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Novak Djokovic REVEALS His Secret Mindset Shift That ENDS Self-Doubt... — Transcript

by Jay Shetty Podcast · 22,291 words · 3,117 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Not having success is not an option. I
0:03have to succeed. It's basically a matter
0:05of existence, a survival of my family.
0:08>> The world's number one male tennis
0:10player. He's won 24 grand slams in a
0:12glittering career. Novak Jookovic.
0:14>> You've been through so many injuries,
0:17losses.
0:18>> Oh, he's hurt himself. What has
0:20NovakJovich done?
0:21>> What goes through your mind when you
0:23lose?
0:24>> I just want to be left alone.
0:26What has it taken to become NovakJovich?
0:30>> It's a consistent practice. It's prayer
0:32work, mindfulness, meditation, conscious
0:35breathing. It requires more
0:36responsibility from you on a daily basis
0:38to prepare yourself for the biggest
0:40battle.
0:41>> When did you first become aware of that
0:43feeling of not being enough?
0:45>> I kind of get emotional about it because
0:47it's still deep inside of me.
0:49>> Do you feel like in your career you've
0:51achieved everything you set out to as a
0:53tennis player? When you reach your 30,
0:56you start counting your days to your
0:58retirement. I'm 38 this year. How far
1:00can I go? How long can I push my own
1:03limits?
1:05>> The number one health and wellness
1:07podcast.
1:08>> J Shetty.
1:08>> J Shetty,
1:09>> the one, the only J Shetty.
1:14>> Hey everyone, welcome back to OnPurpose,
1:16the number one health and wellness
1:18podcast in the world. Thanks to each and
1:21every one of you who come back every
1:23week to listen, learn, and grow. Now,
1:26this is an incredible statistic that I'm
1:28sharing for the first time. Thanks to
1:30you, we are now creating 500 million
1:34views every month. Not every year, every
1:38month. And I'm so grateful that you're
1:40part of this community. Today, I get to
1:42welcome back a guest who has been a big
1:45part of making that possible for me. I'm
1:47grateful to him. I'm indebted to him
1:49because he believed in the mission of on
1:51purpose even before many people did or
1:54any people did. Before this podcast was
1:57even out, he allowed me the gracious
2:00kindness to go and interview him and
2:02release as the second episode of all
2:06time. Welcoming back to on purpose, I'm
2:10so excited to have my friend, the
2:12incredible human Novak Joich. Novak,
2:15>> thank you G. You are I mean do you know
2:19what I'm so grateful to have you back
2:20and my heart is so full because you were
2:24one of those rare people that had seen
2:26one of my first ever videos. We'd
2:29reached out. We'd connected. We were
2:31talking a lot at the time. You were
2:33going through a really fascinating place
2:35in your career. You were recovering from
2:37an injury, right?
2:38>> It was a different mindset. You were
2:40just on the cusp of becoming the
2:43greatest of all time. and you took a
2:45chance on me in so many ways and I'm I'm
2:49eternally indebted and grateful to you
2:51for that. So, thank you for coming on
2:53then and coming back now.
2:54>> Jay, thank you. It's a great pleasure to
2:56see you again and to be able to talk to
2:58you. Thank you for kind words in
3:00introduction and as well reflecting on
3:03our first conversation in 2019. I don't
3:06think I took a chance because we talked
3:08about it just before we started
3:11officially recording. You know when you
3:13are connected with yourself and with
3:15your emotions and when you feel someone
3:17deeply and you look in someone's eyes
3:19and you understand instantly with your
3:22instinct with your intuition or that
3:23this person thinks good or thinks bad or
3:26has the right intention has the heart at
3:29the right place. So I could see that
3:30from the first moment with you and
3:33that's where I felt the connection and
3:35even though we haven't seen each other
3:36for a few years, you know, I'm just so
3:38glad that we are able to connect now and
3:40you led me through the list of all the
3:43guests that you had in the last almost
3:45300 episodes in the last 5 years and I I
3:48couldn't be happier for you and for your
3:50wife and for your entire team. Amazing.
3:52>> A thank you man. And it's uh you gave me
3:54my first Wimbledon experience. I got to
3:56see you play on center court. It was
3:59amazing. I mean, are you kidding me? It
4:01was like and you crushed. You won
4:02obviously. Uh but it was just such a
4:05brilliant experience to see you play
4:07after getting to understand your
4:09psychology. And I think that's what I've
4:11respected about you over time that
4:13you've really worked hard on your
4:16internal game as much as your external
4:18game. And I think you're one of those
4:21few rare athletes that have raised the
4:24consciousness by working on your own
4:25consciousness. So today I want to dive
4:27deep into that and and I want to dive
4:29right in. I wanted to start by asking
4:31you like what has it taken to become
4:35NovakJovich? Like what has it actually
4:37taken to become you internally? You
4:41know, you you mentioned that I took a
4:44lot of the time and attention to
4:46dedicate myself to the internal work and
4:49you know, I've been blessed and really
4:53lucky in a certain way to be surrounded
4:55with certain people at the very early
4:58stages of my career and my life that
5:01have directed me into this direction of
5:05self-care, of holistic approach, of
5:09multidisipline iplinary approach to the
5:12preparation to the prevention to the
5:14recovery both physical mental emotional
5:18and at that time because I was so young
5:20I didn't understand that and and it
5:23didn't need to be explained to me in
5:25depth at that point I trusted you know
5:27my tennis mother as I like to call her
5:29she passed away 13 years ago but she was
5:32the one that really introduced this
5:34holistic concept to me you know we were
5:36I was going you know obviously to school
5:38and then I was only 9 years old and 910
5:42and I was training with her maybe two or
5:45three times a week individually tennis
5:47and then I would have group sessions and
5:49my parents were you know were trusting
5:52her enough to allow her to participate
5:55directly into my upbringing basically.
5:58So she also educated me off the tennis
6:00court as well. So she took me very often
6:04uh at least two times per week to her
6:06house where we would look at the tapes
6:08of all the greats both male and female
6:12tennis players. That's where my
6:14impersonation started. You know people,
6:16you know, still to this day ask me, you
6:17know, when are you going to do the
6:18imitations impersonations? And you know,
6:20I haven't done it. I've done it early in
6:22my career and it was fun. It was viral
6:24and people liked it. And then I received
6:26a little bit of an evil looks in the
6:28locker room and I kind of felt like, you
6:29know, maybe I'm stepping over the line.
6:30inside. That's why I stopped. But that's
6:32where it started. And I was like, I was
6:34really trying to adapt all of the great
6:37things that I could see. And I have a
6:39kind of a photogenic memory. And I'm a
6:42very visual person. And that was
6:44something that was kind of expected that
6:46is kind of common as well, what you do
6:48with kids, you know, or or with young
6:50athletes, right? You watch videotapes,
6:51you try to analyze, you try to talk. But
6:54then she had me listen to classical
6:57music. And she said it's very important
7:00that you do that almost on a daily
7:02basis. Listen to classical music while
7:05you are writing your journal while you
7:08are you know preparing for bed or any
7:11time of the day but particularly those
7:13times and you know I liked it. I didn't
7:16understand the purpose of it but you
7:18know I liked it. And so we would look at
7:20the tapes and we would listen to this
7:22music and then we would read poetry and
7:25then we would do a visualization
7:27practice. At that time she it was not
7:30presented to me as such but she would
7:31just say in a very simple way that would
7:34be understood by a a boy a 10-year-old
7:37boy just close your eyes and think about
7:39how you want to play tennis and think
7:42about when you're your happiest. And so
7:44it started at a very early age and I'm
7:47so eternally grateful to her for
7:50instilling this in me and teaching me
7:53you know how to see life basically and
7:55understand that tennis is not as an
7:58individual sport of course is also
8:00different because you don't have anyone
8:02to replace you if something goes bad you
8:04know during the match you have to figure
8:06out the way so I think it requires more
8:08responsibility from you on a daily basis
8:10to prepare yourself for a biggest battle
8:13internally and also externally of course
8:15with your opponent and with everything
8:16that is happening around. But you know
8:19so it taught me to really understand
8:22that tennis is not only about hitting a
8:25tennis ball over the net and counting
8:27score and dreaming about this
8:30achievements and winning Wimbledon as
8:32our holy grail of tennis. But it's it's
8:35more than that. And and I can use tennis
8:38as a platform to evolve into a better
8:42human being. At that point, I didn't
8:44understand that. But then as I was
8:46growing older and becoming more mature,
8:48I I started to understand the importance
8:50of doing all of these practices and I
8:53started to expand on each of these
8:56topics that that I was going through
8:58with her. And then, you know, I started
9:00going into yoga. I started going into
9:03the movement into Christianity or to a
9:06Christian. I'm very proud of my
9:07religion. But at the same time, I am
9:09very open to you know embrace anything
9:13that can teach me you know from other
9:16religions and from the spirituality as a
9:18whole. So I'm very curious by nature. So
9:21I was really always looking for new ways
9:23to improve myself and improve my life on
9:25this planet, you know, and I was very
9:28lucky to be basically have that space
9:30also from my parents. It's a kind of a
9:32self-discovery through the self-care
9:34through tennis really consumed most of
9:37my life. Um I mean still does not to
9:39that extent of course I mean I have two
9:42kids I have family and other businesses
9:44and other things that interests me. So
9:46I'm you know I'm balancing right now
9:48between tennis and the other stuff and
9:50I'm kind of making that transition
9:51slowly. you know, I still play
9:53professional tennis and I still
9:55experience my worst self on the court
9:59and my best self. And so going back to
10:02your comment at the beginning where you
10:03said, you know, you're one of the the
10:06athletes that really have immersed
10:08himself into the spirituality, into
10:10understanding the holistic approach and
10:12so forth and and the mental health, I
10:15would say yes. But I'm still surprising
10:19and shocking myself on how much I
10:22actually need to still work on that and
10:25I still quote unquote don't know enough
10:27about that world and it was really hard
10:30for me to accept that you know I thought
10:33you know since 10 I basically started
10:35working on that and and growing the
10:37foundation but it has evolved and has
10:41transformed so much for me in terms of
10:44how I see myself how I see the world and
10:47I thought, you know, maybe when I was at
10:49at the peak of my career and, you know,
10:52I felt like I'm unbeatable and I I feel
10:56like I could do anything, you know, I
10:58kind of walking on the water. We all
10:59experience that in in in our own lives
11:01in certain way and it's a great feeling,
11:04but then the ego takes you places where
11:06it's it's hard to come back from. And
11:08maybe you shouldn't come back from that.
11:09Maybe you're trying to find a balance,
11:11find the optimal measure that really
11:14works for you. But it it took me time to
11:16really accept the fact that what I have
11:19learned, what I have mastered, and what
11:22I'm doing on a daily basis for the last
11:2620 years or more is not necessarily a
11:30guarantee that I'll always find a way
11:32and that will always work for me in this
11:34particular time of my life and
11:36circumstances that I'm facing. So that's
11:39a huge revelation for me because and I'm
11:41still trying to get a grasp on it and
11:43and understand all of these factors that
11:46are in play that are challenging me on a
11:49daily basis. And when I talk from this
11:52perspective, it's a beautiful journey
11:54that I'm trying to embrace. But when you
11:56are immersed in the dark moment, it's
11:59it's kind of hard to to really get out
12:01of that.
12:01>> Yeah. No, I I love what you're saying
12:03because uh in the Gita, the ancient text
12:06of India, it's spoken on a battlefield
12:09and the idea is that you're always on a
12:12battlefield. And as you said, on the
12:13battlefield, you see the best of
12:15yourself and the worst of yourself. And
12:17often people said that to me when I
12:18moved to LA, everyone's like, why do you
12:20want to be in LA? There's so much
12:21materialism. There's so much,
12:23>> you know, illusion here. And I said,
12:24well, actually, I feel like I'm on the
12:26battlefield here. So, I see the best of
12:28myself and I see the worst of myself.
12:30And the worst of myself reminds me to
12:32keep going and to keep working on
12:34myself. And the best of myself allows me
12:36to share my message with the biggest
12:38megaphone in the world. And so it's that
12:41dichotomy of actually when you're
12:43looking for spiritual growth, you want
12:45to be in a place that reminds you of
12:48your weaknesses as much as your
12:50strength. Because if you are only
12:51reminded of your strength, you just have
12:53your ego. And if you were only reminded
12:55of your weaknesses, well then you would
12:57be depressed or disheartened. I can
13:00instantly see the mistake when I
13:03actually say it's my coach's fault or
13:05it's my physio's fault or my fitness
13:07coach's fault or it's whoever's fault
13:09for me losing a match or me playing this
13:12way. So I always remind myself, hey,
13:14take the responsibility in your hands.
13:15Take the means in your hands. You are in
13:18control of your life. I really would
13:21love my my children to to be able to be
13:24okay with being bored because that's the
13:26time when you're actually most creative
13:28or that's the time when you can manage
13:32your thoughts and everything that you
13:33have been suppressing by distracting
13:36yourself with phone with whatever it is
13:38you cannot convince me that there is a
13:40single person in this planet even the
13:42monk in Tibet that is meditating 24/7 or
13:46an Orthodox Christian priest in a holy
13:49island in Greece that is 24/7 praying
13:53that is not experiencing some negative
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14:57Do you feel like in your career you've
14:59achieved everything you set out to as a
15:02tennis player?
15:03>> Uh, yes. And more than that, and at the
15:06same time, I still want to do more. And
15:09I know that that comes in a big part
15:12from a good place. Meaning from a place
15:14of purpose, inspiration, motivation,
15:17love for the sport, passion for the
15:19sport, passion to make people happy when
15:22they watch me. If I'm doing that, and I
15:24I have a feeling that I am by still
15:28actively being on the tennis tour and
15:30having my tennis career, active tennis
15:32career, I'm still spreading that light
15:35by playing tennis and inspiring younger
15:37generations. That's something that that
15:39comes from a good heart, a good place.
15:42But what comes from maybe a uh I would
15:44say not necessarily a bad place but less
15:46of a good place. I have identified that
15:49as well is my feeling of not being
15:54enough.
15:56And that goes back to my very very
15:59beginning of my life and my relationship
16:01particularly with my father and not
16:04being not doing enough, not being good
16:06enough. uh etc etc. So, so now that I'm
16:10talking about it, I I kind of get
16:11emotional about it because it's still
16:13deep inside of me and it's kind of the
16:16battle that I that I also go through
16:18often because a lot of people even
16:20closest people in my life ask me, you
16:22know, what more do you want? You know,
16:24you have achieved everything.
16:27What do you want? What why why do you
16:28keep going? And I tell them the the good
16:30part that I told you that I still really
16:32strongly feel it's inside of me and I
16:35feel like as long as I have the capacity
16:37or or ability to compete for the biggest
16:41titles in in my sport, I want to keep
16:43going. And also partly the part that I
16:46didn't mention that inspires me to keep
16:49going is to test my limits mentally and
16:53physically. Because when I was starting
16:56to break through into professional
16:58tennis,
16:59I remember when you reach your 30, you
17:02start counting your days to your
17:03retirement. Like after 30, you know,
17:05that's it pretty much. Even though there
17:08was some exceptions like Jimmy Connor is
17:10the legend of our game. He played think
17:12semi-finals or finals of of US Open when
17:14he was 40, you know, still still, you
17:17know, dominating the tour. So there were
17:20very but very few exceptions. Nowadays
17:22it's different. Why? Because I think the
17:24care for the body has improved so much.
17:29I mean now not only top 10 or 15 guys or
17:34girls on the tour have like multiple
17:37people in their squad to take care of
17:38them. You have top 50 people that are
17:42taking care of them. It's due to the
17:44improvement of course of the conditions
17:46for the players and you know we earn
17:48more across the board. So, it gives you
17:51it allows you to hire more people that
17:53would take care of your body. And I
17:55think that it's also a a kind of a a
17:59curiosity from my side. How how far can
18:01I go? You know, I'm I'm 38 this year,
18:04you know, how long can I push my own
18:06limits? And I don't feel like I do have
18:08limits. And I feel like the limits are
18:10normally constructs in our mind. I've
18:13seen the episode you did with Brian
18:15Johnson the other day and then he talked
18:17about you know he's
18:19>> by a lot of people's opinion very
18:21extreme but you know he dedicated his
18:24own entire life to getting the data and
18:28understanding what are the best
18:30conditions for the longest living life
18:33that he can have for himself which I
18:36think it's something that is admirable
18:38and you know I give him huge credit for
18:40that and it I understand because as a
18:42professional athlete, you know, the care
18:44for your body and your mind and the
18:48devotion to the daily habits is so tough
18:52because when you want to change a
18:54certain habit, science says it takes at
18:56least 21 days, right, for the brain to
18:59start growing, you know, new neurons
19:01that are reprogramming.
19:03But if you don't have the right
19:05environment, that's going to be very,
19:08very challenging. So that was also one
19:10of the things that I wanted to reflect
19:12on in your question is the environment
19:14is the one that can be very stimulative
19:17to you. It can be really supportive or
19:20it can be pulling you down. So it's
19:23super important even though we we always
19:26encourage ourselves to be independent in
19:29terms of what we do, what we eat, how we
19:32sleep, how you know how we lead our
19:34lives and what we do and how we can live
19:36the best version of our lives possible.
19:38But at the same time, we are social
19:40beings.
19:41>> We are very tribal beings. And even if
19:44it's the smallest community, we still
19:45want to belong to that community. We
19:47still want this community to support us.
19:49Even if it's one person or two, but it's
19:52super important in the end of the day
19:54because, you know, making tough choices.
19:56These are tough choices because society
19:57when you go out there, you know,
19:59supermajority of the places where you go
20:02to eat or people that you see, it's a
20:05kind of a vicious cycle and they lead
20:06their life in a certain way that maybe
20:08doesn't coincide or correspond to your
20:12choices that you want to make the new
20:14choices or maybe the new changes. So
20:16it's really hard, you know what I mean?
20:18Living in the in the big city and
20:19deciding you want to go through
20:21transformational journey on a daily
20:22basis where being exposed to
20:24>> to something that is contrary to what
20:26you're trying to achieve.
20:28>> I feel like it's it's reinventing
20:30yourself constantly. You know, for me,
20:32I've had this kind of upbringing, had a
20:34great foundation, and you know, I've
20:37achieved incredible things. I was
20:39dreaming of becoming number one in the
20:41world and becoming a Wimbledon champion.
20:43And that was my dream. I achieved that
20:45dream within two days. I won Wimbledon
20:48and at the same same day became number
20:50one in the world in 2011 in front of my
20:53family, in front of president of Serbia
20:55who was there. I mean it was with a
20:57welcoming of hundreds of thousands of
20:59people on the way back. It's just you
21:01know once in a lifetime type of
21:03experience and when you do something for
21:05the first time obviously that big it's
21:07just like you're you're flying to the
21:09moon. I mean you're not you it's a kind
21:12of an old out of body experience but
21:14then I I felt like I had to set new
21:17goals and cuz I was you know at the at
21:20the time 2011 I was 23 years old 24 so
21:23okay what do I do next you know I feel
21:25like I'm at you know peak of my powers
21:27and I want to so so then I want to win
21:30multiple slams then I want to win all
21:31slams at once then I want to win gold
21:33medal for my country then I want to make
21:34history and so forth so forth so I think
21:37goal oriented mind particular
21:39particularly in sports but I also in
21:42business or anything really I think is
21:44super important because the clarity in
21:47from my experience is something that is
21:50essential to have also peace of mind and
21:53to have a calm heart that you know what
21:56you're doing and that you set your goals
21:59your short-term goals your long-term
22:01goals and you know exactly the strategy
22:02that you need to implement to achieve
22:04them and you surround yourself with the
22:07people who are supporting you but also
22:09people who are telling you what you
22:11don't want to hear, you know, giving you
22:13constructive criticism or maybe giving
22:16you non-constructive criticism and then
22:18putting you very down. But that's also
22:20part of the journey. It's also learning
22:21how to get up
22:23>> like a phoenix and rise and and and try
22:25to develop a thick skin, so to say. So,
22:28it's it's a constant process really. I I
22:30don't see myself fully satisfied if if
22:34that's maybe a shorter answer because I
22:37have that part of me which is like uh
22:40you know I think I can still do more but
22:43I'm the other side of me is like of
22:45course I'm fully I'm happy and I'm proud
22:48and in a way I can't wait one day for me
22:52to reflect on everything but while I'm
22:55still in my active career I don't have
22:57time. Tennis has a longest season of all
22:59sports. January starts January, ends
23:01almost end of November. And of course, I
23:04earn my right in a way to be selective
23:06with tournaments where I play. So that's
23:08what I'm doing. I'm not playing as much.
23:10I'm focusing on the big ones. And I'm
23:13trying to incorporate all of these other
23:14things inside of my career and basically
23:18expand the platform and use my voice for
23:21other things than just the tennis court.
23:24And I'm, you know, super blessed to be
23:26in a position that I am, but as I said,
23:28it's a constant journey and process.
23:31>> Yeah. I really appreciate you being
23:32honest about your experience with your
23:34father because I think that pretty much
23:38anyone who goes off to do something
23:40successful externally.
23:42All of us and everyone was channeling
23:45some sort of internal inadequacy or an
23:50internal feeling of not being enough. as
23:53you said and I wanted to ask when did
23:56you first become aware of that that you
23:59had that feeling of not being enough
24:01>> right
24:02>> and how have you helped that evolve in a
24:05in the healthiest way possible what has
24:07been that journey of almost having to
24:09live with it because it's there but not
24:11letting it be your guiding light well
24:14you're right it makes sense because I
24:16think if you use it as the right fuel it
24:18can actually serve as a great motivating
24:21factor right it can it can push you. It
24:23can, you know, stimulate you to extract
24:26the the most amount of necessary energy
24:31uh on a daily basis to achieve your
24:33goals and to basically live your dream.
24:36I think for me it started really as
24:38something that was inevitable as a part
24:40of the environment that I was in. I
24:42touched upon that a little bit in our
24:45conversation five, six years ago. My
24:47upbringing with several wars and
24:49sanctions and embargo and poverty and
24:52everything. So you know from a very
24:54young age I was basically forced to
24:58mature very quickly because I'm a I'm a
25:00oldest of the three brothers. I have two
25:03younger brothers. So as an oldest son to
25:06my father, I was basically kind of in a
25:09position where I had to be informed very
25:12early on, particularly the age of 11, 12
25:15when when we had that bombing and the
25:17war and sanctions that state that we are
25:20in as a family or as people of of my
25:23country, the situation, the
25:25circumstances, my father had to bring it
25:27forward to me in a very clear and mature
25:30way. So, you know, one of the most
25:34impactful moments of my upbringing and
25:36my childhood is when he brought 10
25:38Deutsch marks, and I've said this story
25:40many times, which is equivalent to $10,
25:43and he said, "This is all we got for our
25:45family of five as living in a super
25:48small apartment." That's where it hit
25:49me. It was like, "Okay, now I have to
25:51take the means in my hands as a
25:5312-year-old boy in whatever way I can.
25:56At least what I can do is support my
25:59mother." maybe from some of the the
26:01burden that she has during the day of
26:03taking care of my younger brothers and
26:07that's where it also hit me that not
26:10having success is not an option like I
26:13have to succeed it's basically a matter
26:15of existence a survival of my family
26:19so I think it started there and then
26:21over the years it has obviously
26:24transformed or evolved into different
26:26kind of form
26:28but I I think that and also my
26:32relationship with my father often times
26:34because of maybe lack of patience of my
26:37father or of people around because
26:39everyone saw that I have a talent. I was
26:42coming from Serbia that had no tennis
26:45tradition, no tennis culture. We are a
26:48nation of a team sports. Uh we are
26:51definitely a sporting nation. We love
26:53sports but team sports. And at that
26:54point during ' 90s it was about
26:57survival. People were watching sports
26:59but there was not much support for the
27:01sports. It was particularly not tennis a
27:04very expensive sport at the time. I
27:07chose the most difficult sport for my
27:08parents in most difficult time for our
27:11nation and for my family. So often times
27:15I wouldn't travel because we didn't have
27:16money and then you know obviously as you
27:19can imagine tennis federation didn't
27:21have you know money to support me. So my
27:24father had to go and beg and then he was
27:25also borrowing money from
27:28unfortunately even some criminals at the
27:30time during ' 90s and then they would
27:33you know they would tell him it's funny
27:35story right now but at the time it
27:36wasn't funny particularly for him but
27:38you know he would go and he said first
27:39time I was going to go to United States
27:42to play I was 15 years old I was going
27:44to play like big junior events here like
27:47Prince Cup and Orange Ball there are the
27:49biggest ones under 16 and under 18 and
27:52also So, more importantly, I was I was
27:54going with my father hopefully to get
27:57the sponsorship or, you know, get
28:00recruited by one of the big agencies,
28:02IMGs or or whatever. So, he went for ask
28:05for money because we didn't have so he
28:07went to ask for $5,000 and so this
28:10criminal people that you could borrow
28:13money from because banks obviously would
28:15not give it to you. And then they said,
28:17you know, he asked him, you know, are
28:19you how much are you in rush? And he's
28:22like, "Listen, I'm asking this money
28:24from you because of my son. He's playing
28:27tennis. We're going in America. You
28:29know, I'll return this money within
28:32whatever they agreed on, one or two
28:33months, whatever it is, 3 months." He
28:36says interest rate was 15%. But because
28:40you are in rush, it's 25. So my father
28:45was like, "Okay, you know, I'll take it
28:48cuz I have no other option." So, and I
28:51can only imagine the stress that he was
28:52going through and trying to turn this
28:54money where people were really car
28:56chasing him, shootings in our capital
28:59town, stuff that my father went through,
29:02you know, to to really not only survive
29:04himself, but to actually allow all of us
29:07to live and protect us and to allow me
29:11to live my dream and to play the most
29:14expensive sport at the time for my
29:15country is something that I'm eternally
29:18indeed. I cannot there's no money or
29:20there's nothing that can
29:22>> return the favor so to say. So of course
29:24my father's always my my hero for that
29:28and my champion but you know feeling of
29:30not enough because of that stress and
29:32what things that he was going through
29:33and then it was hard because he was
29:35giving me also hard time if I wouldn't
29:38play well and it's like and then I I
29:40understood but at the same time I was
29:42afraid I knew what I have to do but you
29:45know it's hard for me to deliver it when
29:47you need it's like okay you need to win
29:50no matter what type of situation. He
29:52wasn't telling me that but that's how it
29:54felt
29:55>> and that felt like that for years.
29:58>> So that's why I say that the success
30:01that I have achieved is not only due to
30:04my father or my parents or myself. It's
30:08also the divine higher force. I strongly
30:12believe that there was an intervention
30:15and there still is. There's higher
30:17forces in power that were helping me in
30:21some of the most difficult moments in my
30:23family as well. I am a man of faith and
30:25I really truly believe in God and a
30:27higher spiritual force that intervenes
30:30in the most difficult moments if you
30:32open your heart, if you pray and if you
30:35believe in it. So I felt it on my own
30:37skin. Jay, to be honest, I really don't
30:40know how I won certain matches. I cannot
30:43explain it even with my team after I
30:45would finish a grand slam final against
30:48Roger Feather in 2019 Wimbledon when he
30:52was a far better player. I saved some
30:54match points and I came off the court
30:58all stats were going his way. I won the
31:00match and I just said, you know, and I
31:02wasn't playing well. I wasn't feeling
31:04well on the court and I was just like
31:06struggling and scrambling and trying to
31:08stay out there, stay alive. And I won in
31:12the end in one of the most epic finals
31:14in history of tennis. And then you know
31:16I told to my parents and my family and
31:18my my team I said and my wife I said I
31:20don't know how I won this match. I have
31:23no idea. At the same time I do know deep
31:25inside that there there's that
31:28connection happening and that that
31:30there's also that help. So there there's
31:33a mix of things. It's really hard to
31:35explain. Sometimes there's this divine
31:38power that really if you allow it, if
31:41you believe it, that really helps you
31:44come out of of a trouble and and achieve
31:47things.
31:47>> What has been your
31:50point of connection or practice with
31:52that higher power that keeps you
31:54connected? What's been that for you?
31:56There's so many different traditions and
31:57different methods. What's been the
31:59method for you that you find, especially
32:01in those moments, that you're able to
32:03tap in? Because I find that if you're
32:05able to tap in in really difficult
32:07times, it means you're doing something
32:08in good times because it doesn't just
32:11suddenly turn on when you need it. So
32:13what what has been your particular
32:15practice, method, uh system or theory
32:18that's kept you connect?
32:19>> You hit the nail with that one. It's a
32:21consistent practice. So it's prayer
32:23work, mindfulness, meditation, conscious
32:26breathing,
32:28visualization,
32:30presence, basically many other things as
32:32well that that just NLP or you know
32:36there's a lot of different techniques
32:39that I have been practicing
32:42and triing always with myself before I
32:45would recommend it to someone else. And
32:48over the years, I've developed my own
32:49formula that changes
32:52dependent on the feeling, dependent on
32:55whether I'm on the court, whether I'm at
32:58home, whe practice, whatever it is that
33:00I'm doing. But I try to do it when, you
33:03know, nobody's watching. And sometimes I
33:05verbalize things, sometimes I don't.
33:07Sometimes I write things down, sometimes
33:09I just internalize. It just depends. But
33:12I think most importantly in the end is
33:15that you're doing something. M
33:17>> I'm actually reading this book uh one of
33:19the books that I'm reading currently is
33:21you know the power of surrendering and
33:23letting go.
33:24>> Mhm.
33:25>> It is an amazing book for me at at the
33:28moment because because of my upbringing
33:30and because of my character and because
33:33of my life story hard for me to let go.
33:36It's hard for me to surrender
33:38unless it's to the higher power. But I'm
33:41still working on how to surrender and
33:44let go of certain things in relationship
33:46with close ones or my relationship with
33:49the tennis or you know if I lose a match
33:51or tournament if I go through a crisis
33:54period and you know how to not hold
33:56something that that pulls me down or
33:59regret or you know it's it's a constant
34:02work but I I I feel like if you devote
34:05the time on the daily basis whatever
34:08works for you you had some of the most
34:10amazing
34:11uh guests on your show that talked about
34:13from neuroscientists to doctors,
34:16nutritionists and talked about the
34:18healthy habits. So I I don't want to be
34:20talking as them as I'm not an expert but
34:22in my fields or so to say in my own life
34:25and experience I feel like I'm an expert
34:27because I have tried and developed so
34:29many different things over the last 30
34:30years and and I know what works and what
34:33doesn't in a way but going back to the
34:36very beginning organization it's not
34:38again a guarantee that it will keep on
34:40working to the rest of my life but I
34:42know what will is my dedicated time in a
34:47day to this practice. ractice,
34:49>> mental practice, physical practice, of
34:51course, activity practice that I'm doing
34:54in the gym outside and tennis court or
34:56when I'm not training, I still do stuff.
34:59I still do some yoga practice. I still
35:01do stretching. I still do breathing. I
35:03still I love the chiong and the Chinese
35:06traditional medicine or Chinese
35:08tradition practices. I think they're
35:10super good and important that you can do
35:12even in your chair. There's always
35:14there's ways and it's incredible
35:15nowadays an internet and I mean there's
35:19access to incredible things. All it
35:21takes is a willpower to do it and a
35:24desire to say okay I'm consciously
35:27making this decision to change my life
35:29for better. And I'm going to start with
35:31small steps. Super important. It's hard.
35:34You have so much judgment in this
35:36society in this world right it's it's
35:38really hard for people as as we talked
35:40about the environment. as much as effort
35:42you're putting in and then you come with
35:44your friends or or whatever with your
35:47family members or and then they start to
35:48judge you because you're starting to act
35:50weird because you're not normal. You're
35:53not conforming to the norms of the
35:55society whatever they are because it's
35:57quite relative. You know we all
35:58different but you know the norms of
36:01society are not really healthy ones
36:02otherwise we wouldn't be where we are as
36:04a world ecosystem as a whole and as
36:06people and what we are doing to our
36:08planet etc. there's a lot of uh
36:10awakening happening and it's great to
36:12see that change but it's not easy for
36:15people and I understand that and it's
36:17okay not to feel okay we heard that many
36:19times as well and sometimes as I said
36:23accepting and embracing for me and
36:25letting go of the fact that I cannot
36:27find a solution to something that
36:29happens in my brain in my mind is also
36:31fine
36:32>> of being in a dark place for as long as
36:35it requires is also a humane thing it's
36:39also part of our life. I can see there's
36:42also a narrative that I don't really
36:44necessarily like or support in our let's
36:47say wellness mindfulness space
36:50well-being space where it's presented by
36:53certain people in such way that you can
36:56only think positive thoughts
36:58>> and there's no room for negative
37:00thoughts
37:01>> that you know every picture or video
37:04they post online is smiling it's great
37:06life and so forth I mean that's not
37:09possible right I
37:11You cannot convince me that there is a
37:13single person in this planet, even the
37:15monk in Tibet that is meditating 24/7 or
37:19an Orthodox Christian priest in a holy
37:22island in Greece that is 24/7 praying,
37:26you know, peace isolated in the cave
37:29that is not experiencing some negative
37:32thoughts. Mhm.
37:33>> And I always go back to what one uh one
37:36of my friends told me that I he's also
37:39um mental coach and I worked with him
37:41for years and one of his teachers is Zen
37:44Buddhism teachers and he goes to the
37:47temple in France often to his teacher
37:50and he asked him in one of the first
37:52times that he was there uh doing
37:53retreats and spending time at the
37:55temple. He says, "How are you so calm?
37:58you know, how is it that nothing really
38:01rivals you or unsettles you? Like you're
38:03always so serene.
38:06Uh you don't have any negative thoughts.
38:09And he said the answer from the teacher
38:11is that he says it's not true. He says I
38:15probably have more negative thoughts and
38:17more challenging thoughts and emotions
38:21than you have. The difference between
38:23you and me is my training and my ability
38:28to not stay in that state and in that
38:30emotion for a long time.
38:32>> Mhm.
38:33>> So I stay in it for seconds
38:35>> and you stay in it for who knows.
38:38>> Yeah.
38:38>> Right.
38:39>> So I I I think there's true wisdom in
38:41that and it's all about practice
38:43everything. I mean brain is a muscle
38:45like any other
38:46>> even consciousness that comes naturally
38:49to us. I mean we are conscious spiritual
38:52beings. We are souls on this planet in
38:54this body. But in order for us to
38:57connect with our true self, we need to
39:00go through these layers, the constructs
39:03of the society that has developed us in
39:05a way has shaped us. And that requires
39:08practice on a daily basis. And that's
39:10not easy. Look, it's it's not easy not
39:13switching on your phone or your TV the
39:15first thing in the morning, but doing
39:17something that is maybe not as healthy,
39:19but being devoted to that practice or,
39:22you know, during the day having that
39:24little one, two, 5, 10, 20 minute rest
39:27time and comprehension time. It's not
39:29easy to do that, especially for people
39:31that didn't develop that kind of habit.
39:33It doesn't come naturally. I mean my
39:36even though I don't like giving advice
39:37as we talked about it but I like to
39:40share something that works as a
39:42suggestion something that works
39:43extremely well for me and then and this
39:45is crazy that even in the 21st century
39:48we are even talking about this as a hack
39:51it should be like an everyday thing that
39:53it's a natural most natural thing is to
39:55spend time in nature
39:57>> listen to the birds chirping listen to
39:59the wind feel the wind feel the I mean
40:02if you're by seaside or oceanside walk
40:05by the water or any water or pond or
40:08lake or just be without a phone and in
40:11nature, let the nature do its job and
40:15heal you. And there's so much more power
40:18to that than we actually think.
40:21>> And and I felt like in the in the
40:22darkest moments when I really don't want
40:25to do any of these techniques or any of
40:27the time indoors, I just go out and I
40:30just I just go out and preferably walk
40:33uphill. Mhm.
40:35>> Because I feel like when you walk
40:36uphill, your heart rate raises obviously
40:40and because of that effort, you're even
40:42more present.
40:43>> So even less time for your thoughts to
40:47consume you. So you're like fully
40:48present. And then when you get to a
40:51certain point high at the top, you feel
40:54good about yourself because you've done
40:55something. You're in the nature. You're
40:58dedicated time to yourself. So I feel
41:00like that's super powerful and it's
41:01often times very underestimated. The
41:03reason why I love hearing about your
41:04practice is just because I think
41:07>> I think an athletes mind is one of the
41:09most unique places on earth because when
41:12you're dealing with extremes every day
41:14>> and every week and both extremes of
41:17being number one and then losing a game
41:19and you know everything that goes on the
41:21toolkit you have is one of the most
41:23versatile toolkits and and that's why I
41:26asked that question was just to
41:27understand what you do. I was going to
41:28ask you like I feel like one of the most
41:30challenging things and you probably
41:31remember this when you are the new kid
41:33on the block and you're playing all the
41:36legends and today you're the legend and
41:38you're playing the new kids on the block
41:40and it must be such a fascinating
41:43experience to go through and when you
41:45talk about the power of letting go and
41:47the power of surrender
41:48>> I wanted you to talk to us about that
41:50like what did it feel like when you were
41:51the new kid on the block and you were
41:53playing your legends that you looked up
41:55to and now you're the legend you're the
41:56goat you're the number one playing the
41:58new kids on the block. Like what does
42:00that mentally look like?
42:02>> It's a completely different feeling
42:04obviously and different perspective. I
42:06mean when you're a teenager coming up
42:09and then you know you you're in a
42:11dreamland when you are just sharing a
42:15locker room with the legends of the game
42:18or the guys that you look up to your
42:20biggest rivals. They're becoming your
42:22biggest rivals later on. But at that
42:24point they're heroes. They're like my
42:26gosh. I mean, these guys, I've seen them
42:27on the TV, and now I'm
42:29>> Who is that?
42:30>> I mean, look, my my idol growing up was
42:33Pete Sampress. And even though Pete
42:37Pete's game and my game are quite
42:39different, I don't know, I loved his
42:41demeanor. I loved his ability to cope
42:43with the pressure and how he was coming
42:46up with the best tennis when it mattered
42:48the most. And that was a kind of a sign
42:51of a greatest champion. I mean he was
42:53holding a record for most slams and and
42:56and weeks number one etc for a long time
42:59until Roger came and Rafa of course and
43:02then of course paved the way and then
43:04you know looking up to them as well.
43:07Even Nadal is only a year older than me
43:11but he made a breakthrough earlier than
43:13I did. it's already for a couple of
43:15years he was on the tour when I started
43:17coming in and he was already number two
43:20in the world multiple slam winner and
43:22etc. So, of course, it was kind of a
43:24surreal experience for me and I tried to
43:28enjoy it and embrace it, but at the same
43:30time,
43:32I felt like, okay, it's great to share
43:34the court with these guys, but I want to
43:37beat them, you know, I want to get the
43:39biggest titles. I want to be number one.
43:40I want to dominate. So I think that the
43:43first kind of that wave that I was
43:45riding on helped me to win my first slam
43:49when I was 19 in uh Australia Australian
43:53Open in 2008. And then I I won a couple
43:57of big tournaments and so forth. I
43:58reached the number two in the world, but
44:00you know, I still wasn't number one. And
44:02then I I had a three-year period. I
44:04didn't win a slam. I was winning some
44:06big tournaments, but I couldn't win a
44:07slam. These two guys were beating me in
44:10every big match, Feather and Adal. I
44:12changed rackets, you know, team members.
44:15I I did everything I can to kind of find
44:18the the right formula.
44:21And I was struggling physically as well.
44:22I wasn't, you know, that's where
44:24actually I had my transformative journey
44:27nutrition-wise where I took out the
44:29gluten and dairy products and refined
44:31sugar. Up to that point, I was eating
44:34all of the these things thinking, well,
44:35I'm I'm eating relatively healthy. I
44:37mean, relatively healthy. I thought, you
44:38know, that's what I know. But then, you
44:41know, when I started working with this
44:42with this doctor and he he pointed out,
44:44you know, you have strong gluten
44:46intolerance. It messes up with your gut.
44:48Got to take that out. You got to take
44:49out the dairy product because that
44:51creates a lot of inflammation in your
44:53body. You might be able to eat it later
44:55on, but not now. And refined sugar.
44:57Absolutely. No. So, that was a huge
45:00change, but I committed to it. And then
45:01I felt that affected me. In fact, my
45:05mental clarity, my recovery was much
45:07better, my decision- making on the court
45:10was better, etc. So, that helped a lot.
45:13And of course, mentally as well, I was
45:15working on certain programs that I had
45:17from, you know, that were kind of not
45:20really very positive and not not really
45:22serving the purpose on the court of
45:23winning a match. So that year in 2010
45:272011 is when I experienced a huge boost
45:30of energy and transformation and that
45:32change an unbeaten run of 40 plus
45:35matches and had three slams and became
45:38number one and had one of best season of
45:39my life and that's where I everything
45:41started going in the in the upwards
45:43direction for me and learning also from
45:48these guys and the matches that we've
45:50played against each other was something
45:51that was extremely important for me at
45:53that time. I was of course trying to
45:57consume as much as I can this energy of
45:59the center court and everything and it
46:02was overwhelming at times but I was also
46:05very thorough in my analysis of the
46:08matches afterwards even though I don't
46:10necessarily
46:12like to watch matches that I lost. But
46:14you know, Kobe Bryant used to talk about
46:17this a lot and I when I was talking to
46:19him personally about that he would cuz I
46:22tell him Kobe I really don't like you
46:24know watching myself perform bad or when
46:26I lost and it just gives me this cramps
46:29in my stomach and I don't like it. And
46:31he said even if it's just specific
46:36intervals of the match that you lost
46:40that you want to watch that you
46:41definitely look at that and you need to
46:43analyze that and you need to go through
46:45that cramping feeling because that's
46:49where you learn from those those
46:50mistakes and that's where you have an
46:52opportunity to rectify that the next
46:54next tournament or next match and so
46:56forth. So that helped a lot. And I do
46:59watch the matches that I lost and
47:01highlights and certain parts, but I
47:03never watch the last point. I don't want
47:06to watch the point where my opponent,
47:08you know, fist bumps and raises his
47:10hands. I just maybe it's I don't know.
47:13It's a superstition or not, but but it's
47:16just some some kind of a feeling that I
47:18have. But yeah, I just, you know, those
47:20rivalries really shaped me into the
47:22person I am, into the player that I am,
47:23and definitely grateful for for
47:26everything that I experienced with these
47:27guys.
47:27>> And now the flip, now when you're
47:29playing the younger players. Well, well,
47:31now the flip is obviously an interesting
47:34experience for me because uh when
47:37Feather and Nadal and Murray, my biggest
47:40rivals, retired actually most recently
47:44uh in the in the last year or two, part
47:46of me left with them and I and I really
47:48feel that because and I I thought, well,
47:51it's not going to be difficult for me to
47:53kind of shift my attention in terms of
47:56who are my principal rivals on the tour
47:59from them to someone else. But, you
48:02know, it is it is tough because, you
48:04know, I'm used to these names, these
48:06guys, these faces for 20 years and then
48:10new faces come in and and it's normal uh
48:12how can I say evolution of our sport and
48:16it's normal that you have new
48:17generations that are kind of come in and
48:19dominate the tour. I'm experiencing
48:21something I have never experienced
48:23before, but that's that's also fine. you
48:25know, I'm trying to embrace this journey
48:28and but also I think what is very
48:32important to me personally and and what
48:34I have expressed directly to all of my
48:37basically rivals currently today, the
48:40young guys who are going to be the
48:43carriers of the tennis for the next
48:46decade is that I'm here for them to
48:50share my experience even though it's
48:53difficult because we're facing each
48:55But I still feel that in a way that's
48:58also my role. It's also my
48:59responsibility.
49:01And it's also a great opportunity for me
49:03to do that because I re it really fills
49:05my heart with joy that I'm able to
49:08convey my experiences, my knowledge,
49:12whatever that I can from my journey to a
49:14new generations because naturally the
49:18tennis should get better and we all want
49:20tennis to get better to be better and I
49:22want somebody to break my record in the
49:25future or all of the records. Why not? I
49:27mean this is how it should be. if I can
49:30contribute in in a in a way where I can
49:32say hey aside of the the barriers that
49:35we created in a rivalry if you need help
49:38with I don't know public relations if
49:40it's you know marketing if it's dealing
49:43with the outside world as well that is
49:45very difficult dealing with anxiety we
49:47all have that you know we all know how
49:50it is to feel alone you let yourself
49:52down or you let other people down mental
49:56challenges in a high level professional
49:58sport are 100% present with everyone.
50:02It's just a matter of how you deal with
50:04it, who you have in your support system
50:06that can help you. So, I feel like it it
50:10was great when I was able as a kid to
50:13ask some of the the the guys who were
50:15playing at the top level, you know, some
50:18of the questions that were interesting
50:19me and that just hearing from them two
50:22or three sentences of how they think
50:24that they were dealing with it and how
50:26that affected them was huge to me. Even
50:28if you heard it from someone else, but
50:30just hearing it from them, it just has
50:32this resonant power and impact and it
50:35did help me a lot. I didn't have it from
50:37my top rivals at the time, but I had it
50:39from some guys like even Lubichic, for
50:41example, who was, you know, fellow
50:42Croatian tennis player, and he was a
50:45number three or four in the world at
50:46that point. And then I was uh breaking
50:48through as a teenager and we shared the
50:50same tennis coach. He influenced me in a
50:53positive way to like change the racket
50:56or string pattern or strings and all of
50:58these small details that you might not
51:02think that are maybe relevant or but you
51:04hear them. you hear it from them and
51:06then you're like, "Okay, now I'm ready
51:07to make the decision because I trust
51:09what he tells me cuz you know he's a
51:11testament to what he's preaching
51:13basically."
51:14>> Yeah. Yeah. It's so interesting because
51:15I love that you offered that. I was
51:18talking to Carmelo Anthony recently, the
51:19basketball player from the Knicks and
51:22>> you know, very successful Hall of Famer
51:24>> and he was telling me that in basketball
51:27he doesn't find the young players being
51:29that open
51:31>> to coaching and guidance from the senior
51:33players. How do you find it in tennis?
51:35Is it more open? Is there Did you get
51:37people coming back and saying, "Novak, I
51:38have loads of questions for you."
51:39>> Yeah, I would agree with that with
51:41Carmelo because also in tennis because
51:43it's an individual sport as well, it
51:45makes it even more isolated solitude
51:48sport where you are focused on your team
51:52and you create your own environment,
51:54community, and you're like excluding
51:56everything else, which is
51:57understandable, you know, to some point.
52:00Contrary to let's say basketball, we we
52:02do share the locker room. So we sitting
52:05next to each other or warming up next to
52:07each other playing finals for the
52:09biggest tournament, which is crazy to
52:11think about it, you know, whereas, you
52:13know, obviously the the basketball or
52:15football, soccer, you know, these guys,
52:16they don't see each other until they
52:18actually on the court. We, you know,
52:21look at each other, send each other
52:22looks, our team members send each other
52:24looks in the locker room and stuff. And
52:26so the battle starts already there. So
52:28from that point of view, it's kind of
52:30hard to expect that they would come and
52:32say, "Hey, look, you know, give me some
52:34advice. How I how can I beat you?" But
52:37uh but that's why I'm saying like
52:39there's many more other things that can
52:41be very helpful like outside of the
52:43court.
52:44>> And yes, there are some young players
52:47that are how can I say open, more
52:50flexible, more curious. And I think it's
52:53not maybe not so much about that, but
52:55it's it's about how shy you are or how
52:58courageous you are to really, you know,
53:00break that boundary and not be afraid of
53:03coming to me or to someone that you look
53:06up to and say, "Hey, can I ask you a
53:08question?" You know, more often I would
53:11get questions through their team
53:14members, to my team members, to me.
53:16>> Yeah.
53:16>> And so, and then I would approach them
53:18and say, "Hey, you can, you know, you
53:19can talk to me. There's no problem."
53:21Yeah. but you know I don't want to
53:22bother you and stuff like this. So yeah
53:24I I think it's very nice if you have
53:26that exchange even if it's a a short one
53:29because the level of appreciation and
53:32respect which I think is ultimately the
53:35most important thing in sports you know
53:37yes we all want to win. Yes we all want
53:39to be the best. Yes we all want to make
53:40records in history.
53:43appreciating
53:45what your fellow athlete goes through.
53:48Compassionate, being compassionate and
53:49empathizing with him or her and
53:52respecting the process is something that
53:56is more eternal.
53:58>> Yeah.
53:58>> In your heart, in your soul, and in in
54:01the eyes of all the other people than
54:04any achievement or any success. I mean,
54:05that's at least how I see it.
54:07>> I love that. I I couldn't agree with you
54:08more because I always try to remind
54:10people that the only person who can
54:12truly relate to you
54:13>> is that person. Like your competitors
54:16are the only people who can actually
54:18relate
54:19>> to what it feels like to be you because
54:22your team, they can't fully relate. Of
54:24course they can relate. They play tennis
54:26and they understand the game.
54:28>> But they don't know what it feels like
54:29to be in that locker room before you go
54:31on to be at the net when the score is
54:33not in your favor. Like even I talk
54:35about even in our industry like I like
54:37to be friends with everyone in my
54:39industry and I like to connect with
54:41anyone that you genuinely get along with
54:43because for me I'm like you're the only
54:45person who understands what it feels
54:48like
54:49>> to interview people to get the public
54:52criticism to have the scrutiny to be
54:54careful about what you're saying to you
54:56know whatever it may be and if I'm not
54:59friends with you I I have my friends
55:01from back home in London who I loved and
55:02my best friends but They don't know what
55:04it feels like to do this, right?
55:06>> And so in this part of my life, there's
55:08a difference. I wonder with you, you've
55:10been through and and I want to talk
55:12about some really pivotal moments.
55:14You've been through so many injuries,
55:16losses, all of that
55:18>> at this point in your career when you've
55:19achieved so much, you've been through so
55:21much. What goes through your mind when
55:23you lose? Now
55:25>> answer that, but just want to reflect on
55:26what you said on the industry because I
55:28think it's super important. Uh um and
55:30that's the mentality the right kind of
55:32mentality and the philosophy of uh
55:35instead of division it's unity it's
55:38collaboration it's understanding it's
55:40support it's respect it's appreciation
55:43it's coming together it's growing
55:45industry together understanding that
55:47you're all yes you are competitors I
55:50mean even in your industry you compete
55:52for the audience and so forth and
55:54there's a lot of you know podcasts out
55:56there and it's understandable to a
55:58certain point that you know there are
56:00certain formulas that you developed and
56:03tools that you want to keep to yourself
56:05which is 100% understandable but at the
56:08same time overall in a general
56:10perspective of things we are part of the
56:13same industry we need to grow we need to
56:15grow this awareness so that's how I also
56:16see it for tennis you know in sports
56:20even more so competition
56:22and kind of a fierce mentality is so
56:26prominent to the point where like for
56:30example in basketball I love basketball
56:32you know Serbia is a country of of
56:33basketball is our you know national
56:35sport number one and you have well
56:38intentionally maybe in a in a midst of a
56:42battle under the rim fighting for a
56:45rebound hurt somebody and that's
56:48somebody you elbow somebody okay and
56:50that somebody's down and you can see him
56:52in pain and you don't come and give him
56:55a hand and says hey man sorry let's go I
56:58don't see how that exposes your weakness
57:01because I think that's in the in the
57:03center of everything. It's like
57:06>> don't show your weakness, don't show
57:07your vulnerability, be strong, be tough,
57:11whatever. Of course, we have to be
57:12tough, be strong, be whatever, be fierce
57:15in terms of like wanting to win and
57:17finding way to win. But that doesn't
57:19mean that we can be also human beings
57:21that hey if if I did something to you in
57:24a contact sport like basketball if it's
57:26a foul or something like that hey you
57:28just give him a hand one second and says
57:30whatever let's go let's keep it going
57:32that doesn't mean that you will not
57:34battle in the next minute again.
57:36>> Yeah. So that's the part which I don't
57:38really understand fully or don't support
57:40it but that's why like I feel like
57:42coming together and really showing that
57:45respect even if it's you know before the
57:48game and after the game it really
57:50resonates with people it does send
57:53overall a good message and I think it
57:55improves the sport and brings people
57:57more together. Now to to your question
58:00about losing a match, right? That was
58:02>> Yeah. Like at this stage of your career,
58:04I feel like you've obviously we've
58:06talked about it. You're satisfied.
58:07You've succeeded. You've come back from
58:10like being down on points like and I'm
58:13trying to get into your mindset just
58:14where it's at today and and how it's
58:16evolved over time. Like
58:18>> what does it feel now when you lose have
58:20an early exit? Like what does that feel
58:21like now compared to before?
58:24>> As hard as hard as it was before. Yeah.
58:27Sometimes there is no rule. Sometimes it
58:30takes me an hour, sometimes half a day,
58:33sometimes a day, sometimes a week to go
58:35over the loss. I mean, it just really
58:37depends. But right after the match,
58:41you know, I would uh if I have to
58:44reflect shortly about the match with my
58:46team, but I just want to be left alone.
58:49Yeah. I just have to go through my
58:50process. I don't like the the chitchat,
58:54the small talk of trying to lift my
58:57spirits up right after the match. I just
59:00like just give me some time. I need to
59:02isolate myself, go in my room, go
59:05outside, walk, whatever it is, you know,
59:07just blow some steam out. And then when
59:11I do that, then I'm ready to, you know,
59:13talk, socialize, and stuff like this. I
59:16don't know whether that's something that
59:18is good or not in general terms. Uh but
59:22that's just me. I feel like it's really
59:25hard for me to digest that I lost the
59:27match. As I said, sometimes takes
59:28longer, sometimes shorter to get out of
59:30it. But I do need definitely like few
59:33hours to not see anybody. Like I I hug
59:37my kids. If I see my kids, you know, my
59:39kids sometimes within those few hours,
59:41they get me and they're like, "Daddy, we
59:43have to do this. You have to take me
59:44there and stuff." So kids have that
59:47permission to come into my space but you
59:50know anybody else I just need some some
59:52time and I
59:53>> I just feel like it's sometimes is
59:56necessary to have that and in solitude
59:59is not necessarily bad
1:00:01>> and I feel like we all need to learn how
1:00:03to embrace being in in solitude and
1:00:06being by and enjoy being by ourselves
1:00:08doesn't mean that we have to go to total
1:00:10extreme but it has to be balanced and
1:00:13optimal but we need to create that time
1:00:16for ourselves because also being bored
1:00:19is good you know being bored this is
1:00:22something very interesting you know that
1:00:23I also see with my with my kids like
1:00:25particularly with my son keeps on
1:00:27telling me he's 10 and he's like daddy
1:00:30like he just recently told me a few days
1:00:32ago we were at at my parents' place
1:00:35countryside by the lake and we were
1:00:38alone and he was we were playing
1:00:40different we were playing ping pong we
1:00:43were doing some uh kayaking in the lake.
1:00:46So, and we played some football, soccer.
1:00:48So, we had a quite active few hours of
1:00:52first few hours of the day. And then I
1:00:54was doing something else. I don't know
1:00:56what I was doing. And then he come up
1:00:58comes up to me. He's like, "Daddy, I'm
1:00:59bored." And then I had him sit down with
1:01:02me and then I said, "But son, it's okay
1:01:04to be bored sometimes. First of all, you
1:01:07had a great active morning and you did a
1:01:09lot of things. And second of all, you
1:01:13know, when you're bored, it doesn't mean
1:01:16that you have to instantly take a book
1:01:18or a screen or anything else. You need
1:01:22to also learn how to be with your
1:01:24thoughts. And if you are not comfortable
1:01:28being bored indoors, go outdoors. Sit on
1:01:30a chair and have have some drink and
1:01:33just look at the sky. And I and I think
1:01:35that's much easier said than done. And I
1:01:39and I I really would love my my children
1:01:41to to be able to be okay with being
1:01:44bored because that's the time when
1:01:46you're actually most creative or that's
1:01:49the time when you can manage your
1:01:52thoughts and everything that you have
1:01:53been suppressing by distracting yourself
1:01:56with phone with whatever it is. They
1:01:58don't have my kids don't have phones.
1:01:59They're 10 and seven and and that's
1:02:01another conversation. But you know it's
1:02:04it's a struggle but it's important you
1:02:06know I think it's super important
1:02:07particularly for them at this young age
1:02:09to understand and develop a connection
1:02:12with nature with outdoors with activity
1:02:14with all these things and then it's
1:02:16inevitable you know soon it will come a
1:02:19moment where they'll have the the
1:02:21screens and well they're blend into the
1:02:23society's norms and but at least I'll be
1:02:26comfortable as a parent that I done what
1:02:29I can to instill some of the
1:02:31foundational things in them that they
1:02:34will appreciate maybe not now but later
1:02:37on in life. I think also, you know, when
1:02:39I lose a match, I want to be distracted
1:02:42by something. I want to have my phone. I
1:02:44want to watch something, read something.
1:02:46I wanna I want to distract myself. And
1:02:48that's one of the bad habits that I
1:02:50have. So, it's it's a battle for me. And
1:02:53that normally how I win this battle is
1:02:55just go outside. And I either don't take
1:02:58my phone, I'll leave it, or if I take
1:03:00it, I'll just if I'm in the city, I'll
1:03:03just listen to something, listen to Jay
1:03:05Shett's podcast on purpose, or I would
1:03:08do something, you know, just or normally
1:03:10I would listen to a music,
1:03:12>> you know, relaxing just to kind of calm
1:03:14myself. I would prefer not listening to
1:03:16anything and just being immersed in
1:03:19whatever is outdoors and trying to
1:03:20trying to find a park, trying to find
1:03:22anything natural, you know, and I think
1:03:25that helps a lot. But I do need my time.
1:03:28>> Yeah, that that's reaffirming for me
1:03:29because if I'm having a tough time, I've
1:03:32always found that being alone, I have to
1:03:35first make sense of how I feel about
1:03:38something before I hear everyone else's
1:03:41feelings, right? because otherwise
1:03:43someone's feeling won't satisfy me. So
1:03:45even if someone said and I I assume
1:03:47that's what you're saying. If someone
1:03:49came up to me and goes, "Oh J, but
1:03:50everything's going to be all right."
1:03:51>> It's like if I don't feel that and if I
1:03:54don't believe that, it doesn't matter
1:03:55how many times someone says that
1:03:56>> and and of course the intention is good
1:03:58for that person. But it's hard for you
1:04:01to see that at a given moment.
1:04:02>> Correct.
1:04:03>> So I I agree with that. And I think to
1:04:04to the point of distractions, I don't
1:04:07think that necessarily distractions are
1:04:10100% super negative.
1:04:13>> And I'll explain. I I I think that for a
1:04:16lot of people, they need a moment,
1:04:19however that moment lasts to it looks
1:04:24like they're distracting themselves like
1:04:26when I do it, but it what I what I do is
1:04:28just bringing myself back to that
1:04:32center, whatever that is. Okay. And then
1:04:36I'm ready to do some other practice of
1:04:38breathing or whatever it is or I can
1:04:40socialize. I can start speaking with
1:04:42people. Yes. And do other things. So I
1:04:44don't feel it's necessarily bad unless
1:04:47you don't have any control of it. Unless
1:04:49it just carries you into hours and hours
1:04:51of playing games or being on social
1:04:54media of being if it's that then it's
1:04:56not good. Yeah.
1:04:57>> Then it's not good because then you're
1:04:59disrupting your own rhythm. Well, what
1:05:01you're doing is you're disrupting the
1:05:03pattern, right?
1:05:04>> So, instead of being there and then
1:05:06you're just playing the game again in
1:05:07your head and being down on yourself and
1:05:10being negative and
1:05:11>> and so you're disrupting that pattern
1:05:13with the distraction and then that's a
1:05:15good thing because then you don't get
1:05:17into that spiral and it's not like
1:05:18you're checking what people said on the
1:05:20comments about the game, right? You're
1:05:22dis you're disconnecting from the game.
1:05:24>> I'm disconnecting. Well, the thing is
1:05:26that if you're on social media, which I
1:05:28I do have a tendency to go to social
1:05:30media as well, like right after, even
1:05:32though
1:05:33>> I don't want to, but part of me wants
1:05:35to. It's also where I find some short
1:05:37clips of what happened in the match and
1:05:39then kind of like analyze what what
1:05:41happened and how I why I did what I did
1:05:43or whatever, what could I could could
1:05:45have done better.
1:05:46>> And then I see, you know, this obviously
1:05:49this shocking headlines like Jookovic is
1:05:51out, you know, he lost. I mean, what a
1:05:53shock early blah blah blah. then I get
1:05:55pissed off and then I just switch that
1:05:57off. Right? So I don't even get to the
1:05:59comments or section or anything like
1:06:01that. Then I just leave it for whatever
1:06:03whatever time. And then what you're
1:06:05doing is you are changing that state
1:06:10you're in. Cuz if you are really wired
1:06:15in that moment, you are like almost
1:06:18going to burst. It's not good. I mean,
1:06:21how can you have a a rational
1:06:24conversation with anybody if you're in
1:06:27that state? And then normally in that
1:06:28state, if you start making decisions
1:06:30when you're hotaded, not good as well. I
1:06:33think that these are the the ways of
1:06:35like if you can like cool yourself down
1:06:39and then I mean a cold shower is
1:06:41something that I also do sometimes when
1:06:43I'm coldheaded that I think also helps
1:06:46with kind of biology and I feel like
1:06:49physiology just like helps my mind my
1:06:52brain calm down and then I'm able to
1:06:55address topics that I want to address.
1:06:57>> It's almost like what it takes to be to
1:07:00emotionally regulate.
1:07:01>> Yeah. And if you go straight into
1:07:03analyzing the game or talking about it,
1:07:06you're actually heartbeat's going up,
1:07:08you're breathing shallow again, you're
1:07:10replaying the miss shot, and all of a
1:07:12sudden you're just bombarded by all the
1:07:13same emotions again. And so you've got
1:07:15to sometimes just calm that down before
1:07:18you can do that effectively. It makes a
1:07:19lot of sense. But what I love hearing,
1:07:21which is what I love about all my
1:07:22favorite athletes, and you're
1:07:24definitely, you know, when I think about
1:07:25my favorite athletes, you're in tennis,
1:07:27Cristiano in soccer, Lewis Hamilton in
1:07:30in F1. Like people sometimes will make
1:07:33fun of Cristiano online for still crying
1:07:35when he loses.
1:07:36>> I love that. Like, as a fan, I love
1:07:39that. Like, I love to see that he's he's
1:07:41crying after all this time. Like, you
1:07:43know, he's the number one goal scorer in
1:07:45the world. He's, you know, in my
1:07:47opinion, he's achieved everything he
1:07:48could possibly could. He's played
1:07:50amazing for his country, same way as
1:07:51you.
1:07:52>> But it's like he's still crying and the
1:07:54game's not even It's not the Champions
1:07:56League.
1:07:57>> He cares.
1:07:58>> Yeah, he cares. Exactly.
1:07:59>> He cares and and I I agree with you. I
1:08:01think Well, this is the point that we
1:08:03discussed on particularly men
1:08:06professional sports there's no room for
1:08:09vulnerability and because that shows
1:08:12weakness. weakness exploits you and when
1:08:15something exploits you then you're
1:08:16vulnerable to you know lose the match or
1:08:19game or whatever it is. I mean that
1:08:21that's the narrative. When you're crying
1:08:24you are yeah you're you're often
1:08:26regarded as a very weak man and I have
1:08:31had the same view for quite a long time
1:08:34I must say and I changed that about 10
1:08:37years ago my upbringing there was no
1:08:39room for emotions that was just like
1:08:42serious I have to do my job and I have
1:08:45to be successful no room for error etc.
1:08:48But it also you know comes from I think
1:08:51my home where I didn't have that
1:08:53relationship where I when I would cry I
1:08:55would be you know with my father
1:08:57especially that I would feel safe I
1:09:00would not feel that and and so I had to
1:09:03not cry and be tough and then I have to
1:09:07I kind of close myself you know and and
1:09:09to the point where I wasn't able to
1:09:11express myself emotionally I didn't at
1:09:13the time when I started dating my
1:09:16girlfriend at the time my wife you you
1:09:18know, it was hard for me to to kind of
1:09:21express what I feel even though I I'm
1:09:24very talkative person. I'm very, you
1:09:26know, I like to communicate and I feel
1:09:28like I'm very approachable in that in
1:09:30that sense. But for a long time, that
1:09:32was that was a kind of a narrative,
1:09:33particularly in, you know, men's sports
1:09:35as we talked about it. So I I do like
1:09:37that about Cristiano as well because in
1:09:39the end of the day, you know, he's
1:09:41giving his heart out on the pitch for
1:09:45his team for the fans and that
1:09:50ultimately needs to be respected because
1:09:52the guy at his age 40 after everything
1:09:55he has achieved still going, still wants
1:09:57to win in a league that is far weaker
1:10:00than the best leagues in Europe, you
1:10:02know, but he still has this champions
1:10:04mentality and he'll always have it as
1:10:06long as he's playing. So, uh yeah,
1:10:09absolutely credit to him for that and
1:10:11and I do resonate with with that and I
1:10:14cried many times after my losses in the
1:10:17locker room but also on the court
1:10:19particularly after Olympics like losses
1:10:22at Olympic games for my country or Davis
1:10:24Cup when I play for my country that's
1:10:26like even stronger intensity of emotions
1:10:29that you go through because you're not
1:10:32playing for yourself only in that way. I
1:10:34mean, when I play all the tournaments, I
1:10:36always represent my country. But here in
1:10:38this official team competitions or
1:10:40Olympics, it's even more emphasized the
1:10:44importance of your country of wearing
1:10:46those colors, you know, on your sleeve
1:10:48or in your heart. So, when you lose,
1:10:51you're like, you know, you're so down
1:10:54and the whole world collapsed. I'm very
1:10:57happy that I I was able to win the
1:10:58golden medal for my country last year in
1:11:00Paris Olympics because it was a long
1:11:03time dream of mine and the Olympic Games
1:11:06are just so special. You know, every
1:11:07four years I know LA is the next one
1:11:09obviously.
1:11:10>> My wish is to be able to play LA. I mean
1:11:12hopefully I'll be still still playing to
1:11:14to be able to participate.
1:11:16>> Yeah, I hope so too. It would be fun to
1:11:17be able to just watch you locally for
1:11:20once.
1:11:20>> And we got the soccer world coming to
1:11:22America, too. So,
1:11:24>> it's an exciting time. But no, it's I
1:11:25love hearing that as well. Just like
1:11:27when you're playing for yourself, you
1:11:29let yourself down. You let the fans
1:11:30down. But when you're playing for your
1:11:32country, you let the country down. And
1:11:34you know, no one wants to let their
1:11:36country down. No one wants to, you know,
1:11:38everyone wants to represent well. And I
1:11:40think sometimes at a national level,
1:11:42athletes get it really tough when you
1:11:45lose for your country. Yes.
1:11:47>> It's it's one of the hardest feelings
1:11:48cuz Yeah. It's a different emotion. And
1:11:51I think we forget as fans and followers,
1:11:54you forget the human
1:11:57>> experience aspect. Yeah.
1:11:59>> No, for sure. I mean, look, we are very
1:12:01blessed as athletes on the highest level
1:12:04to be able to play the sport that we
1:12:06fell in love with because if not all,
1:12:08but super majority of professional
1:12:12athletes play those sports on the
1:12:14highest level. uh because when they were
1:12:17kids they wanted to play tennis,
1:12:20basketball, football, whatever. They
1:12:21fell in love and it's a love and passion
1:12:24for the game that got you going. So it's
1:12:27important to state that because you know
1:12:30we are for sure fortunate ones but at
1:12:33the same time we feel that through sport
1:12:36we are able to connect with people and
1:12:38people are able to connect
1:12:40>> with the virtues that sport and the
1:12:44values that sport represents that help
1:12:46them in their everyday life. I think
1:12:48they that's not something that is has
1:12:50been talked about a lot.
1:12:52>> Yeah I agree on how why is it that our
1:12:54sports are so popular? Why is it that
1:12:56people relate to athletes? It's because
1:12:59of this grit, because of this battle. We
1:13:02all go through internal battle on the
1:13:04daily basis. And in sports, we can of
1:13:07course admire the the features of um an
1:13:11athlete and the skills and the talent
1:13:15and the abilities, but at the same time,
1:13:17we also identify ourselves with those
1:13:20athletes. We we feel like
1:13:22>> wow you know that this game or a match
1:13:26it's in a way a condensed daily life or
1:13:30a condensed life into an hour or two or
1:13:32three where you you start at the
1:13:35beginning you're even then you end up
1:13:38you know winning or losing but in the
1:13:40process or journey of the match and the
1:13:43game you're going through ups and downs
1:13:46you're going and particularly in the
1:13:47individual sports you're going you
1:13:49mentioned Lewis Hamilton another great
1:13:50legend. You're going through that battle
1:13:53of you know trying to win that inner
1:13:56battle where you go through your doubts,
1:13:58your worries, your fears. So all of
1:14:01these elements are part of everyday life
1:14:05of everyday person and that's why I feel
1:14:07like people relate to sports and also
1:14:10they they when they go to see sport live
1:14:12particularly but also when they watch it
1:14:14on TV I feel they're able because they
1:14:17they are so connected to the community
1:14:20of that club or that athlete or whatever
1:14:22it is they feel like all of their
1:14:26problems stop at least for those hour
1:14:29two three hours that they are watching
1:14:32>> and they feel like they can also when
1:14:35they're watching I mean that's my
1:14:37observation and experience with tennis
1:14:39fans for example or or I mean of course
1:14:41I watch basketball live as well or the
1:14:43other fans of the other sports is that
1:14:45that's where they feel like they can
1:14:48free themselves of the emotions and the
1:14:50burdens that are kind of wearing them
1:14:52down and and some sometimes it really
1:14:56goes to an extreme level where people
1:14:59start really or swearing and fighting
1:15:02and throwing stuff at the the athletes
1:15:04and behaving really bad like hooligans.
1:15:07And that's obviously a part that I don't
1:15:09support. But I can see that there's a
1:15:11lot of people that like it's why that's
1:15:13why like after a game they either feel
1:15:15drained or they feel energized. M
1:15:17>> they either feel like they've
1:15:20kind of like collected that energy from
1:15:22the stadium or they feel like they're
1:15:24completely like a deflated balloon
1:15:26because they've, you know, been through
1:15:30crazy intensity of the emotions and they
1:15:33relate. They follow every point and
1:15:36every second of the game and then they
1:15:38in the end of course if their team loses
1:15:40it's it's a big difference than when
1:15:42they win. But it's just that
1:15:45identification that happens that I feel
1:15:47like is super strong and why sports are
1:15:50so important for the society and why
1:15:51people regarded as very something very
1:15:54popular and important for them. And I'm
1:15:55really glad you're having that
1:15:56conversation because I think it can have
1:15:59even as a kid like I grew up playing
1:16:01sport never you know good enough to play
1:16:03at any semi-professional even
1:16:05professional level but sport created
1:16:07discipline in my life even as someone
1:16:09who wasn't
1:16:10>> you know that prolificate sport it
1:16:11created discipline created teamwork if
1:16:14you were playing a team sport created
1:16:15timeliness created commitment created
1:16:18showing up there were so many healthy
1:16:20valuable masculine
1:16:22>> traits as well that were so important
1:16:24and of course for women as well. And
1:16:26it's interesting what you say about it
1:16:28going the toxic side because I think it
1:16:31was the last Euros of the World Cup and
1:16:33there was this statistic about how
1:16:35domestic violence in England goes up if
1:16:38England lose
1:16:40>> but it goes up even more if England win.
1:16:43>> Oh wow.
1:16:44>> Because people drink more when they win.
1:16:46>> Right.
1:16:46>> So and that's just so shocking that you
1:16:48see that connection too. And that's why
1:16:51I think it's even more important to get
1:16:52these positive messages through sport
1:16:55out so that we don't have that kind of a
1:16:57statistic because and that's
1:16:59specifically to do with football,
1:17:01soccer.
1:17:01>> Yes, of course.
1:17:02>> Um but
1:17:02>> no, it is a super important and I think
1:17:04but in in football it's far more extreme
1:17:06than in tennis in terms of the
1:17:08>> tennis ultra fans and you know the kind
1:17:11of like uh
1:17:13>> following and and uh being such an ultra
1:17:17devoted fan. I mean, they literally live
1:17:20for that the entire year, which I think
1:17:22it's beautiful when you see
1:17:23choreographies of some fans in the
1:17:26basketball games or football games and
1:17:28and it's just it's it's arts. It's
1:17:31beautiful, you know, and then this
1:17:33energy when thousands and tens of
1:17:35thousands of people start singing
1:17:36together for their club. I mean, it's
1:17:39it's incredible feeling. That's why we
1:17:41all love being present to experience
1:17:43that because ultimately
1:17:45>> human beings love to experience things
1:17:48because that
1:17:49>> that fills our life
1:17:51>> and and then sports allow us to do that.
1:17:53that allow us to experience some
1:17:55incredible enthusiastic
1:17:58exhilarating type of uh uplifting
1:18:02energy, joy, but it also the sadness or
1:18:07or anxiousness and stuff and and so all
1:18:10of these emotions that you go through is
1:18:13just an incredible school of life in
1:18:16some way. But you're right, you know, it
1:18:18also teaches professional sports teach a
1:18:21great dis great deal of discipline and
1:18:23also the never giving up spirit that I
1:18:26think it's it's it's important for
1:18:28people because today in the society
1:18:31because
1:18:32>> a lot of people look to to conform to be
1:18:35comfortable to you know there's always
1:18:37you know something that I can do
1:18:38differently they don't finish things so
1:18:40it's important to kind of remind
1:18:42yourself to be devoted and and not give
1:18:45up and believe that you you know,
1:18:47achieve something that you set yourself
1:18:49up to. And uh so yeah, sports sports
1:18:51definitely send those values and you're
1:18:53right, it's important to always
1:18:55emphasize that.
1:18:56>> Yeah. One of my favorite stories
1:18:57actually
1:18:59of that never give up mindset was
1:19:01Vanessa Bryant tells this story after
1:19:04Kobe Bryant tragically passed away. And
1:19:07she said that Kobe played through a lot
1:19:10of games, especially finals, when he was
1:19:12injured.
1:19:13>> Yeah. and she would ask him and say,
1:19:16"Why are you playing when you're
1:19:18injured? You should just not play. Like,
1:19:19it's okay." And he would say that if I
1:19:23don't play, there's going to be a fan
1:19:25out there who's saved up
1:19:28>> to watch this game and they can only
1:19:30come to one game in their life cuz it's
1:19:31expensive to get seats. And they saved
1:19:33up to watch me play. And if I don't
1:19:35play, they won't see me play. And so,
1:19:37I'm going to play through an injury. And
1:19:39I'm like, when you hear stories like
1:19:41that of athletes doing incredible
1:19:43things, you think, wow, like
1:19:45>> that's the power, that's the motivation.
1:19:47I was going to ask you, I mean, you've
1:19:49played through and overcome some bad
1:19:52injuries. What's the worst injury that
1:19:54you ever had to overcome to be able to
1:19:57come back at the top? I had a surgery of
1:19:59my elbow back in 2017 and I've kind of
1:20:02uh had that injury for a year and a half
1:20:05and I tried with I don't normally drink
1:20:08anti-inflammatories. I don't like that
1:20:09those tablets and
1:20:12cortisol shots or anything like that. I
1:20:15feel like that's only masking the
1:20:18problem. But you know sometimes if you
1:20:21really you know in tennis we we
1:20:24sometimes play five six days in a row
1:20:27and you have no other option and if you
1:20:29want to stay alive in the tournament you
1:20:31have to do it. So I've done it for like
1:20:33a year or something with playing uh
1:20:35under these pills like every single
1:20:37match
1:20:38>> to the point where I didn't feel pain
1:20:40anymore. Sorry, actually I felt the pain
1:20:45even if I was taking the full dose of
1:20:48anti-inflammatories and that's was the
1:20:50sign for me like I have to you know
1:20:52operate this I have to do something
1:20:54different I made a kind of a a little
1:20:56bit of a while to myself and promise
1:20:59that I will not operate myself
1:21:01throughout my career will not make any
1:21:03surgery and that was I I felt I let
1:21:05myself down. I cried for days that I
1:21:07accepted to do a surgery but surgery was
1:21:09done very well. You cried for days.
1:21:11>> Yeah, because I felt like I let myself
1:21:13down. I said, you know, I wanted to go
1:21:15throughout my entire career without
1:21:16having one surgery. But it happened and
1:21:19I had an aroscopic intervention on my
1:21:22knee last year during a match in Roland
1:21:24Garas actually fourth round. I've won in
1:21:27five sets after four and something
1:21:29hours. But I was uh I was winning set
1:21:32and and a half comfortably in the last
1:21:3516 round. And then I felt a click. It
1:21:38was something. It was very weird. And I
1:21:40never had an injury of the knee luckily
1:21:42at least that severe. And then you know
1:21:45I started to play but I could not stand
1:21:47on my leg and I was playing through the
1:21:49pain. Then I invited the physio and the
1:21:52doctor and then you know he was touching
1:21:54me in this spot where my meniscus is and
1:21:57I felt wow and that's very painful. He's
1:21:59like what do you want to do? And I said
1:22:01listen you know I want to I want to give
1:22:03it a shot. I want to try. Just give me
1:22:05strongest painkillers you you have right
1:22:07now cuz I'm on the court full stadium. I
1:22:10can't just I I want to try. So that's
1:22:14what he's they've done and after 30
1:22:17minutes they start kicking in and I was
1:22:18kind of surviving in this 30 minutes and
1:22:20then the pain went down. The pain was
1:22:23still there but I went through it and I
1:22:24won the match and I actually finished
1:22:26the match with pretty good feeling. I
1:22:29still had pain but it was pretty good
1:22:30feeling and I was like confident for my
1:22:32quarterfinals. It was coming up in two
1:22:33days, but the next day I went for an MRI
1:22:35and I saw I have a ruptured uh meniscus
1:22:38and basically had to be operated. So I I
1:22:41pulled out on the tournament and I did
1:22:43that operation and the Wimbledon was
1:22:45coming up in 3 weeks and then my team
1:22:48was I still remember that conversation
1:22:50with my team on the rooftop and on the
1:22:52back of that story that you told me
1:22:54about Vanessa and Kobe, you know,
1:22:57Vanessa was telling Kobe why do you
1:22:58play? Don't play. like it's it's a
1:23:00normal protective advice from a dear
1:23:03person in your life. same I got from all
1:23:06of my people from my family members to
1:23:09my team members and my I remember my
1:23:11physio that I'm with for the last 20
1:23:13years he told me yeah you know it's
1:23:14normally like four to six weeks and
1:23:16stuff like this but you know we had some
1:23:19miraculous recoveries from some athletes
1:23:21blah blah and my my physio was sitting
1:23:24on the on the rooftop of our hotel and
1:23:27all team was there and he said I know
1:23:29you do not even think for a second
1:23:31you'll play Wimbledon like that's out of
1:23:33the question
1:23:34>> wow And I didn't say anything. All the
1:23:37team members agreed. I didn't say
1:23:39anything. Actually, one thing I say, I
1:23:41said, I understand what you're saying,
1:23:45but please, you know, for my own mental
1:23:48sanity, because it's Wimbledon, because
1:23:50it's my always been a dream tournament,
1:23:52the most important tournament. Let's
1:23:54just see how it goes in the next two
1:23:56weeks because I have three weeks to the
1:23:59tournament and I can pull out three,
1:24:00four, five days before the tournament.
1:24:02So I have like two two and a half weeks
1:24:04to play around. At that point I was with
1:24:05crutches.
1:24:07>> So long. So long story short, I've
1:24:09dedicated so much time in a day to
1:24:12recover and it was like a task for me to
1:24:15prove even the closest people in in my
1:24:17team and family wrong that I can recover
1:24:21and it was really a mission and I
1:24:23recovered and I played finals and I I
1:24:25lost last year finals in Wimbledon and
1:24:27then I a week after that came to the
1:24:29Paris back again and played Olympics and
1:24:31won the gold medal. So it was the best
1:24:33period of my of my uh 2024 season is
1:24:37when I actually had a surgery a post
1:24:40surgery because something clicked in my
1:24:43head where he triggered me my physio and
1:24:46said do not even think and for me what I
1:24:48heard is okay thank you for giving me
1:24:52the task because now I have a challenge
1:24:54on my hands
1:24:55>> all I needed is that
1:24:56>> and actually that's what I need now I
1:24:59feel like in this phase of my career
1:25:01when I'm trying to motivate myself and
1:25:03keep going and stuff. I need a
1:25:04challenge. I think athletes in the
1:25:07highest level after so long they they
1:25:09need to feel their challenge. They need
1:25:11to feel that they are playing a game
1:25:14even though it's our job and every but
1:25:16we need to feel like we somebody is
1:25:18going to say something you want to prove
1:25:19them wrong. Michael Jordan in his last
1:25:21dance was talking about it. He's like,
1:25:24even if I didn't have anybody in the
1:25:26crowds talking crap to me, but I still
1:25:29picked someone and selected him as an
1:25:31enemy and just because I needed to
1:25:34create that enemy inside of my head to
1:25:36get me going. So, I actually relate to
1:25:38that even though I don't necessarily
1:25:42always look for enemies in my every
1:25:43match in the crowd, but I had quite an
1:25:46experience with tennis crowds over the
1:25:48years in my career. oftentimes when I
1:25:50would play with Nadal and Feather most
1:25:52of the times I would have most of the
1:25:53stadium against me. So I it would be
1:25:55challenging but that's also part of why
1:25:59my mental toughness is as it is in a
1:26:02kind of a hostile environments played
1:26:04most of my matches and big matches and I
1:26:06kind of had to find a way to win a match
1:26:10and to use that energy as my fuel and
1:26:12not have it wear me down.
1:26:14>> What does that take to do that? Because
1:26:16it sounds like that scrutiny is worse
1:26:19than an injury. What's worse? That kind
1:26:22of hostile environment, hostility or
1:26:24injury?
1:26:25>> Look, injury is the biggest enemy or an
1:26:27opponent of of an athlete. You can't do
1:26:29your job. You can't play your sport if
1:26:33you're injured.
1:26:35Which proves the point of self-care even
1:26:38more of how important it is and how
1:26:41significantly you have to address that
1:26:45and approach that in your daily life as
1:26:47an individual athlete particularly. But
1:26:50at the same time, hostile environment is
1:26:53is not ideal. I mean, you always want to
1:26:55be playing where you're celebrated,
1:26:58cheered for, of course, you know, lifts
1:27:00you up in a tough moments when you're
1:27:01down and just But I learned in the
1:27:04somehow in the hostile environment to
1:27:07thrive and I've seen that, you know,
1:27:09with like Kobe did it as well, right?
1:27:12LeBron, you know, other athletes as well
1:27:14in in their respective sports talked
1:27:16about it and and football, they
1:27:18experience it a lot.
1:27:20>> People can relate to that. Like I think
1:27:21people always feel
1:27:22>> Yeah. Even the average person constantly
1:27:24feels like their work's a hostile
1:27:26environment or wherever. Like what
1:27:28allowed you to use it as fuel
1:27:30consistently over that time to the point
1:27:33where people were cheering when you
1:27:35finally win? Well, there are a few
1:27:36things. First, I mentioned that already
1:27:38is using that as a fuel to prove
1:27:42somebody wrong.
1:27:43>> Mhm. And that requires work mentally to
1:27:48be able to transform or transmute that
1:27:51energy or that cheering that is against
1:27:54you to convince yourself it's for you.
1:27:58>> So I was I was saying this years ago uh
1:28:01after I was playing I was playing
1:28:02feather in one of the Wimbledon finals
1:28:04and
1:28:05>> they would cheer Roger Roger all the
1:28:07time basically. So I've was convincing
1:28:12myself and I managed to convince myself
1:28:13especially in the second part of the
1:28:14match that they were cheering no no in
1:28:17or Novak Novak. I I that's what I was
1:28:20hearing.
1:28:20>> Wow.
1:28:21>> And that's cool.
1:28:22>> And then and then my mind was playing a
1:28:24games but I wasn't allowing it to play
1:28:26games with me that basically was like
1:28:28what are you talking about? I mean
1:28:29they're saying Roger and saying no but I
1:28:31was like no no no they're saying Novak
1:28:32Novak Novak Novak. So I was using that
1:28:35as my own force and my own fuel. Well, I
1:28:36just got chill
1:28:37>> and then but that's it is possible. It
1:28:39is possible but you you need to you need
1:28:42to work on that and convincing yourself
1:28:45in something that is different from the
1:28:48reality that is actually happening or
1:28:50basically in another words creating your
1:28:52own reality
1:28:54>> because in the end that's more
1:28:55philosophical question and spiritual
1:28:58whether this is all one reality or it's
1:29:01a different we all experience different
1:29:03forms of reality of what's happening. So
1:29:05creating your own reality and convincing
1:29:08yourself and basically training your
1:29:10subconscious mind that this is exactly
1:29:12what you want to hear. It is possible
1:29:14but it takes an effort. Uh but but it
1:29:17goes a long way because for everyday
1:29:19person you know you can tap into that
1:29:22subconscious mind that basically
1:29:24controls 95% of your 100% daily life
1:29:28while you're awake. You know 5% is only
1:29:31I mean I was shocked and that's science.
1:29:33That's not me saying it's science that
1:29:35is saying that 5% is only conscious
1:29:37mind. 95 is I was shocked when I heard
1:29:40that. It's like how in the world are we
1:29:43then able to live how we want to live
1:29:48where we are actually on autopilot most
1:29:52of the time. And that explains the
1:29:54multitasking. That explains why we can
1:29:56text and drive and drink and speak and
1:29:58do five things at the same time is
1:30:01because of the subconscious. But
1:30:04subconscious is basically reacting to
1:30:06what you are instilling or uploading in
1:30:11that program.
1:30:11>> Mh. So I feel like when I was introduced
1:30:14to that uh subconscious mind science I
1:30:19was you know I felt like I've change
1:30:22myself and my own perspective on things
1:30:24and how I approach life and performance
1:30:28and relationship and I could see that
1:30:31and I I still make mistakes and I still
1:30:33do plenty of mistakes not on the tennis
1:30:35court or outside in relationship and
1:30:37everything. I'm more conscious and more
1:30:39aware where it's coming from and why I
1:30:41did it. And then I'm going to keep on
1:30:44doing mistakes, but I'll try to reduce
1:30:45those. And I feel like being in control
1:30:50is something that we all want to be in.
1:30:52Like we want to control our thoughts, we
1:30:54want to control our lives, our partners,
1:30:56and we want to but it's not possible and
1:30:59it shouldn't be the case. Like you can
1:31:01only control what you can, which is your
1:31:03own process internally. And then how
1:31:05that comes across what I speak to you
1:31:08right now and what you think in your
1:31:10mind and how you hear my words is I
1:31:12can't control that.
1:31:14>> You know I can only hope that I am
1:31:16emitting the right kind of energy and
1:31:19vibe to you and that we are creating
1:31:21something nice. That's where I feel like
1:31:24we all get trapped a lot is like no I'm
1:31:27going to prove you the point of what I
1:31:29was saying and I'm going to tell you why
1:31:30you are causing this in me and so forth.
1:31:33putting always a blame to someone else.
1:31:35And I mean, I can feel that with tennis
1:31:38is that I can instantly see the mistake
1:31:41when I actually say it's my coach's
1:31:44fault or it's my physio's fault or my
1:31:46fitness coach's fault or it's whoever's
1:31:48fault for me losing a match or me
1:31:50playing this way. So, I always remind
1:31:52myself, hey, take the responsibility in
1:31:54your hands. Take the means in your
1:31:56hands. You are in control of your life.
1:32:00Maybe not fully because there's always
1:32:01this destiny or divine uh purpose of us
1:32:06being here and the karma from past lives
1:32:09and etc. That's another conversation.
1:32:11But what you can control, focus on that.
1:32:14The other things is just, you know, it's
1:32:16in God's hands and it's in the hands of
1:32:18other people and how that all interacts.
1:32:20But I believe that when you're training
1:32:22yourself to think good thoughts and it
1:32:24comes back to you. It's the
1:32:26>> the law of attraction and the law of
1:32:29giving and taking and it comes back. You
1:32:31know, you become what you think, right?
1:32:33And so there's there's true power in
1:32:35that.
1:32:35>> Novak, you've been so kind and generous
1:32:37with your time. I've got a few more
1:32:38questions for you.
1:32:40>> You know, I think you've talked so much
1:32:41about health, self-care, discipline. I
1:32:44know that you have your new supplement
1:32:46out that I can't wait to try as well,
1:32:48your hydration. It's called CIA, which I
1:32:51love the meaning of. If you can share
1:32:52what that means. But I love that you're
1:32:54finding a way to productize your
1:32:57mindset, like I actually am because I
1:32:59think people like myself who want to
1:33:02know what is that 0.00001%
1:33:05mindset and what are you discovering and
1:33:08taking and you were just sharing it with
1:33:10me earlier. I was just thinking I'm so
1:33:12excited about that to try it out for
1:33:13myself because I try and treat myself
1:33:16like an athlete even if I'm not playing
1:33:18in the games you are because to me I'm
1:33:21trying to operate at that mindset that
1:33:23level physically, mentally, emotionally,
1:33:25spiritually and and I love that. So I
1:33:28guess where did that come from? Was that
1:33:30this idea of you know as you're thinking
1:33:32about tennis and thinking about beyond
1:33:34tennis like where did that come from? I
1:33:36was always trying to think beyond tennis
1:33:38you know particularly well
1:33:39>> particularly in the last I would say 12
1:33:43to 15 years of my my career my life I
1:33:46mean I because I was hearing early on
1:33:49from some other not just tennis players
1:33:53established tennis players who were
1:33:54retired and and shared their experience
1:33:56of Paul's career with me but also other
1:34:00athletes and how you know the struggles
1:34:02they had mentally and particularly the
1:34:05struggles that they had if they have not
1:34:07prepared themselves for that transition.
1:34:10I believe that in some way you cannot
1:34:12fully prepare yourself for that
1:34:14transition mentally like it's going to
1:34:16be a sad day for me when I leave tennis
1:34:19and it's going to be very emotional. I
1:34:21know that. But what I'm talking about is
1:34:24basically the adrenaline that also needs
1:34:27to be filtered
1:34:30or re-chanled somewhere. And I know that
1:34:33I will play sports for the rest of my
1:34:36life cuz I love sports and being active
1:34:38is essential. But also I feel like you
1:34:41need a challenge. Tennis has consumed
1:34:44most of my life and that's what I know
1:34:46how to do best. But I have very broad
1:34:50interest in a lot of different things.
1:34:52And the industry or the the sphere of of
1:34:56life which is called health, wellness
1:34:59and well-being is my biggest passion and
1:35:02it's very broad ecosystem or field if if
1:35:06you want as you know because you're part
1:35:08of it. But it has been my passion for 15
1:35:12plus years and you know uh always
1:35:16imagined the world where most of the
1:35:19people will take care of themselves of
1:35:21you know how they hydrate how they eat
1:35:23exercise how they manage their sleep
1:35:26just a healthier world and of course
1:35:28it's it's hard to change everything at
1:35:31the same time and it of course takes a
1:35:33lot of different time because it's the
1:35:35planet is big and there's a lot of
1:35:36people but I think taking small steps
1:35:39reps is very valuable and it has its
1:35:42effect. So hydration is something that
1:35:47was always super important for me as a
1:35:49professional athlete and I noticed that
1:35:52people who live everyday life but not
1:35:54only them but also athletes don't really
1:35:57understand the importance of hydration
1:36:00and don't really understand maybe how to
1:36:05fully hydrate themselves on a cellular
1:36:07level
1:36:08>> because when we talk about hydration
1:36:10obviously first thing that comes to your
1:36:11mind is drink water right we drink water
1:36:13we have to we wouldn't survive a day
1:36:14without water. So, that's normal. But
1:36:17then we also have all these other
1:36:21ingredients and vitamins and minerals
1:36:23and things that we're trying to take,
1:36:25whether it's through supplementation,
1:36:27whether it's through food. Obviously, if
1:36:29you can get everything through food,
1:36:31it's the best.
1:36:32>> Brian Johnson, I saw the other dayund
1:36:34and whatever tablets that he's taking. I
1:36:36mean, it's I don't know how he does it.
1:36:38I mean amazing but I I don't think I
1:36:40would be able to drink and I don't want
1:36:42to drink that many tablets. I do have
1:36:45supplementation myself but I prefer
1:36:48trying to take everything through food
1:36:50>> but it's difficult because our soil is
1:36:52depleted. uh the food that we are
1:36:54getting is most of the time comes from
1:36:56the other remote side of the world
1:36:59travels it lost its nutrients you know
1:37:02and it's hard you know we have a
1:37:04polluted air polluted water polluted
1:37:07soil all of these things you know play
1:37:09an important role in the inflammatory
1:37:11processes in our body or how we ingest
1:37:16uh uh certain ingredients and uh
1:37:20substances that are necessary for
1:37:22optimal health. So going back to the
1:37:26hydration, I think hydration is probably
1:37:28the easiest step towards that healthier
1:37:32diet or healthier life and it's
1:37:35something that we cannot go without on a
1:37:37daily basis and something that is easy
1:37:40as breathing. That's something that
1:37:43everybody can do. Diet changes are
1:37:45something that is more challenging I
1:37:47think for people and there are hundreds
1:37:49of different diets and I don't want to
1:37:51get into it because everyone has their
1:37:52preference but I think hydration is
1:37:55probably something that we will all
1:37:56agree with. So since 2017 or 18 I've
1:38:01been working on this project and I've
1:38:02been thinking amazing you know and I
1:38:04didn't want to come out I could have
1:38:06come out I've worked with few different
1:38:08people and I finally then agreed to come
1:38:12out on the market with uh it's basically
1:38:15a a wellness brand called sila and one
1:38:19of the well the first product that we
1:38:21come out with is hydration but we have
1:38:24magnesium we are working on our sleep
1:38:26formula neutropic formula gut formula.
1:38:29So, we're going to have a line of
1:38:30different products and I'm doing that.
1:38:33My partner in that is actually my best
1:38:35friend uh Mark Stilitano who is also
1:38:38very very pass he used to play tennis uh
1:38:41and we know each other since we were
1:38:42teenagers and very very uh passionate
1:38:46guy about you know wellness and
1:38:48hydration and healthy lifestyle. So we I
1:38:52found that we are very synergetic in our
1:38:54mission and vision and he had something
1:38:57similar in his life that he wanted to do
1:39:00and he said let's join forces and do it
1:39:02together. So, we just recently started.
1:39:05We're very quietly uh kind of as a soft
1:39:07launch because
1:39:08>> I I don't want this product uh or this
1:39:12brand to be just one of the many many
1:39:15out there. And when I say that, I mean
1:39:19that every ingredient that is in every
1:39:21of the product needs to be 100% best
1:39:25quality that is out there. But, you
1:39:27know, I'm very passionate about this
1:39:29because it's a kind of a continuation of
1:39:31my passion, of my story, of my journey.
1:39:34It's it's what I love. It's what I drink
1:39:37on a daily basis. My kids drink it, my
1:39:39wife, everybody. And so, I'm always
1:39:41looking for new ways or best supplements
1:39:43or things that can improve my
1:39:45performance, that can improve my
1:39:46performance, not just on the tennis
1:39:47court, but also in life for me to have
1:39:50more clarity, more energy, better sleep,
1:39:53and stuff like this. So I decided to do
1:39:55something on my own because the
1:39:58supplements out there that I was trying
1:40:00there are some good ones but I was not
1:40:02fully satisfied. So I try to kind of
1:40:04take the means in my hands and control
1:40:06the process from A to Zed. It's it's the
1:40:09way I am. It's how I do things and
1:40:11>> and so hopefully people will like it. I
1:40:13don't know you know it's it's going to
1:40:14be interesting journey that we're
1:40:16embarking on. Uh and other than that I
1:40:19have another very interesting project.
1:40:21It's called Regenesis Pod that I want to
1:40:22get you in that pod.
1:40:24>> It's been it's been also six years that
1:40:26we're working on that and we're
1:40:27launching later this year.
1:40:29>> And that that pod is like a capsule, you
1:40:31know, like one of those sleeping
1:40:32capsules that you have in a an airport.
1:40:35>> Mhm. So about 12 13 years ago I was in
1:40:39Dubai airport and I was in business
1:40:41class lounge and I was like look at me
1:40:43you know I'm so you know lucky to be
1:40:46here and to be able to have a bed or
1:40:48have this you know sleeping pod or
1:40:50something like that but you know 99% of
1:40:54the people I mean they're on layovers
1:40:56they're in transit they're sleeping on
1:40:58the floor and uncomfortable chairs and
1:41:00stuff. So felt like how cool would it be
1:41:02if you know on the airport we would have
1:41:04these pods where people will go in and
1:41:07out not only to nap and sleep but to be
1:41:10go in and out in shortest amount of time
1:41:13whether it's you know 8 10 15 20 minutes
1:41:17and feel refreshed and feel re-energized
1:41:19they can reset their system and recharge
1:41:23the batteries and go on with their day
1:41:25and by that time I was already traveling
1:41:28with a additional suitcase of gadgets of
1:41:31uh near infrared, far infrared, pulse
1:41:34electromagnetic frequency, different
1:41:36plates, boards, uh you name it. I mean,
1:41:40essential oils, this that uh light
1:41:43therapies, uh vibrational frequencies,
1:41:47uh sounds, everything, everything that
1:41:50is out there in the market that I find
1:41:52amusing and interesting, I take it, I
1:41:55try it, I try to implement it. So, I'm
1:41:57still traveling with these gadgets. And
1:41:59so I said, "Okay." So I I partnered up
1:42:01with with my partner Tav Keen who is
1:42:03Australian and and lives in Bali. And so
1:42:05we we connected and then he had also
1:42:07some similar thoughts. And then we're
1:42:08like, "Okay, can we do this pod where I
1:42:11would have all these gadgets
1:42:13incorporated in one multi-ensory
1:42:16device."
1:42:16>> Wow.
1:42:17>> Where they don't interfere with each
1:42:18other, but they complement each other.
1:42:20So where you go in, you're like in a
1:42:22Faraday cage. you're protected from
1:42:24harmful radiation of the the towers, the
1:42:28Wi-Fi, the 5Gs, etc., and you are just
1:42:32giving yourselves a rest and recharging
1:42:35and then, you know, being stimulated
1:42:37with all these things, would it be
1:42:38possible? And so, four or five years of
1:42:40of R&D and we finally created it. So,
1:42:45it's quite an exclusive, I would say,
1:42:47product because it's, you know, it's
1:42:49very expensive. It's big. It's not like
1:42:52a hydration drink. But my dream is to
1:42:55have that in every airport. It started
1:42:57like that. But then of course the
1:42:59corporate wellness is a big world as
1:43:01well. The corporations I mean people who
1:43:03work 9 to5 98 they're staying all day
1:43:07seated you know their posture all these
1:43:09things are affected. They don't have the
1:43:12the the ability to uh ground their feet
1:43:15and be in the nature and stuff. It's
1:43:17always this fast-paced modern lifestyle.
1:43:19On the go, on the go. Give me a quick
1:43:21fix. I'm eating my lunch in the car on
1:43:24the go. What? You know, so I understand,
1:43:27you know, I'm not not judging. I'm I
1:43:29understand we all we all part of that
1:43:31world. So that's why I kind of wanted to
1:43:33create a in a way uh even even though I
1:43:36don't like that term, a healthy quick
1:43:38fix to a modern fast-paced lifestyle.
1:43:41men or women that that live and don't
1:43:44have time, then come back home, they're
1:43:45super tired, exhausted, and they have
1:43:47kids, they have the spouse, they have
1:43:49everything happening, and they're like,
1:43:50"Oh my god, I'm sore. I'm this. I'm
1:43:53depleted. I'm not sleeping well, etc."
1:43:55So, it's it's quite complex, but this
1:43:58could be, and I hope it will. I mean,
1:44:00again, I'm biased and we've been doing
1:44:02uh
1:44:03>> I mean, hundreds or maybe even thousands
1:44:05of people have done it, trials, and the
1:44:08results are incredible. We're doing a
1:44:10scientific um study now, a human study
1:44:13in in uh one two universities in United
1:44:16States with a pod and so can't wait to
1:44:19to see the results of that and uh see
1:44:22how it rolls out, you know. So I'm very
1:44:24passionate about it. These are some, you
1:44:25know, I have some few other projects
1:44:27that I'm very uh involved in and and but
1:44:31I like it because it's it's in my alley.
1:44:34Yeah. you know, it's in the area of life
1:44:36that I'm not only passionate about, but
1:44:38that I I feel like I have experience in
1:44:41knowledge to some extent and of course I
1:44:45surround myself with with people who are
1:44:47more qualified and knowledgeable about
1:44:48than me in that space and then we
1:44:50develop it together and I feel like like
1:44:52you trying to make other people feel
1:44:56better. Yes. you know, whether it's
1:44:57mentally or physically,
1:44:59uh, through supplements, through this
1:45:01pod, through this podcast, through
1:45:03talking, through, you know, sharing the
1:45:05journey, sharing the maybe some hacks
1:45:08and techniques and stuff that they can
1:45:09do.
1:45:10>> Yeah.
1:45:10>> You know, in the end of the day, that's
1:45:12actually what drives it. I feel like it
1:45:14drives you a lot, you know, because it
1:45:16gives the purpose on purpose. It gives
1:45:18you purpose in your life. It's not like
1:45:20only about yourself and what you do and
1:45:22the achievements and the fame and money
1:45:24and everything. It's it's really about
1:45:27how you make your mark in the world.
1:45:29What's the legacy? What do you leave
1:45:30behind? How do people, you know, benefit
1:45:33from you and what you say, what you do,
1:45:36what you create. So, that's a kind of a
1:45:38driving force. You know, one of the best
1:45:40psychologists that I work with and one
1:45:42of the most impressive and intelligent
1:45:44people that I ever met in my life, his
1:45:47name is Dr. Jim Lair and he he was one
1:45:50of the founders of a human performance
1:45:52institute HPI in Florida and we worked
1:45:56for a few years and you know he has this
1:46:00obviously one of the most important
1:46:02questions is what would you like to have
1:46:05written on your tombstone and would you
1:46:08like you know people to list your
1:46:11achievements or is it something else?
1:46:13How would you like people to remember
1:46:15you? You know, but deeply think about
1:46:17that. And then we would go through a
1:46:19process of writing things down and
1:46:20really kind of deconstructing
1:46:23my personality, my life, what I'm living
1:46:25in the given moment and what I how I see
1:46:27the future self and how I see the future
1:46:30of the world and and whether I feel like
1:46:33I strongly believe that I can make that
1:46:34impact. So I feel this is everything
1:46:37that I do is related to that source of
1:46:41the purpose and of the light that is in
1:46:44the center of everything because you
1:46:45know I I've also turned down many
1:46:48different companies in my life that
1:46:51wanted me to be an ambassador because I
1:46:53just feel it's very hard for me to
1:46:56represent and advocate something to
1:46:59millions of people that I really don't
1:47:01believe in. wouldn't never drink that
1:47:03drink or eat that or or whatever it is.
1:47:06I just if it's not aligned with my
1:47:08philosophy, my mindset, it's not going
1:47:11to work. And and I've selected that
1:47:13journey which is for my managers and my
1:47:16agents, not the ideal one,
1:47:19>> but at the same time, I'm calm in my
1:47:22heart, in my mind, because I know that
1:47:23I'm doing something that is right. I
1:47:25love that and I'm so excited to try it
1:47:27and I'm I'm grateful that you've said
1:47:30that and that authenticity is there
1:47:32because I personally am someone who
1:47:35wants to try new things and wants to
1:47:37know what the best are using especially
1:47:39when you're creating it yourself. You're
1:47:41not putting your name to it. It's not
1:47:42something you know it's you're actually
1:47:44saying no this is what I use. This is
1:47:46what I'm doing. I think that's
1:47:48important.
1:47:49>> So Novak we end every interview with the
1:47:51final five. These have to be answered in
1:47:53one word to one sentence maximum.
1:47:56>> Okay.
1:47:56>> Uh and then I may ask you to go over but
1:47:59NovakJovich, these are your final five.
1:48:02>> The first is what is the best advice
1:48:04you've ever heard or received?
1:48:06>> Live the life in the present moment.
1:48:10Learn from the past. Live in the present
1:48:14and work for the future.
1:48:15>> What is the worst advice you've ever
1:48:17heard or received?
1:48:19The worst advice.
1:48:22If someone
1:48:24does good to you, do 10 times better to
1:48:28them. But if someone does bad to you, do
1:48:3110 times worse to them.
1:48:33>> Oh, that second part is not good advice.
1:48:35Exactly.
1:48:35>> That first part's beautiful.
1:48:37>> Yeah. But the second it the first part
1:48:39is connected to the second one. That's
1:48:41why I said it. But second one I don't
1:48:43like.
1:48:44>> Yeah. I think it's almost like if
1:48:46someone does good to you, do 10 times
1:48:47better to them. And if someone does bad
1:48:49to you, do 10 times less to them. Like
1:48:51just right,
1:48:52>> you know, that would be good advice.
1:48:54That's a good answer. I've never heard
1:48:55that. That's that's really really good.
1:48:57Um, what's
1:48:59>> the power of having had such a beautiful
1:49:03relationship with your partner, your
1:49:04wife, Yena? I can't do an interview
1:49:06without giving her credit and talking
1:49:07about her cuz I feel like a a good man
1:49:10needs a good woman. and such a big
1:49:13important part of all of our lives.
1:49:16Yeah.
1:49:16>> Yes. Yes. Thank you for asking me about
1:49:19my wife and you know we've been together
1:49:21since my age 18. She was 19 so very long
1:49:25time. We dated. We went through
1:49:27different stages and different phases
1:49:29and basically she's the only like very
1:49:31serious relationship that I've ever had
1:49:34and and uh yeah she's my rock. She's
1:49:37someone that has seen the worst and the
1:49:40best sides of me. She has seen my
1:49:43evolution. She has challenged me on
1:49:46every level. We have grown together and
1:49:49we have two beautiful children and we
1:49:51still keep on growing and evolving and
1:49:53we have challenges as I guess every
1:49:56couple has. But I think we have a an
1:49:59amazing base and foundation and we
1:50:03always when we have challenging times in
1:50:05relationship we revert to that and we
1:50:08address you know why we are together who
1:50:11we are as people and how we've grown and
1:50:14and the future that we see is the future
1:50:16that we see together. And so we whatever
1:50:20we try to do we try to do it together.
1:50:22So all of the projects that I told you
1:50:24about and everything, she's been
1:50:26involved and it's very important for me
1:50:29to always hear her thoughts, her
1:50:32feedback, and because she's probably the
1:50:35only one in my life other than my my
1:50:38brothers uh or my
1:50:41one or two friends that is able to tell
1:50:44me things that I maybe don't want to
1:50:47hear
1:50:48>> and really challenge my ideas, challenge
1:50:51my thoughts challenge my decisions and
1:50:54often times her instinct or intuition
1:50:57was correct and mine wasn't. I have to
1:51:01say that but uh no jokes aside she has
1:51:04been an incredible partner in this whole
1:51:07journey professionally, privately,
1:51:10emotionally, romantically as a parent as
1:51:14well. So I still play at this level
1:51:17because also of the support that she's
1:51:19giving to our family back home.
1:51:22>> And I remind myself of that a lot. You
1:51:25know, I've I've grown up with two
1:51:26younger brothers in a very small
1:51:28apartment with and I've seen what my
1:51:30mother, you know, did and what she does
1:51:33for a family and what women do to keep
1:51:37families together and intact and bring
1:51:42this incredibly powerful energy to our
1:51:46life and to that gives us wings and that
1:51:49gives us a springboard for everything
1:51:51that we're doing outside of home is just
1:51:54something that one will never comprehend
1:51:57unless one experiences that family life.
1:52:00So we've been through all these
1:52:01different journeys together as you know
1:52:04uh kids, teenagers and you know getting
1:52:07more serious in relationship and her
1:52:10being my fiance and then getting married
1:52:13and then having two kids. So yeah, it's
1:52:15it's hard to express everything that I
1:52:17that I feel as as kind of love and
1:52:20gratitude towards her and what she means
1:52:22to me in my life. Yeah, I feel like when
1:52:24I've met her or interacted with her,
1:52:26she's always just operating such a high
1:52:28frequency and a high vibration. Like she
1:52:30has that natural energy and it's good
1:52:33for I feel like that about my wife and I
1:52:35feel like it's good
1:52:37>> to have someone in your life who's that
1:52:38close to you that can call you out and
1:52:40check on you and, you know, realign you.
1:52:43I I know I value that deeply and my wife
1:52:45does the same for me. Question four is
1:52:47two as well. Uh, what was your worst day
1:52:50on court and what was your best day on
1:52:52court?
1:52:53>> I would say winning a gold medal for my
1:52:56country in Olympics in Paris 2024 would
1:53:00be the best moment, even better. And it
1:53:03surpasses me winning Wimbledon for the
1:53:06first time or winning Davis Cup with my
1:53:08country and stuff. And I have I've been
1:53:10incredibly fortunate to experience some
1:53:12of the I mean the greatest achievements
1:53:14in our sport. that one just because I
1:53:17was 37 at the time. I mean 37 years old
1:53:20and maybe my last shot at the real shot
1:53:23at the gold medal and everything with
1:53:26how it happened and how it unfolded is
1:53:29just you know that's the moment and the
1:53:32worst would be I I I would say actually
1:53:35also Olympics when I was when I lost the
1:53:39Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016
1:53:44I uh was
1:53:48yeah struggling a a little bit with this
1:53:50injury of the wrist and didn't know if
1:53:51I'm going to play or not. Uh I played I
1:53:54lost to Delpotro dear friend and went on
1:53:57to win a silver medal for his country.
1:54:00Uh I lost in first round in a tight two
1:54:03setter and two tie breaks and it was
1:54:06super emotional because
1:54:08Olympics playing for my country being
1:54:11supported by the whole stadium being in
1:54:13probably at the peak of my career
1:54:16overall being on a on a run and on the
1:54:19roll winning four slams. I held all four
1:54:24slams at that point. I was just the most
1:54:28dominant I've ever was in my career.
1:54:30Practicing several days, I was like, I
1:54:34cannot miss a ball. Like, this is my
1:54:36time. This is there's no no chance
1:54:38anybody beats me here. And then one day
1:54:42or two days before the match, I start to
1:54:44feel something in the wrist, start to
1:54:46doubt myself. I start to question
1:54:48whether I should go out or not. I have a
1:54:51very tough draw. I draw Delotro is very
1:54:54tough draw. first round and I lose close
1:54:57match you know as I said he goes on to
1:55:00win silver medal but I that was the
1:55:02moment where I just felt like my whole
1:55:04world collapsed
1:55:05>> yeah very very tough so it's interesting
1:55:08now that you ask me because I never
1:55:09thought about it but
1:55:11>> best moment and worst moment happened in
1:55:12Olympic games because Olympic games
1:55:16>> happen every four years they're so rare
1:55:18>> and all the other tournaments you have a
1:55:20chance every year to win but here you
1:55:23know every four years. So, you got to be
1:55:26at at your top to be able to, you know,
1:55:30get a medal.
1:55:31>> That's cool. That's good. Good memories.
1:55:33And I'm glad you got the gold last year.
1:55:34So, I
1:55:35>> appreciate it.
1:55:35>> Uh, toughest opponent mentally and
1:55:38toughest opponent physically.
1:55:40>> Toughest opponent mentally by far,
1:55:43myself.
1:55:44>> I like that's a good answer.
1:55:45>> By far. And the toughest opponent
1:55:49physically,
1:55:51Nadal. Yeah, for sure. I mean, the
1:55:54battles with him were just grueling. The
1:55:58longest Grand Slam finals in history in
1:56:02the finals of 2012 Australian Open. 5
1:56:05hours and 53 minutes I think it was. So
1:56:08almost 6 hours of grueling battle. I won
1:56:11that match in the fifth set. 75 or 76.
1:56:14It was just I remember the closing
1:56:17ceremony after that. We were standing
1:56:20and and listening to the sponsor's
1:56:22speeches and stuff and we at one point
1:56:25we both simultaneously bent down and
1:56:30held our knees and I could see his legs
1:56:32are shaking, my legs are shaking and
1:56:35then I and then someone saw that and
1:56:38brought us two chairs and brought us
1:56:39water and we had to sit down and sit for
1:56:41the rest of the ceremony because we were
1:56:43just I went into the locker room, took
1:56:46out my shoes and I had blood on all over
1:56:50the socks on both both socks and I
1:56:52didn't feel it obviously in this
1:56:54adrenaline rush on the court you just go
1:56:56through the pain you go through
1:56:57everything and then you like once you
1:57:00cool off and your muscles are cold and
1:57:02everything it's just like devastating
1:57:05feeling you can't walk but you know
1:57:08obviously more satisfying when you win
1:57:10such battle but I had incredible matches
1:57:13against Radal clay court matches I mean
1:57:16clay is the the slowest surface and
1:57:18physically in our sport and playing him
1:57:20on clay in Roland Garas is probably the
1:57:23top challenge you can have in the
1:57:24history of our sport cuz he you know he
1:57:27was getting to every ball and I was also
1:57:30very very good defender and always and
1:57:32you know very physically fit. So we
1:57:34would like push each other to the very
1:57:36limit physically and mentally you know
1:57:39it was at times almost like an outof
1:57:41body experience for both of us where we
1:57:44would just everything would flow. We
1:57:45would play incredible points that would
1:57:47last so long exchanges and you know when
1:57:50you finish a match then you realize oh
1:57:52my god it's almost like you were not
1:57:55playing it. It was like something took
1:57:57over and just all your talent the skill
1:58:02everything was on a scale or on the
1:58:05platform that we created. It's like
1:58:07almost like a an artist when he goes
1:58:10into his on a canvas into his zone and
1:58:13just starts drawing some beautiful.
1:58:16That's how it felt,
1:58:17>> you know, many times when I played him.
1:58:20>> And now when I talk about it and
1:58:22reflect, it gives me, you know, a great
1:58:24sense of pride uh and satisfaction that
1:58:27I've had the rivalry that I had with him
1:58:29and that, you know, I feel like not only
1:58:32we we both made history of the sport,
1:58:34but we both made each other better. And
1:58:36I feel like we brought so many
1:58:38incredible emotions to people who were
1:58:40watching us play.
1:58:42>> Yeah, you can still watch those. I love
1:58:43Tik Tok now because you got the
1:58:44highlights.
1:58:45>> You can just watch those highlights for
1:58:47ages like all the best points and people
1:58:50compile it and you just think, "Wow,
1:58:51it's it is
1:58:52>> it's poetry in motion to just watch,
1:58:55>> you know, two two artists play
1:58:56together."
1:58:57>> Uh, fifth and final question. We asked
1:59:01this to every guest who's ever been on
1:59:02the show. Not in the beginning, though.
1:59:04So these all these rituals came
1:59:06afterwards. Uh if you could create one
1:59:08law that everyone in the world had to
1:59:10follow, what would it be?
1:59:12>> Hard to pick one thing, but I I would
1:59:15probably create a law without punish
1:59:18greatly someone who just
1:59:21destroys our planet, throws trash in the
1:59:24nature or in the water or,
1:59:27you know, disrespects
1:59:29our mother nature and the planet we live
1:59:31on.
1:59:32Maybe it would be a law where you would
1:59:35have to say hello to every person that
1:59:38walks by.
1:59:39>> Mhm.
1:59:40>> Just trying to be more kind, more
1:59:43gracious, a little bit more
1:59:45compassionate. We need a little bit more
1:59:47empathy and compassion in this planet
1:59:50because when we when we are as people
1:59:52closer to each other and we are less
1:59:56divided, I feel like then as a positive
1:59:59consequence of that, we will take care
2:00:01of the planet we're living on.
2:00:03>> Yeah. Well, Novak, as always, I'm
2:00:05inspired to see what you do continue to
2:00:08do in tennis, what you'll do beyond
2:00:10tennis, and last time we covered your
2:00:15story of how you became and who you were
2:00:17and where you started. And I feel like
2:00:19today we've added another beautiful
2:00:21chapter onto that growth. And I'm so
2:00:24grateful to you for showing up as you do
2:00:26always, for living as intentionally as
2:00:29you always do. I still remember we
2:00:31finished the last interview and even
2:00:32today my team was saying it after the
2:00:34interview last time you spent an hour
2:00:36talking to my team at that time and even
2:00:38today when you were coming in every oh
2:00:40my god he's so nice he's so kind it's
2:00:42just it's amazing to see someone who's
2:00:45truly truly truly uh the goat of their
2:00:48sport to be that humble grounded kind at
2:00:52all times with everyone uh it's truly
2:00:54admirable
2:00:56>> nice and all the truly best people have
2:00:58it So, you know, yeah, you're
2:01:00>> Thank you, Jay, for having me and thank
2:01:02you for for spending, you know, two
2:01:04hours with me and I, you know, we time
2:01:07flew by. I mean, it's incredible and
2:01:08it's I feel like the the connection and
2:01:12the energy was was amazing as it always
2:01:13is with you and I hope that for the next
2:01:16chapter, we won't need to wait another 5
2:01:18years.
2:01:19>> I agree. Let's let's promise each We
2:01:21need to we need to we promise each other
2:01:23we got to we got to meet uh more
2:01:25frequent because I think we are both uh
2:01:28>> you know expanding and evolving and
2:01:31doing incredible things in our own
2:01:32fields and so many interesting things to
2:01:35talk about and to share. So for sure I'
2:01:38I'd love to uh I'd love to be your guest
2:01:40a little bit more frequently and not
2:01:42wait for a long time. But thank you for
2:01:43having me and
2:01:44>> thank you
2:01:44>> allowing me to share my story.
2:01:46>> Thank you man. Anyone who's been
2:01:48listening and watching, let me and Novak
2:01:49know. Tag us on Instagram, on Tik Tok.
2:01:52Let us know what's resonating with you,
2:01:54what's connecting with you. If there was
2:01:55a a message, a game, a point, something
2:01:57that Novak shared with you that is going
2:02:00to stay with you for some time, let us
2:02:02know. I love seeing what has an impact
2:02:04on you. That's the goal of these
2:02:06conversations. I want to see what shifts
2:02:08you make, the habits you change, and the
2:02:11new goals that you achieve because of
2:02:12this conversation. A big thank you to
2:02:14Novak again, and we'll see you on the
2:02:16next one. If you love this episode, you
2:02:18will love my interview with Kobe Bryant
2:02:21on how to be strategic and obsessive to
2:02:24find your purpose. Our children have
2:02:26become less imaginative about how to
2:02:28problem solve and parents and coaches
2:02:30have become more directive and trying to
2:02:33tell them how to behave versus teaching
2:02:34them how to behave.

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