Member-only story
Rafael Nadal Just Gave the Best Writing and Life Tips Ever
5 Lessons from his post-match press conference
If there’s one living person that comes closest to being an “idol” for me, it would have to be Rafael Nadal. The only one that beats him is fictional — Howard Roark from The Fountainhead, so that doesn’t count.
Two days ago, Rafael Nadal went on to add another feather to his record-breaking tennis career.
But, it was really in the post-match press conference that Nadal delivered a masterclass in what to me was unintentionally the best advice ever — especially relevant to writers but also applicable to generally anyone in life.
I strongly recommend listening to the interview in full — tennis fan or not. Here are my key learnings from the attitude of a true, and humble, champion.
#1 — Do something for the sheer love of it
Nadal was asked if he was motivated by the goal of winning more grand slams than his competitors Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, but his answer was rather simple.
“It’s not about being the best of the history, it’s not about the records, it’s about I like what I do, I like to play tennis and I like the competition.”