self-improvement

Last night I went to have a hit of tennis with my younger brother. As he jumped in the car he said, “I have a present to give you” but wouldn’t tell me what it was. After the game we went back to his place and, upon walking in to his room, saw that his brand new super computer was packed up into a box. “I want you to have this,” he said. “If I you don’t take it I won’t get into medical school.”

In this post I want to talk a little bit about recognizing your personal faults and making changes that deal with those faults. I am writing this post on my new computer, inspired by my little brother’s ability to change his circumstances.

The story behind the amazing computer give-away

I want to give you a little bit of background to why my brother gave me this most generous present. Perhaps then you will see why I am so inspired by his strength of character.

My brother is 20 years old. He is currently in his third year of a Medical Science Degree and is now studying to sit an exam to get into Medicine. Medical school is his goal. It is his dream. It has been his dream since he broke his arm at around age 13 and realized how much his doctor helped and protected him. Ever since that fateful arm-break he has hungered to be a doctor.

But there is something standing in his way. It is something so powerful that it has consumed both his older brother (me) and his father. In fact, this thing standing in his way has stood in the way of goals and dreams all throughout history. That thing is procrastination.

My brother’s form of procrastination manifested as video games. It manifested as hours of online chess games, World of Warcraft and Counter Strike Source. He was constantly aware of how his love of video games was affecting his study but he was never able to completely quit them. Even though he had taken personal vows to quit the time wasting video games the draw and allure of the games always drew him back.

Now let me get something straight. This kid studies. He spends full days at University studying his texts and has been rewarded with some of the top grades in his class. Last semester he scored three High Distinctions and one Distinction and the head of school informed him that one of his papers would be used to show future classes how to write an excellent essay. He is smart.

But getting into Medical School is hard. Not only is it hard, it means a lot to him. He knows what his dream is and he doesn’t want to look back and realize that he failed to get into the school because he wasted time playing chess. So, last night after tennis, my brother gave me his computer saying, “I need you to take it. Use it better than I did. I don’t want anything getting in the way of my dream.”

Why my brother has inspired me so much

This kid is 20 years old. He is young. I know 50 year olds who don’t have the presence of mind or strength of character to recognize their faults and do something about it. Most people are either too self-absorbed or too proud to admit they have a problem. But last night my 20 year old brother gave away a $2000 computer because it was standing in his way. It was preventing him from attaining his goals. And it has inspired me a great deal.

What I respect so much is that fact that he saw a problem and he dealt with it. He was willing to give up something that meant a lot to him because it was feeding an addiction and wasting his time. Most people make excuses for their personal faults and addictions but my brother was able to stand tall and cut it from his life. [Read more…] about How to Recognize Your Personal Faults and Make a Change

Originally posted on February 6, 2009 @ 3:00 am

Roger Federer. Perhaps the greatest tennis player ever to have lived. Watching him play tennis is something similar to what it was like watching Michael Jordan play basketball or what it would have been like to watch Michelangelo paint pictures. When I think of Federer I think of words like discipline, focus, poise, accuracy and finesse. I think of the word champion. In this post I am going to show you how to become great what you do the Roger Federer way.

Why Roger Federer?

Some of you may be asking why I chose to write about Mr. Federer. Well, to put it plainly, the man is amazing! The Australian Open is on at the moment so for the last month I have been privileged enough to watch Roger play in quite a few matches. And every single time I sit down to watch one of his games I am truly inspired to become better at what I do. That is the power of this man’s tennis – his expertise inspires people all around the world to become better.

Who is Rodger Federer?

In case you have been living under a rock, asleep in a coma or lost in the desert for the last ten years I thought I would give you a bit of background into who this man is.

Roger Federer is widely known as the greatest tennis player ever to have lived. He was born in Switzerland and has been ranked number one for a record 237 consecutive weeks. If he wins the Australian Open final next week he will go down as the most successful tennis player of all time, having won more Grand Slam matches than anyone else in history.

Roger is renowned the world over for his cool temperament and his fiery self discipline. The best way to illustrate who this man is to show you a clip of some of his more “Federer-like” moments. Only then will you be able to appreciate the man’s skill and finesse.

The Roger Federer guide to becoming great at what you do

Using the example of our man Federer I would like to show you a few simple but crucial things that you need to do if you want to become great at whatever it is that you do. It doesn’t matter if it is tennis, truck driving, basketball, soccer, meditation or writing – these tips apply to everything.

1. Practice, practice, practice
Of course, the most obvious and the most important. If you do not practice hard you will never become great at anything. All skills take time to improve and it is only with time and practice that you can become great at anything.

I once heard Roger say something very interesting about this. He had just won an important tennis match against and Australian player who had recently been lifting a lot of weights to improve his game. The Australian media had hyped this player up saying that he would “out muscle” Federer with his new-found strength. Federer killed him. When the media asked Federer if he ever lifted weights he just calmly replied, “I just hit tennis balls.”

It is a fantastic lesson and one that we should all take to heart. If you want to be good at what you do you need to “just hit tennis balls”. Practice, practice again and then practice some more. It is the only way.

2. Master your emotions
One of the most admirable things about Roger Federer is the fact that he is a master of his emotions. He very rarely gets angry and as such he is able to keep his cool and win more matches. Back in the days we had kids growing up watching John McEnroe lose his temper and behave like a brat and now we have kids growing up watching the calm and collected Federer. Here is an example of how not to do it:

When you lose your temper you are basically giving in to your weaker side. Everybody would love to get angry and cry and scream when they are frustrated but the true champions like Federer know that this is a weakness. It takes strength to keep your cool and it takes discipline to overcome your negative emotions.

This applies to all areas of life. If you constantly lose your temper you are going to find that you don’t have a lot of resilience and you will not have the energy or mental toughness to progress in your art. Learning to control your emotions is one of the most crucial aspects of becoming good at what you do.

3. Be prepared
Fortune favors the brave but it also favors the prepared. If you want to become great at what you do you need to be prepared. Never expect anything to happen by chance and always give yourself the best shot at success.

Here in Australia we are in one of history’s biggest heatwaves. The temperature has soared above 40 degree Celsius for the past five days and many people are suffering from heat exhaustion. The tennis, however, must go on and the Australian Open has continued despite the heat. Some players have not been able to handle it and have withdrawn from the competition. Not Roger though. Roger came prepared. Even though he is from a relatively cold climate he has been able to stand the pressures of Australia’s climate. How does he do it? Simple, he spends a month before the Australian Open training in Dubai – in the middle of the desert. He prepares for everything.

Always put a solid effort in to your preparation. Study hard and do your research. Find out things about your art that you probably don’t need to know. Talk to people who you might never have talked to. Do things differently in order to be the most prepared that you can be. This is a key to greatness.

4. Never give up
One of the most important things to remember is that you must never give up. Even when it looks as if the odds are impossible you must keep pushing on. This is something Roger Federer does extremely well.

Last week Federer looked as if he was down and out when playing Del Potro. He was two sets down and after two hours of play things looked pretty bad. But in typical Federer style he came back to win the match after being only a few points away from defeat. His steely resolve was incredible. To get on top of your nerves and come back from the brink like that is truly inspiring. It was a great life lesson for everyone who witnessed it.

You must never give up. As long as you are alive you can keep going. This is the most important lessons to take away from this post – never give up if you want to be great.

Conclusion

Greatness is possible for everyone. Each and every human being has it within them to be something or someone special. In truth it takes a lot of hard work, discipline and mental toughness. But, if you can incorporate these things into your “game” as Federer has done you too will rise to great heights.

Originally posted on January 30, 2009 @ 6:31 am