S1E2: Being Open To Opportunity with Crystal Morse

In this episode, Leslie Pagel introduces Crystal Morse, a nationally recognized golf professional, who shares her journey of discovering her purpose in life. Crystal talks about her career milestones, including winning the National PGA Player Development Award, and the life lessons she has learned through her work in golf. She discusses the importance of self-awareness, being open to opportunities, and the significance of having a positive impact on others. Crystal emphasizes the necessity of creativity, support from mentors, and the willingness to fail as key elements in achieving one's purpose. The conversation also highlights how personal experiences and significant life events can lead to self-discovery and fulfillment.

00:00 Introduction to Purpose Project

00:16 Meet Crystal Morse: A Nationally Recognized Golf Pro

00:59 Crystal's Journey to Finding Her Purpose

10:51 Crystal's Career Path and Life Decisions

22:30 Returning to Indiana and Embracing New Opportunities

25:06 The Importance of Self-Awareness and Taking Action

25:16 Embracing Creativity and Freedom in Your Field

27:23 Guarding Your Ideas 

34:02 Doing Small Tasks with Positivity and Pride

37:42 Future Prospects and Opportunities in Golf

41:24 Advice for Finding and Realizing Your Purpose

44:20 Final Thoughts and Reflections

Purpose Project is a research study on the topic of life's purpose. You can follow along in the making of Purpose Project:
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Transcript

0:06

Welcome to purpose project. My name is Leslie Pagel. I am so glad that you are here with me today because. We have an incredible story today. We're going to hear from Crystal Morse. Crystal is a nationally recognized golf pro. And she is on purpose project sharing with us the life lessons that she has learned that have helped her discover her purpose. I can't wait for you to hear from Crystal. So let's get started.

Leslie: 0:37

Thank you so much, Crystal, for being here on Purpose Project. I'm so looking forward to our conversation. I'm happy to be here. It's my pleasure. Been looking forward to it. Love it. Love it. Before we jump into the topic of purpose, which is big topic, let's get to know you a little bit better. Who is Crystal? So one of the most recent things that has defined my career and my passion and purpose this year is I recently, at the beginning of the year, got awarded probably a, to me, it's like a lifetime achievement award. I'm obviously a member of the PGA of America. I'm a professional. Yeah. We see the attire. Yes. See the attire. So I've been a PGA member since 2009 and being in the business all this time, obviously I've gone, we'll talk about it a lot of different kind of avenues and directions. So the PGA of America gives awards every year to basically professionals throughout the nation, right? So there's 30, 000 golf professionals in America, 30, 000 plus, and they award one professional. in a variety of categories. So this year I was awarded the National PGA Player Development Awards. So out of 30, 000 professionals in 2024, they picked me as the one who is running all the programs, doing the most to grow golfers and developing players. That gives you a big picture of what I do. Yeah. So Crystal is an nationally recognized developer of other golfers. Yes, ma'am. That's awesome. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. In my Really, my life, when I look back on it golf has been, since I was 10 years old, just a constant in that, and that has really driven my life, and guided, a lot of what I've done. So would you say that you have found your purpose in life? At this point, absolutely. If somebody said, what is your purpose in life? I would clearly be able to tell them. I try to think of okay, when did I really? find my purpose or when did I determine my purpose? And I'm not really sure until like really maybe the last year. And I feel like this award, even though it's not why you do things, I think it's helped validate what you do, like what I've been doing. Yes. Throughout my career and the affirmation that I've gotten from a lot in my profession has validated what I'm doing and has really made me come in to my, be confident in my purpose. So what is your purpose? What is my purpose? Somebody asked me this the other day, funny enough, because I don't know if it's my, and I think it could be even actually when I was doing the PGA filming, that was when everything came about. Right. So that's when that question came about. They asked a lot of those questions. My purpose in life, bottom line in one sentence to have it, have a positive impact on people's life through the game of golf. Using golf. Golf is my avenue. My purpose is to just be a light in this world, be a light to people, right? So we need that. Like this world is, there's so much going on and I've realized even too since COVID and my opportunity to work with a lot of young people, like high schoolers. Not that adults are not affected as well, and we can get into that, but a lot of the high schoolers and the kids that I'm working with, I've just noticed such a difference in the mental I don't know if mental health is the word, but definitely their ability to cope with things, and their ability to deal with things going on in this world. Whether it's college, or whether it's applying, getting through high school, Right. Honors classes, whatever it may be. I find myself in this position to be able to just be there for them. Yeah. Be a mentor for them. Right. Help them. And that it's not anything to do with golf. Nothing, nothing. Golf is nearly just the avenue. Right. Like honestly, 90 percent of what I do on a daily, I don't know if 90 percent is a word, but when I go through my day, very little of it to me has to do with, swinging a golf club or hitting a golf ball or it's very little to do with golf. My entire day is focused around people like my interactions with people and are those interactions positive or are those interactions? not positive. So I think when I look at my day, it's just interactions with people, whatever maybe it's the grumpy man coming to play golf at the counter. I'm like, how can I brighten this guy's day? Because he's obviously having a rough day. So, just realizing Hey, we all, cause how nice would it be if you could just go through your day? Like how much, how refreshing is it when you actually, Come into contact with somebody who actually like brightens your day. I came, there was this lady the other day. It was the most random thing. We were at a hotel in Orlando, like just, this was back in January. And I go to check out of the hotel, like I don't really want to be leaving, we're leaving Florida to come back to Indiana. In January. In January, I'm checking out and this lady checking me out, she was like, You are beautiful. And I was like, it totally caught me off guard. And I was like, thank you. But how I was so refreshed and energized after that. And seven months later, you're telling the story about it. You're still energized. I mean, it sticks with you. And I feel ever since COVID I found myself, and this has been something that I've really had to work on a lot. I found ever since COVID. It really affected me because I felt like I wasn't making eye contact with people and I wasn't having that interaction with people and not until maybe like a year and a half after that all started, I'm like, man, I feel like this is affecting me and it's, I need to really work on. Getting back to where I was. And getting back into making eye contact and smiling. Yeah. Because it was so natural for me to make eye contact and smile with somebody. Right. And then I didn't do it. I'm gonna say I didn't do it for a year because, you're wearing a mask for a year and that was really Yes. I think hard on me. And I've, I felt like that took me, I was self-aware of it, and I had to dig outta that. Right. Yeah. Yeah. But it's a difference. Now, maybe my purpose in life is going to, I feel like that's always going to be my fundamental purpose in life. To have a positive impact on people. Now, whether I use the game of golf or whether it's, Hey, but I just feel like golf now I can reach a lot of people. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of people. Is the positive impact piece of it, like you said earlier, the grumpy guy and the thing is it in those. moments of people living their life, or is it, you also talked about helping kids in high school look for scholarships and things like that, or they're bigger things that I would say it's, I would say it's all the above because when I'm at the golf shop and, I greet somebody and they're like, man, you are, you have a great smile. Like your smile is really your kind of one of your attributes. And I'm like thank you. So I think, being kind, like having kind of that kindness and now I'm not saying I have a good day every day, right? Just meaning like obviously there's times where I'm like, okay, I was wondering like, how do you do this every day? I think I know and it's one of those things where you know Obviously you're gonna go through times and I go through times where I'm not always feeling it, right? Like you wake up in the morning and you're like, man, this is just, I'm in a funk. I'm just, I'm in a funk or, maybe it's a day, maybe it's a week, maybe you're in a funk for a month, like it, it just, you never know. It just happens. Whether I'm in a funk, when I'm around people, it makes me feel better. If I can help impact them. Right. Right. So, if I can serve people in a certain way, or if I make other people happy and enjoy their time, it actually brings me out of my funk, right? Yeah, that's what it sounds like. So it's so it is, I'm not saying I'm, it's all the time, but I do find, I'm like, hey, if I can make them, Enjoy their day better. That's going to make me feel better, right? Yeah, it comes back around to you. Right, whether I'm feeling it or not. So that's what I see, but it is big. There are some small moments in the day and then there's those big moments where the big moments, like for example I run a program for military veterans. It's called PGA Hope. It's a completely free to veterans. Okay. And it's a basically a six week series during the summer that we run and the veterans get together two hours for a week for six weeks. And we go through training for it. And one of the things that we are told and are made aware of that a lot of times these veterans, now we may not know it at the time But like this two hours for them on the golf course could be like life saving, right? This two hours is the two hours that they look forward to whether they're dealing with Maybe just big issues, right? PTSD, maybe depression. Maybe they just need something to just escape and now after we've been Doing it for a few years the veterans I've seen a number of them come time after time and they're like man this two hours Like it's just a way to, it's a way I don't have to think about anything they enjoy their time, right? So I think that it obviously is a big moment that you can, that I can use to have purpose to, to help these veterans just enjoy two hours a week for a while and have that camaraderie. And, just help them a little bit. So, that's the big one. So I think my purpose can be, just varies by day, by person. Exactly. Just never know what they need, right. So, you talked about how the award helped you articulate your purpose or realize it. As you look back over your life, are there other defining moments that you feel like led up to this as well? I was thinking about that because a lot of times you don't think about it and you just go do your day to day and you're like, you don't necessarily always have the time to reflect. But I was leading into this discussion. I was thinking about it. And golf in itself has always been something I've enjoyed, right? So, that's always been the underlying okay, I did some, I went to school for environmental science, I was a chemistry lab assistant, I was an intern at Eli Lilly between my junior and senior year, had the opportunity to go to work at Eli Lilly as a chemistry lab assistant, followed my major and it was my last semester of my senior year. And I was like, I want to do that. I think I'm going to, I think I'm going to pursue the golf business. I remember the conversation with my parents and I don't even know, I don't know what they thought I'd have to ask them now even what, because after I was in college, I red shirted and golf my first year went for four years. There, and now I was on a scholarship, but there was obviously still monetarily. They were invested in my college career. Yeah. So I have no idea what they were thinking when I was like, I think I'm going to get into the golf business. Right. Number one, I didn't know anything about it. Nobody in my family knew anything about it or what it involved or how you're going to make money doing that. Right. And I called the one person that I knew had known cause I played golf with his daughters and that was Ted, Ted Bishop. And I go, Hey Ted, I'm graduating and I'm in may and I think I'm going to work in golf. Can you help me out? Cause he lived real close, the golf course was real close to my house. And he's yeah, I think we can do that. Right. So literally I knew nothing about, I had never worked at a golf course in my life. Like I had just played, had no idea what I was doing. Other than I just knew, I enjoy golf. I enjoy the sport. I enjoy the game. And so it just, it was crazy, right? So I want to peel this back a little bit because I do think some people probably come out of college and they don't choose that path. They choose what is supposed to be right, according to, whatever what was it like to me? It seems like courage for you to go the golf path. I think, and I can't tell you how many young people I try to encourage nowadays. I'm like, look, you have to take some chances, right? I feel like if I were to think about it, one thing that has led me to where I am today is that I was always open to the opportunity, right? So I always felt like I really didn't say no to opportunity. Okay. So I worked for Ted for that summer, I lived at home. And I loved it. Like I loved, I was like, how am I going to come to the golf course every day? Like I was learning about the business. And then I had the opportunity. He's this is a seasonal position. He goes, so you're not going to have work in the wintertime, but if you do good this summer, you have the opportunity to go somewhere warm and work for six months to another at another golf course. I was like, okay. Right. Like I'm in. Whereas a lot of people now would not want to leave. They're like, I, I'm gonna stay here. I wanna stay close to home. Right. So I think in a lot of the young, especially females that I know in the golf business today, it's one of those things that it's, I tell them, I'm like, look, you have to be willing to branch out. Right. You have to be willing to branch out. Not just in maybe in this business, maybe in other businesses too, but like this is your opportunity if you're in your 20s, say yes to this opportunity, you can always come back, right? You can always come back. And so this was funny, the Ryan Ford, the head pro and then Ted Bishop, my general manager, they were like, Hey, we have this opportunity in Palm Desert for you to start work over the winter and starting in November. And I was like, okay yeah, that's cool. I can go to Florida. And Ryan goes, Crystal, you realize Palm desert's in California, right? And I was like, Oh my gosh. I was like, I literally, it was like days. I thought I was going to be going to Florida. And he was like, that's in California. Right. And I was like, Oh my gosh. Like I'm going 2000 miles away to California. But it didn't stop me. I was like, okay let's do it. Let's do it. I'm going to move. So I moved and I think one thing that it helped me do is because I knew it was only six months. I was only, I was like, it's six months. I'm coming back. This is going to be an adventure. Let's do it. My parents were like, I don't even know how my parents, they were just like whatever you're going to do. Crystal, like at this point. I don't know. Did they, I'm just curious, did they raise you in a way that was follow your dreams? They gave me guidance. They were very, I had a lot of guidance. The one thing that I knew, and this was just an understanding, like you're going to go to college, right? So that was just a non negotiable sounds. I just always understood that like you're going to go to college. And then, I got the opportunity to I actually went to Purdue university for a year. One thought I was going to play big 10 D one golf and it just didn't work out. So I had to make the decision. I was like, okay, do I stay at Purdue? I can stay on as a, just to walk on and probably not play in tournaments or can I transfer and go play somewhere else? So that was a big decision in my life where I made the decision to transfer school colleges to go pursue. Yeah. Yeah. Cause I wanted to play. I was like, I want to play. So thinking back, like they were always very supportive. They never said, no, you need to do this. You need to do that. So I think they gave me that freedom, even when I was like, yeah, I'm not gonna be a, work at Eli Lilly. I'm gonna, work at a golf course. And they didn't ever say, no, I don't think that's a good idea. Like I wouldn't do that. And even when I was going out to California, they know, I don't ever remember them saying now my parents, they didn't, they were nervous about me moving to California, but they were never, ever. Like I never felt like I had to, it was an uphill battle. Right. Right. So they always encouraged it. And I think that freedom helped. It really allowed me to find my own way a little bit. So it was, it was a fun journey, but I think, So that was a pivotal point, saying yes, right? I'm like, okay, I'm gonna do this. Go into California. I'm gonna do it. How did that turn out? It turned out fantastic. So I was seasonal for two seasons, that second time when I came back, I worked in the summer, and then it was one of those things. And again, I don't, I can't really explain what led it there, but I had the opportunity to go out there full time. Okay. And at the time I felt like it was, I had more opportunity. I was like, you know what, there's more opportunity out there when it comes to golf. I think I'm going to do it. So I told my parents, I was like, what do you think if I went out to California full time? And they were just like, Oh man I think they just, they didn't ever discouraged my decision. I think again, as a mom now, I can know Oh, it's hard when your baby wants to go, 2000 miles away. So I think it was just more of that. Like they didn't really, they were going to be sad that I was going to be 2000 miles away, so I did, I went out to full time and just lived, did a lot of great experience out there. I met my husband, We had our kids. Just got so many wonderful experiences out there. Right. Yes. So, got my PGA membership and, just got a lot to see a lot. Right. Of, the West Coast. Right. Experienced life. And, it worked out fantastic so got married, we had our kids and I knew, like I knew California and I think this was another thing, I knew I wasn't going to be. in California forever. I didn't go out there thinking Oh, California's my new home. I always had my roots back in Indiana. Huh. And, yeah. So I think that is what helped me enjoy it a little bit more. I was like, you know what, I'm always, like, This is temporary. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just gonna live it up because I'm not gonna be out here forever. Right. Right. And when we had our kids my daughter was probably a, not even a year. And then I was like, okay, I really want to get back to Indiana. This time, our son was like three, three and a half, and I was like, they're going to be starting school, so we were starting that process. And I actually, even though I loved, My job's out there. It was good, but I just I became a stay at home mom. So I quit. Oh really? The job that I was at. Yeah. So I said, you know what? We're focused on moving back. Right. I have a one year old and a three year old. Right. So I didn't the job that I was at I said, you know what? I'm not gonna come back next season. We're gonna focus on moving and i'm gonna stay at home. And I think that You Decision to stay at home. I stayed at home with my kids for about a year and a half, probably ish. Could have been two years. That, I think that decision in itself helped lead me back to what I was supposed to do. Right, yeah. Because by staying at home, I was like, I did not, feel You weren't getting the human interaction either. No, and it sounds awful. For any stay at home mom, this is gonna sound horrible, but I was not feeling like I was I don't know if fulfilled is the right word, but really on a daily basis I go, I feel like I should be like, I feel like there's more Right. That I need to be Yeah. Doing here, I know obviously a mom is the most important job, like being a mom and a dad are the most important things, and that's still the case. Right? But I just, you had that feeling and I was like, there's more. Yeah. You talked earlier about, how it lifts you up to be around people. It does. And COVID, the impact that COVID had. And when you're a stay at home mom, now I don't know if this is, I'm generalizing here, but you're not out around a bunch of people all the time. Not in that way. Like not in a way yeah, you go to the store and, I would go to these, socialize my kids and go to these things. But it wasn't like that connection. Like I didn't have the connection that I was feeling that I really wanted. Right? Yeah, I would talk to people, but it wasn't the connection. And I just missed it. I missed it. I was like, I can't, I don't think I can do this. I gotta think. And that is really what led me back into really a whole different kind of chapter in my career. Right. So that was staying at home with my kids for two years and I loved it. We made great memories. I homeschool my son for a little while. It was great. Like I loved, I cherish the memories and cherish the time. But again, at the same time, it was really what led me in, like open the door for that second chapter really. Cause at the time I couldn't have told you what my purpose is. I was in my thirties. I couldn't have told you what my purpose in life was. Then taking care of your kids probably at that moment, at the moment, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Right. But at the same time waking up every day and doing that, I just was like, okay, I feel like there's more, it wasn't like this. Right. Right. Yeah. Great purpose and passion that I was like, felt like I wanted, needed and was meant for. So you came back to Indiana and got back into golf? We did. Okay. Yeah. So we did. My husband, he took a job that got us back here. Okay. Right. It's not like it, and I, love him for that because it, I know he made a sacrifice and got us back here. So that was good. But I really, love that. But got back here and I was like, okay maybe coaching is something I want to do. So I reached out, became the coach of Whiteland high school girls team, got that opportunity, enjoyed that. Reached out to finally reached out to Ted Bishop and I, we connected and he was like, Hey, why don't you become my director of player development? We don't have one. We need to grow the junior program. I didn't really even know what player development involved at the time. And I was hesitant to have a loaded schedule. I was like, I don't know. He's you set your schedule, like you set your schedule. And I was like, all right, so I did it. And so that was like in 2016, 2016, 2016, that kind of all started. And so then I started, I was like, okay, I'm going to start with growing the kids because then I think my kids motivated me, like having my own kids, I was like, okay now I, before I had my kids, I didn't necessarily want to teach kids or want to know how to communicate with, young kids necessarily. So having them really motivated me to run these programs starts. Really start that player development, right? Oh, right. So that's really what started it and I'll tell you what. I don't know in that time frame, but within that year like I just Like I was like, this is awesome. I have freedom. I can be creative. Right. I can be playful. I can have fun. Yeah. This is fun. This is enjoyable, yeah. Yeah. And I think that's where it all. Started. Yeah. Me being able to find okay. This is like a pretty cool Avenue and I can find my purpose. So that's really what kind of helped me find my purpose and all that. Yes. So saying yes to opportunity and then continuing to tune in. I heard some of that too, tuning into how you're feeling in the moment. I feel like that. Self-awareness or like kind of self-evaluation, Uhhuh Okay, is this, is this something like what do I enjoy? Or what, just like that self like, I'm not saying daily self-evaluation, but just consistent self-evaluation. Right. Of what am I going down the path that I Right, right. Feel like I should be going down. Right. Or what's. Big picture. What is my what should I be doing with my life? Yes. So feeling that consistent self awareness. Yeah. Am I on the right path? Right. And then taking action. Yes. If you're not. Exactly. Exactly. And I think Ted's like one of my mentors, and One of the things that we talk about all the time is he gave me, and this is another thing that I am just it's so important, is having the freedom having freedom to be creative. Within your field. Okay. Yeah. When I worked in golf shops, in California it was very, This is how we've done things for all time, and this is how we're going to continue to do things. So that's how I would do things, right? And and that's fine, and that's how everybody, that's what you did. And so you did it really well, right? You did it with a good attitude, you did it really well, because that's what they've always done. And coming in this at the Legends, in that opportunity, there, there wasn't anything, it was a new Uncharted territory. Right. So I had the freedom to just be like, you know what? I'm going to try this. Right. I'm going to try this. I'm going to try this idea. I tried a lot of ideas that I thought were incredible that had zero, that failed. There were totally, I was like, this is going to be the best idea. What do you think, Ted? He was like, go for it. You know? So he would just, I was like, not only freedom, but also support and encouragement. Yeah. This is one of my biggest, and I've learned this over time and it's probably one of my. That's what some lessons you learn the hard way, as you're trying to work through all this. But you have to watch once you become excited about something and passionate about something, you have to really watch who you tell your ideas to. Because if you tell I'm excited about it, I'm like, Oh, I got this idea and I'm going to do this junior program and it's going to be great. And it's, everybody's going to love it. If you tell that idea to somebody who doesn't have that same excitement, right? Like it could really discourage you. Right? Right. So say you go to, somebody who just, whatever, like you're just like, oh, I'm so excited about this idea. And they're just like, huh, interesting. and you're like, but why? They don't get excited, why excited? Like, why aren't you excited? Isn't that great? And they're like, I, yeah, fine. That's fine. It may work. So I think. it's almost better for me, I've learned is to wait until my idea gets a little bit more mature and like I've actually completed maybe what I, that idea and it's come to action and it's successful before I share it with everybody. But Ted was, is one of those so you got to find your like. People. Right. And it's not, I'm, I've learned that it's not everybody. Right. You can't share your ideas with everybody. And I don't mean that, in a negative way, but if you are a creative person and you're passionate about something, like if you tell your ideas to the wrong people, it could be really discouraging. Right. And you won't do them. Right. Exactly.'cause if I had somebody tell me, you know what, crystal, that's a dumb idea. Right? Nobody's gonna do that. And what do you like, what's the point Then you're gonna doubt And Yes. And I'm not gonna do it. But I. This is great advice for people who are wanting to pursue their purpose. Yeah. But not always getting the affirmation that they might need to feel comfortable pursuing it. You have to be, surround, it's about who, and you know this, it's about who you surround yourself with. Yeah. You have to surround yourself. with people that have maybe the vision. Right. Because you know some people have vision. Right. Some people don't have vision, right? Yeah. Some people it's just, Right. Okay, this is, I'm gonna wake up and I'm gonna get my coffee and I'm gonna, Right. this routine every day. Yes. And it's, this is how it's gonna be. But if you're a person that has the vision and kind of thinks, Like you have to find other people that have not necessarily didn't have to be your same vision, but just have that right? Oh, yeah, that's cool. Like right do it like this is gonna be like go for it. That's a great opportunity or whatever And so I found Ted has been one of those people as my mentor who I can tell an idea to and he's like It's great. Go for it. You know do it. I think that's a great idea now I think one thing that I found out too is that like I ran a lot of these, what I thought were great ideas and they flopped. Right. Yeah. I was like, okay. So what, and that's where that self evaluation comes in. Okay, I know it was a great idea, but what did I do? Maybe I didn't, Target the right audience. Right. Or maybe I didn't communicate it, act, properly. Right. Or maybe I didn didn't, how can I tweak it? Yeah. Who can I go to? I obviously didn't get this to the right people. Uhhuh, So like, how can I reach more people to get, to help foster? Is that when you go out and seek. Input from others Here's the thing I found. So what I started doing is I would find other, and this has helped me over the years, instead of, I would find other professionals in the nation. So say I found another female, she had won that a similar national award, just to one of these strong females. I was like, I want to pick your brain. What are you doing? So I found like minded or people that I thought were pursuing the same kind of avenue that I was. So I found them and then I would pick their brain. Now, did I feel like all of them, most of them that I might've talked to because they were like award winners, like most of them had that passion. Right. Because if you do something that's going to set you apart from 30, 000 plus people, you gotta have some passion. I would reach out to those people first. And that, I picked their brain. I'm like, what worked for you? Right. So that's, I was still careful about it. Yeah. So I found the right people. And I would just, I would do more picking their brain. Yeah.

Crystal: 30:51

Than sharing my own ideas. I would be like, hey, what have you done?

Leslie: 30:55

Right.

30:55

That has worked. Right. I wanna hear what you did. And then I'm gonna yeah. Tweak that. I'm hearing. Be careful who you share your idea with. But, in the event that you do share your idea with someone, don't necessarily let their reaction stop you. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Because how many times could you don't get the reaction out of somebody that you want. And then you're like, right. And then it's harder to do it. And then there's doubt. And then it's probably not going to be as good because you're doubting yourself. It is. And you're like this is probably a dumb idea. I don't know. I shouldn't be doing it anyways. Right. Yeah. So I think, and I've learned this even through, over the years, because when I would do, let's say I would do one of these clinics, like a junior clinic, right? Let's say, and it was full of say 10 to 12 year olds. And I would be coming to this clinic with so much excitement and passion and energy. Right. And sometimes these in the beginning, I would let the energy of the kids Bring it. I'm like, Oh why are they as excited as I am? You know what I'm saying? And I'm like, Oh, probably because whatever, they've been playing video games all day or they have a ton of homework or they had a hard day at home. Right. You know what? So I think I had to separate their react like their energy from my energy. And just say, okay, you know what, I'm bringing this energy regard. Like sometimes I'm the one that has to bring the energy to this regardless of what they have going on. Yeah. So I'm not going to let, I've learned not to let that kind of bring my energy level down. That's self awareness too, right there. Cause if you, when you're trying to teach somebody or you're talking to somebody and they're just straight faced and you're like, you feed off of that energy. And so I had to be like, okay. Just because they're not as excited like I'm gonna make this a fun experience because I want to have fun teaching it I'm passionate about it. So I think it is saying okay. I'm not gonna let somebody else's energy drag down my purpose or my passion for what I'm doing. And it's easy to do because a lot of people have a lot going on. They're not always, you don't know what they've had going on all day. So it's been a challenge, but I've learned, you learn that over time or I have. I think another thing that we can all take away from this, Crystal, is that when people share their ideas with us, Let's just support him and say go for it, you know, that's what I'm saying. I know that's what I'm saying. If you have this crazy idea and I'll be like, you know what? That sounds great. Like I think you should do that because you never know where it's going to lead. It goes back to saying yes to the opportunity. I can't tell you how many times. Saying yes to opportunity or being ready for opportunity, like being prepared to say, you know what, if the, if opportunity comes my way, like I'm going to jump on it. So being ready for the opportunity, saying yes to it and just, be an open to it. And I think the other thing, and this is what I'm realizing too with just because I hire and have some younger, kids that will, work and things like that. And one thing that, that I just want to scream to them sometimes is do the small things really well, right? So I don't care if I'm asking you to clean the toilet or, go do this menial task. Like you have to do those small things with a positivity and do those things with energy, do the small things with attention to detail and do them really well. And I feel like when I got into the golf business, not knowing anything about it, But, sometimes it wasn't all just about teaching golf and it was about, I had to jump over to the snack bar and sell a hot dog, right? Is that my passion? No. But can I make it a really good interaction? Absolutely. You know, did I have to clean the bathrooms at the end of the day when I was closing? Absolutely. But you know what? Right. Whatever. It takes me 10 minutes and I'm done. And now people can enjoy it. Yeah. Like the pride in your job, the pride in your facility doing a job well done, paying attention to detail, and I would say my kind of positive attitude, and I think Ted would say this too, is the only reason that I got hired. Right. It wasn't for my experience. He didn't hire me for any experience. I had zero experience. I had never worked at a golf shop before. And but I came in and I was like, you know what, I'm just going to have a good attitude and be willing to earn and learn and be eager. And I did. And that just, yeah, you keep doing that and it keeps taking you places. Well, I heard attitude doing a good job, paying attention to the details, but you also talked about pride in the entity, like thinking about the bigger picture and how all those little details reflect on the broader business. They do. And I think that's something that even if you're somebody who's not in your, if what you would consider your, forever career, like in a career that, is your true passion just do, if you can do the job really well, like you'll get a lot of, Satisfaction right right and then it's a good reflection on you, right? You know what it makes the people around you better like how? And I mean isn't that really right at the end of the day like aren't you just trying to make? people around you better, and so if cleaning the bathrooms really well, just for that example, or dusting, or stocking the shelves, or doing these little mundane tasks that like, selling a hot dog, whatever it may be, in my profession anyways, like if you Do those really well, like it's gonna make people around you be like, Oh, okay this is great. It's just better to be around, it makes people better. Right, right. And if you're just going to be like a big, frowny face and just lean in there, not interacting and not doing anything. Yes. No one wants to be around that. You don't want to be around that, right? It's not making anybody better. And no, giving it may not be what you want to do forever. Right. But that doesn't mean you have to do it with a bad attitude. Exactly. So that's just what Yeah. I think the attitude of, Hey, maybe this isn't what I wanna do forever. Maybe this isn't my favorite task. Right. But but I'm gonna do it with everything I've got. Yeah. Yeah. If I do it, then it makes people better. Right. And it makes my work better. Yeah. Yeah. So I think that. Definitely is something then. Absolutely. Hopefully we can, I just try to instill like in anybody that I can, all the, any young workers that kind of come across. I'm like, you can do this. I know it's not where you want to be right now. Probably don't want to be doing this forever, but but this is a learning lesson. Yeah. You never know where it's going to take you. So when you look out into your future with your purpose in mind. And it could be on whatever time horizon, but something further out there, where do you see? That is a good question. And I've been so much like recently because golf right now. Is the fastest growing sport in America, probably since COVID. We're talking like over pickleball. Yeah. I would think, right. And so these, if you go to the national golf foundation, they've done, basically you have the, all the statistics on golf, but it is the fastest growing sport in America. A lot of it due to like top golf to, the indoor bat nine a lot of these places. And a lot of these people maybe have never stepped foot on a golf course, right? So I'm riding the wave of golf right now. Right. So I'm that, I feel like that to me I'm like, man, I'm just riding the wave. If people are wanting to golf, like I'm going to create this opportunity for them. I'm going to create these programs, make these connections. There will be a time when golf not only when golf probably levels out a little bit, but obviously if when my, when I get older, my kids are. are in different phases in their life and maybe I'm not able to put the time in and do what I want to do or that I'm doing right now. But I think, and this is the beauty of the golf business for me, is there's a lot of different avenues to be able to continue to have that impact on people. Okay. It doesn't have to be in golf. It doesn't necessarily have to be, okay, I'm. giving six lessons a day and I'm, running all these programs constantly, it could be just my presence in the golf shop. So maybe it's Hey, I'm going to spend less time teaching and doing running programs, which is a lot of work and it takes a lot of energy, but I'm going to, I'm going to step back from that and maybe I'm going to just be more of a I'm going to deal more with the people in the golf shop and I'm going to do the merchandising and I'm going to do, I'm going to slow down my teaching energy and I'm going to. Refocus. Right. So I would say the beauty of golf is there's a lot of different avenues. Okay.

Crystal: 39:51

Yeah. So

39:51

I never, I don't picture my life without doing anything other than being around golf. Okay. Right. There's nothing, it's always gonna be part of my life. I've been doing it since I was 10 years old. Right. Playing golf and golf's always gonna be there and it's always I think I'm always going to want that personal interaction, right? And luckily, this business offers that. Right, right. In a lot of different ways. Yeah, yeah. So I think I'm lucky in that sense. And I know it'll take me different directions, and I'm just I'm open to it. Right. Right? Exactly. So I'm just gonna be open to, like, you know what, if I get tired, if I find myself getting Right. not being able to bring that passion to golf. And that's where I think that self evaluation will just happen. There's going to be a day where I'm like, I don't feel like I'm doing justice to the people that I'm, teaching or that I'm, because maybe I'm not invested like I was before. So that'll be a time. Right. But there's, and then it sounds like there's other paths within golf for you to deliver your purpose. And I think it will just have to be aware of that and say, Hey, I'm going to go this direction. Right. You know, and I know something will, Come, I know it'll present itself. Right. So I just, you just always have to be open to that opportunity. Yeah. That's what you talked about, being open to the opportunity Yeah. And saying yes to it. Absolutely. Love that. I know. So it's, golf is always gonna be here for me. Okay. Yeah. That's, it's always gonna probably help me serve my purpose in some way. Yes. I love that. Yeah. So I imagine there are people watching this that are trying to find their purpose or realize it, what advice do you have for them? Yeah, definitely. I think too, so I'm 44. Okay. Or, I'm not afraid to say my age. I'm 44 years old. I did not, it's not like I knew my passion when I was, or my purpose in life when I was 20 and 21. And this is where, I feel like a lot of younger. People, they feel the pressure. They're like, I should know what I'm doing right now. And I'm like, man, you gotta, you could go a million different directions. So I would just say, I don't even think I realized what my purpose was until I was, and I don't think there's any limit on that. You could be 60 years old, you may be 70. There's no time limit on that. So I just think, eliminating that pressure of Oh, you have to find your purpose in life. Like when you're in college, I don't think that's the case. And I think people like don't rush it. Right. Exactly. No, really fine. So when I think about it, golf is something that I, enjoyed, right? It was always something I enjoyed. So I just, I followed the path of what I enjoyed, right? So I said, okay, I enjoyed this and I want to keep enjoying it. And I have that opportunity. So I think doing something you enjoy, I know that may not always pay the bills right for everybody. If you enjoy baking or whatever, you may not be able to immediately open your own bakery and be able to pay the bills, but. So I understand there's that, but like I think if you follow what you enjoy and follow what you're, that'll lead you to your passion and you'll find your purpose through that. So I just think you could take some patience. Yeah. So I don't rush it. Huh. You may have to go through a lot of different opportunities. To be able to find where you're supposed to be. So that would be one of my biggest pieces of advice. Is don't feel like, Oh, I'm 25, I should be doing X, Y, and Z by now. Right? Take the pressure off. There's no timeline. And be willing, there's so much opportunity in this world. Be open to like venturing out, right? If you can and yeah. Follow the things that you enjoy. Yes. That give you joy. Yes. Absolutely. And that will lead you Yeah. To what you're passionate about. Yeah. And hopefully purpose in life. Yeah. That's, I think if you follow that right, and just always evaluate okay, is this. Is this something that is, that I'm finding purpose through, and if it's not, maybe you need to look at other opportunity. And I think you always just have to have that kind of self awareness and self evaluation to like, just, lead you through. But that would be my biggest piece of just be patient and say yes to opportunity. Yes. Love it. Love it. Biggest piece of advice. We've talked a lot about purpose. Anything left unsaid? I feel like I've covered it. Everything that I want to tell people, obviously I can talk about the golf business and I can talk about my passion but I just, find, be willing to fail. Right. And I think that's another thing you have to be willing to fail. You talked about that with your ideas and yeah, going for it and some of them don't always work, but you learn. they're not all going to work. So be willing to fail. Be careful who you share your ideas with. Surround yourself with people. that kind of share a similar vision or at least are more visionary leaders and people. So find yourself a mentor that you can share ideas with. It's not going to be everybody, right? You get it excited about something, may not be you may not be able to share it with, your mom or your dad. You may be like, you know what, I'm going to wait until this gets a little bit more mature and then I'm going to, tell them what I'm doing. So yeah, be careful who just surround yourself with people that have similar visions and that you find a mentor that you can share your ideas with. And then just find freedom. To be creative. Yeah, right. So find that place or that Maybe it's an activity. Maybe you have to work a nine to five job in an office, right? To be able to pay the bills, but maybe there's an activity that kind of helps you unleash your creativity Yeah, find that find something allows you to be create creative, right? Freeze up your mind a little bit to help you Yeah, so those would be my biggest pieces Love it. Crystal, thank you so much for being here and being a part of Purpose Project. Thank you so much. I enjoyed it. So very much appreciated. Thank you, Crystal, for being on Purpose Project and thanks to all of you for tuning in. There are so many things that I am taking away from this conversation. And one of those things is how crystal started to realize her purpose after. She was honored by the professional golf association. It was in this recognition where they were asking her about her life's purpose, which gave her the opportunity to reflect on her life and on her career and really to discover her purpose. And so I've started wondering, do we need a significant event to happen in our life to start asking those questions? And I think the answer is no, but how can we create this intention around discovering and pursuing our life's purpose. that's what stood out to me. I would love to hear what stood out to you. And I suspect that there are people in your life who could learn from Crystal's advice I would encourage you to share this episode with them. Let's continue to share stories of people pursuing their purpose in life so we can each learn from them and grow from them. Thank you all for tuning in.

Leslie: 47:24

Purpose project is brought to you for education and for entertainment purposes. This podcast is not intended to replace the advice that you would receive from a licensed therapist or doctor or any other qualified professional.