Golf star Rory McIlroy shares the mindset shift that can make you more successful

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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland smiles and holds the tournament trophy while wearing a replica Arnold Palmer red cardigan following his three stroke victory on the 18th hole green in the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 18, 2018 in Orlando, Florida.

What you believe matters.

In order to succeed, you have to picture where you want to be and truly believe you can get there. No one has ever accomplished big things by starting with the attitude, "I can give it a try, but it's probably not going to happen." You become what you think you are.

Golfing legend Rory McIlroy is a shining example of how changing your mindset can change your life.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Rory two weeks before his phenomenal win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He role models positive thinking. It's no wonder he has spent 95 weeks ranked No. 1 golfer in the world and has joined the illustrious company of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the world's only three golfers to have won four Major titles by the age of 25.

Rory is what I call the real deal. He possesses qualities like humility, authenticity and vulnerability, while at the same time being extremely driven. He believes in leading by example and practicing what you preach. He says you don't want to lead by fear; instead, you want to make the people you lead feel a part of things.

That's a positive mindset in motion.

But we're all human, and Rory revealed a time in his life where he didn't have the right mindset and what he learned from it.

In the 2011 Masters, Rory was winning the tournament, and it appeared he would easily become the champion. And then hole 10 happened. The drive was a little to the left and landed in an awful spot. It was a major setback that changed the course of Rory's game. He ended up losing a four-stroke lead going into the final round, and ultimately, he didn't win the title.

Rather than letting this failure haunt him and cause him to question his abilities, Rory chose to look at it as a learning opportunity. And today, Rory describes that round at Augusta as the most important round in his life.

But his positive mindset didn't happen right away. At the time, Rory was embarrassed and distraught. He knew that chances like this — to win the coveted Masters green jacket — don't come along very often.

He started by watching a tape of that round and discovered something important: Even before his 10^th hole drive, his body language through the first nine holes was negative. He'd walked around with his head down and his shoulders rounded. He'd spent a lot of time watching what others were doing, rather than focusing on what he could do to win.

Rory realized that the next time, he needed to focus on what HE could do, and control the things HE could control. He took this awareness to heart and committed to doing things differently in his next tournament.

Two months later, Rory came back with a bang. He not only won the US Open, but he also won it with the lowest score in US Open history. How's that for a turnaround?

His driving motivation was to prove to himself that he wasn't the golfer the world saw in Augusta. He refused to be defined by the outcome of that tournament, and when he walked out on the US Open course, he was a completely different person.

Rory held his head high and pushed his chest out. He kept his eye line above the crowd. His body language exuded confidence. He kept his thoughts positive. And he won.

The lesson here? Rory truly believed he could make a change, and that made all the difference.

While 2017 was tough for Rory with injuries and no big tournament wins, he didn't let it cloud his vision. He acknowledged the reality that golf is very competitive, but he sees himself as a top contender.

I was most impressed with his answer to the question: Do you have any fears about winning?

His immediate response: "No, not at all. I know that if I play anywhere near my best, in any given week, I have a chance to win. … And once you're there, you have to grasp it with both hands and hit the shots that matter. I have no doubt if I get myself in that position, the win won't be too far away."

And sure enough, Rory won the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks later, and I'm sure he can't wait to give the 2018 Masters his best shot as well.

I have so much respect for Rory's positive mindset and his humility to learn and grow.

You have the power choose a positive mindset and believe change is possible, too. It's not always the easy path. It takes awareness, determination, and maybe even inviting someone to hold you accountable. But it's worth it.

As Norman Vincent Peale says, "Change your thoughts and you change your world."

Listen to David Novak's full conversation with Rory McIlroy via the oGoLead Leadership Podcast available on oGoLead.com, iTunes.com and Soundcloud.com.

Novak created oGoLead to help people become stronger leaders. He is co-founder and former CEO of Yum! Brands and a New York Times bestselling leadership author. He has been recognized as "2012 CEO of the Year" by Chief Executive magazine, one of the world's "30 Best CEOs" by Barron's, one of the "Top People in Business" by Fortune and one of the "100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World" by Harvard Business Review.

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