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To have practised for months on end, the backhand cross-court smash, not to have revealed it in the run-up to the finals, and then to unleash it on a hapless opponent, leading to a grand slam championship win would be an inspirational story by itself.
But to do it when you are 35, a 17-times grand slam winner, having made one’s fame & fortune, having lived through injuries, and having become one of the “greatest-ever” sporting legends with nothing to prove to no one, is more than inspirational. It is an awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, life-changing display of determination, focus, perseverance, self-belief, and attention to detail.
Roger Federer, you da man! You da man!
Entrepreneurs, leaders, and managers need to take a leaf out of his book.
That being said, it is important to see that he is not alone. Every morning, somewhere in a posh locality of Mumbai, in a billion-dollar house, Mukesh Ambani wakes up to perhaps orange juice and breakfast served in bed by his butler. Surely, he opens up the newspapers and sees that he is, right now in his pyjamas, worth say US$22.3 billion (~Rs.1.5 lakh Crore). He then proceeds to have his breakfast, shower, get dressed, and leave for office, to put in another gruelling day at work, with all the attendant stress, sweat, and dealing with people he probably doesn’t want to be associated with, just so that he can grow the value of his enterprise.
What causes this kind of determination and passion to manifest itself in people like Federer and Ambani? Why do they, even when they have absolutely no need to, wake up, stretch, and get to work each morning, day in and day out. Are they inherently dissatisfied people who are greedy for more…more success, more money, more fame? I don’t think so. They have more than anyone can possibly want. Greed must have long stopped driving them. To me, it is perhaps the passion they feel towards their chosen vocation. A sense of duty.
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥
There is much to learn from passionate professionals who go back to work with the same energy and dedication, with the same passion and drive, on their last day as they did on their first. It is important to recognise that this is indeed a major contributor to their success, and their happiness.
