The Sixth Sense

Humble and Ferocious

It is probably fair to say that I spent far too long in front of the television yesterday. Yes, I got totally caught up in the Federer vs. Nadal Wimbledon tennis final. I don’t think I missed a single point!

It felt like a real privilege actually. It was the best game of tennis I have ever seen. And it seems like I’m not the only one. Pretty much everyone is hailing it as the greatest game of tennis that has ever been played.

One of the things I love about Federer and Nadal is that they are both amazing tennis champions. They are both in a class of their own. No one else can get near them. And yet, they are two of the must humble, genuine guys around as well. Neither of them has a trace of arrogance.

I was reading how after Nadal thrashed Federer in the French Open, he deliberately waited to go into the locker room to give space to Federer who he knew would really be feeling down. And, just this morning, Nadal got onto a plane to Stuttgart to apologise in person for having to pull out of their tournament this week due to a knee injury. Not only that, after winning the Queen’s tennis tournament a few weeks ago he flew home via an Easy Jet flight - Europe’s low cost, budget airline.

Nadal in particular seems to combine real ferocity on the tennis court that is fueled by absolute humility. So many sports stars are undermined by arrogance. And arrogance is such an ugly quality. I love it that both Federer and Nadal show us that you don’t need to be a horrible, arrogant person to make it to the top. In fact, I would argue that their humility is perhaps the reason they are so consistently at the top of world tennis year after year.

It may not be a quality that is massively valued, but I’m convinced that one of the keys to lasting success - individually or as an organisation - is humility.

What do you think?

Tags: Humility, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tennis, Wimbledon

Greatness

I have to say, Tiger Woods is simply amazing. This guy has barely hit a golf ball for several months after having a knee operation and he comes back, plays his first tournament, and is on the brink of winning it.

I love seeing greatness. People making the most of their talents. I watched Rafael Nadal win the Queens tennis tournament at the weekend as well. There too was greatness on display.

It is sometimes easier to look at sportsmen or women and tangibly seem them making the most of their talents. The challenge is to consider our own talents though and make sure we’re doing everything we can to make the most of them. 

In our own unique way, we all have the potential for greatness. It won’t look like it does for Tiger Woods or Rafael Nadal, but it is equally impressive. Do we want to be people to admire greatness from afar or pursue it for ourselves with every breath we have?

Tags: Golf, Greatness, Rafael Nadal, Sport, Tiger Woods