Wimbledon has just finished for another year (Well done Andy!), and this time it was not won by Roger Federer. He was formerly ranked the best tennis player in the world, and perhaps the best ever. He holds many records, but players are ultimately judged on how many Grand Slam titles they have won.
Federer holds the current record with seventeen, and notably demonstrated his versatility and adaptability by winning on all surfaces.
In an interview with former player and current presenter Sue Barker he was asked how he reacted mentally when facing serve to avoid defeat. He replied that his priority was simple, to play the game the same as any other, and to avoid making any mistakes.
However, this strategy would not be enough on its own. He stressed that you also have to believe in miracles. Further, you have to make your miracle happen. He went further still, stating that it is not enough to hope for the best. You have to ‘push luck on your side.’
This is an extremely interesting comment, and one that other athletes have also expressed in their own different ways. The belief that luck is not random, that we do not live in a random universe, and that luck can be manipulated when the chips are down are relatively common themes. This is sometimes referred to as the law of attraction.
As you might know I sometimes work on the training team with self-development guru Paul McKenna. He also believes we create our own luck, and studies successful people to identify their secrets. He writes,
‘Whether you choose to believe in the law of attraction or not, it’s interesting to note that many highly successful people do.’
These ideas are not original, and similar theories were proposed by Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich. This book was published in 1937, and is still a best-seller, with over sixty million copies sold, so at least it worked for Hill. Many of its readers were convinced it worked for them, and some of my clients believe this too.
And so do I. So think lucky, and you just might get lucky.
Have a lucky week!
