ATLANTA -- Jason Day is an inspirational dude.
The world's newest No. 1-ranked player overcame the loss of his father at a young age and rose from poverty to attain his current success. If you're into the whole "athletes as role models" idea, you could do a lot worse than choosing Day as an example for certain standards.
It's not just his story that's inspirational, though. Day speaks in inspirational words. They're not simply clichés, like so many other athletes. It just sounds as if he's repeating phrases from motivational posters.
In fact, you could tear down all of those tacky framed prints around your office of the cat hanging from a limb with the "Hang in there!" caption and easily replace them with words from golf's top-ranked player posted beneath equally tacky full-color prints of sunsets or waterfalls or even golf courses.
You don't even need to search very far. I combed through Day's last two news conferences -- one following his BMW Championship victory on Sunday and one before the Tour Championship on Wednesday -- to find quotes that could easily be plastered throughout any workplace.
Over there by the front entrance, let's put Day's thoughts on aspirations:
Everyone has dreams. As long as you stick to them and work hard, you can accomplish anything.
In the hallway leading to the office, these words on success:
If you're a master of something, you've failed more times than you've won.
On the archway over the door, this on humility:
It's easy to get a big head, isn't it? Sometimes I can't fit it through the bloody door.
In the conference room, his comments on the people behind him:
Our team goal has always been same thing: to get to No. 1.
And over by the copy machine, thoughts on shouldering the blame:
You make the error; it is your own fault. And can you live with that.
Right on the boss' office door, Day's take on what he'd say to those who doubted him:
I'd love to say I told you so, but that wouldn't be very nice.
In the lunchroom, right by the microwave, more on the doubters:
It's OK to dream big. It's OK to say what you want to do. And for people that don't respect that, then you really don't need to give them the time.
By the bank of cubicles, his lesson from losses:
I've had a lot of failures, but they have been good learning experiences for me and I'm just trying to get better.
Near the coffee machine, Day on gaining experience:
Finishing second so many times and not finishing the job has all given me the learning experience to do what I've done.
And right near the back exit, one final poster summarizing his idea on the team atmosphere:
The people that had involvement in me getting to where I am today, I can't thank them enough.
Day speaks in such inspirational undertones that I felt the need to ask him whether he reads these types of messages and derives his own motivation from them.
"Well, I do have mates that send me inspirational stuff, which is great," he said. "I think it's fantastic, because you always need mates like that."
Then he launched directly into a commentary on motivation that should have us rearranging some of those posters around the office.
What keeps me motivated is just trying to get better.
I enjoy winning. I love competing and contending.
You've got to love improving.
His story is inspirational enough, a true-life rags-to-riches tale with a happy ending, as he'll play this week's season finale as the No. 1 player for the first time in his career.
While others speak in clichés or anecdotes or truisms, Day speaks in these inspirational messages. His words sound so much like those that would be posted around a workplace that, well, you could actually do just that.
Hey, it beats the cat hanging from the limb.