What Bloggers Can Learn From Rafael Nadal
I know a lot of Americans don’t watch tennis. But if you have recently, you have probably seen the Spanish bull called Rafael Nadal. Here is a 22 year old young man who has already won 6 grand slams (way more than the mighty Roger Federer had when he was 22). But his path to where he is today is something that all bloggers need to observe and learn from. So here is a summary of his journey.
A few years ago, Roger Federer (13 times Grand Slam champion) took the reigns from Pete Sampras (14 times GS Champion). He was elegant. He was unstoppable at times. And he dominated the tennis world like no other person ever did in the history of the game. But while top 10 player in the world were losing to Roger left and right, a young kid from Majorca managed to beat the mighty master on his favorite surface. Roger went on to lose only a handful of games in the next few years, but most of those were to Rafael Nadal. Nadal went on to quickly become the No. 2 player in the world. He couldn’t match Roger on faster surfaces, but he dominated Roger and other players on clay courts.
Rafael Nadal’s inability to make an impression on faster courts made folks believe that he was just another “dirt baller.” A guy who’s good on clay but not too good on hard-courts or grass. 3 years ago nobody gave Nadal a chance to reach the finals of Wimbledon. But he did. Nobody game Rafa a chance to challenge Roger at Wimbledon. But he pushed Roger to 4 sets in his first try. The very next year, he pushed Roger to a 5th set. But in 2008, Rafa beat the master on his favorite surface grass. Skeptics claimed that grass was becoming slow, and that victory was a fluke. What did Rafa do? Beat Federer in the finals of Australian Open (a hard court tournament) to put all the doubts to rest. Rafa has now beaten the greatest player in the history of the game on his favorite surfaces – on fast courts, slow courts, and anything in between. What does that say about Rafa?
Bloggers who feel like giving up should take a close look at Rafa’s story. The guy was against it by having Roger Federer in the same era. Guys like Andy Roddick, James Blake, Hewitt, Safin, and Agassi all failed to win more major tournaments partially due to Federer beating them in the finals. Not the case with Nadal. He refused to lay down and die. He went to work. He worked on his weaknesses, and he dissected Federer’s weaknesses diligently. Roger played with grace. Nadal didn’t care about being cute. He wanted to win. He was willing to die for his cause. Everybody who came to play Roger had lost the match before it even got started. Those guys gave in easily. Nadal didn’t care about who Roger Federer was. He cared about winning, and he believed in his chances. That is why he is on track to become the greatest player of all time (replacing (guess who?) Roger Federer). If you look at the stars in your field and feel like giving up, just imagine Rafa Nadal. He could have given up. He could have stopped being such a pain for Roger Federer. But he did not, and you should not either! Those who give up don’t get the prize. It’s as simple as that.
Are you thinking about giving up?
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