Sometimes we set goals to improve ourselves in some way. Whether it’s to lose weight, eat healthier, improve a relationship, pursue a passion, or to simply feel better about yourself, it’s easy to fall behind and ultimately give up on our goals. Sometimes the thought of working every day on it can be overwhelming or we just don’t see the results we want as quickly as we want and give up. A way to combat that is to reflect on your why. Why are you trying to achieve this goal in the first place? Are you eating healthier to make sure your body has a great immune system? Are you trying to lose weight to feel better about yourself? Whatever your “why” is, it’s important to remind yourself of this to keep you motivated and continue working towards your goal. It should be something that you write down and hang somewhere that you will see it every single day as inspiration. This post is about my why in regards to becoming a professional disc golfer and why I started the blog.

I started this blog back in 2020 after finding inspiration through a pro named Tristan Tanner. He had only been playing for a few years and was absolutely killing it when he first started touring. He had a blog himself and I knew that if he could get as good as he was after playing for only 5 years that I could very well do the same.

My sister had just started a company with her wife designing logos and producing merchandise. She surprised me with a shirt and a sticker with a logo of a basket with roots at the base of it. Above the basket was my childhood nickname “HannyBoy.” I was so excited by this that I immediately started finding ways to start a website and begin my own blog. The idea was to have an outlet to share my progress as I attempted to transition from an amateur disc golfer to a professional. 

Why did I feel that it was important to start a blog?

First and foremost I wanted to give people an insight into what it would take to transition from being an amateur to a professional. It would give me an opportunity to talk about what works and what doesn’t work when practicing or competing in tournaments. It would allow me to reflect on my practice sessions and analyze myself in many different ways. I figured it would be easily relatable because most passionate disc golfers want to play professionally. I mean who wouldn’t want to play their favorite sport and possibly earn some money while doing it? 

Secondly, with social media becoming what it is today, it’s important to put yourself out there if you want to get sponsorships. Part of being a professional anything is the ability to make a living financially, and in order to do that you have to obtain sponsors that are going to be willing to support you and come up with ways to make an income outside of playing tournaments. Ideally the blog would show that I’m committed to the sport and in turn help me obtain sponsorships.

Playing in tournaments can be very costly, especially if you play a lot of them throughout the year. Entry fees range anywhere from $20 to upwards of $150 at larger events. Another income opportunity the blog brings is the ability to sell discs or merchandise on it. As an amateur, payouts are in the form of merchandise money which allows me to purchase discs after cashing in an event. A lot of times, there weren’t any discs available that I was throwing and I had no intention of learning to throw different molds because I was comfortable with what I had. I was able to create a shop on the website and sell the discs I was winning at tournaments, and turn it into real cash, which is what I would use to cover the costs of entry fees.

A bonus to starting a blog and being more active on social media is the opportunity to connect with more people. I’ve been an introvert by nature my entire life, always deep in thought and not as outgoing as I would like to be. I figured that the blog would be a great way for me to get my thoughts out there into the world and give me something to reflect on in the future. Honestly, one of my least favorite things to do in school was write. I strive to be as well rounded as I can and starting a blog would be a good way to practice something new. 

Most importantly, the reason why I’m pursuing this dream of mine to become a professional disc golfer is because I want to spend more of my time in this life doing something I am truly passionate about. We spend so much time doing things that society deems important, such as going to school or work (don’t get me wrong, they are important!), that we don’t get to spend as much time on ourselves doing the things that we actually enjoy. There is something special about working hard towards a personal goal, and achieving it. I can honestly say that one of the greatest feelings I’ve had in my adult life is winning tournaments. It brings me so much satisfaction, it's unbelievable! Working on the blog and having someone tell me they read it and learned something valuable also brings me an overwhelming amount of joy, it's the pursuit of these feelings that continues to inspire me to do more. 

If you have a dream, or are passionate about something, whatever that is, go after it! 10 minutes a day, a little bit at a time. Write your dream down and keep it somewhere that you will see it every day.This will constantly remind you of why you’re putting in the work and help you stay on track. Create a habit of pursuing your dream every day, and before you know it you’ll be spending more of your precious time doing something that brings you joy.