No Time for That

Dec. 18, 2020

Back in the days when sports were fun to watch (2019), there was an extremely fun, and extremely valuable moment.

They just replayed the 2019 Laver Cup, the premier tennis event that pits European players against players from the rest of the World, it had all come down to the final match.

Remember that match? It was Alexander Zverev (Europe) versus Milos Raonic (World).

Winner-take-all.

The interesting part was that Zverev had been undergoing a major confidence crisis in the weeks before the event. In big moments, he had been choking. He had started double-faulting and generally folding in pressure situations.

And now he and Raonic had just split sets. It was one tiebreak to 10 to determine the Laver Cup champion. The crowd was going crazy and, more than that, the best players of all time were there playing for the Europe team. And watching.

It looked like Zverev was in trouble again, this time in front of the whole world and his most respected peers.

As he came off the court for the short break before the finish, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal immediately descended on him. They got right in his face. Rumor has it they threatened Zverev with physical harm. (Not really, but maybe).

They yelled at him all the way down the tunnel and all the way back out to the court.

While much of what was said can’t be repeated due to spicy language, here is the message they sent to young Alexander:

You will not pout. 

You will not hang your head.

You will not give up, not for a second.

There is no negative. Negativity doesn’t exist. 

You will scream, “Come on!” after every point. 

You will fight. 

Zverev bounded on the court and played incredibly, clinching the title for Europe. He credited Federer and Nadal for saving him with their screaming.

And Zverev’s career has turned around since that moment.

The message?

If we want Monster Wins, there is no time for negativity. Not every trade will work. Not everything will work out every time.

But, if we want to win, we will accept the bad trades and immediately brush them off forever.

We will exaggerate the good times, both on the charts and in our minds.

We will keep fighting.

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My book is called The Inevitability of Becoming Rich, and you can find that here.