Greatness and Love – A complimentary package?

How many of us live our lives in such a way that if given an option, we will not want to change it?

There is always one more wish in our minds that we want to come true not realizing the actual reason behind the unfulfilled wishes.

My mind asked me a simple question : is there a correlation between greatness and no regrets in life?  So I started researching about various sports players to come up with an answer.

To my surprise, you can achieve success even when you don’t love your sport but in order to achieve greatness, you need to be in love with your sport, the purest kind of love which is unknown to the imbeciles like me. This is the kind of love which is not governed by the level of fame or money but is unselfish and is fulfilled only when one plays the game. It has no perks associated to it, no selfish gains, just the pure joy of feeling complete when you walk out there to hit the ball. It gives you a chance to be who you are and what you can excel at.

Have you ever wondered why players like Federer, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid continue to dominate in the era of youngsters when they were completely written off by the so called experts quoting their age as the biggest barrier. As they say love transcends every boundary be it age, culture or country. Same is true in the field of sports as well.

 I know it all sounds silly but have a look at the examples below and let me know what you think.

 ”My passion for competition and my love for tennis has a lot to do with the longevity of my game.”  – Roger Federer

 ”I am madly in love with the sport. At this stage, I enjoy every little moment.” – Sachin Tendulkar.

 “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do” – Pele

“Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.” – Michael Jordan

There are  more examples of great players echoing similar kind of feelings. We all want fame, money and the glamour but what we fail to see is the people who attain it in the true sense are the people who have loved the sport for what it is and not for monetary gains. Fame and money is like sand between your fingers, the more you want it, the further it slips away from you.

A simple look at Andre Agassi’s life will turn out to be quite informative for all of us who might be stuck working in the field that we don’t love. Agassi did achieve a bit of success early in his career only to lose it amidst of drugs, divorce and a feeling of complete hatred towards tennis. This was true until he met Nelson Mandela who told him “You must live carefully”. Therein began the up rise of one of best players in tennis history. In his own words: “I fell in love with tennis far too late in my life.”

It is only, when one loves the work that one do,  that one can wake up early in the morning and practice endlessly for hours to improve one’s game, only then one can always be present at that practice session at 10 AM without missing it even once, only then one can miss all the parties, money and fame to practice endless forehands with a wall, only then can one end up being one of the biggest philanthropists sports has ever seen.

I have always strongly believed that sports can offer us an in-depth meaning of the way a life needs to be lived. Sadly in today’s world, we watch sports for entertainment and play sports to become a professional and earn money. Nobody realizes that in sports, you can find a virtual school that can offer us lessons which can make us stronger and better in our lives. If  there is anything we can learn from these players that we adore and cherish, it is just one simple lesson:

 ”If you will love what you do, than nothing, believe me, nothing can stop you from becoming immortal in your field”.

Also: Five Sports Personalities who Failed at First.

 Change - A boon or bane in sport?

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com,  http://twitter.com/#!/ApekshaHA or  http://on.fb.me/pouTOy

Novak Djokovic- The Fearless Champion!

Novak Djokovic: “There was no self-belief on the court.  I got afraid from winning against Federer/Nadal.”

As I watched Djokovic’s feature on CBS-“ From War to Wimbledon” yesterday, I was left wondering how fear of winning can potentially stop us from realizing our potential and make us live a life of ordinary.

4 years in a row, match after match, Djokovic came up with the same result against his two opponents. He tried but still kept on losing. I can just imagine how frustrating it must have been for him to keep coming back to his locker room thinking of the reasons why he was not able to win.

10^thSeptember, 2010. Flushing Meadows, Djokovic is down a match point on his serve and even before the ball was tossed, people had started talking about Federer’s chances against Nadal in the finals. Little did they know they were about to witness the rise of a fearless champion.

At the post match interview,  he said while facing match point, he started playing freely because his back was against the wall and he had nothing left to lose.  In that instant, Djokovic must have realized that on the other side of every fear is freedom. And thereby started the story of his rebirth, since the last 1.5 years, he has accomplished achievements which only few could have imagined. Tennis fans witnessed one of the best season in the history of tennis: 11 titles including 3 GS & 5 ATP World Tour Masters. 

Probably this fear is what propelled him to greatness. As he must have realized that tennis supremacy was all that was left to gain. What had he to lose? He was already losing to Federer/Nadal in the GS so why not just go out there and face his fear heads on!

In our lives, isn’t it fear which is stopping us? What do you fear the most? Some have fear of heights, some have stage fright, some people are afraid of higher education, some fear they are not capable of preforming a certain task and so on. You might be afraid of many things in life but you must always overcome them. Do the things which you think you cannot do. What will happen- in the worst case scenario you will end up not doing it. That’s alright as you were already at that stage only. Right?

Imagine if Djokovic would have continued to be afraid……..

I will end this article with a beautiful poem I read this morning by Frank Herbert & instantly Djokovic’s image came to my mind:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

How true?

Also: The Story of the Courage of Kathrine Switzer

The Power of Belief ! (Roger Federer)

Alisa Kleybanova: The Fighter, The Survivor & The Player!

The Humble Rafa- Part I

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com, http://twitter.com/#!/ApekshaHA or http://on.fb.me/pouTOy   

Andre Agassi and "ROCK BOTTOM"

In 1992 Wimbledon, a new champion rose in the history of Tennis-Andre Agassi, the long haired tennis player known for his brashness, mockery and off court media popularity. For a person who was more focused on his image rather than tennis, ongoing hair problems, drug use, tanking matches (unknown to the world at that time) and mocking players, and whose hatred towards tennis was more than anyone can imagine during the early part of his career, dropping in the world ranking from Numero Uno to No. 141 and a divorce was not a surprise. In his words it was the rock bottom of his life. There was no comeback from that situation. Right?

Wrong! Come 2012, he is one of the most adored and respected tennis player who is not only known for his tennis achievements (8 grand slams, 1999 historic victory in French Open, third player to complete a career grand slam, World No. 1 ranking and so many more) but also for his off court achievements. In the field of sports, he is one of the biggest philanthropists; he has generated $177 million for his education reform activities in Las Vegas. In his personal life, he is happily married with the woman who still manages to take his breath away after 11 years-fellow hall of famer-Steffi Graf with two kids Jaden and Jaz. In my book, he is the perfect role model for everyone in all the aspects of life- professional and personal.

So how did this turnaround started: It started with the advice of Nelson Mandela to him in 1997: “We must live our lives carefully”. And how true it is? Shouldn’t every individual live that way, be careful of their decisions on every step. Every human being in this world hits a rock bottom in his life but how often do we see such a remarkable transformation and rise to the top? The normal tendency is to give up and succumb to the pressures of life and give away our lives. Some commit suicides, some fall in the trap of depression, some blame their families and so on. But is that really the solution to this problem? Andre Agassi is a perfect example from whom we can take inspiration in life and get back to the point that we and our family want.

Was he able to do it because he possesses special qualities? No, he was also a normal person like all of us wanting to have a great career, family and good memories. The only difference is that he didn’t give up and with his belief and determination revived himself again to achieve great heights. So, can we also do it? God has given every person the same tools; it’s the qualities which a person develops over a period of time which defines his/her extraordinary achievements. If only we can look from within and be careful in our decisions, we also can do the impossible. As Agassi said “Hitting the rock bottom, a place that really isn’t so bad because it gives you a chance to look up” and start cherishing the things you love the most in life.

Andre Agassi is a true inspiration to all, who has taught us the importance of never giving up in life, the belief that we can always push ourselves to begin again and be inspired to achieve the greatness we are destined for.  It’s NEVER too late in life. In the words of this tennis great and my favorite:  “I am living proof that no dream, no journey is impossible.”

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