maybe I have my years wrong. I gotta dig it wrong, 2006. He bogey 16, par 17. And if you par 18, you're probably gonna win the US Open. And you hit a bad tee shot. There's a series of events that in hindsight weren't great decisions, potentially.

I want to ask you about that. And I remember at the end of the round watching you, I've always rooted for you. I'm a left-handed golfer, the way you treat people, like most fans, I just root for you. And I never physically in my body hurting for you, you know. And I remember you saying, I think you literally said, I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I did that. I think you actually referred to yourself that way. I want to know what does it feel like to have a failure at all of us. You're a failure and a marriage failure and a business.

And we have to come back again and you have an event like that happen. How did you come back? What were you thinking? How long did it take you to come back, et cetera? Tell us about that. So I lost six US opens where I finished second. The wing foot was one. I probably came closest, but there was another one I'd rather talk about, which was

Marion in 2013, where I had a chance. I was tied for the lead or leading with the 9 or 10 holes to go. And I ended up getting a bad wedge on a short part three three and I made bobe on a hole that you really needed to make birdie. I ended up losing by a shot or two to Justin Rose. And for the next week, I was really down because I was 43 years old. It was kind of my last chance to, one of my last chances, let's say, to win a US Open and I was really down after letting that one slide and I went to a place with my family spent about seven to ten days and about the eight or eight or ninth day it dawned on me that I'm playing really good golf and even though I lost I don't want to let

this linger and carry on into my next my next performances my next opportunities and so I went to Europe and played in the Scottish and British Open, and it happened to be probably the best two-week experience of my career. I ended up winning the Scottish Open. My first tournament win in Europe on Lynxball, I followed it up with winning the British Open at Mirfield, where I never really believed I would win the British Open the way I knew I was going to win the Masters or other majors. And so that was probably my greatest accomplishment.

So I went from one of my toughest failures to my greatest accomplishment, meaning we can't let the failures hold us back. Yeah, it hurts, it stings, but we have to put it behind us and learn from those mistakes and not let that hold us back because we have to refocus on what we want to accomplish. And we're all going to deal with setbacks and failures. And I've had a number of them, but I've also had a lot of successes that make up for it. So are you one of these guys where like you savor these wins more than you lament the losses? I interviewed a lot of athletes ago now to be honest with you.

Some of these losses hurt more than the wins felt good. What's true for you? I think that I certainly hate to lose more than I love to win and that motivates me to work harder with the failures that I have and it motivates me to practice harder so that I don't lose. It's not so much the great experience of winning that I thrive on, it's just that I hate to lose. But as I look back, I really try to cherish the positive moments that have happened in

my career and appreciate it and be grateful for having those moments, those memories. And I try not to dwell too much on the failures, but the one failure that I will look back on is the one that you mentioned in the OS6, the OS Open and Week. But it wasn't the drive that really bothered me. I only hit two fairways out of 14 all day. It was the second shot because my my short game that week was better than it's ever been. It was the best short game week of my career. I hit I average I think three or four fairways around and yet I should almost won the U.S. Open. So it was the second shot that I did not carve the three iron around the tree. I started a little

too far left. It caught the limb and fell straight down. If I started a little bit further right and sliced it around that tree and I had a fine line, I came off for the corporate hospitality time, but that graph was all mad at down. My lie was fine. That three iron gets up by the green. I'm going to get that up and down. That was the best week of my short game. I would have made it for.

The second shot was the one that I looked back on. That's interesting because I'm going to challenge you on that. I think you know that a lot of people thought their error was in trying to hit the three-hour. Didn't people feel like you should have tried to lay up and just get up and down or am I wrong about that? That they felt like... A lot of people probably thought that, but again, I'm able to see things that others aren't and I had a... All I have to do is just hit a high cut three iron around the tree. It's going to end up by the greens somewhere.

Probably on the green, it wasn't a hard shot. I'm going to pull it off seven out of 10 times, eight out of 10 times. It's going to end up by the green if not on. And then my short game takes over. And I get up and down when the US open. So I pushed it about two yards too far to the left in it and it caught the limbs.

I love it. Thank you for sharing that, by the way. I love being in that moment with you because I'm never going to be in that moment as for us, right? So and most of us aren't going to be. I want to talk about your approach. There's four dudes you're playing with and again, guys, check out this champion's fraternity. It's going to be special. It's going to be really, really cool. Your approach is a little different. And I mean, I'm gonna tell you what I mean by that, and maybe it's just exterior. And I think you give hope to people.

I'm an intense guy. And I think when people see me in business, they see other intense business leaders, they think you have to be, I don't know, whatever I am. And then in golf, Tigers approach up until recently was just this. He wasn't kissing babies and hugging every patron and every tournament in between holes. Let's put it that way. There's a there's this thing about him, right? And Brady

intends, I think Peyton in his own way, intends. You seem to function when you're playing your sport, almost like you're enjoying, you're enjoying the experience. You seem, maybe it's exterior, you seem looser to me. You've probably been told that before. You're looking at the crowd, you're making eye contact, you're smiling more. Is that a tactic where it keeps you relaxed and loose? Is it just your disposition? Or is there this, if we cut you in tiger open inside the same things going on

internally and your heart and mind in terms of intensity? So part of it is my disposition and part of it is a tactic because I realize about myself that I play and perform better when I'm having fun and when I'm more talkative and some people play better when they are quiet and block everything out and don't say a word. But that's not me. That's not how I play my best. I actually try doing that early in my career and I would go to these majors determined that I'm going to be focused and win and I would get tight and I wouldn't play my best

golf doing that. And so I found out that in realized that part of myself is talking more laughing having fun Telling stories getting my mind off of the shots in between and then refocusing when it was time to hit the shot I played my best and so when I get a little too quiet I get I find I get a little too tight and I have to make an effort to be a little bit more talkative Listen tell stories what have you to loosen me up because that's what allows me to play my best. And part of success is each person has to find out what works best for them. Very good. And I, I, I gotta tell you, I asked Zach Johnson's the first guest I had on the show

about this very topic. But I'm a very competitive person. I've also been blessed to be around athletes like yourself that have performed at a level that I'll never get to. And I know what it's like to have to play pickleball with John L. Wei at two o'clock in the morning because I've beaten him five times. And he's not going to leave until he's beat you or playing cards with different guys. I'm watching the ESPN documentary on Michael Jordan right now.

He's competing with the security guard and who can throw a car or a coin up against the wall to closest. And you're a notorious crazy person competitor. And I asked Zach, I said, Zach, do you love golf? I was surprised. It is answer. It was more like, I like golf.

I don't love the grind of it anymore. What I love is to compete. and I'm best at golf. That's where I can win the most. So two things. A, talk about competition and how much it means to you. And then B, do you love golf? Do you love the game of golf? I love golf beyond belief because I love every aspect

of the game. I love the competition. That's certainly a big part of it. I love getting out with the guys, smack-cocking. I love competing at the highest level in majors and PJ Tour events. I also love getting out there with friends or going out to the golf course by myself and the solitude and just trying to practice and get better on my own. I love every element that the game provides, but I also need golf in my life because my mind doesn't shut off. And if I don't have something to consume all my thoughts, I could easily go down a negative

direction. I've always gambling is an easy way for me to go down. I've never tried a recreational drug, but if I ever did, it would be easy for me to get caught up in that. I have to have something positive to consume my thoughts. And golf has been a savior for me in my life. I ultimately end up having other hobbies so that when I get outside of golf, I have to hyper focus on whatever that is.

And so, you know, for a long time, I ended up flying and I got into flying and kind of dove all into that. And then I got into martial arts and then I got into sniper shooting and I have to have something to consume my thought but golf has saved me because it's a four or five hour meditation experience and it's given me something it's midnight to be focused on what about a golf club what if I tried doing something a little different maybe two drivers at the master maybe no drivers of the British open maybe only one driver in the PGA, and I've won the majors with 0, 1, and 2 drivers. I've tried to create a new club.

I have three or four patents from the companies that I've been with, from creating some ideas. My mind doesn't shut off. Maybe it's my golf swing at 2.30, I'll have a dream and I can't wait to get out to the golf course to do it. If I didn't have golf, my mind would would go down could easily go down some negative pass. And so I need that positive element to focus on and golf has given me that as well as so much more not only a form of competition and camaraderie and solitude but also an incredible living. I really owe the game a golf a lot in my life. I love it. I appreciate it and I'm so grateful for it. Yeah, you're just you're brother. We're talking off-camera and I think if you're

married this if you're a crazy person like Phil and I are you should go back and rewind the last five minutes and play it for your spouse because if you're with and y'all know what I'm talking about you're an obsession obsessive addictive person that most people can't connect and relate to that That's most max out people that are listening to this. And they need to know that you want them to have, we're going to have it obsession. So best we find healthy ones. And best for you that are listening to this, that you find healthy ones. And so I'm really glad that you articulated that way.

There's a couple of things also I've admired about you that I want to ask you about. You're 49 to be 50 years old in June, right? Yeah, yeah, and You're you're you've seen to me as hungry as innovative as Creative as driven as you have ever been in your career like it's not really ebbed in float and I'd like to think I have an element of that myself too. I don't need to be doing this today. You don't need to be doing this today yet. We're both fascinated with contributing and growing

and experiencing new things. Yeah, not everyone's that way, Phil. You know a bunch of guys when they won their first tour, they stopped, their first tournament, they stopped working as hard, or they got their tour card, or they got their first big check, or they won their first major.

There was somebody I watched. I remember when they won their first major, or they got their first big check, or they won their first major. There was somebody I watched, I remember when they won their first major and they said something, I remember thinking, that will be their only major championship, right? You seem to be fueled almost, your fires fueled by the success you've had. What causes a 50-year-old guy like you who's already cemented his place in history

to be so driven and hungry at this stage of your life still and you know that's not normal. You know that that's not there's not a lot of guys like you. What is that? What is it? So money doesn't drive me. I've been fortunate to be okay there but what drives me is my passion and love for the game of golf and the challenge of trying to do something that others can't. And so winning major championships as I get older in life or winning PJ tour events as I get further along in my life, that becomes a greater challenge than it was before. And so it's a greater work ethic.

I appreciate it more. It forces me to get in the gym if you look at pictures from the 2006 US Open, where I am the heaviest I've ever been, I'm wearing a yellow shirt and I'm just disgusted at how much of a house I am in that picture. And then where I am now, I eat better, I take care of myself better. I wish I had done that more in my career to understood and appreciate the elements of nutrition and overall fitness to help you perform better. I wish I had been more aware of that, but I got educated on a little bit later, and it's

not too late. It forces me to get in better shape, to keep my swing speed up. So I'm actually stronger than I've been in a long time. My swing speed is faster than it's been since actually ever in my career. I'm hitting the ball longer than I have, and there's no reason why I can't go out and compete with the young great players of today. And I think that that challenge is what drives me. That love that I have for the game of golf and that difficult challenge continues to motivate me. I think I can do something that that nobody else has done or thought possible when major championships in their 50s, when PGA

Tour vets in their 50s and play some of my best golf in my 50s I believe it's possible. That means you're not going to go play in the champion's Tour. You're going to be on the PGA Tour. So that means? I'm ruling that out because I really appreciate the guys that are on the Champions Tour. A lot of them are my friends and a lot of them set up the PGA Tour to give me that opportunity. In the Champions Tour, if I can help out that tour by playing a few events and maybe have a little bit more sponsor interest and so forth and get that tour so it does not need funding from the PGA tour, I would love to do that to help out.

So I might play two, three, four, five events, I'm not sure, but I don't wanna devalue what that tour is, but the challenge that motivates me drives me is winning major championships and PGA tour events against the best players in the world. I want everyone to hear that. A lot of the my audience, I have audience from 12 years old to a 70 years old.

And if there's a 50 year old man that's telling you, he's going to go out. And by the way, absolutely can still win another major. Still has one of the greatest short games of all time. I think the greatest short game of all time. And most people believe that. And hits the ball further than he's ever hit the golf ball. There's absolutely no reason why he couldn't win

a couple more majors at this age. If you're a 55 year old entrepreneur, you can still win. Business has no age. So many people think, because of Instagram and this day and age, like, I'm ending my time's past me by. That's absolutely not the case at all.

Art is curious. Here's how innovative this man is. At his age, are you still doing the intermittent fasting? We were talking about, are you still doing that? Oh yeah. And not only that, I fast every Monday, Tuesday for 36 hours, just to let my body reset each week. So guys, you guys don't know I had Dr. Ian Smith on,

who talked about intermittent fasting, Phil's tinkering and improving all the time and innovating. He knows the formula that got him to win 10 years ago isn't exactly the same thing. It's gonna get him to win now. Same as an entrepreneur, same as a dad. Couple more things I'm curious about. I got to ask you about Tiger.

So there's this thing now where you guys are pals. And I wanna really know the truth about that. Like, I think everyone assumes that there were some years there where the two of you weren't holding hands and breakfast every morning in between every single tournament. So you had this tie or you had you, I love that one tournament I was watching. I forget where you were, but I think you're in the final group and you're on the T-Box and they're reading off his resume of wins in the middle of it. We'll dub it in here, but you're like, all right, all right.

That's enough. I was one of my favorite moments of all time at sports, but are you really friends now, or is this just sort of like not real? Can you really be that close with your rival? I mean, like really, what's, where are you guys really at? So there are going to be points where we have a contention and there's going to be points

where we work together and I think throughout my entire career with them, I've always had the utmost respect for what he's done for me and my family because he's increased the ratings on the PGA tour as well as the off course opportunities. When I turned pro in 1993, my first win was in 1991, the entire person was a million dollars and first place check was 180,000 and I used to wonder if we would ever have a first place check of a million dollars. Higher comes along in the end of 96 and we're playing for a million dollars, first place checks not too far after and we have been ever since.

So nobody's more appreciative or benefited more from what he's done for the game, bringing it onto the golf, onto the front page of the newspapers at the time. And I've benefited more than anybody, so I'm always appreciative and I always have the utmost respect for him because of that. And our relationship, although we've never been, let's say, really close when we worked together for the Ryder Cup to try to win in 2016. We were talking a lot and coming up with game plans, court strategy, players, partners, this course setup, we were talking about a lot of details

on how we could play our best and be successful. And when you work together for a common goal, that brings you closer. I think that was kind of the turning point for us in that we were working together for a common goal. But we will always have challenges. I love to beat him more than anybody. He loves to beat me.

And obviously in the big picture, he's dominated B. He's got the best player of all time. And early in my career, he got the better of me. But I've evened out the record head to head. And the latter part of my career, I've gotten the better of him. So it's been something I enjoy doing. But Magnum's mistake, I'm very appreciative for what he's done for me, my family and the game of golf. I won't I won't

ever talk bad about him because of that. So tell truth here, I watched Barkley the other night on the Jordan deal. And I just find it hard to believe any professional athlete thinks this, but I want to ask you. And Barkley said it was the first time in my career where I was on the basketball court. I don't know if you saw this. And I believe Charles felt that way. He said his first time, I'll paraphrase, I'm gonna say it wrong. He said it's the first time I live on the basketball court where I knew there was a guy on the court that was just better than me if we were both playing at our A-Ding. And I like that and I didn't like it. And I'm a tiger with span, I'm a filmickelson fan, but I don't even know that I know the answer to this.

And I'm curious is what you would say about this. Please don't be humble. I'd really like to know what you believe about this. If you were both playing your A game, your optimum level of golf, or you confident that you could beat him, if you're both playing your A game. So I've always had the belief that yes, I could beat him. If you're both playing your A-Gay. So I've always had the belief that yes, I could beat him. The 2000 US Open was a moment where I was questioning myself if I would be able to do that because I saw the best performance

in the history of the game of golf. And it was very intimidating. And I knew that I was going to have to do things different. He got the best out of me. He got me to work harder. He got me to focus harder. He got me to focus harder. He got me to perform better. And when he started changing instructors, what happens in golf, there's a million ways to play great golf. There's a million ways to succeed.

You see a lot of different golf swings. And what you have to do is you have to stand a path, continue going forward and refine, refine, refine, get better, better, better. And it's small increments. And when he started switching instructors, he started moving laterally to another path and trying to go up that other path.

And to his credit, three times, he's worked with different instructors, with different swings, with different paths. And he's been able to be successful, win, be number one in the world, and win majors. So I give him a lot of credit for that, but I always wonder that if he had stayed

on that original path, I think he could have been even more intimidating to try to be. But once he started jumping around, I continued to believe that I could beat him. Even though my record never really was that successful against him in the big picture, I felt like I could still beat him. I love that answer. A couple more things. I played golf with your brother a couple times at Gaza, Tim,

who's now your, you're, you're caddy now, isn't he? He is and he's one of my favorite people in the world to be around. So I, and I enjoyed my time with him. And I asked you this out of curiosity. By the way, I want to go back to something Phil just said, I just wanted to say this. So some of you business people quit picking coke,

pick a coach and stick with them. Quit switching. Who your system you're following and what you're doing because I do think that probably cost tiger would spy or eight majors is just constantly not staying on a path. But about your brother, I've met both of you and I'm just curious because a lot of parents listen to this. You're both studs is the way I would say it.

Your brother's different than you but but both of you are impressed with people. Your brother's got a swagger and a confidence in about him. I'd call it a charisma that I've noticed in your brother. And I thought they must come from a wonderful family. There's something special that had to happen in that house to produce. I mean, obviously, you've had a level of success that's unprecedented in your craft, but I was also very impressed with your brother and also impressed with the relationship you have with them.

What happened in your house that your parents did that we all need to know about that's produced such really wonderful men. I'm just curious if there's anything in that home that we should know about. So my mom and sister are our tremendous women too and And my dad had this quiet confidence and quiet self-esteem. He was a fighter pilot. He was an instructor at Top Gunn for the F.A. Crusader at Miramar. He was assigned to the Blue Angels in the F4 and was a commercial pilot there after. But he had this confidence to himself. And he never ever talked about it.

He was just had a high self-esteem, but he wasn't arrogant or cocky in any way, but he was just the best at what he did. And when you have that, he kind of carries that over into our whole family. So my siblings, my sister and brother, have always been supportive and genuinely happy for my success and not jealous. And therefore, I have a really good relationship with both of them. My brother Tim is confident in who he is and as a person he's not jealous. He's genuinely happy for my success and he's been very successful what he's done as a college golf coach for many years. He's a phenomenal caddy and what's great about him is a caddy is that he has the ability to see how

a golf course should be played for the top players like John Ron who played for him for four years and also for the fifth guy who's struggling and how he needs to perform to give his team a chance when he doesn't have his A game. So he's able to look at me and say, look, we don't have it today. Let's do this and shoot our number today and see if we can come out tomorrow hot and get it turned around and then he says, look, you're firing an all-sill understanding man, hit the driver, let's go make a three. So he has the ability to adjust and adapt for all different levels of play as a college golf coach. He carries that over into a caddy, but it's his self-esteem and confidence in himself, who he is, that is make some so charismatic, fun to be around and supportive as opposed to jealous.

Yeah, I noticed that in him and then the other thing just family-wise, I wanted to ask you, I have this theory that for someone to go on and have this success you got, I mean you guys don't know, if you're not a golf fan you don't know this. Phil has left tournaments to come home, he missed a US Open for a graduation for family, he and Amy seem to have a remarkable relationship. I know that you guys went through a battle where she had breast cancer. How critical has been your home front?

There's a thing about you that I've admired, which it seems, I'm sure it's never perfect. It seems like, and I know it's not perfect, because mine's not perfect, but it seems like you've done a wonderful job as a husband and a father and in your life. And you have a big life. You have a lot of friends, you have a lot of commitments, corporate relationships, things

you need to do, things like today. I got to think Amy is at the center of all of that. And I want people to hear this who are married to understand the sort of support or structure that needs to exist around somebody like you that allows you to perform in multiple areas at such a high level. So if you address that just for a minute, I'd love to hear your perspective on that. So Amy is one of the most intelligent, brilliant,

remarkable people that I've ever been around and for me to be able to share the last 27 years with her is remarkable because to be successful, whatever it is, especially in athletes, we get very self-centered. We get very into our own selves, our own world. We sometimes get very disengaged to what's going on around us. And she has been just a godsend and keeping the kids solid people and grounded and keeping

me engaged. Yeah, you're blessed. And dobs. I don't think you can do what you've done without that. Okay, last two questions. Thank you, by the way. I'm Kelly. No, last two questions. Thank you, by the way, which is, I'm killing. No humility here. Someone pulled you aside and said, hey, Phil, what has made you special? And no humility.

There's a special something. And I know we've covered a lot of things, visualization. I'm talking about you, the spirit, you, the human, you, the man, you've risen to this level. Clearly, there's, you know, people that don't know this, those are big dudes too. I was struck when I first, like, there's a big man. Clearly, there's some athletic giftedness there, okay?

But what is the special? Like, if, hey guys, if I don't, if I, if I sound like I'm bragging, I'm sorry. But this is what's special about me. You would say what? I will do whatever it takes to succeed. So when I was eight years old, I knew that I loved golf.

I wanted to play golf and I didn't have the access to a country club or to play. And I went down, my parents took me down to the municipal courts. It was Navajo Canyon. It's called Mission Trails Now and I got a job picking the range when I was eight three nights a week for the ability to play and practice on the golf course. Eight. At eight and so they had my parents had to sign a waiver and I give Rick Thompson the head pro there at the time a

lot of credit for taking a risk and the liability of having somebody that young on staff but I was out there picking the range three nights a risk and the liability of having somebody that young on staff. But I was out there picking the range three nights a week and the days that I wasn't working I was out there hitting balls playing and practicing. So I was willing to do whatever it took. And then when I at 12, when I was 12, they had to do ownership and they let go of everybody under 16. I went down to another course, Stardust, which is now Riverwalk and downtown San Diego.

And I ended up working there all the way through high school and would pick the range there. That was a nightlit range. So oftentimes I wouldn't get done to 11 or 12 at night, but I was willing to do whatever it took to be successful and to give myself those opportunities. So that's kind of the difference is that a lot of people have talent,

but not everybody is willing to do whatever it takes. So good. All right, last question. I don't wanna ever say something's my favorite. So I'm just gonna tell you how great this has been. And I wanna thank you in advance before we finish here. I knew it, but this is stuff that,

this is master class stuff, everybody, that you play for your kids, that you want to win. This is stuff that you play for your business teams, and you let them soak in this wisdom here today. So good. Okay. I'm an entrepreneur. I win a contest to meet you at Starbucks, and I get to pick your brain for a minute.

I get to ask you a couple questions, and I'd be remiss if I didn't ask this on behalf of everybody. Listen, I'm an entrepreneur. I want to win. I want to be somebody. I want to create something. You've been around everyone. You've been around the best athletes. You've been around some of the top business people of all time. There's something you've picked up. And they said, I just need your best advice. And I know it's difficult. It's not one thing that makes somebody successful. I've got preparation. I've heard through you about visualization. I have your competitive nature. You've got

things structured on the home front. You come from a family that instills self-esteem in you. All of the hard work that you put in, all of those elements combined, is there some advice you'd give me as an entrepreneur that maybe we haven't covered yet today that you'd say, hey, look, if I'd give you one more thing, it'd probably be this. What would it be? Well, you have to surround yourself with people that see your same vision and support you. So my golf coach at Arizona State, and now my manager for the last 27 years Steve Lloyd, saw that vision and what I wanted to accomplish and did everything he could help support me in that goal. I have a wife who has been so supportive in throughout my career.

And so not everybody is going to see what you see, not everybody is going to believe that what you believe is possible. But you have, so you don't want to be or surround yourself with those people. You want to surround yourself with the people that support you and see the same vision that you see and then lift each other up. So good. All right, guys, you want to follow you on Instagram, right? Yeah. Guys, let me tell you something.

The best athlete to follow on social media is this dude. If you want to go watch, you got to go see firesside Chats with Phil Mickelson. It's the best. So, where are you at on Instagram? Is it at Phil Mickelson with the blue check mark and just tell him what a Fireside chat is real quick and then I'll wrap things up. So I'm 50 and I've had a lot of experiences over the year, a lot of pros, a lot of stories to tell and so the Fireside Chats came with just sharing some of the stories that have occurred to me that you don't hear in the media that you might enjoy otherwise.

And so I do a lot of them myself, but I also have other guests that will come on and talk about it. And I just want to provide some content that people wouldn't see in a normal media, or actually stories I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing with other people. I'd rather just do it directly so that there's no confusion in the translation of how it's presented. Okay guys, you've got to follow Phil on Instagram. Phil, this has been an honor brother and I'm so glad that we finally connected. I am looking forward to taking some of your money

here soon when we go out play together at the club we belong to. And thank you bro for being here today. I really appreciate it so much. Thanks. That it's been fun being on and fun talking to you and I look forward to playing with you. Me too. Hey everybody, don't forget me on Instagram. Follow me on Instagram. Every day I run the max out two minute drill. I make a post every day 7 30 AM Pacific. 10 30 Eastern. You make a comment in the first two minutes. You can win right on my jet. Get coached by me. Tickets to see me speak. My book, max out gear. All kinds of cool stuff. If you miss the first two minutes, make a comment on every post every day. And if you replied other people's contents, I want you all engaging together. You increase your chances of winning as well. I pick winners every single Sunday, weighing out the winners. We do it every week. We're consistent with it.

Follow me on Instagram and engage in the first two minutes of max out, two minute drill. God bless you. Share the program with everyone. Max out. This is the end of my live show. you