Thoughts from "The Wisdom of Johnny" from Golf Digest

"WHEN I WAS a Boy Scout, I learned that lesson of leaving your campsite better than you found it. I try to equate that to life, and I wish more people did. Sometimes I wonder how the world would be if there were a million Johnny Millers. I guess some would disagree, but I think it would be a better place."

This weekend Johnny Miller is signing off after, what many are saying, is the greatest golf announcing career ever. This comes after completing one of the greatest careers as a professional golfer ever, highlighted by a two year stretch of play the likes of which had not been seen until a kid named Tiger came close.

I was never that big a fan of Miller the player...being a Jack guy...Johnny presented a challenge to Nicklaus' greatness for those magical couple years...but alas Miller cooled off and order was restored. Then Miller climbed the tower and got behind the mic he changed everything for a golf-a-holic like me and most of the golf world.

If you never heard him, or you aren't into stretching out on the couch on Sunday afternoon to watch golf (in my house that's mostly code for taking a nap) you can't imagine the stir he caused with his straightforward and honest approach to "telling it like it is" without much concern for the fragile egos of the subjects of his comments...the tour pros.

This weekend's tournament in Scottsdale marks the end of his TV career and as a result there are lots of articles about Johnny in all the industry publications. The quote above is from this month's edition of Golf Digest from an article titled "The Wisdom of Johnny" and this quote really struck me.

The idea of "leaving the campsite better than you found it" is also something I've tried to live my life by. Probably something akin to a core value of sorts. If you think about it, that phrase paints a picture that can be pretty all encompassing. You don't really have to include instructions or specifics around circumstances. It's a stand alone marker to help guide and judge your actions or make decisions. I've always loved it an tried to pass that way of thinking along to my kids.

The second part of the quote was really remarkable to me and frankly not surprising coming from Johnny's lips. I don't think he's being arrogant when he says it...just honest. I think he's saying this because he's given it lots of thought and worked hard throughout his life to live his life towards this ideal. It's also the same sort of thing as the campsite motto in terms of it's scope.

If the world had a million Johnny Millers it would be a better place. Wow...can I say..."If the world had a million Jim McQuaigs it would be a better place?" As with Miller, I sure hope it would but at the very least what a great thought and standard to live by!

So as you leave the house today, and everyday, make sure to leave your campsite better than you found it and live in a way that the world wants a million of you. Can't think of a much better way to engage with our world.