3 Powerful Business Insights I Learned On My Birthday

Ever notice how life's most profound business lessons often come from unexpected moments? That's exactly what happened during my birthday week.

Golf with my family taught me three crucial entrepreneurial insights. First, the ability to shake off bad shots is paramount. When business doesn't go as planned—and it rarely does—don't let temporary setbacks derail your entire journey. Second, remember that after every challenging "hole," there's always another opportunity to start fresh. Finally, sometimes the wisest move isn't attempting a miraculous recovery but simply getting back to safe ground. In both golf and business, knowing when not to be a hero can save you from disaster.

The family tradition we call "the whip around" revealed another powerful truth. During this practice, everyone takes turns sharing something positive about the birthday person. The lesson? Don't just think appreciative thoughts—speak them aloud. As leaders, we often assume our teams know we value them without explicitly saying so. Yet there's irreplaceable power in verbalized appreciation. Make it a practice to specifically and sincerely acknowledge what makes your team members valuable.

Perhaps the most touching moment came unexpectedly when my grandson spontaneously kissed me on the cheek during celebrations. This simple gesture created a memory I'll treasure forever—and nearly went unnoticed in the busy atmosphere. Kingdom entrepreneurs must cultivate the awareness to catch these precious moments amid the chaos of building a business. After all, meaningful connections aren't distractions from our work; they're often the very purpose of it.

Whether you're navigating setbacks, leading a team, or balancing business with life's precious moments, these birthday reflections offer valuable guidance for your entrepreneurial journey. Share this episode with someone who needs this reminder today, and visit thecoachmartinshow.com to discover how we can help align your business with God's blueprint for success.

Transcript

Welcome to The Coach Martin Show

Speaker 1 0:02

Welcome to the Coach Martin Show. Where faith meets strategy and purpose fuels profit. This is Coach Martin, and this is the space where bold believers, kingdom-minded entrepreneurs and visionaries like you come to grow, get inspired and build businesses that glorify God. Each week, we'll dive into real conversations, practical wisdom and divine insight to help you steward your calling in the marketplace, whether you're just starting out or scaling up. This is your reminder you're not building alone. Let's align your business with God's blueprint, because kingdom business isn't just what we do, it's who we are. Let's get into it. This podcast will start in 3, 2, 1.

Birthday Golf: Shaking Off Bad Shots

Speaker 2 0:54

Hey everybody, welcome to the show. I'm your host, coach Martin. We got a good. We got a special, special, special, special week. It's my, it was my birthday, and the way we do it here at the house is it's not just your birthday for the day, it's your birthday all week, and sometimes we would stretch it longer. I don't know if you guys do this, but sometimes we'll just do it for the whole month, but in reality we do it for the week. So today's episode is going to be on lessons from my birthday. So yesterday was super special.

Speaker 2 1:21

Um basically started with my boys taking me to golf. That was super fun. Then we went and you know, the family cooked dinner for me and then we had the dessert. So we're going to start with three lessons that I'm going to share with you that I think are going to be applicable for you and your entrepreneurship. Number one golf with my kids. So I'm very competitive. I go there. You know my son-in-law is really, really good. I usually am not going to beat him. He's about a four or five handicap. But we were playing with me one of my sons and then my son-in-law, one of his friends and I was like, okay, I'm going to beat the other two.

Speaker 2 1:59

Well, you know, the first three holes I didn't start out pretty good. I don't know if I got any golfers out there listening, but you know, sometimes you show up and it ain't working, you know, and a couple of times, like you hit some really good shots but you know, took a bad roll, go in the bunker, you know, and sometimes it just it starts off pretty bad, but you know, here's the deal. You know, just because you have a few bad shots, don't let it affect your whole day. You know it could have easily affected the rest of my game and then it could have went into my birthday and they just kind of ruined the whole thing. So get really good at shaking stuff off, especially if we're talking business. Business doesn't always go the way that we plan, so sometimes you got to just shake off the bad shots. Number two always remember that no matter how bad you did on that hole, there's always another one. So get good at erasing it and starting over. And the third thing I want to talk about on golf is there's times where you hit a bad shot and you're under trees or you're behind a bush, or whatever the case is. Don't be a hero. Sometimes the safest bet is just to get back in the fairway. You shake it off and then you just start over from there. Business is the same way. So if you find yourself in a hole, you know the old saying put the shovel down.

The Power of the Whip Around

Speaker 2 3:15

Okay, number two don't speak it. Or I should say, don't think it, speak it. So you're probably thinking well, what is he talking about? So my wife does this special thing that she's done for a long time. Where she calls it, it's called the whip around. So every day on somebody's birthday you know, when we typically were at a table, our baby were in the living room we always do a thing where everyone goes around the room and they say something good about that, about that person, and it's just special. So she's very, very good at doing it, she's very intentional and you know we're in the kitchen and we're getting ready to jump into the dessert right, blow out the candle and everyone does the whip around and you know it's just it's special. You know, I know, you know it, I know that people, you know they love you and you probably already know that, but it's super special just hearing the great things about yourself, that they think of you. So I'm going to encourage you I know this isn't so much business, but be good at speaking it. If you have employees, don't just think it. Make sure you tell them. Tell them how much you appreciate them, tell them what they mean to you, but make sure that when you start your birthday, do the whip around. I promise it'll be a long-lasting effect.

Don't Miss the Moments

Speaker 2 4:31

And the third thing I want to talk about is don't miss the moments.

Speaker 2 4:35

So I love golf and it's easy to sit there and tell you that my favorite time yesterday was playing golf and hitting a couple amazing shots. Normally that would be the case. Normally I would be honest and I'd be telling you that I remember there was one particular moment where I was sitting at the bar and I'm sitting on a bar stool and I'm getting ready to get, like you know, my ice cream and to blow out my candle, and I had the family all around standing up and next to me in the bar stool still next to me was my son-in-law. My son-in-law was my grandson and he was sitting there. We're talking, we're all talking, and I could feel him. He reaches over. He kissed me on the cheek. He literally just kissed me on the cheek. He literally just kissed me on the cheek like for no reason, and I remember looking up and my wife missed the moment. She was down on her phone and you know I was encouraged because I wanted to tell her as soon as we got in the car to go home.

Episode Closing and Call to Action

Speaker 2 5:29

But you know what Like that moment I'll never forget the rest of my life. So slow down sometimes, don't miss the moments. Right, there's some special moments going on, even in chaos. So slow down and don't miss the moments. Listen, I promise you that you have friends, you have family, you have colleagues that need to hear some of the things that we talked about today. Do us a favor Share the episode with your friends. Share the episode with your family, share it, share it. Share it. If we could be of any service to you, reach out to us. Don't hesitate. You know, visit us on the coachmartinshowcom. Share, share and share again. We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. Until next time, I'm Coach Martin, we are out.

Speaker 1 6:16

That's a wrap on today's episode of the Coach Martin Show. I hope you're leaving with a fresh insight, renewed faith and a fire to move forward in your calling. If this blessed, you share it with somebody who needs it, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and leave a review. It helps us reach more kingdom-minded leaders just like you. Until next time, keep building with boldness, lead with purpose and remember when God is your CEO. Success looks different and legacy lasts forever. Be blessed and we'll see you in the next episode.