Author: carmie0817

In this blog, I wanted to share an interview that I saw with tennis great Novak Djokovic conducted by Lewis Howes.  I was completed moved and amazed what Novak has accomplished on and off the tennis court.

For those that do not know Novak Djokovic, he is one of the greatest men’s tennis players of all time.   He has been # 1 in the world for 4 years this decade.  He is a winner of 12 major titles.  He held all 4 majors consecutively for the first time since Rod Laver since 1969.

What I didn’t know about Novak is that growing up in Serbia, he and his family went through two wars.  The 2nd of the two wars, forced Novak and his family seek an underground shelter at his aunt’s house.  In addition, his family waited in line for milk and bread for hours.

Novak also heard and felt bombs and talked about how difficult it is not having control of your own environment.  Fortunately, he did not lose any family members.  However, he knew of many Serbians who did lose family and created thousands of refugees.

Instead of becoming a victim and creating a negative story, Novak became very grateful for going through this traumatic experience.  Novak became much more appreciative of his life.  Appreciation and being blessed became his story.

Here are the principles and take aways on Novak’s beliefs.

1. He loves and appreciates his wife for her honesty and devotion.
2. He stated that everything happens for a reason.
3. Clarity: he knew he was going to be number 1 tennis player in the world.  He even created a Wimbledon trophy and visualized being the champion as a young boy.
4. He became an ambassador for Unicef helping provide shelter for refugees in Serbia.
5. He defines hatred and revenge as prisoners of their own emotions.
6. Biggest lesson from war is to always be kind to anyone and everyone because you can never know what another person is going through.  There is God that guides us and will prosper as long as we appreciate and respect others.
7. Adversity in his tennis career in 2010, where Novak considered quitting the game.  He was number three in the world and wasn’t happy.  His was not winning titles.  His best friend asked him to forget wins and losses and asked him if he still loves the game.  Once Novak knew he did, he became number 1 in the world and winning 43 consecutive matches.  Loving the game became primary and winning trophies became secondary.
8. Happiness is from the inside.  Inner peace and happiness is the ultimate goal.
9. Learn to breathe, so that we can stay in the present.

 

Novak’s three truths are:

1. Live Freely
2. Breathe Deeply
3.  Love Fully

Lastly Novak’s definition of greatness is to find your purpose.  If you find your purpose, you will give purpose to others.  We will maximize our life experience if we find our purpose.

Attached is the link to the interview:

 

Also attached is my video blog:

 

Losing serves in many ways.  It not only serves on a level of achievement or significance, it also serves us emotionally and spiritually.

One of my favorite athletes of all time is men’s tennis legend Pete Sampras.  When Pete came up in the men’s tour, he became an unknown who won the U.S. Open at age 19.  That is the youngest men’s champion ever at the U.S. Open.

Success came too soon for Pete.  After that big win, Pete was lost and overwhelmed with all the fan and media attention he was receving.  As a result he struggled for about 18 months.  Pete was a great natural talent, but not a competitor.  Two years after winning his first U.S. Open, he found himself back in the finals.  Pete’s mindset was that he was happy with the two weeks and was okay making the finals.  What Pete did not have was the hunger to win the match and eventually lost the match with a 6-2 loss in the 4th and final set to Stefan Edberg.  Pete admitted that he did not dig deep and do the things he needed to do to win the match.

Here is how Pete described it:

“It changed my whole mentality, when I kind of gave up in that fourth set,” he recalled during a morning press conference. “I just promised myself I would never let that happen again. I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted to stay No. 1. That 1992 loss to Edberg was the wake-up call that I needed to really figure this thing out.”

This loss bothered Pete in a big way.  Pete said that he willl never give up in a match like that.  As a result, Pete became completely dedicated to his trade and went on to breaking many records including a record at the time of 14 majors.  In addition, Pete became the #1 player in the world for six consecutive years.

To this day, Pete says this loss is the greatest event that ever happened to him.  He would have never won 14 majors nor go on to have a the hall of fame career that he had.  Thus, one loss became thirteen majors.

Now, I know not all of us are tennis players and athletes.  I know that I have had many major setbacks that have turned out to be incredible blessings.  I remember not getting a promotion in 2003 and felt I deserved one.  By not getting promoted, I ended up meeting my wife Carmen.  Of course, I don’t know where my life would be without my bride.

As Tony Robbins says, “Those who succeed tend to party and those fail tend to ponder”.

What disappointments and challenges are you going through right now?

How are the disappointments in your life setting you up for winning moments?

How is losing getting you to take your life to the next level?

Feel free to comment below.  I would love to hear from your responses.