How to Be Like Women Athletes of Influence: 31 Women at the Top of Their Game and How You Can Get There Too

Excerpts from How to Be Like Women Athletes of Influence

LIFE LESSONS FROM SERENA AND VENUS WILLIAMS

EMBRACE CHALLENGES

Their practice courts were manned by drug dealers. Their sport was dominated by white people with money. Their father knew nothing about tennis. What's amazing about the Williams sisters isn't that they came so far, it's that they ever got started. But along with their tennis talent, the young women were blessed with courage. They welcomed obstacles, knowing that overcoming them would only make them stronger. 'To overcome any hurdle you have to be and think positive,' Serena said. 'God will never give you more than you can handle, keep this in mind. It will help anyone get through plenty.'

REMEMBER YOUR VALUES

Bad behavior runs through society like a rampant disease. Athletes who could make a difference in the world by showing young people how to behave instead corner the market on boorish behavior. For all of the complaints people have misguidedly lodged at the Williams sisters, no one can ever argue that the young women have failed to live up to their charge. They are role models, young women who have avoided scandal and embarrassment, all while toting the burden of opening their sport to an entire race. 'Winning, losing, money, riches, or fame don't make you happy,' Venus said. 'For my tennis career, it's great, but as far as me being Venus, it doesn't really make a huge difference.'

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR WILL

It is easy to get bogged down in the negative. If enough people say you can't do something it's hard to remember why you think you can. The little voice deep inside, though, is the one to trust. Fed well it can overcome even the harshest critics. Before she stunned the tennis world by winning the 2007 Australian Open, Serena Williams could have filled a phone book with the people saying she was out of shape, lacking the discipline and the dedication to win. But she believed in herself and ended up with her eighth Grand Slam trophy. 'More than anything, what I love, besides obviously winning, is proving people wrong,' she said afterward.

IT'S OK TO ENJOY YOUR SUCCESS

Humility certainly is an admirable trait, but hard work rewarded ought to be celebrated. The only way to reach for the next goal is to enjoy the first one. When Venus and Serena Williams one their first Grand Slam tournaments, they were rightfully elated, relishing their places in history and their moments in time. Once they tasted that feeling, it only made them hungrier for more. Asked how she felt after an early exit from her initial Wimbledon appearance, Venus replied, 'It's my first Wimbledon . There will be many more.'

HAVE AN INTENSE DESIRE TO WIN

Winning certainly isn't everything, but champions crave winning like children crave sweets. As Serena Williams once described it, winning creates an 'insatiable' appetite. Chastised for always dreaming so big, the Williams sisters knew they could achieve their goal because they knew the hunger inside of them wouldn't allow them to settle for anything else. 'There's nothing like being hungry for the sport of tennis,' Serena Williams said after her surprising 2007 Australian Open title. 'I love winning. I don't care if it's Uno or running a race. I love winning.'

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©2007. Pat Williams & Dana O'Neil. All rights reserved. Reprinted from How to Be Like Women Athletes of Influence: 31 Women at the Top of Their Game and How You Can Get There Too. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street , Deerfield Beach , FL 33442.