What It Means To Compete
Today we are going to talk about competition.
Carlos Alcaraz just beat Jannik Sinner to win the US Open. A few months prior, Sinner beat Alcaraz to win Wimbledon. Mere weeks before that, Alcaraz topped Sinner to win the French Open.
Over their last 15 matches—in total including 3,152 points—Alcaraz has won just 6 more points than Sinner, or less than a 0.2% difference.
These two athletes are in an incredible rivalry.
They bring out the best in each other.
Watching them play is like art.
Just moments after winning the US Open, Alcaraz went to centre court and said the following: “Wow. I want to start with Jannik. It is unbelievable what you have done this season. You show a great level at every tournament. I see you more than my family, and it’s great to share the court and the locker room with you.”
In our years of working with high performers, one of the foremost lessons we’ve learned: nothing makes you better than the people you step into the arena with.
The word compete comes from the Latin root com which means “together“ and petere which means “to rise up.”
In its truest form, competition is about rising up together—it’s a remarkable lesson for tennis, for sport, for business, and really, for all of life.
A Quick Aside on The Hustle Culture Greatness MythLet’s contrast this view of competition with one of the most harmful myths of hustle-culture and pseudo greatness: that everyone is out to get you, that you can’t respect your competition.
But here’s the thing: the purveyors of that myth are not world-class at anything other than digital marketing. And the reason they are world-class at digital marketing is because they are exploiting a population that wants to be lied to.
They tell people the reason they are lonely, angry, overworked, worn-out, and miserable is because that is simply the cost of greatness. So then people can chalk up their loneliness, anger, exhaustion, and misery to the fact that they are bound for something special, when in reality, what they need is not another shallow book on making a million dollars or an angry hype-speech but to get their shit together, be a decent person, and step outside the pseudo-excellence and hustle-culture grift altogether.
The Actual Truth About CompetitionIt’s not about holding hands and singing Kumbaya and everyone getting a trophy. The best performers in the world compete with a ferocity, intensity, and focus that most cannot even imagine. They want to win badly. They lay it all on the line.
And yet, at the same time, they have deep respect for their opponents. They are in the arena together. They all know how hard each other works. They make each other better.
Motivation and drive are contagious. Research shows that if you work in close proximity to a high performer, your own performance improves by 15 percent.
The people with whom we surround ourselves shape us, and we shape them too. It’s true for the people we work with. But it’s also true for the people we compete against.
On the women’s side in the US Open final, Aryna Sabalenka topped Amanda Anisimova in a gutsy match.
Sabalenka is the best in the world. She plays like a destroyer.
Here’s what she said to Anisimova following the match: “I know how much it hurts to lose in the finals…you play incredible tennis, Girl, you are going to enjoy it even more after these tough losses.”
On their deathbeds, people don’t dwell on the gold medal, promotion, or award.
What they remember and savor are the relationships they forged along the way.
The people who were part of the journey. The coaches and mentors. The teammates. The worthy rivals.
This isn’t just speculation. When Brad posted to Instagram a similar message as this newsletter, one of the first people to respond was Sabalenka’s coach.
His response: 💯💯❤️💯💯
Rising Up TogetherGenuine excellence does not mean hating your competition or winning at all costs. It means doing everything you can to get the best out of yourself and to come out on top, with class and integrity.
It might not sell to the masses. It might seem too soft in a world where outrage and marketing reign supreme. But in the actual arena, where wins and losses are decided, respecting your competition gives you an advantage. As world-class marathoner Sara Hall once explained, “When you’re secure in your identity, you can celebrate others’ successes and let them inspire you instead of threaten you.”
Pseudo-greatness is built on fragility. It primes you to see others as a threat—and your brain and body comply, turning every game into a battle to prove your worth. Real greatness takes inner security. It primes you to see competition as a challenge, one where, instead of needing to prove yourself, you are free to let loose and rip. Having others push you is key to bringing your potential to fruition. You want your competitors to bring their A-game.
Real competition is fierce intensity. It’s deep respect. It’s rising up together.
— Brad and Steve
The post What It Means To Compete first appeared on The Growth Equation.
