Finally!
Welcome to the end of the extremely long month of January (at least to many salary earners and school fees paying individuals).
Today, I will like to discuss the life and money lessons learnt from yesterday’s record-breakingfeat by unarguably the best player on clay – Rafael Nadal. Rafa as he is popularly known, became the 1st male tennis player to win 21 Grand Slam titles and also the 4th man to win a grand slam at least twice.
Yesterday’s game was remarkable for the fact thatRafa had to come back after losing the first 2 sets of the match. I and many others weren’t sure he could come from that and he did actually just that!
Below are 3 of the lessons I have gleaned from the storied career of one of the greatest tennis players:
• Time & Chance truly happens to all: This was an event tailor made for Novak Djokovic, the world number one player and defending champion (at least until yesterday).
Novak who had won the title 9 times with 3 of them coming between 2019 and 2021; was the clear favorite till he was deported at the start of the tournament.
This left the scene for the likes of Nadal and the younger players which included Daniil Medvedev (the world 2 player) as well as several other top 10 players to claim the title.
Therefore, the scene was set for Nadal toattempt to surpass the joint record he held with Roger Federer and Nojak. Not only did he attempt it, he firmly grabbed the opportunity afforded him.
In investing and life generally, opportunities appear from time to time, we all have to ensure that we not only recognize them but endevour to take advantage of them. It doesn’t matter if the odds are in our favour or not. We would all do well to remember the words of King Solomon “time and chance happen to all”
• Fortune also favours the strong: As I normally mention, to achieve a level of success in the investing world, you require a certain amount of courage. In fact, courage also inspires mental and sometimes physical strength. Yesterday, Nadal required both on the road to 21 grand slam titles.
Nadal had to spend over 13 hours on the court in his last 3 matches including the almost 5 and half hours spent in the finals. Like I mentioned earlier, he had even lost the 1st 2 sets and a comeback seemed impossible.
Grit and resilience are 2 key attributes successful investors must have or cultivate. We all require courage to take chances and toughness to forge ahead in the face of difficulties.
• Everyone has their scars: In his victory speech, he empathized with the runner up – Daniil Medvedev. He could do so, given that he had been in that position four out of the six times he had played in the finals. You can summarize that he had recorded more failures there than successes.
This is one fact every investor (and individual) needs to bear in mind, there will be always victories and defeats(losses) in life and investing.
I am not necessarily celebrating failure but just reiterating that we will all be scarred at one time or the other; know this and know peace.
We will all do well to remember that the Omicron variant of COVID 19 is very contagious though mild.
Please maintain social distancing, wear your face masks in public and if you are yet to, vaccines (boosters inclusive) are still be administered to those qualified to receive them. Do have a fantastic week ahead.
Toyin Oguntuyi