How to be a tennis pro for 40 years . . . without going Bat Sh*t Crazy
That was the title of a talk I gave recently at a tennis workshop in Columbia, South Carolina. The principles we discussed are applicable in any field of endeavor. If you’d like some details, here are the bullet points …
“I’m comparing notes not presuming to instruct”
Be wary of how to talks
Focus on the resume vs eulogy virtues (for more on this read, The Road to Character by David Brooks)
These are principles that worked for me, apply (or not) to your unique situation, they’re prompts for discussion . . .
Top 3 principles
Have fun yourself – if it’s not, adjust or change jobs; if you love it, you’ll be fine; this, however, doesn’t mean you’re always happy
Seek out mentors and role models – ‘The first sign of intelligence is to admit you don’t know something’ and ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’.
Have a grid for making business decisions – mine were; Are you passionate? Are you good at it? Does it run your economic engine? (from Good to Great by Jim Collins, 2001)
Lateral applications for tennis pros from the book, ‘Sports Parenting’
Premise of the book: the task will be a never-ending balancing act of dichotomies based on complex variables, beware of extremes on either end (for more on this read Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink). Review the list of words in italics below, they are all valid, but I suggest you prioritize the ones listed second.
Inclinations vs effectiveness – urgent or important / response or results; ‘Don’t be afraid of losing people. Be afraid of losing yourself by trying to please everyone around you.’
Plans vs principles – no formula for success, seek principles that guide decisions; your principles don’t change, your plans often do
Form vs substance –focus on the user experience first, then the customers will appear; in the junior tennis business, focus on the players first, then the parents (this is how Larry Page and Sergey Brin approached founding Google)
Outcome vs process – my core guidelines were effectiveness, efficiency, and engagement; outcomes took care of themselves (contrary to most business books, I only checked the numbers once a year)
Competition vs character – don’t get sidetracked by what others are doing; stay in your lane, keep your head down, believe in yourself, and live for an audience of one (see Arthur Brooks, Strength to Strength; love people, use things, worship the divine)
Sprint vs marathon – whatever the issue (programming, life balance, parent involvement, weather challenges, etc.) the question is, can you sustain this for a long period of time?
Enablement vs independence – own your stuff, apply what helps and discard the rest, everyone’s situation is different
Asking the right questions (prompts for discussion)
What are your best practices?
What are your biggest challenges?
Which of these dichotomies / principles apply best to those challenges?
How do you define fun?