How do you become a champion?

After he won his long-awaited 13th Grand Slam title, Novak Djokovic attended the Wimbledon Champions dinner at Guildhall, London accompanied by his team. As a 2018 Singles Gentlemen Champion, he was invited on a stage for an interview in front of past champions, legends, juniors and club members. His 13th Grand slam title came after 2 years, 6 months off, surgery and many, many obstacles (and defeats).

One of the most common questions champions and winners are asked after their victories are: how do you become a champion and how do you cross that path from junior champion to senior champion and stand here on this stage with a trophy?

Knowing your “Why” and keeping it close to your heart is a very simple and yet powerful advice. Showing up with your core values each time you are tested is always the right path to any form of success. You will grow, you will learn, you will fail, you will succeed – but your authentic YOU will be imprinted in everything you do.

You are your values. Just like each of us has unique fingerprints, each of us has a unique set of values that we carry through our lives. That’s what makes us Original.

Gary Keller, the author of many bestselling books, gave a very powerful quote on success quite recently on one of the podcasts I listen.

He said:

Success is nothing more than moving from failure to failure without giving up.

This is so true.

23rd June 2018, Queens Club, London, England; The Fever Tree Tennis Championships; Novak Djokovic (SRB) celebrates towards his coaches after wining a vital point, Image: 375816532, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Profimedia, Actionplus

The secret formula for success

Novak does not allow anyone to put limits on his capabilities because he doesn’t want to be constrained. He believes in constant growth and improvement and he doesn’t let it come to him by chance. He is the one chasing it. When he reaches one peak, he looks for another one to climb. He listens and respects other people’s opinions, but he is never defined by them.

At his best, he is brave to try new things, to explore and invent, and in turn, he developed a bulletproof skin. Every day he fails at something. He has doubts at times and a few moments of disbelief, but what keeps him going through those moments is probably something many of us don’t even acknowledge as important.

The secret to overcoming any challenge in life is to stick to your routines. When you wander off and things become too complicated…go back to your basics, the ones that have gotten you to the point of success in the first place. Novak is very good and consistent in his routines.

Being master at something means you will repeat it thousands and thousands of times until you can do it in your sleep. It becomes part of you.

Bruce Lee said:

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”

Maybe this explains success the best. We try to complicate it. We try to make it look impossible. The truth is, success is all about repeating basics until they become mastery.

soft focus of tennis ball on tennis grass court with sunlight

Novak is getting up every day and going through his routines that I like to call rituals. They are his firm foundation for the day, the energy for the day.

Sleep, prayers, stretching, water intake, food, family time – there is no skipping of any of it. That’s how his day is fueled and that’s a good energy that feeds his purpose.

And yes, he hits his forehands and backhands every day. Countless drills, different angles, different surfaces, different opponents. He trains every day. One would think – why more forehands and backhands, you must know them by heart by now? But that’s what it takes. Sport can teach us so much.

Why would anyone want to stop reading just because they learned to read? Knowing to read is just the start, not an end. Same applies to everything we do. We don’t just stop because we learned basics. We start using those basics to build many more complex things in life. Learning doesn’t stop when we get the university degree.

Unless we go out there and try, all the theory we learned from books and our professors remains just that. A theory.

When you do what you do THE BEST IT CAN BE DONE, not just the best you could do. Wow. History. So proud. What a moment. First man on the planet to do this. First. One. Ever. Love you ❤️ #TheMasterofAllMasters #GoldenMasters #CincyTennis

How do you find your purpose?

If you aim for success, you have to be very specific and precise when defining your life’s purpose.

Novak didn’t just train more. He trained smarter. He recovered smarter. He worked on his self-belief because he knew that once he becomes THE ONE, everybody will come after him. The one thing he can always rely on is his self-belief. His purpose.

His purpose is love for life. His learning and training classroom is the tennis court. His tools are his body, mind, racket, shoes and the effort he puts into fueling and strengthening all these tools to deliver him the best possible chance to do what he loves the most the best.

I’ve been asked so many times why I don’t go to all of his matches and watch all of his games. The simple answer is – the purpose. I have my purpose, and sometimes that purpose is much better served when I am not there watching him on the stands. We all have to make a few sacrifices along the way. But what makes it all more bearable is knowing that you are doing it for the greater good of the team.

And no, your purpose is not what others tell you it is. Read the book “The top five regrets of the Dying” by Bronnie Ware, and you’ll understand this better. Asking people at the end of their life, what they wish they knew earlier brings us a lot of wisdom. One of the most common regrets of dying is

All of this is easier said than done. One thing I like to pinpoint is that everybody defines success in different terms. Being successful doesn’t necessarily mean lifting a trophy. It doesn’t mean having money. Different life circumstances and different environments define what goals we have in life. Everything drives us back to ourselves.

Here is a cheat list of all the important steps to become a champion in life:

• know who you are
• know your values
• know your purpose
• there are no limits
• get rid of distractions
• YOU define YOU
• love and passion are great compasses
• stay true to your values and inner beliefs
• stick to your good, positive routines

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What defines you? Have you discovered your purpose yet? What are the basics you have to work on to get you going to the next stage – to achieve your ultimate purpose?