The Power of Small Things

The height of candles may be different, but they yield the same brightness. It is not your position, but your ability, that actually makes you shine. This is what Roger Federer did when he won the Australian Open. He becomes the first man in history to win five or more titles at three different Grand Slam events - five Australian Opens, five US Opens and seven Wimbledon titles. 

Management Gurus are attributing this success to his spirit of re-inventing himself. By doing so, Federer performed one of the most remarkable feats in the history of sport: at age 35, he re-invented himself, and in the process cemented his claim as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in men's tennis. He aptly described what goes through his mind, when he said “When you win down here, the journey home is not a problem, when you lose it is brutal. I kept on fighting, I kept on believing. I played my best tennis at the end of the match.”  

The fifth set was the longest of the match, lasting over an hour. Nadal broke early but something inside Federer clicked and he started swinging with more abandon than he had done all match. Winners were interspersed with plenty of unforced errors, but he didn’t care. If he was going to add another chapter to one of the most awe-inspiring legacies in tennis, he was going to do it his way. Federer’s aggression paid off and shortly before midnight on Sunday, he was holding yet another trophy above his head.

Thus, he made use of every opportunity during the game. It is said, every choice is an opportunity to make the best choice. Every difficult decision serves as an occasion to firmly reinforce, with your actions, your most deeply held values. From every mistake, there is much we can learn. In every setback, there are seeds of a more determined, purposeful and effective life. Every disagreement is an opportunity to more fully understand. Every disappointment helps to shine a light on what we truly value most.

Whatever this day holds, somewhere in it there is positive value. Each moment is filled with possibilities for adding to the richness of life. If you're determined to make negative judgments and criticisms, you'll find plenty of ways to do so. But what will that accomplish? Instead, let our lives and our awareness resonate with the magnificent abundance that is present in each moment. And we'll find real, useful, enriching value in every experience. We can do no great things; only small things with great love. Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.

That is what exactly seems to have happened with his journey in life. Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either. The razor blade is sharp but can't cut a tree; the axe is strong but can't cut the hair. Similarly, everything that we do is important according to its unique purpose. I came across a very inspiring tale about Roger Federer that reinforces the value of gratitude.

Every year, at the Australian Open, behind Rodger Federer's coach (earlier Edberg and now Ljubicic), sits an elderly couple. There is a story to this couple, and it shows what a good human being Federer is.

The couple are Bob and Diana Carter, the parents of his first international coach, the Australian Peter Carter. Federer was just nine when Carter took him under his wing. In 2002, in a terrible tragedy, Carter died in a car accident while on a vacation with his wife. He was only 37 years of age. The story goes that Federer (then 21) was so affected by his coach's death, he ran through the streets of Toronto (where he was playing that day), bawling his heart out. 

Carter had recognized Federer's genius at a young age, and was determined to make him an all-time great. He was not Federer's first coach, but the one who took him from relative obscurity in Basel in Switzerland to the threshold of international greatness. 

Every year since 2005, Federer's team sends an all-expenses paid itinerary to the Adelaide-based couple - first-class air tickets, bookings in the same hotel as Federer, food, winner's parties and even commiseration parties in Melbourne. And they sit in Federer's box at the Rod Laver Arena, supporting him as if he were their son. They see their son Peter in him. And Federer never forgets the Carter family's role in his life and career.

Federer, now 35, may or may not win his 19th Grand Slam. No wonder, his parting shot that caused a stir was - “I hope to see you next year, but if not, this was a wonderful run here and I can’t be more happy to have won tonight.”

But he is one of the greatest humans to have set foot on a tennis court. Remember the people and the things that have made an impact in your life.