3 Lessons About Success from the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time

Read time: 4 minutes

The greatest tennis player of all time just gave a commencement speech, and it lit the internet on fire.

Here’s what he said.

“Perfection is impossible. 

In the 1526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80%.

Now, I have a question for you.

What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches? 

Only 54%.

In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. 

When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot.

You teach yourself to think, okay, I double-faulted ... it's only a point. Okay, I came to the net, then I got passed again; it's only a point. Even a great shot, an overhead backhand smash that ends up on ESPN's top 10 playlist. That, too, is just a point.

And here's why I'm telling you this. 

When you're playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world, and it is. 

But when it's behind you, it's behind you. 

This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point… and the next one after that… with intensity, clarity and focus.

The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you’re going to lose. 

A point, a match, a season, a job... it’s a roller coaster, with many ups and downs.

And it’s natural, when you’re down, to doubt yourself. To feel sorry for yourself.

(And by the way, your opponents have self-doubt, too. Don’t ever forget that.)

But negative energy is wasted energy.

You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That to me is the sign of a champion.

The best in the world are not the best because they win every point.

It’s because they know they’ll lose... again and again… and have learned how to deal with it.”

— Roger Federer

In today’s issue:

3 Lessons from the GOAT of tennis
- Perfection is impossible
- The mindset of a champion
- The knife’s edge of greatness and obscurity

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If you don’t already know, in the world of tennis, Roger Federer is… a big deal.

How big?

He retired with the most grand slam titles ever won and the longest consecutive streak as the world’s number 1 ranked player.

For many, he’s the greatest player of all time.

So when he talks about how to win, I listen up.

And what he said totally surprised me.

Here are 3 keys to winning in sports and life from King Roger.

1) Perfection is impossible

Close your eyes and picture an elite athlete.

Wait a second. You can’t read if you close your eyes. Scratch that. Open them back up.

Visualize an elite athlete in the back of your mind while you read my incredible article.

The Olympics are just around the corner, so maybe you see a gymnast flying through the air on the uneven bars, or a track athlete lunging for the finish line.

What traits do they have?

A relentless drive? Unmatched focus? A demand for perfection?

Yes. All of these. 

No one rises to the top of their craft without an obsession that borders on insanity. They’re the best because they out-work and out-care everyone else.

They chase being perfect.

But no matter how hard they try, perfection is an illusion - they’ll never reach it.

They know that they will sacrifice and grind and hurt and give it their all, yet still come up short again and again.

Failure is assumed in their pursuit of their dreams.

Yet they go for it anyway.

I see so many people avoid investing because they’re too afraid to make a mistake.

“What if I make a bad decision and lose money?” 

So they never get started, and because they never get started, they never build financial freedom.

Because they assume they have to be perfect to take action, they are instead perfectly trapped.

Every successful investor can tell you story after story of investments that didn’t work out. Loss and pain and frustration.

They accept those failures because their victories more than make up for the losses they have to endure.

And by accepting that they win.

Just because perfection is impossible doesn’t mean you should never try.

2) The mindset of a champion

When you’re an elite athlete, your physical training is important. 

Speed, power, agility - all of these are necessary to win.

But at the top levels everyone is an elite athlete. Everyone is fast, everyone is strong, and everyone is in shape.

The difference between the #1 ranked player and the #100th ranked player then comes down to mindset.

How well can you mentally recover when things aren’t going your way?

How alert can you stay when the momentum swings in your favor and things seem easy?

The faster you can forget what just happened and move on, the more successful you will be.

While others are still dwelling on their last failure (or victory), champions are already on to the next action.

Think like a champion.

3) The knife’s edge of greatness and obscurity

54%.

That’s the ratio of points Roger Federer won.

Yet that tiny 4% edge enabled him to win 80% of his matches.

A lot of times we think we need to have some massive advantage to win in life.

But that’s a lie. You only need to be barely better than the next person.

The person who is a slightly better leader will become the CEO. The other will be stuck as a middle manager.

Small difference in ability, giant difference in outcome.

The company that has a slightly better burrito will take 90% of the market share.

Qdoba is the #2 burrito restaurant in the country.  Qdoba recently sold for $300 million.

Chipotle is #1. Chipotle is worth $77 BILLION.

Slight edges make fortunes.

Where do you have a slight advantage over others?

Find that and lean into it. Success will come.

Keep growing,

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