This is a must a watch TED Talk (though to be fair most TED Talks are really a must watch when you’re in need of motivation and inspiration.
Some of our favorite quotes from the interview:
“Winning for me is super addictive. I feel like, once you experience it, you always want to get that feeling again. When I won my first championship, I was only 17 years old but I never forgot that feeling. Every time, I want to reach that feeling of that first championship.”
“Playing Venus is like playing myself, because we grew up playing each other. She’s my toughest opponent because she’s tall, she’s fast. She hits hard like me. She serves like me. It’s really like playing a wall. And she knows where I’m hitting the ball before I hit it. When I go out there, I really have to shut down my mind and say to myself, ‘You know what, I’m playing a great player. And today, I have to be better.’ I have to show up and want it more than anyone else in this moment. On the court, we are mortal enemies, but the second we shake hands, we are best friends again. She’s the love of my life, she’s my best friend, she’s my soulmate.”
“I hate to lose, but losing has brought me to here today. The only reason I am who I am is because of my losses. Some of them are extremely painful, but I wouldn’t take any of them away. Every time I lose, it takes a long time for me to lose again, because I learn so much from it. I encourage everyone that I talk to, I mean, listen, if you lose or if something happens, not in sports, but in business or school, learn from it. Don’t live in the past, live in the present.”
Chaud: The Magazine 