Billie Jean King: Seek To Renew Yourself When You're Hitting Home-runs.

Evolution lives on a spectrum. The more you evolve, the better you get. The better you get, the harder it is to keep evolving.

When Billie Jean was the number four tennis player in the world, still in search of her first single's title championship, she traveled to Australia to train full-time with coach, Mervyn Rose.

Already one of the game's best players, she knew, if she wanted to get to another level, things had to change. As Billie Jean recalls, Mervyn worked to change the foundation of how she thought and played the game,

"The first thing Merv did was remake my serve by teaching me to shorten my backswing and toss the ball more forward, and higher. That gave me greater extension and more power. It also put me a step or half step into the court already on my follow-through, giving me a split second more time to react to my opponent’s return. My serve became a better weapon. Merv also set out to retool my feeble excuse for a forehand...Merv also wanted me to examine how I thought the game. He was a huge proponent of percentage tennis, which basically means hitting the shot that gives you the best chance to win the point with the least amount of risk."

With all the changes, Bill Jean struggled. She double-faulted thirty-five times in her ensuing matches and dealt with consecutive losses. The novelty brought a decline to her game. Even fellow tennis player Lesley Turner asked Billie Jean, “Why are you changing so many things? Why? You’re already No. 4 in the world."

It was a valid question. As a top player in the world, Billie Jean didn't need to change. She hadn't won yet, but was on her way to doing so. She was still young. Physically, she would get stronger and faster. It was just a matter of time.

“I hear you," Billie Jean told Lesley. "I probably could stay top eight the rest of my career But I want to be No. 1. I came here to become No. 1.”

One of my favorite Mottos comes from Howard Schultz, seek to renew yourself when you're hitting home runs.

Evolution is easy when you're starting from the bottom. Any change is going to lead to a positive difference. But when you're at the top, evolution isn't just hard, it's meticulous. You have to look for little details. You have to question whether the way in which you're working or playing, despite your success, is the best way to win. It forces you to take some steps backward for the chance to be propelled forward.

That sort of evolution takes longer. When there's less to improve, the duration of change expands. It can breed frustration. But champions don't settle. They don't care how hard it is, how long it will take, or how much they will have to work, they will always be in a relentless pursuit of mastery, even when they are killing the game.

---

Thank you for reading. The best way you can support is to share this with at least one person.

You can check out the podcast on Billie Jean King for a deeper dive into her life and the things you can learn from her.

You can check out other episodes of the Greatness Podcast, where I dive into the lives and stories of the world's greatest individuals.

You can snag some Chasing Greatness apparel here and my book here.