Improve from Failure: Interview with Tennis Star Marcus Daniell

I recently went one on one with tennis star Marcus Daniell. Marcus is an Olympic bronze medalist, a winner of 5 ATP titles, a recipient of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award, and a noted philanthropist.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Marcus: The toughest question to begin! I grew up on a farm in rural New Zealand. My parents played tennis recreationally and we were lucky to have an old concrete tennis court at the farmhouse. Summer evenings my parents would sometimes go out for a hit, and my older brother and sister would want to join, so naturally I’d tag along! I had a racket in my hand from the time I could walk, but didn’t take tennis too seriously until I was 15. At that point I was actually in the New Zealand national squads for both tennis and soccer, but was told that I had to choose one or the other to remain in the national team going forward. I chose tennis, moved away from home to a boarding school in Auckland to get better training, and moved to Slovakia by myself at the age of 17 to further my tennis career. I did my last year of school by correspondence from Slovakia while starting to compete on the pro tour. The Slovakia chapter was formative in both good and bad ways. I had to learn to be fiercely independent almost immediately – hardly anyone spoke English there at the time, so I had to navigate a foreign country in another language by myself as a kid. I also got injured badly – a herniated disk – and had to learn how to deal with pain and body management from a young age. While I wouldn’t make the same decision if I could have a life do-over, Slovakia made me tough and able to handle the hustle and ferocity of the pro tour for fifteen years.  

Adam: What would surprise people most about the life of a professional tennis player?

Marcus: I think the most surprising thing is the amount of hustle most tennis players go through on a weekly basis. It’s far less glamorous than you’d believe from the outside, even at the highest levels. Other than the superstars of tennis we are all our own flight agents, hotel booking managers, personal assistants etc. When I lose a match I’ll be searching for flights to get to the next tournament when I’m warming down on the bike, and this is normal. At the lower levels it’s far harder, because you don’t get given any of the basics like towels, water, transport etc. 

Adam: Who are the best competitors you have been around and what have you learned from them? 

Marcus: The most ferocious competitor I’ve ever seen is Rafael Nadal, not just on a tennis court but anywhere. His intensity and focus is scary. From him I’ve learned that situations shouldn’t dictate attitude. Rafa will have the exact same look in his eye and the exact same routine whether he’s winning 6-0 5-0 or losing 6-0 5-0. That sort of tireless attitude pays dividends beyond the tennis court – people who see their name next to Rafa’s in the draw have an involuntary internal groan because they know that they’re about to bash their head against a mental brick wall. And in that groan moment they have already lost a small battle. My coach, David Sammel, calls this Locker Room Power, and I can attest to its reality and potency. At the top the margins are so fine that these small battles of intimidation pay huge dividends. 

Adam: How can anyone develop a winning mindset? 

Marcus: By putting themselves in a position where they can fail time and time again, learning that failure isn’t the end of the world, and learning how best to pick themselves up and go again. Winners, at least in tennis, aren’t infallible, they’re just more tenacious. One of my favorite stats is that during his golden year, when Djokovic started the 2011 season by winning 41 matches in a row and ended the season 70-6, he won an average of 53% of points each match. This is one of the best seasons by any player, ever, and he lost 47% of all the points he played. This is a man who knows how to lose, and how to turn those losses into wins.  There’s a powerful lesson in that. 

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Marcus: I’ve read that there are a few different core leadership styles, but the style that feels most effective to me is leading by example. I’m much more likely to follow someone who acts in an admirable way. One tenet sticks in my mind, I believe attributable to one of the old Stoic philosophers (and I’m paraphrasing): “Act as if a great and noble being is watching your every step.” I try to apply this to my everyday life, and I think this ethic translates well into leading by example. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders? 

Marcus: Learn how to accept and improve from failure. Lead by example. Have a purpose larger than yourself: my perspective on my tennis career completely shifted for the better when I committed to donating a percentage of my earnings to effective charities. This is just one pathway, but the underpinning philosophy stands. 

Adam: What are the best lessons from your tennis career applicable to your work off the court? 

Marcus: The most valuable lesson is one mentioned above: learning to embrace, accept, and improve from failure. Failure is everywhere in life, in both small and large doses. Using it as fodder and fuel for improvement both gives you a greater chance at succeeding and adds a positive tint to life in general. Hard work gets rewarded, smart hard work gets rewarded more. I’ve always worked hard, but in the latter stages of my career I learned the value of smart work. If you can get the same learnings out of 90 minutes of training rather than 120, you’ve just saved your body 30 minutes of brutality and wear. Over the course of a career this adds up. The same lesson applies everywhere in life. 

Adam: What can anyone do to pay it forward?

Marcus: The most gratifying thing I’ve experienced in the effective altruism space is the overwhelming generosity people have shown me with their time and knowledge. Being open and generous with my time for people is the way I’m trying to pay it forward, because I have so much appreciation for those who were generous with me. I’ve been inspired throughout my life by Peter Singer and organizations like The Life You Can Save, and I hope to emulate that dedication and generosity.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received? 

Marcus: Stop worshiping at the Chapel of Bullshit. Translated: it’s easy to make excuses, but excuses don’t get you anywhere. Ignore the easy outs and make it happen anyway. This Chapel of Bullshit talk was the moment that catalyzed my success on the pro tour. I’d just lost a close match in a Challenger event in the UK. Twenty minutes after the match, my coach sat me down and bollocked me for two hours, saying that trying hard physically didn’t mean anything if I wasn’t 100% ready to fight for every point mentally. Finding excuses for things not going your way on the day is just a symptom of not being 100% mentally there. It was a tough tirade to be on the receiving end of, but I think I need to give credit to myself for seeing the kernel of wisdom in it and responding positively. From that day on my coach and I had an agreement that it was either 100% mental effort on every ball in training or we stopped. To begin with I could only do around 40 minutes fully focused – it was so much more draining being absolutely intent on every moment than the norm of flowing through a practice. Over time my stamina built up and my results started exploding. 


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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