565 Novak Djokovic: Becoming #1 in the World and Overcoming the Odds

If you find your purpose, you're going to give purpose to others. - Novak Djokovic With everything going on in the world I think it's important now more than ever to spread hope, love, and inspiration. Today's guest is the very definition of all of those things. Novak Djokovic grew up during two wars in Serbia. As a child, he would be woken up at 2 am to alarms going off and be forced to head to a safe place. He saw the night's sky turn to light as he heard and felt the rumble of bombs being dropped around him. Through all of this Novak didn't turn to hate. Instead he turned to love and passion. He became the #1 tennis champion in the world. Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 565 with one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Novak Djokovic. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week, we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Joseph Campbell said, "We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy." I am so thrilled and excited for our guest today.

• 0:45Lewis Howes?

  And for those that don't know him, his name is Novak Djokovic, and he is a Serbian tennis player who is widely regarded as one of the best tennis players of all time. He has won 12 Grand Slam titles and held the number one spot in the ATP rankings for a total of 223 weeks. He became the third man to hold all four major titles at once. He also won the bronze medal in men's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He has been playing professionally since 2003, when he was 16, and had a 43-match winning streak at one time. He is a member of the Champions for Peace Club, a group of famous elite athletes committed

• 1:29Lewis Howes?

  to serving peace in the world through sport. And in 2015, he was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. I am so pumped up, guys, because we go into the entire backstory of how Novak became into tennis in the first place, how he got onto the tour, but it was so much more before all this happened, before he became number one, before he became one of the best in the world. There were some things that he went through that I'm so glad that he opened up and shared about. We cover why Novak chose not to stay stuck in a feeling of hatred and revenge after the Serbian wars that he was living through. Also, the story behind why he's so passionate about helping refugees.

• 2:13Lewis Howes?

  When he knew he would become number one in the world, and this story is fascinating to me, also how he got out of the mental pit of not being number one before he got there. We talked about so many inspiring things and his humility, his grace, the person and human being that Novak is, is truly inspiring for me. And I hope to bring him back on at some point to talk even more about the mental performance of everything that he's done. But man, this was just such a profound and powerful interview for me. So if you guys like Novak and you enjoyed this episode, then make sure to take a screenshot right now and post it out on Instagram stories, on your Facebook, on Twitter.

• 2:57Lewis Howes?

  Again, the show notes where the full video interview and all the notes we talked about are at lewishouse.com/565. Powerful story, guys, and I'm glad that you're going to be listening to it, and please share with your friends. Before we dive in, I want to give a shout out to the fan of the week. This is from Michael Fenner in New Jersey, who said, "This podcast has dramatically altered the direction of my life. Lewis has the best podcast out there and his guests are always so amazing. The School of Greatness is inspiring. It has helped me find myself, my passions, redefine myself, and reignite that internal flame after a period of being lost. Thank you, Lewis, for your contribution to helping me in my life, and I'm sure many

• 3:42Lewis Howes?

  people feel the same way in their lives." And you know what time it is? It's time for greatness. So, "Thank you," says Michael Fenner. I appreciate you very much, Michael. You are the fan of the week this week, my friend. So if you guys want to get shouted out on the podcast, then go ahead and leave a review over on iTunes or on the School of Greatness podcast app that you have on your phone and check it out and just leave your review. Someone on our team will pick out the best one of the week and make sure to send it to me for the review of the week. All right, guys, I am super pumped about this one. We have one of the greatest in the world. Without further ado, let me introduce to you to the one, the only, Novak Djokovic.

• 4:29Lewis Howes?

  Alright guys, welcome back to the School of Greatness Podcast. We have the legendary Novak Djokovic.

• 4:35Speaker 01

  That's great.

• 4:35Lewis Howes?

  In the house, man.

• 4:36Speaker 01

  You pronounce it very well.

• 4:37Lewis Howes?

  I pronounce it the way you told me to.

• 4:39Speaker 01

  Thank you for having me.

• 4:40Lewis Howes?

  I'm super excited about this. This is your first podcast.

• 4:43Speaker 01

  First podcast, yes.

• 4:44Lewis Howes?

  And we had lunch a couple of days ago. Your wife, Elena, introduced me to you. She had found, I guess, some of my information somewhere, our podcast somewhere, and reached out, asked me to do an interview with her. We had a great conversation. She was like, "You have to meet my husband. You're gonna love him." And I said, "Okay, I don't really know much about you." And then she was telling me all these things about you, about how you really are here, yes, to be the best tennis player that you can be, but to make a massive impact in the world. And that you constantly want to give back, and you want to spread love and joy and bring humanity together. And I said, "Okay, if he's more than just an athlete, then I must meet this guy."

• 5:24Speaker 01

  She gives the best introductions of me, I must say.

• 5:27Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 5:28Speaker 01

  I'm very grateful to have her in my life. And I think it starts from there, really, emotional stability, the love, first towards yourself, of course, but then being able to share love and share everything that you experience in life with your partner is something that, you know, brought a lot of joy, a lot of inner peace, and a lot of success later on in my life. She's probably the only serious relationship I ever had. As I was telling you the other day at the lunch, but she'll probably not agree with that. She's like, "Yeah, but you had a girlfriend three and a half months before me." Okay, yes, I had, but we started dating. I was 18, she was 19,

• 6:11Speaker 01

  and now we've been married for four years. No, what is it? Three and a half. Oh my God, I'm gonna get in trouble. I have the ring on, darling.

• 6:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, so, but we, we have two beautiful children and it's great to be able to share my life with her. Yeah, it's amazing. Now, you started tennis when you were four, is that right? Started playing at four? I started when I was, yeah, started when I was four years old and, you know, story goes like this, basically I, and nobody has touched the racket before me in my family, so I don't have any tradition that I inherited to play tennis. Tennis was never a big sport in our country, uh, before that. We do, we did have Monica Selic, for example, I don't know if you remember her, and she came over to States and she played for Yugoslavia at that time, and then she played for States as well. So she was our biggest star. We had, you know, Slobodan Boba Jivojnovic, who was top twenty of the world, singles and first in doubles and,

• 7:07Speaker 01

  but that's as far as we go in Serbia. Croatia, on the other hand, had more success. They had, you know, Goran Ivanishevich and then Pilic and, you know, all these guys, they were top three, four, two in the world and winning grand slams and so forth, so. But tennis was never a big sport, you know, we're, we're more a nation of team sports, basketball, you know, Soccer. Soccer and handball, volleyball, water polo, I mean, we had huge amount of success in those sports. Water polo, you guys are Olympic champions, weren't you? Water polo, I mean, what these guys, these guys, I mean, they're one of the most dominant teams in all sports and ever, ever. I mean, these guys haven't lost a game like in ten years, you know, they're, they're amazing. So, yeah, and then I grew up with my family in one mountain resort in Serbia called Kopaonic.

• 7:52Speaker 01

  My parents had restaurant business there. We used to go commute between the capital city, Belgrade, where I was born, and where we basically lived and went to school, and Kopaonic often because of the business that was, we lived out of. Yeah, the restaurant was in Belgrade? No, no, restaurant was on the mountain, so the mountain was quite popular in those days with, you know, summer and winter and all. A tourist mountain that goes. Yeah, exactly. Snowboarders. But then as, as the wars came after that, unfortunately, it became only very seasonal thing, just to go get a couple of months of skiing and that's all. And they were building three tennis courts actually in front of that restaurant when I was four. It was nineteen ninety-one. It was just, I think, the year before the war started, actually, when Yugoslavia broke apart.

• 8:36Speaker 01

  And we still had a lot of foreigners coming and so forth. So there was a lot of interest for tennis, because tennis is a sport that was born in France and in England in more aristocratic environments. Tennis is a sport of gentlemen. It's not a very easily accessible sport, affordable sport, like maybe basketball, soccer, football, those type of sports. So I fell in love with it right away. I mean, I helped the workers make the court and return. I was bringing some beers to them. At four years old? Yeah, I was eager, I was curious as any other child, what is going on here? So finally, you know, I found out it's tennis. I just became aware that I'm alive, you know, four years old. I mean, I was that young.

• 9:19Speaker 01

  And I was like, OK, Dad, I would like to, you know, see what's going on here and maybe eventually get a racket, you know? And so I started asking and then begging and then please, you know? So eventually he said, great, here you go, racket, ball. And then tennis camps started to come over from Belgrade and different cities in Serbia. I joined right away. The first camp that I saw, there was like a bunch of kids coming from different cities in Serbia. And it was like a program for a week. Because it was so close to the restaurant which my parents had, I just kind of walked there and hang on the fence and just try to understand what the sport is. And I started watching it on TV. And then the rest of it is history, you know?

• 10:03Speaker 01

  I really was very fortunate to meet that same year, I think, or the year after. I like to call her my tennis mother. She has greatly influenced my tennis career, my life as well. My parents were really kind and they trusted her so that she can have influence off the court on me as well, which is tricky to do as a parent, you know? I mean, especially if you have a child that is that young. You as a parent, you believe that you have everything that the child needs in order to, I guess, help him develop into a matureer. And and and healthy, you know, human being. And so as a parent, you always think like, OK, who is going to be the mentor of my child?

• 10:48Speaker 01

  Both my mom and dad were really happy with, I guess, quality of of person that Yelena Gencic was. And she used to train also with Monica Selish and so forth. So she was probably the best person I could have at that stage. And she saw me right away. She said, OK, you have great talent. She told my parents, she said, OK, this kid can be number one of the world.

• 11:08Lewis Howes?

  At five years old?

• 11:09Speaker 01

  And and that was exactly, that was, it was at six or seven.

• 11:13Lewis Howes?

  After you're playing for a little bit now.

• 11:15Speaker 01

  For a few years, but but she said, you know, right away, she said, OK. It was something different because I came to the practice, first tennis practice ever. You know, I came in with a little bag and a little extra T shirt. I had a little bottle of water and whatever I prepared that. I was very, very much into it. I wanted to be ready. And so she found that very odd and she found that very special. So she said, there's something about him that is different. And and she was telling my parents that that she they should support me. Bear in mind that those were nineties and we had two wars and we had all this bunch of different difficulties. There were adversities in life that we were facing, which was making it as difficult, as much difficult for for my parents to support me and to become a tennis player and to pursue my dream.

• 11:58Speaker 01

  And it was, as we as we talked about it five minutes ago, I mean, it's it's an expensive sport. You know, you've got to afford a racket, coach, all this stuff. But we went through all this stuff and my father saw that spark in my eyes and said, OK, this is what what you're going to do.

• 12:13Lewis Howes?

  Amazing, man. This is crazy. So do you think that if she didn't say that you could be number one in the world, do you think you would have actually become it without having someone else believe in you? Or was that belief early on?

• 12:24Speaker 01

  You know, I I usually I usually don't like to play with these questions, what if, what if? Because I believe that everything in life happens with a reason and for a reason. I think if we have to think about it, I don't know if I would actually pursue the the career of a tennis player if it wasn't for the belief and support that I had from my parents and and her.

• 12:44Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 12:44Speaker 01

  Of course, I fell in love with with the sport. But when you're that young, kids are curious, so we play different. You know, different sports, you engage yourself and who knows where the, I guess, the path takes you, you know, and I did play other sports as well. I mean, I did skiing because it was mountain. My father was a professional skier, my aunt, my uncle, they were all competitors and they were all competing on a high level, in a regional level and European level. So that's actually how my parents met as well. My father was an instructor and she was skiing and so the whole thing, you know, and then here I am. So skiing was, and still is today, a great passion of mine.

• 13:22Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 13:23Speaker 01

  Yes, but you're right. If I haven't had her and my parents saying, okay, there is something that you should pursue here in this sport, I probably would play other sports and probably the sports that were more popular, you know, with friends.

• 13:36Lewis Howes?

  Team sports, yeah.

• 13:37Speaker 01

  You know how it is. I mean, when you're that young, you want to play sports and you want to belong to a group, to a little community, whatever. So nobody was really, there were not many kids playing tennis because it was expensive, it was not affordable, it was

• 13:50Lewis Howes?

  Isolated.

• 13:50Speaker 01

  It was not maybe as much fun as some other team sports because, you know, when you're playing soccer or basketball, it's more fun. Like this, exactly, you're more isolated, more individual. You do play, of course, in groups and so forth and camps and stuff like that, but half of the time you're spending it by yourself on one side of the net and that's all you got.

• 14:08Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that's crazy. Now, the first war, you went through two wars in Serbia, right? The first war, you were six, seven?

• 14:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, I was five, I think, ninety, ninety-two, yeah, that's when.

• 14:18Lewis Howes?

  And that one was the lesser of the two wars, is that right? It was still, you know, bombs everywhere, but it wasn't as hard as the

• 14:24Speaker 01

  So the first war was more in Croatia and Bosnia. It was between, you know, Serbs and Bosnians and Croatians and that, and then the whole, the whole Yugoslavia, that was once a big country with six, seven states that, you know, fall apart. The war lasted for a long time, I think three, four years, and there was a lot of victims. Nobody wins in war, I mean, it's a terrible thing. But I didn't feel it, my family didn't feel it in Belgrade, in Serbia, as much as people these areas of Bosnia and Croatia felt it.

• 14:57Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, got you. The second war was the one you felt the most, right?

• 15:00Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 15:00Lewis Howes?

  And you were around twelve?

• 15:01Speaker 01

  I was twelve. And I remember, actually, I celebrated my birthday during those two and a half months of bombing and I was turning 12. And I still remember that scene, actually, we were having this like a little birthday party at this tennis club. So us kids, we, of course, we were frightened, we were scared, we were, we didn't know what tomorrow brings. But at the same time, as a child, you don't really have the worries that adults have. So you're living in the moment. And for us, it was great that we get to spend more time playing tennis, having fun, than in school. So it was like, oh, great, you know, we get to do that and that, we don't get to sit, you know, for hours and hours, but we get to actually play.

• 15:46Lewis Howes?

  There was no class during that time?

• 15:47Speaker 01

  No, absolutely not, no, no, no. It was-

• 15:49Lewis Howes?

  Schools cancelled?

• 15:50Speaker 01

  Cancelled, everything, you know, it's just many people flee and just-

• 15:54Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 15:54Speaker 01

  It was one of these things that, it was not like from one day to another, we were kind of warned about it months prior to when it happened, but I think super majority of people really didn't believe that that's gonna happen.

• 16:09Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 16:09Speaker 01

  Imagining that, you know, you sit here and you see planes, you know, dropping bombs here and there, I mean, it's, and everything is trembling and the windows are breaking and everybody is screaming and the whole city, I mean, the whole country was basically bombed. It was because of the part of Serbia at the time, and it was Kosovo that was the whole thing, I mean, not to get into politics because it's, it just gets ugly. You know, it was one of these things where you just don't know, that feeling of insecurity, helplessness, it's terrible. Because, you know, we as human beings, we like to have a control of environment, of where we live, what we're gonna do, you know, of our experiences. And this was completely taken away from us.

• 16:51Speaker 01

  And there was this higher power from above that could do anything to anybody. And you could be a collateral damage any minute, basically, so uh-

• 17:02Lewis Howes?

  Did you see bombs dropping every day?

• 17:04Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 17:04Lewis Howes?

  Every day?

• 17:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, I didn't, I didn't see it myself. I heard it, of course, I felt it, I've seen, I have this image still in my mind where, I think it was the first week when it actually started, and we were still very, very much, of course, afraid and we were running to the shelters and- My father's sister, so my aunt, she lived with her family about, you know, three, four hundred feet away from our building. So we had, we lived in one building, she lived in another building. And her building had underground shelters and our didn't. So we, literally for every night, for first couple of weeks, we ran like around two, three AM. That's when it started to. The bombs. The bombs started to come, yeah, exactly.

• 17:49Speaker 01

  That's when we, we were going there. So we just wake up, pack our things, cry a little bit, scream whatever, and then just take our whatever necessities and just go there. So we'll spend two weeks, most of the nights, in those, in those underground shelters. And I remember, I think, one of the first nights, I, and, and you see, it's, it's, you know, it's obviously middle of the night, it's, you know, pitch darkness and, and, and all of a sudden, you see these flashes of light everywhere. No way. You know, explosions and you, you, you feel the, the ground trembling and it was devastating experience. And then I remember us running, it was, it was one night, it was, I think, the third night, second or third night of bombings. I was twelve. I have two younger brothers, the middle brother was eight, the youngest brother was four.

• 18:33Speaker 01

  So, uh, the, the middle brother, he was running as well with, with our, with my, with our dad. And my mom was carrying the youngest one, so I was behind. I dropped something, so I picked it up. I was losing my footing, so I, they didn't hear me because of the noise, so it was distance and I was frightened that I'm gonna be left alone. So as I was running, I, I trembled, I, you know, on the, on the rock. I fell down and I turned around and then I could see this, I don't know, it's F sixteen plane or something like this, they call it the invisible one. So it just, like huge speed, just flew and just dropped something there, which was very close. It was the military hospital I was telling you about. No, I mean, it's just those kind of images are stuck in your mind forever.

• 19:16Speaker 01

  But at the same time, as I was telling you, I feel like that experience has shaped me into the person I am today, has helped me to be more appreciative of life, give more value, I'm more grateful. And just because of everything that has happened in those ten years, actually, because after the first war to the second war. The whole country was, we had embargo, so there was no imports, lack of gas for cars. There was bread and milk, you had lines of people, you know, queues like very long ones. So you had to wait like hours to get bread. And all these different, different things that have happened made me and my family

• 19:58Speaker 01

  and all the people of Serbia more resilient, you know, and just more, just tougher, you know, for whatever challenges that we face in life, for whatever adversity is out there. And I think that some people stayed stuck in that emotion of maybe hatred and revenge type of feeling. I am not, and I don't believe that's the right thing to do because then you feel like you're a prisoner of your own emotions in your life. Because you can't blame anyone, can't blame people of any country for what has happened because they're, it's not their fault. You know, some maybe decisions of some head of states or militaries or whatever. I mean, in the end of the day, if you carry this for all your life, does it really make

• 20:43Speaker 01

  any, any change for you? It's gonna enrich your life? I mean, it's not. So you cannot ask people to forget. And that's one thing that I realized because I was fortunate not to lose anyone that is close to me. My family, my brothers, everyone is, is good, is healthy. Also cousins and so forth, everybody is okay. But, you know, I know people that lost their parents, that lost somebody very close. And they lost homes, they lost lives, and they had to start over, you know, from scratch. I think almost half a million refugees and even more. I mean, God knows how many people died. And you can still see, and then one day I hope you'll come to Belgrade. Yeah, I'll do that. And, and you still see the traces of that.

• 21:25Speaker 01

  You still see buildings that are ruins since 99. Wow. And it's funny, but they use it as a touristic attraction today, you know, as well, whatever. So, but it's hard to ask people, hey, just forget about it. You cannot forget about it. You cannot. It's one of these things that is, that is deeply. engraved into your subconscious, into your emotions, into your memory. But I think you can get over it and let it go. And that's something that I felt like I've managed to do it myself and many people did. But, you know, many people also didn't. The wounds are fresh. It happened, I mean, what is 99? It's almost, you know, not in, you know, 20 years ago. So it's still very, very fresh. And it was in your childhood.

• 22:07Speaker 01

  I mean, it was a time in your teens, I guess, right before you became a teenager. Yeah, yeah. So intense, man. I couldn't even imagine. Yeah, it's intense, you know, and. Two and a half months, you said, every day, right? That's why, I mean, it hurts me every time I hear about refugees, every time I hear about bombings, about war and what's happening in Syria and Middle East. It's just in Syria, let's take Syria for example. I mean, I had one incredible experience that, I mean, I've never cried that much in my life. I was, I became a UNICEF ambassador of goodwill for the region 10 years ago. And then in the meantime, we became the global ambassador.

• 22:47Speaker 01

  And as I become global ambassador some years ago, I start to different things for UNICEF and my foundation because UNICEF and my foundation are collaborating. And I remember it was, I suppose, a year and a half ago. It was just recently, I mean, when the whole Syria war started. It was a huge thing in Europe because probably third or quarter or third of the country just left. Can you imagine that you have 12 million people in Syria and it was three or four million people left the country? Crazy. Probably even more now today because they lost homes, they lost their lives, they lost their close ones. What they're gonna do, they wanna, you know, search, they wanna go to some place that

• 23:31Speaker 01

  will offer them roof above their heads and social help that they don't have in their country because it's completely devastated, it's completely destroyed. So, you know, many, many, like thousands and tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of refugees went through Serbia to go to Germany, Austria, I guess, the bigger countries in Europe.

• 23:53Speaker 01

  And so we were on their trajectory.

• 23:55Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 23:56Speaker 01

  I went to visit one of those um kind of locations that was offered from the city. As a resting place, shelters, temporary homes for for the people that are passing through. And it was one of the hotels in town in Belgrade. They gave them the whole lobby area, the whole floor. As I came over, I already start to feel this, obviously, I do a lot for my foundation and and so forth. And and it touches your hearts because we're we're gonna talk about it in a minute. But we focus a lot on education and it's it's a different thing. You don't get to see the devastation, the hurt, the pain as much. You see that, but not as much as you see it here.

• 24:37Speaker 01

  I knew what kind of could predict what's going to happen and and what awaits me. So I start to feel all of a sudden these emotions because I've been fortunate. I haven't been a refugee myself, but I know many of my friends and and people around me that are refugees of the wars during nineties. So as I as I come in, and I'm supposed there's a camera, I think it was CNN and a couple of other cameras. And and they they wanted me to record a message for people being there to ask for help, to raise funds, to help, you know, refugees and to build homes for them and so forth. And as I came in and then you see different rooms. There is a playroom, then there is a resting room and so forth.

• 25:20Speaker 01

  And the look on these people's faces was something that was wow, boom, right away. First impression was like pain, insecurity, devastation, sadness. It's just all these emotions and just they they're they were flat, literally, they were flat. They didn't know what's happening. I mean, they're like, OK, we're here now, but where are we walking? Where are we going? What what's gonna happen? Where is our life tomorrow? So as as I'm walking into this small area, play area for for children. There are plenty of children there. I observed them for a little bit and then one of the volunteers there tells me, why don't you join them? You know, try to. So I didn't know how to react, honestly.

• 26:03Speaker 01

  I was there, I didn't wanna, you know, I wanted to be with them, but at the same time, I don't wanna be in their space because, you know, I could, I could feel the emotions, I could feel what they're going through. So I start playing around and ten minutes later, I really got into it. There was a couple of children around me and we start, you know, playing with toys and measuring things and whatever. It was, it was really cool. And then somebody, you know, taps my shoulder and it was one of the people from UNICEF and she came with the mother of a child that I was playing with. And she was a girl that was probably not even two, two and a half years old.

• 26:37Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 26:37Speaker 01

  And she told me her mom came to pick her up, it's time to go. I thought to myself, where, where are they gonna go?

• 26:45Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 26:46Speaker 01

  What's gonna happen? I mean, it's, sorry, I just, it's, it's, it's even today, it's, it's just so emotional, you know?

• 26:57Speaker 01

  Because I don't know where they, where they went, you know? It's like having this, this, this girl and mom taking a boy who was six, seven years old and this little girl. They're traveling, God knows where, by foot. No home, no nothing behind them, you know, and then in front of them, so. And then I was supposed to tell something in the camera, I'm like, guys, like now, I mean, I can't speak. I can't speak because it's just one of these things that breaks your heart, you know?

• 27:24Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 27:24Speaker 01

  And it's just, whoo, sorry, that's what war does. That's what war does, but at the same time, I'm really grateful that I've been through that. Through this experience, through wars and nineties and all these things because it made me more human, it made me more connected with other people. Because whatever happens in the world, I know that we are all going through that, through that experience of trying to live, trying to take the best out of this life experience for ourselves. And I think going through those emotions and those experiences in past

• 28:03Speaker 01

  just allowed me to be more warm-hearted towards people and I feel that, that I get the same. And yeah, I mean, yeah.

• 28:13Lewis Howes?

  Wow, man, thanks for sharing that story.

• 28:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm sorry, I just, it was one of these things that is, that is really. It just stays with you, and it stays with you. And I like to look back to it as much as it hurts me. I like to go back to it and then understand that what I have in life and how fast I can lose all of that if I don't appreciate it, if I'm not living in the present. And knowing that there are people like that, even today, going through all of this and us being in this incredible life and having this fortune to be successful and to be heard as well. You know, everything that we say, you know, there are thousands of, millions of people following you, myself, children that are looking up to us and then saying, okay, I mean, this is something that I can use to be better

• 29:00Speaker 01

  and I want to be like him. So I think having this in my subconscious, you know, all these experiences in the past and never forgetting about that keeps me grounded, keeps me aware that everything I say is heard in these places that really need your advice, that need your help, that need your light. So, you know, it's all about sharing that light and sharing that love.

• 29:20Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, wow, man. What would you say is the biggest lesson you learned from war, from that whole experience personally?

• 29:26Speaker 01

  The biggest lesson that I've learned is probably that I should be always kind to anyone and everyone, no matter what experience they go through, because you never know. You never know what one person goes through. You just always be kind because there is something that we call God, universe, angels. There is this higher force above and here on this planet that is going to help us to live a prosperous life, to be happy, to be healthy, to be joyful, to have that peace if we truly respect and appreciate ourselves

• 30:10Speaker 01

  and others in that process as well.

• 30:12Lewis Howes?

  Wow. Now, were you able to even think about tennis? You know, you had this dream of being number one at four, five, six. And then during the wartime, were you still thinking, oh, this is something I could still do? Or I have no clue where I'm going to be tomorrow because these bombs are right around me within miles? Were you able to practice? Were you just not sure? Were you just trying to, you know?

• 30:37Speaker 01

  Oh, I was practicing big time.

• 30:39Lewis Howes?

  Every day?

• 30:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, I was, as I, as I told you, you know, I, I've...

• 30:42Lewis Howes?

  That was your time with no school.

• 30:43Speaker 01

  Exactly, no school. I mean, I enjoyed school. I, I think it's great, but at the same time, I liked to be on the tennis court more. You know, because I was completely in love with it and, and just huge passion of mine. And I started to do better and better and started to win some local tournaments. I was, you know, 11, 12 years old.

• 31:02Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 31:03Speaker 01

  And during those two and a half months of bombing, we actually spent, after the second week was done, because in the first couple of weeks, we were like, okay, let's just survive, you know? And let's just figure things out. We don't know what's gonna happen. And then after the second week, we were like, okay, this is gonna happen. God knows how long it's gonna go for. So we might as well continue living our, so to say, normal, everyday lives. Whatever that, whatever that, that is, you know? And so I spent a lot of time on tennis courts and we had a lot of tournaments. And I actually remember, I haven't been part of it, but I was still young, you know, I was too little, but there were people that were organizing this so-called target group activities. So they would, because they were bombing our bridges as well.

• 31:48Speaker 01

  So they would go out on one of like most important bridges that connects the two important parts of the town. So people would go there literally more or less every day with T-shirts that would have like a target drawn on them and also on their faces, they would like draw targets or on their, you know, top of their heads. And they would sing songs, they would be together, united. And that was like a message out there, okay, we are the target, try to do something now. Like, this is us, we're here. So thankfully, nothing happened there. But that was how powerful this whole experience was for people to get together. It was devastating, it was all these things that we talked about.

• 32:30Speaker 01

  There's something positive out of it is that people survived because, and we got through it as people, as country, because we were together, we were united. And we talked about it the other day on the lunch, is that I was complaining to you a little bit about Serbian people, that we are not united when we are supposed to be.

• 32:45Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 32:45Speaker 01

  We are united.

• 32:46Lewis Howes?

  Like pull each other down.

• 32:46Speaker 01

  Exactly. I tell you that joke, yeah. I think especially younger generations at that time. They were like, okay, this is our time to be rebellious. You know, when you're younger, you're rebellious, you know, you wanna be part of those activities and it's fun. So, so we, we try to turn it into fun.

• 33:02Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 33:02Speaker 01

  You know, as much as we could.

• 33:03Lewis Howes?

  During bombings, crazy.

• 33:04Speaker 01

  Exactly, yeah.

• 33:06Lewis Howes?

  Now, when did you start to fully believe in yourself that you were able to achieve what you wanted to do in tennis? When did the belief fit in where you're like, yes, this is possible for me?

• 33:17Speaker 01

  Oh, very early, I knew already I'm gonna become number one of the world. Like, I was seven, I think I was, it was probably first, uh, was the first TV show I had. Uh, like, I, I was guest in one of these, uh, kids', uh, shows and on a national TV.

• 33:33Lewis Howes?

  Kid Stars or something.

• 33:34Speaker 01

  Whatever, something like that. And I said that tennis's commitment is my obligation, is something I have to do. I mean, I was already, I was so disciplined, you know, at that time. And they say that, there's a great quote about discipline, is, discipline is, is the bridge between, between goals and, and accomplishments, right? So whatever in life you envision to do, you gotta be disciplined.

• 33:54Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 33:54Speaker 01

  You know, disciplined spiritually, disciplined in sports, in, in whatever, in your family, in your relationships. So, very early, I think, and my parents and my tennis mother, Janne Gencic, they've deeply ingrained that discipline in me. And then I knew, I mean, already seven, eight, I was like, okay, I, this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my, I, I, I knew, it was very clear. What is strange about it is that if you take in consideration all the circumstances in which I've grown up as a child, it was very odd. And there was many people that were laughing at it. And then it's just, it was, uh, my father had to, he went through so much. I'm, I'm eternally grateful to both my parents and my father has borrowed money from people that were chasing him in car.

• 34:38Speaker 01

  I mean, you would not imagine the experiences that he had and we had in order for me to travel to the United States, for example, for the first time in my life. And during those nineties, I mean, and, and because of embargo and all the things, the criminal rate raised. So there was a lot of kidnapping and different stuff and it was, it's not even close like that. Now it's great, it's, it's fantastic, it's safe and it's all fine. But during those seven, eight years. It was really tough. People were scraping and people were fighting for their lives, basically surviving. It's a matter of like, you take one bread or two breads, it makes a difference. You know, you need to stay in line and God knows if you're gonna have a bread in the winter, you know, so. It was literally that kind of survival mode for everyone. So I think from very early stages of my life, I knew what I wanted to do.

• 35:22Speaker 01

  But not just what I wanted to do, but what I wanted to achieve, what is what is gonna be my accomplishment in what I do. And I think because I had these objectives in life, I managed to have the mental clarity. Managed to kind of in tennis and Andre Agassi is my coach now, I'm proud to have him in my team. He always says, you know, in tennis, you work from top backwards. From basically setting up a goal and then you you work your way back and it's just, you know exactly. The whole season, how it's going to look like, because this is my season goal. Let me work my way back to this moment. So this is probably a definition of how I felt at that moment mentally and the plans that I had, the visions that I had.

• 36:04Speaker 01

  I was seven already, I was making like out of plastic or like a little paper materials. I was making the Wimbledon trophy, I was lifting, you know, and stuff like this. It was very, very clear in my mind that that's going to be my mission.

• 36:17Lewis Howes?

  Have you ever doubted yourself going on to, you know, and being a professional and going against some of these top players for the first time? Did you ever have doubt or were you always like, I can beat them, I can be the best?

• 36:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, I had plenty of doubts and plenty of doubtful moments. I've I probably the. The one that stands out the most was back in two thousand and ten. When I was already, you know, number three of the world, I was already a Grand Slam winner, I was established player in top five in the world. Already three, four years before that, so so I was already into it. One of my first Grand Slam, you know, Australian Open in January two thousand and eight, I was twenty years old. And it was a dream come true, the whole, I mean, I was very successful in junior days and everything, it was just, I had this upward. Kind of spiral and trajectory in my tennis career, in my life and everything was great, you know, it was, everything was great.

• 37:09Speaker 01

  And then all of a sudden, I had this period of two and a half, three years where I didn't win a slam.

• 37:16Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 37:17Speaker 01

  I was I was managing to be three, four in the world. But I just, I struggled a lot and for me, being number three of the world wasn't enough. I just, I was not satisfied with that. And I was just, I always go back, say, wait, okay, when I was seven, eight years old, my dream, my life goal was always to be number one and win Wimbledon, that's it. And I need to achieve that, no matter what. Yeah. But then I reached the kind of mentally low point in my career. I think it was after Roland Garros, you know, one of the four Slams and I lost, I was two sets to love up, I lost in five sets in quarterfinals. Against a guy called Jürgen Mälzer, he was top ten of the world, very good player. But I had him, I mean, I had a match and I just lost. I just had a breakdown.

• 38:01Speaker 01

  I remember going first to my parents and, you know, talking about this and that and I just, I cried and I like, I don't know if this is worth it, I don't know if I should keep going and, and my father was like, tough enough, tough enough, you know, no, no, no, you know, like, but it wasn't, it wasn't enough, like, I felt I needed to think about it more, I felt I needed to share more. So I went to my coach at that time, Marian Vida, and my, one of my best friends in life and my former physiotherapist, Milian, and I was in their room and I remember sitting on the floor, again, I had another breakdown, I was saying, I don't know, you know, and they were like, okay, take your time, let's first, okay, breathe and let's calm down, let's look back, you know, and, and they were really, really wise for telling me, like, let's go, look back first.

• 38:45Speaker 01

  Why did you start playing this sport and the whole thing? Do you love it? You know, leave aside what you want to achieve. Yeah. What you want to do. Your passion for it. You know, but do you really like holding a racket in your hand? And then I'm like, actually, I do, I really, I love holding a racket in my hand, whether it's a Grand Slams, Centre Court Finals, whatever, or it's just a normal, you know, public court, I still like playing for the sake of playing. They're like, well, that's your source, that's what you need to tap into and let's, take a little bit of time and literally, they thought it's gonna take a few weeks, next day I'm like, okay, I'm back on track, let's go, let's keep going. And I never looked back ever since that moment. I remember, the next tournament was Wimbledon, probably played semifinals and then after that, I won Davis Cup with, with my country.

• 39:29Speaker 01

  With my guys, end of that 2010, that was one of the highlights of my career. And then after that, I went into having 43 matches win in a row and I had that streak. I became number one.

• 39:40Lewis Howes?

  How long is that for?

• 39:42Speaker 01

  It's like almost six months.

• 39:43Lewis Howes?

  Six months, you didn't lose one match?

• 39:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 39:46Lewis Howes?

  You lost a set, but not a match, right? Not a game?

• 39:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:50Lewis Howes?

  Holy cow.

• 39:51Speaker 01

  It was McEnroe and myself, we hold the record for longest streak of history. I, okay, so this is, if you go, if you go online, so wait, wait. So if you go online, you'll say John McEnroe 42, Novak Djokovic 41.

• 40:05Lewis Howes?

  Oh, no.

• 40:07Speaker 01

  Why? Because they didn't count the two matches of the guys that retired the matches to me. So they didn't count them as wins and I would have the 40. But okay, John, you have it, you have it, John, okay, you have it. So it's John.

• 40:19Lewis Howes?

  Wow, man, that's gotta feel amazing. You were just in the zone.

• 40:21Speaker 01

  It was unbelievable and it just gave me, it gave me wings. I mean, I just, I felt all of a sudden that I started to play and play freely. Between winning the first slam and that moment, it was three years and I felt like I was playing for the wrong reasons. I was playing because I wanted to achieve, I wanted to this, I wanted to lift trophies, I wanted to do this and that. And that's okay, but that's secondary. Primary, so to say, motivation needs to be what inspired you to start playing? What made you fall in love with the sport? And that is the love, the joy, the passion for it, to play it. I all of a sudden became the kid that I was when I started. I felt so much, so much power and energy and I just, exactly. So I never looked back after that.

• 41:06Lewis Howes?

  Amazing, man. We have a few minutes left and I want to ask like a thousand more questions. So I'm going to be very mindful of this. The thing you're most proud of that maybe a lot of people don't know about. Maybe that's not this big public announcement, but something you've done recently or any time in your life that you're most proud of.

• 41:26Speaker 01

  I usually don't like to praise myself. I don't, I don't feel like that. I usually leave this to other people. And, and, and also I don't feed myself out of someone else complimenting me. Of course. Because I find my happiness inside. I find that working on my own character virtues and features is something that is essential to me. And being able to establish this kind of inner peace and happiness in life, regardless of what's happening externally, is essential. Because it keeps me connected to myself, to other people, to planet, to universe. A starting point. Things that I have done, I've done with, with my pure heart and intention. It's hard to pick one because I remember during the bombings,

• 42:11Speaker 01

  I remember I was going in our neighborhood and sharing the food with other families, with our children, uh, giving clothes away. Because it's not something that is very special, but it felt very special at that time for me. I've done things after many, many other things and with philanthropically with myself individually and also with our foundation. But again, going back to the times of the war, I think that's something that probably would stand out and something that I was very proud of. And I'm proud of my, and I'm really grateful to my parents that they were able also to give me this kind of education and I guess consciousness about the fact that we're not alone in this world and that we need to share because sharing is caring and vice versa.

• 42:55Speaker 01

  And so I remember going around the neighborhood and just offering my warmth and my friendship and my love and whatever I had at that, at that moment. And then I felt more love than I probably ever felt. I mean, it's one of those moments where in the biggest of adversity, that's where your pure self surfaces. I would probably, probably mention that. That's cool. The thing you love about your wife the most? Honesty and compassion. We as men can't even imagine what woman goes through, especially women that have, you know, experience of becoming a mother and, and all of that and been going through the pregnancy. It's another level. It's another level of sacrifice. It's another level of pain, but it's another level of love.

• 43:39Speaker 01

  And dedication to family and what matters the most. Having her in my life is one of the biggest blessings I could ever ask for, to be honest, and to this day I am trying to be, always remind myself what I have and what we have and how grateful I am.

• 43:54Lewis Howes?

  That's cool. This is called the three truths. So if this was the last day for you many years from now, and for whatever reason, all the videos and interviews you've done and stuff you put out there is gone and no one has access to your information anymore. But you had a piece of paper and a pen to write down three things you know to be true, or the three lessons that you've learned that you would share to the world. And this is all they have to remember you by, these three truths. What would you say are yours?

• 44:23Speaker 01

  I would probably say live freely,

• 44:26Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 44:26Speaker 01

  breathe deeply and love fully.

• 44:30Lewis Howes?

  Hmm, simple.

• 44:31Speaker 01

  It really comes to that. It comes to you being one with yourself and others and just being present. If I have to pick one of those three, which I guess is probably the biggest and most simple and odd lesson that I've learned in my life is to breathe deeply and to learn how to breathe. Because when you learn how to breathe, which is something that we take so much for granted today, you learn how to live in the moment, to be mindful of yourself. You all of a sudden, you observe things from a different perspective. You are not as maybe impulsive.

• 45:09Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 45:10Speaker 01

  And all of a sudden, everything opens up. Because we talked about it a minute ago, you have help. We have, the nature is there, the universe is there. There is something and nobody can deny it. There is something that is there, that is out there watching for us, supporting us, loving us. But if we close our doors and we are living in a shell, how can we receive help? You gotta open some windows, right?

• 45:34Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 45:35Speaker 01

  Doors and then eventually have no shell, live with no shell. Be authentic, be original, pave your own path. Don't just follow the path that society is telling you to. We need more creativity in this world. We need more innovations. We need more people that are free. Today's society is shaping us to be A bit of robotic beings. She's gotta do this, you gotta pay this, you gotta do that, you gotta follow this, you gotta take that. Try to understand what's the best experience for you, but at the same time, live freely and share it.

• 46:10Lewis Howes?

  Hmm, hmm, powerful. How can we best support you? What's the thing we can do to best support you? Make sure we follow you on social media, but is there a way we can support the foundation or a big cause that you're?

• 46:23Speaker 01

  I leave this completely up to you. The thing that you can do best for me is to do best for yourself.

• 46:29Lewis Howes?

  There you go.

• 46:30Speaker 01

  That's all.

• 46:30Lewis Howes?

  There you go. Uh, well, before I ask the final question and get you out of here, I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Novak, for your incredible ability to live for your dreams, but also make sure that you're inspiring the world in your dreams and not making it all about yourself. You're truly a global citizen of love. And for me, it's really inspiring to see that someone like yourself is in the world right now. Because when there is so much hate, it's happening specifically in America, you've been through the worst of the worst and come out on the other side with such a giving heart. So I acknowledge you for all that you do, for your country and for the world. You're an incredible human being. Yes, my man.

• 47:13Speaker 01

  Me too. I'll give you the same. Thanks, thanks, brother. Thank you. And I need to, I need to, before you continue, I need to also say thank you for sharing that love as well. Thank you for bringing people with inspiring stories. Thank you for sharing passion for life and for greatness. We need to inspire people to dare to dream and children. And today we need it more than ever. So thank you for that.

• 47:39Lewis Howes?

  Yes, exactly. Final question is what is your definition of greatness?

• 47:44Speaker 01

  I thought you were never gonna ask me that. I was like, okay, I'm gonna get away with this. No, my definition of greatness for me is purpose. If you find your purpose, you're going to give purpose to others. And you and me, as public figures, we have this responsibility, you know, even more. And I think that on whatever level, you know, of society you are, or whatever experience that you go through, you are going to maximize your life's experience only if you find a purpose. And people will find their purpose because they will relate to the very same purpose that you are defining and that you're radiating and that you're portraying.

• 48:28Lewis Howes?

  Hmm, hmm. Make sure you guys follow us, man, all over the place on social media. We didn't even get into like the tennis mindset, the habits, the rituals, routines. That's gonna be for another time. When you're back in LA, we'll do that, or when I'm in Serbia.

• 48:41Speaker 01

  Serbia, man.

• 48:41Lewis Howes?

  Serbia, I'll come to Belgrade and I'll bring the crew.

• 48:43Speaker 01

  Official invitation, right here.

• 48:44Lewis Howes?

  I appreciate it, yes, alright. So, next time, we'll have to have Novak back on to talk more about that, but this was a powerful story, man, and I think it's gonna help a lot of people, so make sure you guys follow him. Novak, you're a champion, brother.

• 48:57Speaker 01

  Thank you, Louis, for having me.

• 48:58Lewis Howes?

  Appreciate you, man.

• 48:59Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 49:00Lewis Howes?

  Appreciate you. There you have it, my friends. Such a powerful interview. I was blown away. I did not want this to end. I'm gonna beg Novak to come back on at some point when he has time and he's back in LA. But man, if you felt like this was powerful and inspiring to you, as it was for me, then take a screenshot of this right now on your phone, share it out with your friends everywhere. Tell them to listen to this. Send them the direct link, which is lewishouse.com/565, or just send them the link over on iTunes or Spotify. You can listen to it anywhere podcasts are, we're over on Spotify as well. So wherever you feel like your friends will listen to it, share this out so they can hear it.

• 49:44Lewis Howes?

  I am so inspired by, again, not only the results that Novak has created in his professional career and his personal life... But the way he shows up to serve humanity, to lift others up, to bring the world together, that's what this is all about. He is the ultimate man of service because he's serving his own dreams and then helping the world as well. So make sure to share this out, support him, support his cause, support his foundation as well. We'll have that linked up on the show notes. Again, LewisHowes.com/565. Big thank you to his wife who introduced us and made that possible. Appreciate you very much for making that happen. And again, I'm just so excited for the journey ahead for Novak. So make sure to check it out and share this with your friends.

• 50:30Lewis Howes?

  Again, if you enjoyed this one, please share it out. As Joseph Campbell said, "We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy." Just as Novak does, he lives in joy, even though he's been through so much in his past. I hope you guys live in joy today, even if you feel like you've been suffering or going through some struggle. You have the opportunity to shift your mindset and live in joy right now. I love you and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.