Formula for success

By Tom Veneziano at http://www.tenniswarrior.com/

How would you like a formula for tremendous success in tennis? Okay, I’m going to give it to you....are you sitting down? Here it is! "Do the simple right, then do the simple better, then simply be the best at doing the simple! The Pros do the simple so well, you think it’s complicated!" This is a very powerful concept and usually takes years to completely understand! I challenge you to adopt it NOW! Winning is not about fantastic shots or hitting winners all over the place! Winning is about keeping it simple and letting the fantastic or spectacular be a natural result. Do not make the fantastic, spectacular, or winners your first priority in your mind. I call it playing in the "hit-winners mind-set." Play instead with a "consistent mind-set" and upgrade to the "hit-winners mind-set" when the opportunity arises!

I’ve watch players for years try to reach another level by trying to hit the ball a lot harder or hit more winners! They figure that must be it, that’s why those players above me are better! This couldn’t be farther from the truth and is a pitfall for many a great player. I mean think about, when a player breaks into the Pro status he thinks, now I really have to make some great shots! It never dawns on him that the difference is very simple, but subtle. Instead of hitting 8 out of 10 deep approach shots the next level makes 9 out of 10!!! Instead of hitting a serve at 280 miles an hour the next level hits a higher percentage of first serves in! Instead of hitting 30 unforced errors the next level up only hits 28! Instead of making decisions based on the fantastic, the best in the world make their decisions based on percentages!!! The fantastic, again becomes a result of this type of thinking, but is never a cause of winning!
Now, if the best are thinking this way what in the world are you doing with the emphasis on winners and the fantastic! This is a mind-set you have to change to reach higher levels! Increase the percentages of the simple shots you have, don’t try to increase the spectacular for that one moment of magnificence. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?....wrong! This concept eludes most players. "Do the simple right, then do the simple better, then simply be the best at doing the simple! The Pros do the simple so well, you think it’s complicated!"...But, it’s not!