Success Advice
How Did The 126th Ranked Player in the World Win Wimbledon? By Having an Effective Morning Routine

Wimbledon, England, 2001. The biggest tennis tournament and Grand Slam of the year. The finals. Fifth set. Championship point. On one side is Patrick Rafter, the third player in the world. On the other side, you would expect someone like Andre Agassi or Pete Sampras at that time. But that wasn’t the case here.
On the other side, serving for the Wimbledon championship point, was the 126th player in the world. A 30-year-old guy who in the last 10 months lost all but 3 matches and a week before Wimbledon, was defeated by a 195th player in the world in the first round.
He never won a Grand Slam in his life, was prone to mental breakdowns on the court and couldn’t even qualify for Wimbledon that year because of his terrible ranking! But the organizers gave him an invitation called the “Wild Card”. His name was Goran Ivanišević.
As he served that championship point, the crowd went crazy. Rafter returned the service to the net. Goran had finally won Wimbledon! He became the lowest ranking player who ever won a Grand Slam and the only player in the history of tennis who did it as the “Wild Card”.
“Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Ryun
The question people asked themselves after it happened is how? Goran was a player famous for throwing tantrums and not keeping it together. He is the only player who surrendered a match for not having the necessary equipment to play – because he broke all 3 rackets during a single match! Something was different about him on that tournament. But what?
The answer to that questions lies in his morning routine during Wimbledon that he called “The Ritual”:
Goran’s Morning Routine aka The Ritual
The routine was pretty simple and a bit controversial. He and his entire team would gather in his room to watch Teletubbies at 10 AM sharp. Then, he would wash his 2 shirts in which he played. He would eat the same food in the same restaurant every day. And he would have everyone from his team sit at the same place in the box at the court. He would always urinate in the same urinary at his locker room and the last thing was that he absolutely couldn’t step on the white line while entering the field.
That’s it! Sounds simple. But only on the surface. The reason why this worked for Goran was that it put him in peak state. A peak state is a continuous state of mind where we feel fully present, alive, have absolute focus and are using a 100% of our capacity. Some people describe peak state with the phrases like “the time slows down or just stops” or “everything seems so clear to me. I know what I have to do.”
Have you ever felt something like this? Then you know how amazing it is and how flawlessly you perform in peak state.That is what peak state is designed for. It gives us the ability to perform at our highest level. The problem is actually achieving peak state in a continuous manner. But there is a way to do that. And as we saw in Goran’s case, the secret lies in our morning routine.
“Quality is not an act, but a ritual” – Aristotle
Design Your Morning Routine
Our morning routines can put us in peak state and we shouldn’t consider our routines as time wasters but as time investors. They help us achieve a state where we are hyper-productive and where we do more in a shorter span of time. But for us to create a routine that puts us in peak state, we need to design it according to ourselves.
Something that works for me might not work for you. And you can only figure it out by testing, testing, and testing. I can tell you that meditation, journaling, self-reflection, and waking up at 5am will help you and can put you in peak state. But unless that works for you, it will be useless. The way you will figure it out is by testing it yourself.
Try for 21 days each and every single one of those mentioned. Do only one at a time, because otherwise, you won’t do any of them. They sound simple, but as Jim Rohn said “Simple things are easy to do. But they are also easy not to do.”
Test out your routine. It doesn’t matter if it’s silly, weird or controversial. It just has to work for one person. For you. Goran watched Teletubbies and urinated in the same urinary. And it helped him achieve Peak state and win Wimbledon. Just imagine what peak state could do for you.
After you imagine it, write down a commitment in the comment section stating “I will do (insert activity) for the next 21 days to see if it will help me achieve Peak state.”
Success Advice
Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)
The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)
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When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)
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The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025
Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”
While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.
Why This Gap Exists
Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.
What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.
Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap
Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.
1. Practice Mutual Empathy
Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.
2. Maintain Professional Boundaries
Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.
3. Follow the Golden Rule
Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.
4. Avoid Micromanagement
Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.
5. Empower Employees to Grow
Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.
6. Communicate in All Directions
Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.
7. Overcome Insecurities
Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.
8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship
True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.
9. Eliminate Favoritism
Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.
10. Recognize Efforts Promptly
Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.
11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews
When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.
12. Provide Leadership Development
Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.
13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles
Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.
The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role
Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:
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Build diverse talent pipelines
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Embrace flexible work models
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Design compelling career paths
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Simplify HR processes
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Redefine the value HR brings
The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.
Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff
When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.
Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.
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