DRIVE 101

Don't let anyone work harder than you do.

Serena Williams (1981—) Tennis player Serena Williams overcame racial and gender barriers to become the champion of women's tennis, winning more Grand Slam singles titles (23) than any other woman or man during the open era. In addition, Serena and her sister Venus won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, the second most for a pair in the open era, and three doubles gold medals at the Olympics.

Williams set the standard for women’s tennis as we know it right now. Seemingly everything about her is a lightning rod for controversy, from her on-court outfits to her pointed post-match interviews after losses and whether her powerful serve and forehand are even good for women’s tennis.

Few have been able to reach her level professionally. Starting out on the public courts of Compton, with her father as her coach—even fewer can understand the weight she has carried as an African-American at the pinnacle of a sport so long dominated by white people.

Serena talks about facing sexist obstacles in her career, family priorities, and trailblazing for future generations.

DRIVE 101

Aligning our peak performance when our peak performance is needed; enjoying a difficult challenge.

When we demonstrate all the other skills—competence, practice, cohesion, initiative—we increase our potential for success. But if we aren’t driven toward greatness, we won’t be our best. Along with our basic skills, composure, and confidence are building blocks for greatness. With greatness (however we define it) as the primary goal, we can align our peak performance when our peak performance is needed. As a result of developing ourselves, we develop those around us by modeling an example and raising standards of performance. When we are driven toward greatness, we love a challenge—the tougher, the better.

This isn’t to suggest that being competitive is a direct path to winning. Being driven toward greatness is not about winning or losing.

With this material, we have a much higher standard. It is a beautiful thing to find enjoyment in the grind even when problems are hard to solve, or situations are challenging us.

Challenging situations are opportunities for fun that don’t often occur. Think of it this way: There’s more pleasure in being involved in something hard than there is in being involved in something that anyone else could do. Most of our daily tasks are getting automated as we speak. There is joy in being involved in something more challenging. That’s one of the big secrets behind video games, crossword puzzles, and sports—they give us appropriate challenges to wrestle with and resolve. The same joy can be found in work if we can lock on the problems that stimulate us most.

Being driven toward greatness has two simple parts: a genuine love of a hard battle and being at your best when your best is needed. Luck, some suggest, is when opportunity meets preparation. But really, it’s a result of putting in the time and the work, making it more likely to peak when we need to peak.

We don’t need to be mega-star-champions to reach or tap into a deep drive for greatness. All we have to do is learn to rise to every occasion, try our best, and make those around us better as we do it. It’s not about winning. It’s about learning to give something (our work, a cause, our focus) all we have to give.

How do we increase our drive?

PRACTICE

List a few times when you have rallied toward a goal. Times when you really gave something (your work, a cause, a focus) everything you had.
Rate the boldness of these goals on a scale of 1-10 by circling the number that best fits you.
Were these events in the distant past or are they more current?
Is your boldness increasing or decreasing? If you need to become bolder, how are you going to go about attaining it?
How do those around you support your drive?

COMMIT

[ ] I commit myself to meet every opportunity with my best effort and lifting those around me.

FURTHER READING/ WATCHING

The Power of Positive Self-Talk: Are you starting off the new year with an athletic resolution? Maybe you want to get stronger or run faster and further, or maybe you just want to incorporate more movement into your daily life. If this sounds like you, it’s important to remember that your mindset is equally as important as your physical prowess. Starting off with a positive mentality puts you in the right headspace for forward progress, and helps you focus on the task ahead. When working towards a tough goal, your thoughts can be either your best ally or your worst enemy.

My Life: Queen of the Court: Best quote from this book "...Good thoughts are powerful. Negatives thoughts are weak. Decide what you want to be, have, do, and think the thoughts of it. Your vision will become your life. Hold on to the thought of what U want. Make it absolutely clear in your mind. U become what U think about most. U attract what you think about most. Think. Do. Be." I really like this quote because it expresses the true mindset of an athlete, in my opinion. Having the dream, the goal set, and being 'hungry' and determined to live it, do it, and be it as quoted. Because tennis is not only a physical sport, but the mental side of it is just as important. It's another one of the many things I admire about Serena; she is very mentally fit and has a very strong mindset. Overall, I would recommend this book to many of my friends because I enjoyed it a lot and I love it

Being Serena: Already one of the greatest tennis players in history, Serena Williams faces new challenges in motherhood, marriage, and regaining her supremacy on the court.

In Her Words…

"...Good thoughts are powerful. Negatives thoughts are weak. Decide what U want to be, have, do, and think the thoughts of it. Your vision will become your life. Hold on to the thought of what you want. Make it absolutely clear in your mind. You become what you think about most. You attract what you think about most. Think. Do. Be."—Queen Of The Court: An Autobiography

“I love everything about the U.S. Open except the line calls.”

"I don't like to lose -- at anything -- yet I've grown most not from victories, but setbacks."

"Everyone's dream can come true if you just stick to it and work hard."

"You have to believe in yourself when no one else does."

“It doesn't matter what your background is or where you come from, if you have dreams and goals, that's all that matters."

"Growing up I wasn't the richest, but I had a rich family in spirit."

"If Plan A isn't working, I have Plan B, Plan C, and even Plan D."

"Don't let anyone work harder than you do."

"I am lucky that whatever fear I have within me, my desire to win is always stronger."

"Make sure you're very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble."

"I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall."

"Victory is very, very sweet. It tastes better than any dessert you've ever had."

"If I don't get it right, I don't stop until I do."

"Overpower. Overtake. Overcome."

"Luck has nothing to do with it, I have spent many, many hours, countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time, not knowing when it would come."

"If winning is God's reward, then losing is how he teaches us."

"Every woman's success should be an inspiration to another. We're strongest when we cheer each other on."

References:

Flow Research Collective (website): https://www.flowresearchcollective.com/
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Williams, James. The Will To Believe, 2015.