Jeremy Lin: Against the Odds- Lin-spirational Story!

Article first published as Jeremy Lin: Against the Odds He Succeeds on Technorati. By Apeksha HA


Jeremy Lin

Undrafted out of college,
Cut by two teams (Golden State Warriors & Houston Rockets).
Few days away from losing his spot in New York Knicks.
In the first 23 games of New York Knicks - just 55 minutes of total play.
No apartment to live in.
Can things go any more wrong for a person? When faced with such situations, most of us give up in our lives blaming it on destiny and stop fighting it out. But not Jeremy Lin!
What does he do? He grabs the opportunity presented to him and emerged as  one of the most inspirational players off late. He has wowed everyone in his first 6 games. People have gone crazy and Lin-ysteria can be seen everywhere. In his first five games as a starter: he is averaging 27.2 points per game on 50 percent shooting, with 8.8 assists. He is just three points behind John Drew with the most points scored in his first five games as an NBA starter (136).
We can go on and on about this Asian American and this space will not be enough. What needs to be learned from the above is that in life, giving up is not an option. Imagine where this kid would have been if he would have stopped working towards his goal in the wake of so many disappointments in his life!
The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be. Don’t let your fear or disappointment of failures stop you from achieving your goals in life. Richard Branson once said that if one man can do it- so can you!
Lin-spiration is there for all of us to see and admire. All I want you is to stop for a moment and think about yourself when you cheer on for Lin. Think about your goals and take a cue from this rising star and go achieve them with confidence. Disappointments will be there but one day the right opportunity will knock at your door- face it with confidence and achieve the Lin-possible!
After all, the best people find strength in their disappointments. As Vince Lombardi Once said- “It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up."
Isn’t Jeremy Lin a Lin-credible example for this?






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

Roger Federer- Low on Mental Toughness?




Federer lost to John Isner in 4 sets today to hand a 2-0 lead to USA in the Davis Cup tie. No doubt Isner played well but what was noteworthy to watch was the way Federer wilted under pressure. It has been long known that when it comes to playing pressure points, Federer has the tendency to become defensive and more often than not, he ends up losing the game or match against the top players.

Even today in the third set, inspite of having many break points, he lost the set. In the fourth set, after being unable to break Isner in the 5th game (3 break points opportunities), it was evident from his game that the desire to fight was missing. Result- Federer gave up and lost the set and match 2-6.Even his languid body language in itself pretty much told the entire story. Imagine the boost it must have given to Isner to see Federer so demotivated!

If anyone who has been following Federer's matches off late, he/she will agree that the motivation to fight back is somehow on the downhill. It's amazing when you compare it with Nadal/Nole who seems to give more than 100% on each and every point irrespective of the situation. Remember Nadal fought back against Isner in a similar situation last year at French Open in the first round after being down 2 sets to 1.

If one must have observed Federer even during his SF match against Nadal, after the 10 minutes mandatory break due to firecrackers, Federer came back as a rattled player and lost the second set easily without a fight. For Federer it's now more of a mental fight than physical as on the tour he is still one of the fittest players around. If he really has to win tough matches, he will have to dig deep and find the motivation to give his 100% on every point rather than giving up so easily.

It's pretty surprising to see arguably the greatest player in the history so low on mental toughness. When it comes to holding up their end and not giving up, Nadal and Djokovic really are one level up than Federer. Things are not looking good for this aging champion and if he has to really win his 17th GS, he will have to pull himself up and get to the level of Nadal/Djoker to give his all on each and every point rather than getting rattled by his inability to break on pressure points.

That's what champions are all about-  To fight and fight till the end! Isn't it?

In the end I will just end with this quote: Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the match!


Lost Hope?  (Maria Sharapova) 

5 Inspiring Moments from Australian Open!



5 days gone but still the hangover persists! For me and I am sure many of the fans out there, it was the  best Australian Open of the decade. Never have I seen a Grand Slam with such heroic battles, brilliant comebacks and above all a test of stamina, determination and endurance of the top athletes.

As Roger Bannister rightly said: "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

Wasn’t it what we witnessed as Australian Open culminated with the biggest battle in a GS?
So I thought let’s take a look back at the top 5 inspiring moments during the first GS of the year 2012:

5)  Company Matters: Just one month back, Andy Murray was a player whose anger management issues, on the court were more popular than his achievements on the court. But with the arrival of Ivan Lendl in Murray’s camp, things seem to have worked for this immensely talented Scot as he showed us his fighting attitude for the first time during the SF against Djokovic. It was really difficult to imagine such a huge transformation in a matter of 2 week’s time. But that’s the lesson to be learnt: Surround yourself with positive minded people, whom you respect for their special qualities, you will be changed!

 “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher”- Oprah Winfrey

4)  Irrelevance of Pressure: There are two types of people in this world- One who succumbs to pressure and the other who rise high in the same circumstances. Sam Stosur and Bernard Tomic in my mind are the perfect example of the above respectively. Bernard Tomic’s victory over Verdasco in five sets after being two sets down was a lesson to the tennis world that pressure will be a factor only if you think it to be one.

“Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise”- Kobe Bryant

3) Just one more step: If you are 4 match points down against a top 5 player, why would you even think of trying? But Kim Clijsters taught us that taking that one more step in the right direction instead of quitting can lead to victory in the end.

“They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown and that’s why they lose” – Ross Perot

2) Never Give Up: There can be nothing better than to see a tennis player fight his heart out for his goals. There is a possibility that you might not reach the destination but every effort that you make takes you an inch closer. And who better a example than Rafael Nadal. His quest to win the mental battle against defying his body and mind was one of the features of Australian Open
.
“Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements, and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end result of a clean forward thrust, and our present difficulties as signs of decline and decay.” – Eric Hoffer

1) Belief- The key to success: People who have accomplished great things in life have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible. When the entire world talked about Fedal and how no one will be able to match them, Djokovic was silently getting prepared to prove everyone wrong. “I have to say that even though that he’s the best and everybody thinks that he’s unbeatable, I say he’s not unbeatable. He’s beatable, you know.”-Novak Djokovic after losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinal of Roland Garros in 2006.

And look where he is now- 7 times in a row he has defeated Nadal!

“Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


(Have a look at what motivated Nadal/Djokovic to produce the world class tennis in the epic final)

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Also: Lost Hope?  (Maria Sharapova) 

Evolution of Novak Djokovic- Australian Open (2007-2012)!

Novak Djokovic (The Steel Man) wins the Battle of Will against Rafael Nadal!



“I can defeat Rafael Nadal 7 times in a row- Because I am Novak Djokovic- The player with indomitable will and confidence.”

The message that was conveyed to the entire tennis world  as Djokovic tore his t-shirt after winning the longest match (5 hours 53 minutes) of the Grand Slam in the open era.

Result: Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in 5 sets:
5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5

Djokovic who was just 2 points away from winning his 5thMajor GS in the 4th set was taken to the fifth set by the sheer tenacity and determination of Nadal. It was a match filled with so many twists and turns that nobody knew until the  fifth set as to who is going to win the match. But in the end, Djokovic simply outclassed Nadal through his mental strength and calm attitude during crucial moments in the match to claim this third Australian Open GS title!

Nadal played beautifully during the first set, getting his first break against Djokovic at 2-2. Djokovic was pretty flustered after the break as he threw his racquet and went for a t-shirt (color) change. That pretty much set the tone of the match. Although Djokovic broke back again 2-4 down only to be broken back again at 5-5. Serving at 6-5, Nadal finally managed to win the set on his third set point in 1 hour 20 minutes.

Just when it looked like Nadal had finally got to terms with Djokovic in terms of mental advantage; Nole came back with a zen like approach and got a break at 2-1 in the second set. Nadal held the serve and then with his resolute determination broke back to level the match at 5-4. When it looked that Nadal has bounced back in the game, Nole stepped it up and from 30-40 (after a correct overrule by the umpire), won the set on a double fault by Nadal in 66 minutes.

The third set proved to be a nightmare for Nadal who lost it very easily. He was broken two times in the set and Djokovic won it 6-2 with just 7 unforced errors. Just when it looked like Djokovic will cruise through the match, Nadal somehow hung in there fighting his heart out at every point. The turning point came during the 8th game of the 4th set. At 3-4, Nadal faced 3 crucial break points. The set went in for a tie break which Nadal won 7-5.

In the fifth set, a tired looking Djokovic was unable to hold his own serve as Rafa took a lead of 4-2. But then this is Djokovic we are talking about- the calmest tennis player. He broke back twice to take a lead for 6-5 and served out the match. In the end it was the fighting spirit and calmness of Djokovic that prevailed and he won the the marathon match. This was a win which reminds you of Nadal’s epic win in ‘09 in two 5 set matches against Verdasco and Federer. The only difference- the winner is different!

What was more inspiring to see was the way with which Djokovic & Nadal fought this battle mentally as well as physically. After losing to a guy 6 times in the final, when Nadal was down mentally, he nearly reversed the battle of minds and clearly today, it was a match of pure will and determination!

More importantly, it showed to the world that anything is possible till the last moment. You need perseverance, determination and belief to make it possible.

This match will probably go down as the match which has taken the tennis to a whole new level. Great Warriors, Fighters and Friends with each other- Djokovic and Nadal will be saluted by tennis fans for the best match of the season!

In the end, I will sum up the match with this quote:

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.”

Also: 5 Inspiring Moments from Australian Open!


Lost Hope?  (Maria Sharapova) 

Evolution of Novak Djokovic- Australian Open (2007-2012)!
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