Something to Die for

“There are clearly many different ways of looking at success and it is only the poverty of the English language which provides us with but a single word for them. Perhaps, the simplest definition is ‘to set out to do something and to succeed in doing it’.” –Edward de Bono


Francesca Schiavone is a successful tennis player as she set out to win the French Open final and succeeded in doing it on 5th of June 2010 by beating Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).

Moreover, she became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam tennis title.

As reported by the Associated Press: “On winning, Schiavone fell onto her back, then rolled over and kissed the clay. She rose covered with dirt, hugged Stosur and broke into a winner’s grin, then trotted over to the wall behind the baseline and climbed it for a group hug with her supporters.” She loves the very terre battue (French for “beaten earth”) on which she played her game, and played it so resoundingly well.

And, in the same report, the following comment by 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova struck me: “She wanted it. She wanted it badly. She was going to die on the court if she had to.”

Tis’ so true that to be successful, we have to have a purpose that is bigger than the sum of our parts. Something noble, something so big that it would take sacrifices such as unrelenting hard work, focus, determination, dedication, and discipline to achieve. It’s the same whether one is an unheralded homemaker, aspiring Olympian, struggling artiste, dejected businessman or a visionary leader-in-the-making.

Yes, something, for which, we are willing to die for. When we find it, life will take on a whole new level of meaning and drive.