Change the Game

I watched the movie Moneyball the other night, starring Brad Pitt. It’s based on the true story of Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane, who set out to build a championship-caliber team with almost no money.

Instead of following tradition, he broke it.

He ignored conventional scouting wisdom and relied on analytics — specifically, one simple metric: a player’s ability to get on base. Through this approach, he identified undervalued players and quietly changed baseball forever.

But it wasn’t the strategy that shook me. It was one line.

“If we win the last game of the season, we change the game. That’s what I want. I want it to mean something.”

That line hit me in the chest.

Because how many of us — men especially — keep doing the same thing over and over, hoping for different results?

Grinding.

Striving.

Proving.

Carrying it alone.

That’s not discipline. That’s exhaustion disguised as strength.

I know that insanity well. I’ve lived it.

A Different Game Entirely

Presence Golf: A Sacred Path to Self-Mastery — the book I wrote about golf, but not about golf at all — was born from this exact realization.

It’s about changing the game we love.

Not tweaking mechanics.

Not chasing outcomes.

Not defining ourselves by a score.

I wrote:

“This is not just about playing better golf. This is about playing a different game altogether. A game where we are free — truly, deeply free. To play in the Kingdom of Heaven is to surrender to something greater. It’s trusting that we are already whole, already loved. It’s knowing that the Divine is playing through us. That is what it means to be poor in spirit.”

Those words come from the first Beatitude in Sermon on the Mount — spoken by Jesus.

And I’ll be honest:“Poor in spirit” never sounded appealing to me.

It sounded weak.

Defeated.

Like giving up.

But I’ve come to understand something different.

The End of Self Is the Beginning of Freedom

The only way out of the egoic pressure to strive, attain, prove, and perform…

is to come to the end of yourself.

Not through theory.

Through pain.

Through failure.

Through the quiet realization that nothing outside of us will ever fulfill our soul.

I had to learn the hard way that no achievement, no recognition, no perfect round of golf could give me what my soul was actually longing for.

Freedom doesn’t come from trying harder. It comes from inner surrender.

That’s when the game changes.

When Identity Shifts, Pressure Falls Away

I reference Scottie Scheffler often — not because he’s the world’s number one golfer, but because he changed the game.

He didn’t get better by gripping tighter. He got better by letting go.

From listening to his interviews, his goal shifted — from winning at all costs to experiencing inner peace, joy, and freedom on the golf course.

Golf stopped being his identity.

Spirit became his identity.

He might not use that language — but the embodiment is unmistakable.

And when identity shifts, pressure dissolves.

Soul-Based, Not Performance-Based

Our soul never changes.

Our golf score changes daily.

Our swing changes every shot.

When we move from a performance-based game to a soul-based game, something profound happens.

The weight lifts.

We may never be world number one — but we can reach our highest potential when we redefine what the game is actually for.

My Unapologetic Truth

I love golf.

I love the challenge.

The stillness of nature.

The conversations that unfold over four hours.

The sacredness hidden inside a simple walk.

And yes — I’ve been caught in egoic outcomes.

I’ve tied my worth to my score.

I’ve cared too much about how I look to others.

But I am changing the game.

I’m re-reading the chapter on inner surrender — not because I’ve mastered it, but because I need to be reminded daily.

Surrender isn’t a one-time act.

It’s moment by moment.

And when the ego loosens its grip, something far greater takes over.

Presence.

Flow.

Effortless power.

The very thing we’ve been chasing all along.

An Invitation

If you’re tired of carrying it alone…If striving has left you empty…If you love the game but feel crushed by it…

You don’t need to try harder.

You need to surrender deeper.

That’s how we change the game.

And this time — 

it means something.