A Life Well Played Life - Arnold Palmer
This book is right on brand. I mean that in the best way possible…mostly. Arnold Palmer is probably the most loved golfer of all time. Sure, Tiger Woods had/has an incredible following, but Arnie connected people on a much deeper level than Tiger. People seemed to see themselves in Arnie as if he was from their own hometown.
I start out by saying that this book is on brand because, reading the book, I’ve learned that Arnold Palmer, literally was a brand! I had no idea the number of businesses that he was involved in. He was connected to Penzoil, golf equipment, iced tea, and even a chain of dry cleaners. He seemed completely willing to put his name behind something if he believed in it. It seems different than other sponsorships for some reasons. It seems so wholesome. He seems to really have seen these sponsorships as a partnership. It was like a simple equation: company has a good product, Arnie thinks its a good product, Arnie enforces the product.
I appreciate how he seemed to constantly have his hands in some kind of project. He didn’t overthink them. He seemed to have a certain amount of humility with the projects he was involved in. Like he understood the absurdity of his opportunity to play golf and try to make some money through golf and partnerships. If there was something I could emulate from him, its his constantly looking forward. When he was presented with opportunities he just went with it. Some of them might not have worked out but more often than not they did work out because his intentions were pure.