Practice like a pro athlete

On this day in 1956, Martina Navratilova was born in Prague.

Navratilova dominated tennis for years, winning 59 Grand Slam titles, including 167 singles and 177 doubles championships.

In 1981, after getting crushed by Chris Evert 6-0, 6-0, Navratilova began working with basketball and performance savant Nancy Lieberman to intensify her fitness and mental approach. Until that embarrassing loss, Martina had worked out for about an hour a day.

More than anyone else, Martina is known for taking women’s tennis to an entirely new level with her speed, assertiveness, fitness, and mental discipline.

Actually, Martina’s birthday is tomorrow, but Fridays are good practice days, so she gets celebrated today.

Honor Martina by practicing something today.

Pick some skill you want to work on…and do it. Practice it. Don’t just think about it.

This might include your value prop, your response to objections, or how you tell a story about your company’s service proposition.

Remember, practicing with a friend is better than practicing on a customer.

Navratilova was ranked as the world No. 1 in singles for a total of 332 weeks (second only to Steffi Graf). Also, she was No. 1 for a record 237 weeks in doubles, making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both disciplines for over 200 weeks.

While you watch this awe-inspiring three-minute summary of Martina’s career, consider the practice routine she dedicated herself to.

How badly do you want to grow your skills and cash a big check next year?