Roger Federer's 4% Rule for Winning in Life and Busines

Tennis great-turned-philanthropist Roger Federer delivered the commencement address at Dartmouth on June 9, 2024. The eight-time Wimbledon champion gave pointers on how to win at life.

There were too many takeaways, so I’m sharing the one that made me think and rethink my perspective on winning the game of life.

Roger won nearly 80% of his matches. He won just 54% of the points.

He lost almost half of the points he played. That 4% was the slight edge that made the winning difference.

Roger shared: Don’t dwell on the shots you didn’t win. Lost points are behind you. In the game of life, expect to lose a lot of points.

Commit to what's next -- winning the next point -- with intense focus, discipline, and patience.

That's the 4% difference to winning.

Effort in itself is talent.

Effortless is a myth.

Roger made it look easy, but he shared that it took hard work to make it look easy. Everyone can play well for the first two hours. The next two hours of a match is where discipline can fade in mind, body, and spirit. Relying on your talent doesn’t win the game.

Belief in yourself and the hard work of effort does. That’s what makes a champion—the 4%.

Roger grapples with the word retirement. He shared that it feels better to think he graduated from tennis.

This week, I graduated from Memorial Sloane Kettering. A five-year battle that I lovingly now call my post-traumatic growth syndrome.

MSK has been a lifeline for me, both literally and figuratively. Graduating, I'm immensely grateful. I'm now called to the gift I’ve been given: to use my life to remind others not to wait for a health crisis to stop burnout and find their purpose.

That’s the point.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did.