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When I was still living in South Africa, I played more golf than I do now. As was the custom, every golfer would have a caddie. Caddies were typically under-employed and uneducated; trying to eke out a living on fairly meagre payments as caddies on the all-white golf course of the time. (I am not proud of it, but that is what it was like back then.) I learnt one of the most important lessons of my life on such a golf course, from a gap-toothed, semi-literate character who was my caddie on that particular day. (I wish I remembered his name or could find him again because I would like show my gratitude.) He watched (obviously in agony) for awhile as I was leaving quite a few puts short on this particular day. One after the other my puts would stop short of the hole. Eventually he could not contain himself anymore and he blurted out: “Give the ball a chance, master – give the ball a chance.” For a moment I was on the verge of being upset about his unsolicited advice. (Remember, unlike pro caddies, none of them could actually PLAY golf and they really just carried the bags.) But then I realised the wisdom of those words, and I couldn’t help but smile. (The rest of my four-ball burst out laughing of course.) If you don’t hit the ball hard enough it will not go in the hole. That is the difference between success and failure: how hard you hit the ball. Hitting it hard is not a guarantee that it will go in, but hitting it too softly, is a guarantee that it WON’T go in. (Was it Wayne Gretzky who said: ‘I miss 100% of the shots that I don’t take’?) This poor soul living on the edges of civilisation had given me a life-lesson that I have remembered ever since. And I thought of it again today when I made this discovery I want share with you. Once again I had to think about whether I wanted to do something or … let it slide past. I remembered my caddie and his echo reminded me to give the ball a chance.