For a guy who finished seventh on tennis’ All-Time list, won an Olympic Gold, and held the number one spot numerous times in his career, Andre Agassi lost…A LOT.
We’re nearing the end of Agassi’s autobiography, Open, and chapter after chapter we follow him from the “hardcourt season” of the U.S. Open and the Australian Open, to the “clay season” of the French Open, and the “grass season” of Wimbledon. Game by game, season by season, Andre is a volatile player – sometimes he goes on a tear, beating his opponents in straight sets and other times he gets shut down by players with half his skill. His reasons for losing are many, sometimes it’s his struggle with perfectionism, other times he psyches himself out, and every now and then his body physically isn’t up to the challenge.
But despite the devastation of defeat, Agassi always managed to learn something from each experience, which ultimately made him a better player. He shows us that in order to win, sometimes you must lose.
Excerpt: (After Agassi beat Razvan Sabau from Romania in the first round of the 2005 U.S. Open)…
They [the reporters] ask me if I feel bad about beating him.
I say: I would never want to deprive anybody of the learning experience of losing.
They laugh.
I’m serious.
The learning experience of losing. I like that. With every “loss” we encounter in life, there is something we can learn, wisdom we can take away and use to make us stronger and better prepared for the next time.
Conversation starter: Tell us about a time you “lost” and what you learned from the experience.
Read along! This month we’re reading Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi.
Although everyone hates to lose, it truly is one of the greatest ways to grow. When we lose or fail in life, we are forced to reassess the situation and analyze what what was done well and what could have been done better.
A few years ago, I was faced with a troubling time due to the crashing real estate market. After quiting my corporate job, I dedicated my career to being a real estate entrepreneur. With the burst of the real estate bubble I soon found out that it was impossible to make money the way I had been when the market was strong.
I went through a series of emotions from feeling like a failure to feeling lost in life. After seriously thinking about taking a corporate job for the steady income and security, I searched long and hard for ways to keep my real estate dreams alive. During that time, I came across an independent contractor position doing real estate valuation.
Now, I am happily working as well as investing to set up the foundation I want to have to remain corporate free. In the end, the loss that I experienced brought me to where I am today and I couldn’t be happier as it has expanded my career in ways that I would never have imagined.