The greatest pro players give us plenty of knowledge from a distance. They might not share every detail of their training routine (although more have been doing that recently), but they offer their wisdom into their way of thinking that we can isolate into quotes. Below are a few crucial bits of Federer’s wise remarks.

“There is no way around hard work. Embrace it.”

It seems pretty trivial to say that to get somewhere you need hard work. However, when we look at the great players, many of us think they made it there because of talent or some other magic. That kind of thinking might convince the rest of us and players, who have not accomplished greatness yet, to work less hard because it might not be worth the sacrifices. You will never hear Roger Federer tell us that he made it because of talent. 

“Once you find that peace, that place of peace and quiet, harmony and confidence, that’s when you start playing your best.”

I love he shared that thought because we often chase results and, because of that, we can’t find any peace. Instead we find ourselves frustrated by a deficiency in expected outcomes. We thus live with tension and force our actions. One way to find peace is to let go and just be. No judgement on yourself or your results.

“I always believe if you’re stuck in a hole and maybe things aren’t going so well you will come out stronger. Everything in life is that way.”

That’s superb thinking for several reasons. One, believing the opposite will stop you from continuing your development and that will put a stop to your aspirations. Champions are made, you need to make yourself one. Two, being stuck and overcoming the extra tough obstacles is the kind of experience that helps you jump in knowledge and ability. This brings me back to the first quote, that you need to “embrace” all of it.

“Mentally, I’m not ever going to go away.”

This is a sign of what it truly takes to master tennis. Tie this quote together with everything else, and you’ll be able to get through the difficult moments and find peace. Because the only way to get things done is to mentally stay with what you’re doing. 

We are only truly limited by our beliefs and mindset. Don’t trap yourself thinking that you can’t master a skill. You can do it! And, as we see with Federer’s insight, the great players share key pieces of high-level wisdom to help the willing reach mastery as well.