5 Years of Mulligans, a Golf Cart Named Christine…And Other Stuff

Have you ever been in a golf cart and because it seemed like that very golf cart had it out for you…your life flashed before your eyes? I HAVE! And it not only made my life flash before my eyes…I was able to sum up the past 5 years of my life!

I know you must be wondering how can a golf cart have it out for you and give you an “aha” moment all at the same time. Truth be told, this has more to do than just with a golf cart so let me give you the full context of the story. I warn you though…You have to keep up because there will be a lot going on. BUT I do promise it will make sense.

So the day started at 4:30 AM. Yes…4:30 AM. I was able to get 3 ish hours of sleep. It was tempting to just roll back over and catch the extra closed eyed winks, but I know I would be kicking myself if I did. You may be wondering why on earth did I have to get up at 4:30 AM if I am a WFH (Work from Home) Entrepreneur. I can rest assured you it was not to work out (another discussion for a later time). I woke up at 4:30 AM because I was volunteering at a golf tournament, and I was assigned to greet people/get them checked in. Hence why I could not go back to sleep because I needed the extra time to get myself ready and look presentable. By the way…For those who know me, I DID NOT wear yoga pants and a t-shirt so you would be proud of your girl!

As in any “normal” day, I anticipated that I will learn new things, meet new people, get some downloads, and all of everything else that seemed “normal” to me. Little did I know the encounter that I would have would not only make me take back my desire for living in a golf cart community, but it would truly make me operate within a different fire zone.

The day started out great when I made it to the location. It was still dark when we all arrived at the golf course, so we were privileged to watch the sun rise. It was cold, but manageable. I just need ALL of you to remind to NOT go outside with wet hair at 6 something in the morning given this time of year. We got set up. And before we knew it, it was showtime!

The golf players showed up and they were ready to play…and I was ready to get them checked in. Everything went by so quickly. Before I knew it the time said 8:30 AM and all of the players jumped in their golf carts and they were on their way. Given the fact that the morning rush was over, it was now time to wait for lunchtime to help get other things organized before the players came back. So, let’s fast forward because I do not want to bore you with the in-betweens. I would say this though…when you wake up at 4:30 AM and accomplish to get at least 40 people golf players checked-in by 8 something…it seems like the time of day should be later than 8 something in the morning.

It was a little after 11 AM when someone came and told me that the event host needed me to go around the course to sell extra mulligans. And for those who do not know what a mulligan is (like I initially did prior to this event), don’t feel bad because I actually thought it was a brand of beer. Read the definition below and keep it in mind for later. I PROMISE…all of this will make sense later.

Mulligan (According to Wikipedia) – A mulligan is a second chance to perform an action, usually after the first chance went wrong through bad luck or a blunder. Its best-known use is in golf, whereby it refers to a player being allowed, only informally, to replay a stroke, although that is against the formal rules of golf. The term has also been applied to other sports, games, and fields generally. The origin of the term is unclear.

Going back to the initial request, I was wondering why I was being asked to get in a golf cart to sell extra mulligans. Before I could finish the thought, the person that came to me with the request said, “I was told you’d be the best person for the job.” SideBar – Isn’t it so normal to say “Why me?” When the whole time someone thought more of you and the value you bring to the table? Another “note” to keep in mind as you read this.

Soooooo…Confession. Besides the fact I questioned, “Why me?” This was honestly the first time EVER that I would be driving a golf cart. In my mind, I’m wondering how hard can this be?? I drive an SUV. I drive nothing but SUVs…so how hard can a golf cart be? SMH…I was about to find out.

I get in the golf cart. I look for a seat belt. NO seat belt. I’m thinking golf carts have to be that safe if you don’t need a seat belt. I turn the “key” and push the button to go in reverse. WHY on earth do golf carts beep so loud the moment you push the button to go in reverse? And the thing will not stop until you are fully in position to go forward, and you push the button to go forward. So now that the makeshift annoying alarm clock experience was over, I was well on my way to drive around this HUGE golf course to sell more mulligans for a good cause.

My drive started out smooth. I had to make my way on the golf cart path which technically was on a sidewalk and then I had to turn left to get on the actual course. FIRST OFF…Golf carts NEED seat belts. The golf cart path had its wear and tear so imagine me trying to not fall out of the side of the golf cart, but then also trying to properly proportion myself in the seat to not feel as if I was about to tip over. Again…I can drive an SUV so why did driving a golf cart seem like the most diabolical experience EVER. Yes, it was that extreme for me and after my bout with 2 hills I named the golf cart “Christine”. I know some of you may be wondering why am I naming a golf cart “Christine”. When I was younger, I watched A LOT of horror movies and there is a movie called “Christine”. It is about a car that kills people with all of the ’80s intensified dramatic acting. So yes…The golf cart earned the name “Christine” because I felt this thing was trying to take me out!

You would think “Christine” would be doing its job in itself until there were birds INTENTIONALLY putting themselves in my driving path and of course, I did not want a PETA charge so I immediately pushed my foot on the break… but that doesn’t help being in a mid-uphill incline. Imagine a golf cart going at the speed it can go UPHILL and then having to stop the golf cart in order to not kill birds that have the mentality of a squirrel that likes to play chicken in the middle of the road. I prayed that I did not hit a bird and have to resurrect it from the dead…because again I did NOT need a PETA charge. Nor did I need it on my conscience that I ran over a bird and its family was waiting for it to come home. And it didn’t stop there. It was like all of the birds on the golf course knew I was on the golf cart path and had nothing else to do but walk in front of the golf cart right before I approached the area they were in. Who does this??? Apparently, birds that can fly but are obviously bored and want to have some “excitement” in their lives.

After 1,897,088 “Why me’s?”, I FINALLY saw people. I composed myself from the multiple near-death experiences I encountered on the way to engage the players, see how their day was going, and to sell mulligans. Keep in mind there were players ALL OVER the course so once I finished interacting with the players I approached, I then had to start my journey with “Christine” and the Wu-Tang Killer Bee Birds ALL OVER again. Imagine doing this over and over again. I was literally asking God to make it all stop right then and there. I wanted to click my heels three times and magically end back up in the hosting area.

I eventually came to a spot where I only found one player who was playing golf by himself. I (the person who I am) felt sorry that he was playing by himself, but he assured me that this was his “self-care” time and it was much needed. After being assured that he was okay, I began the journey with “Christine” but realized there were no more birds. What I did encounter were two geese that were walking in the green minding their business. And as I watched them, a fun fact popped into my head. Well…It was a fun fact that was told to me during a training I sat in on while I was a part of the Corporate America world and in all honesty I feel that some of the content was always questionable… especially when the presentations were around getting teammates to become more engaged. So let’s act like the fun fact is 100% true for the sake of this moment. I’m going to need for you to just work with me on this one when I ask you “Did you know?”

Did you know that geese have a “generational memory”? Meaning that if a group of geese lived 100 years ago and frequented a specific water source, their offspring (100 years later) would go back to that same area looking for water. That could mean 100 years ago, the land was open and not developed and then 100 years later you see something built in that area but the 100 years later geese remembered the water experience from their 100-year-old ancestor geese. Yes…a lot to keep up with but I hope that makes sense to you because we will come back to this.

After the encounter with the geese, I see that I have to make my way down a steep roller coaster hill and then over a wooden bridge surrounded by water. How deep was the water? I didn’t care how deep it was. At that point all I could think about is water. How windy and cold it was. And do I dare mention the fact that it was dirty water? There could’ve been snakes, biting fish, mini alligators, or anything else equivalent to “Christine” and the birds. Who does this??? I was tempted to leave “Christine” at that very moment and just walk back to the hosting area of the golf course. It wasn’t until the man who was golfing by himself pulled up aside from me and asked me what I was doing. I literally told him I was contemplating how slow can I go down this hill WITHOUT hydroplaning and falling into the water. Or just leaving the golf cart where it was and I would walk the rest of the way. He had a gut-belly laugh. And I’m like “Sir…this is not a laughing matter.” He told me to just let the golf cart roll down the hill and the worse that can happen is that I fall in the water and be the talk (aka laugh) for the remainder of the day. With that, I proceed down the hill and he follows behind me but then whips his cart to the left and I’m left to walk a balance beam with “Christine” who had it out for me the WHOLE time.

I FINALLY make it to the last stretch of the golf course and what do I encounter?? ANOTHER uphill stretch. At this point, I’m thinking the battery on the golf cart is going to die out on me the moment I hit the top of the hill and I wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop the backward roll and possibly tumble out of the golf cart. BUT…I was able to make it to the top of the hill and make my way to the hosting area. And when I made it I vowed for life that I will NEVER get back into a golf cart and I would immediately give up my dreams of living in a golf cart community.

You may be wondering what in the WORLD does this have to do with anything. I’m about to tell you, I promise.

April 1, 2022, marked the 5 year anniversary that I left the Corporate America world to become a stay-at-home mom, full-time entrepreneur, and whatever else that came to mind. I just knew that I was overly done with the Corporate America world. I was supposed to write something on April 1st to commemorate the milestone…but I wasn’t ready to write anything. Those who know me would know that this would not be a true #WDTFIMT moment if I wasn’t able to tie it to anything. Remember the story I just told you? Here is how it fits into my 5-year journey.

Loud Beeping (While in Reverse) – I didn’t know that golf carts can be sooooo loud. Although the loud beeping is an indicator that a golf cart is going in reverse and a warning to others around…the loud beeping that day was a warning to never go back to anything of my past, my comfort, or anything else that would hold me back from moving forward.

Christine – Although I did say the golf cart was of the devil, the golf cart represents a whole lot more…BUT it still has some representation of the It first started out as the representation of the “vehicle” to be used to get me to a destination/travel along the journey, while in some moments representing the spiritual warfare that came along the way. Remember when I said I was tempted to leave the golf cart where it was at a given point of hard “obstacle”? In so many ways, we are given vehicles to reach a destination and when things become hard/unbearable we don’t think twice about what life would be like if we were to abandon the vehicle given to us. In my case, my vehicle (aka My Purpose) is not just the 3 businesses that I have, but my way of doing things out of the box to help people escape their comfort zones to pursue their purpose. I have thought about abandoning my “vehicle” more than a million times these past 5 years, but I’m then brought back to the reality that if I did…I wouldn’t only be disobedient to God, but I will be stalling someone else from discovering their “vehicle” to make a difference in this world. Don’t get it twisted. I FULLY believe that at some point God would say “Ok…If you don’t want to do it, I already have someone else for the assignment.” God will NEVER stop His will from happening. But ask yourself this. Is it worth it to abandon the “vehicle” that God gives you thinking you are escaping any consequences? The consequences may not be life or death physically…but it can definitely change the trajectory of your life in so many ways. And it’s not just about hearing “Well done!” It’s about how many times you had arguments with God when all He asked you to do was trust Him with the “vehicle” He assigned to you. There’s a whole lot more to this, but I’m sure you get the drift of things. I will say this though. We sometimes have to recognize when God is giving us a different “vehicle” than what we initially started with because the original may have only been the tool to get on the path that we needed to travel.

The Birds – I always thought birds were innocent and were about living a life of minding their business…BUT this whole experience proved me wrong. On a serious note, the birds in this instance represent the obstacles in Over the past 5 years, there were obstacles that were small. There were obstacles that were huge. Some of those obstacles were beyond my control…But if I need to be real some of those obstacles I co-signed on. What do I mean? When I think of the fear, doubt, and everything else that I didn’t take control over, I allowed myself to be held back from the greatness of what could’ve been accomplished in a shorter time versus things being delayed. The only reason why I’m convinced that it still isn’t too late is because God continues to wake me up to get a do-over….I get a mulligan.

Mulligans – I have honestly lost count of how many mulligans I have had over the past 5 If I was an actual golf player, I may have the world record for the person who has had the most mulligans within the game… But how awesome is it that we have the chance for a do-over regardless of how bad our first swing was? I had to learn to look at my “mulligans” as grace and forgiveness. Don’t get me wrong, nothing that we should ever take advantage of, but if it weren’t for the mulligans over the past 5 years I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Self – I didn’t initially tell you everything that was discussed between myself and the gentleman who was golfing by himself. Golfing by himself was not only a part of this man’s self-care practice, but he also then went on to tell be it allows him to perfect his craft and to focus on what he needs to focus on. Not just perfecting his craft but removing himself from the comparison of others. And that spoke volumes. He wasn’t concerned about being snickered at for not being a part of a team or working within someone else’s “vehicle”. While others shared golf carts, this man had a golf cart all to himself. There wasn’t anyone there to share the load of the driving or anything else. There wasn’t anyone there to compete with. This man took pride in being able to be on his own to focus on himself, his craft, and everything else that was “purposed” for him at that moment. Besides me having to…needing to intentionally incorporate self-care days as a routine, I also have to intentionally set time/days aside when I solely focus on my craft and no one else’s. This was the reminder of…What would my journey look like if I went as hard for my own craft as I do for everyone else’s? Don’t get me wrong. The business(es) that I am in, I am called to go hard for everyone who crosses my path in various ways…But I have to remember that I need to go hard for myself just the same.

5 Years – Five is the number of This is my reminder that I am not done on this journey. This is my reminder that there is still more to do and although I may never do it in a perfect manner, along the journey I am doing what I am called to do with the “vehicle” that has been given to me. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about giving it my all and not giving up or turning back.

Two Geese – This has more than one representation of the past 5 years. Let’s start with the “fun fact”. It is soooo easy to go back to what is familiar…Isn’t it? The places of familiarity allow us to not have to They allow us to be mediocre. They allow us to do a lot that goes against ANYTHING that we have been called to do. We like to go back to the things of familiarity because it allows us to be in our comfort zone and be in control. Until we let go of comfort and control, we will need to see how far our “vehicles” can go and the impact they can have. The other side to the two geese is the number 2. In the Bible, there is the Old Testament and the New Testament. They are God’s agreements. They are not only His agreements but also a representation of our individual testimonies. We may not be able to add any more books to the Bible, but we live out our own books every day. Our life is in agreement with God to live out our personal testimony.

Why Me? – Remember when I questioned the fact that someone said that I would be best for the job to sell mulligans, to begin with? We all have moments of “Why me?” When we really need to be saying “Why NOT me?”. Over the past 5 years, I have gained more confidence to boldly say “Why NOT me?!”. This is still a work in progress though…TBH. There is so much that can make a person become a coward to their own purpose (me included) but at the end of the day…What do we have to lose? In that moment of questioning why me, I wasn’t only questioning my ability I questioned my The ONLY interaction these golf players had with me was during check-in. I didn’t have a personal relationship with them. All I have is a great smile (so I’m told) and a gift to connect with people where they are. And as much I can say all of that in confidence, in a moment I didn’t consider my great smile or my gift. Can you relate?

I know I may have fire-hosed you with ALL of this…but this is what happens when I put a portion of my gifts to the side and don’t put them to use. Just being honest. I know I need to get back to writing. I know I need to get back to a lot and that is what part of this experience has confirmed.

I don’t know what your vehicle is or what birds have been put in your path to try to take you out…But ask yourself this. Is it worth it to abandon your vehicle when all you have to do is drive it and God will help you do the rest? Let’s be real. Depending on what day it is and how we may feel, the answers may vary. So, we will not make this a moment of shame or ridicule. We will simply call this another “aha moment” that helps you to acknowledge that the “vehicle” may seem faulty, the path may feel like it is “deathly”, BUT the designer of the “vehicle” would make good on His word regarding your purpose regardless of what comes up – as long as you agree to continue to stay on the course to play your part in the game. And when all else fails…use the endless mulligans that have been made available to you at no cost.

#WDTFIMT

Identify your “vehicle”. Once you identify your “vehicle”, make it a point to not abandon it. BUT also, be ready to protect it at all costs (spiritually). Be okay if you end up with a different “vehicle” than what you started with.
You may not be able to avoid every obstacle, but you have to keep pushing through whatever obstacles come your way.
Let go of control and comfort. You will get NOWHERE by holding onto control and comfort.
Pivot as you need to. Pivoting doesn’t mean you are starting over. You are just getting a do-over in a different way.

Do the unthinkable…While purposefully AND unapologetically achieving the impossible. – EB

P.S. Take a moment to check out Future Successors. They have another Golf Tournament coming up soon and some other great things!