The Next Level

Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist, Author and 'Game Changer' to organizations, sports teams and individuals

We all have all inner desire to reach 'the next level' of performance, growth and contribution .No matter what profession one may choose in life, definite patterns of human greatness exist. In his weekly 'Game Changer Column', Rob shares some of the insights, innovation and inspiration of the great champions of business, sport and life.

Game Changer Number Eight: 'Mavericks, with Mentors '

Whether it's in business, sport or life, it's tough at the top - tough to get there and even tougher to stay there. It's here that mentorship plays a key role.

On recently claiming his third Wimbledon title, Novak Djokovic had this to say: "I'm 28, I feel good. I don't feel old. I going to try and push my own limits and see how far I can go." Djokovic went on to pay special tribute to the support he had received from his coach and mentor Boris Becker, himself a three-time winner at Wimbledon.

"In the tough times, Boris was there, as was the entire team - encouraging me to keep going, supporting me. That's a unity that keeps us together and allows us to experience these beautiful moments."

The player's box at Wimbledon reveals how carefully the champions pick their inner circles of trust - their mentors. In Roger Federer's box sits coach and mentor Stefan Edberg. When the going gets tough, the champions come back to the fire, not for coaching, but for mentorship. And it showed even more this past weekend, when Roger Federer was able to reverse the Wimbledon result, in Cincinnati, with what appears to be an ad- hoc battle plan of power tennis.

Jim Rohn famously said: "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."

It's no secret that the people around you can either make you or break you.

In golf it's no different. Tiger Woods seems to be a big fan of going it alone on the road called "The School of Hard Knocks," whereas Rory McIlroy prefers the far easier road of modeling the success of successful people. It's called taking heed of "The Great Champions ".

He's recently forged a close mentorship bond with Jack Nicklaus, and even bought a house close to Mr. & Mrs. Nicklaus. Mentorship is an immensely powerful tool, especially when you're the World Number One! It's a win-win scenario for Jack too. It's called passing the torch, as there is something special in knowing that someone great is using one's ideas, one's thinking, one's wisdom - to become greater - and to go on to become genius .

Mentors are the ones who guard the fine lines of life - the fine lines between focus and obsession- between sportsmanship and gamesmanship- between attitude and arrogance - between pedestal and pit - between hungry and greedy - between winning against the odds and winning at all cost- between rut and grave - between genius and madman - between human greatness and human implosion.

Jason Day on winning the US PGA at Whistling Straits had this to say: "If I didn't drive it as long and as straight as I did this week - there's no chance I would have won it by hitting it just average."

The Great Champions like to push the human limits. At heart, they're all Mavericks, with Mentors.

* For more insight, innovation and inspiration please visit https://www.thegameplan.co.za. Rob can be contacted at robopie@thegameplan.co.za.