Leadership and Life: Wisdom from the great Arthur Ashe

 

Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome. – Arthur Ashe

 

The late Arthur Ashe was a remarkable man. He was a trailblazer in the world of tennis. He was the first Black person to win the men’s titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, the first Black man to be ranked No. 1 in the world, and the first Black athlete to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. 

 

Ashe lived an exemplary life on and off the tennis court. He was outspoken in his opposition to apartheid in South Africa and lobbied for a visa so he could visit and play tennis there. 

 

And while Ashe left us much too early in 1993, his words and wisdom still resonate with us today. I have chosen a few Arthur Ashe quotes to share with you and a few of my thoughts to go with them. Here are some of my favorite:

 

“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.”

 

A life well-lived is embodied not by what we get but by what we give. This is such a great quote by Arthur Ashe because it truly represents what a good life is all about. We make and live a good life by what we give.

 

“Every time you win, it diminishes the fear a little bit. You never really cancel the fear of losing; you keep challenging it.”

 

This quote is an excellent reminder that in life you don’t always win and that in spite of that, you can challenge your fears. It’s not about whether you win, but not allowing your fears or failures to hold you back. We have to learn how to fail forward.

 

“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” 

 

I like how brilliantly Ashe makes this connection. Your self-confidence in any area of life comes by how well you prepare. There are no shortcuts on the road to your success. It comes through daily disciplines and how well you prepare.

 

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”

 

A man can become a success but may not necessarily be a man of value. Our purpose in life is far greater than our success. Being successful is inward-focused. Adding value is others-focused. It’s OK to be successful in life, but even better to add value.

 

“Happiness keeps you sweet, trial keeps you strong; sorrow keeps you human, failure keeps you humble.”

 

Life brings to all of us moments of happiness, trials, sorrow, and failure. And when those times come, as they surely will, we choose how we will embrace those moments. The lesson I believe that Ashe left us here is to fully embrace life - with all that it brings and live it to the fullest at the moment.

 

“You really are never playing an opponent. You are playing yourself.”

 

From this, I am reminded that in leadership the hardest person to lead is yourself. Opposition comes and we all face challenges, but none will be greater than the challenge of leading yourself. 

 

“My potential is more than can be expressed within the bounds of my race and ethnicity identity.” 

 

Your potential in life is greater than any label or box you or anyone chooses to place you in. Your potential is limitless when you embrace your God-given potential and strive daily to reach it. 

 

“If I were to say ‘God, why me?’ about the bad things, then I should have said, ‘God, why me?’ about the good things that happened in my life.”

 

Rather than question God, Ashe teaches us that we can trust Him through the good and bad that life brings. It’s not always about what happens to us but about how we respond. 

 

“You’ve got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.”

 

This is the attitude every leader must embrace. You can sit on the sidelines and observe or you can get in the game. Sometimes you just have to go for it – whether you win or lose - just go for your dreams, reach for the stars, look back on life with no regrets.

 

Thank you, Arthur Ashe, for your life and legacy, and continuing to inspire us.

 

©2022 Doug Dickerson. To read more, visit dougdickerson.net.