395 Maria Sharapova on Being a Champion On and Off the Court

"We're not given something in life that we can't handle." - Maria Sharapova If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes, video, and more at http://lewishowes.com/395 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 395 with the incredible Maria Sharapova.

• 0:07Lewis Howes?

  Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, 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.

• 0:33Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back to a special edition of the School of Greatness podcast. I am so pumped for our guest today in the interview. I've been wanting to have Maria Sharapova on for many, many months since we first met earlier this year, but didn't get a chance to have her on until now. And we talk about why in this interview. But for those who don't know who Maria Sharapova is, she is a professional tennis player, not just any pro, but one of the top in the world. She's an Olympic medalist and an entrepreneur, has many businesses. She became the number one woman tennis player in the world at only 18, and sadly, she had to overcome several severe shoulder injuries and setbacks.

• 1:18Lewis Howes?

  Yet every time, she clawed her way back, rebuilding her game and her strength. Now off the court, Maria is an incredibly popular personal brand and has mass appeal that has led to major commercial endorsements with companies like Nike and Tiffany & Co. and many other top luxury brands. I've gotten to know her personally over the last year, and it's been so fun and inspiring to kind of get a behind the scenes look and hear about the stories that most people don't hear about. And I said, Maria, we gotta bring you on to let you share because usually the interviews you do are only five to 10 minutes, and you're not able to share really the way you think, the way you prepare, the way you battle so hard

• 2:01Lewis Howes?

  on and off the court, and how you make it look so easy. And how you have it all. And some of the things we cover and talk about today are the biggest lessons she's learned in the past eight months while being suspended from playing tennis. Also, the importance of continually growing even when you're at the top and even when you're not guaranteed a future. What Maria says is her superpower, the best way to choose how to spend your time and resources when you have so much going on, and also why Maria doesn't believe balance exists and how to balance life without it. We also bring in a surprise guest during the middle of the interview, spoiler alert,

• 2:42Lewis Howes?

  it's her coach. And I asked him a few questions about what makes Maria the best, what makes her so talented, and what makes her different than everyone else on and off the court. I think you're gonna be really excited and interested to hear what he has to say from working with Maria so closely on a daily basis. This and so much more in this incredible interview. Make sure to share with your friends and watch the full video interview at lewishouse.com/395. Again, share it out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and tag at Maria Sharapova, at Lewis Howes, and let me know what you think. LewisHowes.com/395.

• 3:23Lewis Howes?

  And without further ado, let me introduce to you the one, the only Maria Sharapova. Welcome everyone back to the School of Greatness Podcast. Very excited about our guest. We have an incredibly talented individual, Maria Sharapova, in the house. Thank you so much for being here. High five it up.

• 3:41Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 3:42Lewis Howes?

  I'm super pumped, super pumped. We got connected through your coach, Sven, who's in the house as well, like eight or nine months ago.

• 3:49Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 3:50Lewis Howes?

  Because he was listening to the podcast. Is that how it started? You were listening?

• 3:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:54Lewis Howes?

  He was listening?

• 3:55Speaker 01

  Sven was listening.

• 3:56Lewis Howes?

  And he was like, you need to get into this greatness stuff.

• 3:58Speaker 01

  I think I might want to take the credit for that.

• 4:00Lewis Howes?

  Oh, really?

• 4:01Speaker 01

  I think I somehow, I heard about it through social media.

• 4:05Lewis Howes?

  Oh, you heard about it first?

• 4:06Speaker 01

  I think I heard about it through social media, through some post of someone else.

• 4:10Lewis Howes?

  I think you actually mentioned Simone.

• 4:11Speaker 01

  Maybe.

• 4:12Lewis Howes?

  You saw like her with a photo of a book or something?

• 4:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, maybe a post. And then I started listening to your podcasts.

• 4:16Lewis Howes?

  Before him?

• 4:17Speaker 01

  And then I got Sven involved. Yes, I told him to listen. And he started, because he's, I mean, he's been a huge Tony Robbins fan and listened to his podcasts. And I had never listened to podcasts before. So you were kind of, and then since then, yeah, now I just, I love listening to podcasts.

• 4:30Lewis Howes?

  For some reason, I had the story mixed up. I thought he was the one who found it.

• 4:33Speaker 01

  You see, we're

• 4:34Lewis Howes?

  I'm so glad.

• 4:35Speaker 01

  We just started the interview. You already got something wrong.

• 4:37Lewis Howes?

  It was screwed up.

• 4:37Speaker 01

  We've got to start again.

• 4:39Lewis Howes?

  Okay. But I'm, that's exciting to know. I'm glad that you discovered it and started listening.

• 4:44Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 4:45Lewis Howes?

  Appreciate it. And you've listened to a bunch of episodes, too.

• 4:47Speaker 01

  I've listened to a lot. Yes.

• 4:48Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, it's awesome.

• 4:48Speaker 01

  I listened to one to Glennon's.

• 4:50Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, Glennon Doyle Mountain.

• 4:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, yesterday. I just finished her book and thought I'd listen to the interview. Yes.

• 4:55Lewis Howes?

  Very cool. Very cool. And then we met. You asked Van, you were like, hey, can you figure out a way to reach out to this guy, right?

• 5:00Speaker 01

  No, I, I, I think it was interesting.

• 5:02Lewis Howes?

  Your agent or?

• 5:03Speaker 01

  I think that's how it went. Um, yeah, the next thing I knew was like, yeah, we're gonna meet up with Lewis. I was like, oh, great. I, I think I, I loved your perspective. I loved the way that you interviewed people. It was very casual. It wasn't. Um, you know, sometimes you hear interviews and it's, there's some sort of mission behind that interview that's like too, I don't know, it's defensive. And I felt like your interviews are very open and challenge people, but it was a conversation. And I think that's when people really speak about how they feel and their emotions. And I think that's what people want to hear. I mean,

• 5:34Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 5:35Speaker 01

  People know a lot from externally through what, you know, actors or musicians or people do through photos or videos. But when they have a one-on-one conversation, it's such a different feeling. So.

• 5:46Lewis Howes?

  Have you ever done like an hour-long conversation like this on, because TVs usually like five minutes, right?

• 5:52Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 5:53Lewis Howes?

  Five minutes, maybe?

• 5:53Speaker 01

  I actually think that Charlie Rose, um, last week was one of my longer ones.

• 5:57Lewis Howes?

  It was like 25, 30 minutes or?

• 5:58Speaker 01

  It was 36 and they cut it to 34. So actually those.

• 6:02Lewis Howes?

  What did they cut? Let's get that.

• 6:03Speaker 01

  I know. I thought they had everything, but they did, um, usually they, they film for 45 minutes to an hour and then cut it to like 20.

• 6:11Lewis Howes?

  The best stuff, yeah.

• 6:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:13Lewis Howes?

  That's cool. Well, I'm glad you came. I'm glad you guys made it. So thank you, guys. And it's been fun to connect with you over the year and we've had a lot of fun times.

• 6:19Speaker 01

  We have, yeah.

• 6:21Lewis Howes?

  Uh, I'm sure many more adventures to come. And you, uh, you just played a, a match recently,

• 6:27Speaker 01

  An exhibition.

• 6:28Lewis Howes?

  Which is the first match in a while that you played.

• 6:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was seven months since, uh, I've played in front of a crowd. I got an invitation from Billie Jean and Elton John a few weeks ago, um, to be part of an event that they've. Hosted for the last 24 years, Elton John has had a charity for AIDS for so many years. And obviously, what's usually I'm in Asia playing at this time of year.

• 6:49Lewis Howes?

  So you've never done this event?

• 6:50Speaker 01

  Never played that event. And it was in Vegas. Hadn't been in Vegas in a while. Yeah, I was nervous. It was my first time coming back to just to a crowd environment and being around just a lot of people that I've inspired over the years that I've played alongside in ways. Andy Roddick, Marty Fish, you know, people I've spoken to, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, obviously Billie Jean King. And I'd never met Elton John before.

• 7:16Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 7:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, it was the first time.

• 7:18Lewis Howes?

  What was it like? Were you nervous?

• 7:20Speaker 01

  No, I don't. It's funny. I don't, I respect these people so much. I don't, I don't get intimidated by almost, I don't want to use the word star power, but I just think everyone is human on so many levels, no matter what they've achieved in their life. And I, I mean, obviously, he's a hero and to still be so active and to do the things that he's doing at his age and just be so young inside was, was really cool. And just to have a small conversation, just for him to even ask you a question, you're like, really?

• 7:51Lewis Howes?

  Very interested in me?

• 7:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, you're actually asking me a question. So that was nice. And then playing that, having fun on court. Did you, you watched a little bit of it, right?

• 7:59Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 8:00Speaker 01

  It aired.

• 8:00Lewis Howes?

  It was awesome.

• 8:02Speaker 01

  It was fun. I had, I had a good time and I felt really, you know, it's always, it's been a tough seven months and obviously coming back from that and just feeling like you get love and support and seeing fans and getting flowers after it and taking selfies and it just, it makes you feel welcome.

• 8:20Lewis Howes?

  Social media, everyone's commenting about how you're back.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was, it was really special. And then just having like a really casual dinner afterward with, with all of them, just everyone goofing around.

• 8:29Lewis Howes?

  This is actually probably the most relaxed I've seen you. Maybe because you kind of got like the match underway and now you're just like.

• 8:35Speaker 01

  Well, it's interesting because last week when I was in New York, so I I found out that my suspension had been shortened to 15 months. It's been like nine days now. And when I found out, I it was embargoed for a few days. So I wasn't allowed to speak about it, but just obviously through my close friends and family. And so that just getting that decision that I was going to be able to play again next year, just already looking forward to that so much, knowing how excited I was to share that news with my fans. I just almost couldn't keep it to myself. And then I went to New York and I knew that I do a little bit of press because I hadn't been able to speak about anything for the past seven months. And I think it was.

• 9:19Lewis Howes?

  That's why we couldn't do the podcast until now.

• 9:21Speaker 01

  No. Well, one of the reasons I hadn't done anything, any sort of media. So it was just nice to it was really nice to just feel free and open to talk about a story that happened to me seven months ago and and and get it out. And really, you know, I did, I think, four TV interviews. And but after after I did the Charlie Rose is my first interview and I I specifically wanted to go on his show because I grew up watching him with my mother and go go back home from a long trip and she'd usually DVR his shows. And I loved his format, loved the questions that he asked people. He was he was inquisitive, but he was tough. Like, he asked

• 10:02Speaker 01

  tough questions. And I knew that this I want tough questions. I want people to ask me the tough questions. So I answer them. I answer them today. I'll answer them tomorrow. And I knew that it was it was a good format for me. So that's what I wanted to start with. But after that interview, we came back. One of my good friends from London was there and my coach Sven. And we were we were going to go to the Russian restaurant in New York. And I was like, we made a reservation. And I said, I just can't. I'm so I'm so mentally tired. I really I can't like can't get myself out to go anywhere. So just put on some sweats. We went down to the hotel like lobby bar and and just ordered food. And Sven looks at me and he's like, I've never like I haven't seen you like that in so long. Actually, the last time I saw you like just so like you

• 10:47Speaker 01

  let everything go and let all your emotion goes when you won your last Grand Slam at the French Open. And I think in 14, I believe.

• 10:56Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 10:59Speaker 01

  I think it's because you're, you know, no matter if you're going through a tough or really happy moment, you're giving so much of yourself without actually realizing it, like your mind and your body. You're just always on, always on, always thinking. Your mind is always turned on. And when, I think after I did that interview, I just, and the news went out, I was just so relieved and so happy. And, um, you know, it's a long process. And, and just like when you win a grand slam, not that I'm comparing the two at all. But when, when you win a grand slam, it's everyone's like, oh, let's go celebrate. No, we're gonna go out and party. And the feeling that I have is just, I'm so, I'm internally so happy, but I'm so drained.

• 11:43Lewis Howes?

  Exhausted.

• 11:44Speaker 01

  Just exhausted.

• 11:45Lewis Howes?

  The mental focus for weeks.

• 11:47Speaker 01

  Because you just realize that it's done. There's no other match. There's no, and for me, it was that moment last week where it was like, there was not another email from my lawyer. There was not another this. There was not another conversation. I just, I knew it was finished. And for me, it was, it was almost like a celebration that I, that I got through it in that, in that light and how I came through it. So.

• 12:08Lewis Howes?

  Well, I, you know, I met you in the beginning when it all happened.

• 12:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:11Lewis Howes?

  And I've known you this entire time.

• 12:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:13Lewis Howes?

  And it's been incredible to see your poise, your grace, your.

• 12:17Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 12:18Lewis Howes?

  Your ability to not let it consume and control you and to be able to have fun. And you've done so many other things in the last eight months or whatever it's been. Uh, with your businesses, with going back to schooling and getting mentorships and really applying yourself to grow.

• 12:32Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:33Lewis Howes?

  Trying different workout techniques, traveling, like having a life because since 14, you've been, it's 14 when you went to pro, is that right?

• 12:39Speaker 01

  Uh, I was, something like that. Yeah.

• 12:42Lewis Howes?

  Somewhere around, yeah.

• 12:43Speaker 01

  It's crazy. I've been, I started when I was four years old. Yeah, professionally since 14 or 15. So, yes.

• 12:50Lewis Howes?

  Crazy.

• 12:50Speaker 01

  Um, pretty much all my life.

• 12:52Lewis Howes?

  So it's kind of like the first time you got to kind of do different things and be like a normal, a normal.

• 12:56Speaker 01

  Yeah. The, the only other time, um. That I can think of is when I had shoulder surgery, I was 21 and I was out for about nine months or so.

• 13:03Lewis Howes?

  Right, right. But you weren't able to be active the week you happened.

• 13:06Speaker 01

  No, because I was constantly, I was always in Arizona rehabbing.

• 13:09Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 13:10Speaker 01

  But yeah, but in a way, that time away from the court really helped me in this situation.

• 13:17Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 13:18Speaker 01

  Because I think when you're 21 and when you go through a tough injury, you're questioning your future so much, especially you feel like you just, I just won my third Grand Slam and I was sort of in the middle of everything and I didn't know if I could ever play tennis again and.

• 13:31Lewis Howes?

  That's scary.

• 13:32Speaker 01

  It is scary. It's really scary, but it's interesting how you grow through, while you don't know you're growing. You know, it was like nine months, sometimes you're, you're doing all these things without, obviously, life has no guarantees, like, you know, there are only two guarantees in life, right? Do you know what those are?

• 13:50Lewis Howes?

  Taxes?

• 13:51Speaker 01

  That's right. High five. You're gonna die one day and you're gonna pay taxes.

• 13:57Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 13:58Speaker 01

  And other than that, there are no, well, I'm sure you still have to pay something. They get you anyway.

• 14:06Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 14:07Speaker 01

  So during, during a time when you're faced difficulty and whether for me it was an injury or whether for some people it's something else, you form some sort of strength inside of you without really knowing by, by doing something that will help you in the future. So I kept, you know, I was rehabbing a shoulder that I didn't know if I was, if it was ever gonna come back to normal, if I was ever gonna, I was trying to play left-handed all the time, not knowing if I'd ever play. So in my mind, like.

• 14:32Lewis Howes?

  You're right-handed?

• 14:33Speaker 01

  Why would I, I'm right-handed, right?

• 14:34Lewis Howes?

  Gotcha.

• 14:35Speaker 01

  So I would train lefty and do these exercises and think, and sometimes you come home and you're like, why am I doing this? Like, am I ever, I have no guarantee that I'm ever gonna be back on the court.

• 14:45Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 14:46Speaker 01

  But then you get to a moment, you pass through that, you get back, I got back. And then you think back to that moment and you realize there's a reason why you did that. You build this strength inside of you to, to get through it.

• 14:57Lewis Howes?

  And there's probably so many lessons you learn through the struggle and the challenges, right?

• 15:01Speaker 01

  So much, so much.

• 15:02Lewis Howes?

  What's, what's the biggest lesson over the last eight months?

• 15:03Speaker 01

  Oh, my.

• 15:04Lewis Howes?

  This is different than a rehab process.

• 15:05Speaker 01

  It is different.

• 15:06Lewis Howes?

  You learn a lot about patience and.

• 15:08Speaker 01

  You do.

• 15:09Lewis Howes?

  Working on other skills.

• 15:10Speaker 01

  I don't even know where to start what I learned.

• 15:11Lewis Howes?

  Top, top two or three lessons in the last eight, nine months you learned.

• 15:16Speaker 01

  Well, I learned.

• 15:17Lewis Howes?

  This is probably the most adverse.

• 15:19Speaker 01

  Exactly, especially for an athlete. It's one of those situations. It's probably one of the toughest. I mean, injuries and something that I've experienced in the last seven months is probably the toughest. So you can say I've been through everything.

• 15:32Speaker 01

  Well, one of the things is I learned, like, sometimes you think what, it's something so major and that that happens to you or is thrown at you. But I don't think we're ever given anything in life that we just cannot handle at all. That's just, it's not, we, we're always eventually end up handling it. Whether we do it in a good way, whether we do it in a bad way, but we get through it.

• 15:54Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 15:55Speaker 01

  And that, that was hard too. So I'm always someone that looks towards the future. Like, I always try to think of the bigger picture when it comes to my life and my career. I don't think short term, you know, I think of how will today impact tomorrow and impact the next month and the next year. And that was something that I could not think about because I couldn't think about. The future was scary.

• 16:20Lewis Howes?

  You didn't know.

• 16:21Speaker 01

  No, I didn't know. And, and I spend my whole life knowing.

• 16:26Lewis Howes?

  Preparing for the next match, the next training.

• 16:28Speaker 01

  The next tournament. I mean, I, my manager would have a schedule and everything's written down in a calendar and this and that. Yeah. Oh, the whole year, year and a half. I know what, I know what outfits I'm wearing in 2018. And yeah, I know what candy's coming out and do that. It's just you always knew. So, but in many ways, in a time where I had almost, almost zero certainty, I felt like I had a schedule. Like, I felt like I could plan things with friends. I felt like I could take a trip. I didn't have the pressure of a tournament coming up, so I didn't feel like I, I could go there with a friend because I'd have to sacrifice two, three days of training.

• 17:10Speaker 01

  That's been my life since I was four years old. So that, so I learned, you get so consumed as an athlete. You get very consumed in, in schedule and your, in your training and your life. And there's so many great things in life that you can do, but. One of the best things I learned is that you actually have to take, you have to take action and you have to do it. It's not going to come to you just by sitting in bed. And so I think in that time, what I'm celebrating, many people have asked like, or said, especially in the press, why is she celebrating a 15-month ban? That's far from what I'm celebrating. Dev, certainly not celebrating that I've been banned for 15 months. What I'm celebrating

• 17:51Speaker 01

  is that I've come through this time a better person than I was seven months ago, a stronger person, a more aware person, a more educated person. Just I've been through this process and I feel that I could have taken an easy way out, which was just sit at home and hide from everything and just not be present. And I didn't. And from the first day on, that's the choice I made. I was gonna go and do something about it. I was gonna go and I was gonna be honest to the world. I was gonna go and I was gonna take care of the things I wanted to take care of. I wanted to study. I wanted to meet people. I wanted to go on trips with my friends. So I took action. And so I'm celebrating the fact that I actually

• 18:36Speaker 01

  took it in my hands and made something out of that time and came through it in a good way. Whereas it could have been very tough.

• 18:45Lewis Howes?

  No, and I think you did it. And I always talk to you about how graceful you were and just the way, even just the posts you put out there was always like joyful experiences, things you're doing online. And people were like, why are you posting things where you're so happy when you're going through this challenge?

• 18:59Speaker 01

  Because I was. It's funny, because I do all of my social media and sometimes you get, when you post something right away, it's like, oh no, that's not, that's not her posting. There's no way. It's a fake, that's a fake smile. It's not. And I was like, no, actually, because I think as you know me, people know exactly how I'm feeling.

• 19:22Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 19:22Speaker 01

  If I'm happy, you know I'm happy. If I'm, I mean, I wear my emotions on my face. You know when I'm mad and when I'm angry, you know it.

• 19:33Speaker 01

  And so I think that's quite, um, yeah, and that's, that's how I share my feelings with my fans and um, I think that's normal.

• 19:40Lewis Howes?

  No, you did an amazing job, so congrats on everything that's happened and come back. I'm excited. I'm gonna be there for your first match already.

• 19:46Speaker 01

  Thanks.

• 19:47Lewis Howes?

  I gotta plan it out. I gotta make sure I get there for the first official match. April, I'm gonna block off the month. You talked about normalcy. Alan John, talk about normalcy.

• 19:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:56Lewis Howes?

  And how he was like a normal person, asking questions, and you're like, oh, interesting.

• 20:00Speaker 01

  Right.

• 20:01Lewis Howes?

  How are you a normal person? You know, you are a pro at 14, you, I think you're the highest paid female athlete of all time. You've done like the biggest sponsorship deals. You've won every Grand Slam. You've, you know, been number one in the world.

• 20:16Speaker 01

  Alright.

• 20:17Lewis Howes?

  What's normal about you?

• 20:19Speaker 01

  Um, I think what's normal is that I, I, I mean, I wanna believe that I have my feet on the ground and I think that's, that's because of the way that I was raised and the two people I had by my side and that's my mom and dad.

• 20:32Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 20:33Speaker 01

  And

• 20:33Lewis Howes?

  Who are amazing.

• 20:34Speaker 01

  The, who are very special and very different in, in their own ways and have had very different, um, taught me very different things from a young age and I moved, I was born in Russia and I moved to America when I was seven years old and didn't see my mom for the first two years after moving to America because she couldn't get a visa. So we, we faced a lot of, a lot of difficulties, a lot of adversity as a family and we've all, and I don't have any siblings, so we're all very much together. Um, and yeah, and especially during, during the tough times. I mean, they've, they've been incredible. They've been so just, just there and just their presence and their knowledge and,

• 21:11Speaker 01

  um, and my mom is, is like a best friend to me. Um, but the way I think that I was guided towards that, I was always under, under their wings, especially under my mother's wings. Um, in a very human and normal way, like my dad, even though my dad was a coach for many years of my career, he was still, the things that he taught me on, on a tennis court were very much life lessons and the things that my mom taught me off the court, she didn't know anything about tennis, um, were very much things that were Life things as well, very cultural, very um, um, I wouldn't say optimistic, but realistic as well.

• 21:50Speaker 01

  Like my parents were realists, um, and I think that's so hard when you're in this world and in the, in a celebrity world where you're invited to parties and you're invited, you know, to this and that.

• 22:01Lewis Howes?

  Invited on school greats podcasts.

• 22:03Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 22:04Lewis Howes?

  Stuff, you know.

• 22:05Speaker 01

  You can, I know, that's right. You do, absolutely. Um, it's very easy to um, to start saying yes to everything, to start believing in your head that you are greater.

• 22:17Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 22:17Speaker 01

  That you're greater than everyone else or everything else, and that's, that's not true.

• 22:23Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 22:23Speaker 01

  Um, and so I think that just growing up under their wings has just helped me be human and real. And I, I face challenges, you ask me how I'm the same as everyone else, I face the same challenges that everyone else faces. I just face them in a different way, maybe more in the public eye than other people. Um, but overall, I think everyone shares the same difficulties.

• 22:48Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, what would you say is the biggest internal difficulty you face?

• 22:53Speaker 01

  Biggest internal difficulty, oh goodness, um, wow, stubbornness. I'm a very stubborn person and sometimes I have to let go of that and sometimes I have to let things play. I know you're laughing at me, but.

• 23:08Lewis Howes?

  Why do you think you're so stubborn? I'm curious.

• 23:12Speaker 01

  Ah, you know, I think stubborn is good and, and stubborn is good in many ways because you don't quit until you don't take no for answers. You don't, um, you know, rejection is not in the vocabulary, it's really not.

• 23:27Lewis Howes?

  Sure.

• 23:28Speaker 01

  But it, sometimes you just, you need to just let things go and you need to let things happen and I, I fight that. I definitely have internal fights with stubbornness. I don't know, it's just the way, you know, sometimes when you want something, you're just stubborn, you're so stubborn, you just want it.

• 23:44Lewis Howes?

  Who's more stubborn, your mom or your dad?

• 23:46Speaker 01

  Oh, I, I beat them both.

• 23:51Speaker 01

  I don't know, I don't think I I got them through that. I'd probably say my mom is a little bit more chill, so maybe my dad.

• 23:58Lewis Howes?

  Who, what was the biggest lesson each one of them taught you?

• 24:02Speaker 01

  Um, well, I, my mother had me when she was very young and um, I spent and one of the things that she, I think she was a very protective parent and like she didn't want me to go to um, preschool or kindergarten. She was twenty years old and she was still in university at the time. So I spent my younger years, yes, my childhood in libraries with her. And sometimes she would take me to um, lectures.

• 24:28Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 24:29Speaker 01

  And so I spent culturally, I think she just, she taught me a lot. I mean, I, I listened to Pushkin and, and so many great Russian authors, you know, when I was four, five years old. Um, she taught me that, you know, evenings I would be writing and repeating the, the written um, cursive words and um, and letters and making sure that they were perfect and um, I didn't have any, never had a babysitter. Um, so she was a very, you know, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents as well. Um, we're very, it was a, it was a cocoon in a way.

• 25:07Speaker 01

  Um, my father was very um, very disciplined and he, he was a smart guy and, and during the early years of, of my career, everyone thought that he was crazy and he's, he's crazy in some ways. Cause he's, he's very tough, he's, he's a tough guy, he has a tough look.

• 25:23Lewis Howes?

  I like the guy.

• 25:24Speaker 01

  He's, yeah, he's, he's a funny character. He's such a character and he's so soft inside. Um, but he's, he, he's very um, he, he's a smart guy in a way that he, he didn't know tennis very well and he, but he learned from, from everyone else and he, he took that knowledge and he brought it to me. Um, and he knew that he wasn't the smartest guy, like he knew that he didn't know how to teach his daughter to be quicker or to have, hit a better forehand or um, Or to think better tactically, like he, he knew that he didn't know those things. So he went to the right people and, um, and searched the right people and brought them to me. And also took their knowledge and used it in the future.

• 26:09Speaker 01

  And, and I think as a father, that was very unselfish of him. Because I think one of the mistakes that a parent can make is that they become a know it all. And they, um, kind of influence their opinion rather than their knowledge.

• 26:24Lewis Howes?

  Confide the best information.

• 26:25Speaker 01

  Right. Um.

• 26:27Lewis Howes?

  What did he teach you mentally? If he didn't have all the best skills.

• 26:31Speaker 01

  It's funny, uh, there was, it wasn't as if I ever, a lot of people ask me where, um, because one of my greatest strengths is that I, I come on the court and I feel that I have a mental edge against my opponents and.

• 26:43Lewis Howes?

  You do?

• 26:44Speaker 01

  I do. Yeah.

• 26:46Lewis Howes?

  Why do you think that?

• 26:47Speaker 01

  I just do.

• 26:48Lewis Howes?

  And what does the mental edge mean? That you're mentally tougher, smarter, more determined?

• 26:53Speaker 01

  Um, I don't want to use the word smarter. I think there are a lot of, in order to be a professional, um, athlete and to be at the top of a game. You have to be pretty smart. You have to be, you have to be talented. You have to be a hard worker. Everyone is.

• 27:07Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 27:07Speaker 01

  Everyone is all those things. There's no one that doesn't work hard or.

• 27:11Lewis Howes?

  Of course, they want to be there, yeah. What's the edge then?

• 27:13Speaker 01

  I just really want it. I, I really, I think I, I.

• 27:17Lewis Howes?

  You want to win.

• 27:17Speaker 01

  I want to win and, and I hate to lose and I, I, I don't like giving up.

• 27:23Lewis Howes?

  But so do a lot of the, the top 10 people are probably all.

• 27:26Speaker 01

  Well, I think there's, yeah, I, I'm not sure.

• 27:30Lewis Howes?

  You just think you want it more.

• 27:31Speaker 01

  I think there's, there's a difference between showing up and playing. You know, to, cause we have, you have a lot of different tournaments. You have grand slams, which is obviously the, the biggest tournament. And then you have tournaments that are somewhere in Europe or in the middle of, of Asia that are smaller tournaments. Um, but you still, you can't just show up. You have to show up and compete. I don't, I don't believe, um, you know, a lot of people say that just by showing up, that's something. I'm not quite sure that's, that, that, that mantra has never worked for me. I'd rather not show up. It must be a waste of time in many ways.

• 28:06Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 28:07Speaker 01

  Um, especially in my profession, just by showing up doesn't get me anything. Um, so how do I get, there, it wasn't as if, you know, my father and my mom sat me down and said, you know, you have to, you have to work on your mental strength or you have to be tougher on the court. I think it's just something. Just by becoming someone in the public eye from a very young age, you you gain these horse blinders. You know what horse blinders like that?

• 28:33Lewis Howes?

  I know all of these things you're asking me.

• 28:35Speaker 01

  Okay, so when I was about sixteen, sixteen or seventeen years old, one of my coaches at the time, I was just starting to win a lot of matches and and I was at Wimbledon.

• 28:48Lewis Howes?

  As a pro.

• 28:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, as a pro already, and I was starting to get a lot of attention, a lot of media requests and interviews, and a lot of people just coming up to you and saying hello, which is as a teen, as sixteen or seventeen year old is a lot.

• 29:01Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 29:01Speaker 01

  And I was getting further in the tournament. He says, this is the time to put your horse blinders on. And I look at him.

• 29:08Lewis Howes?

  Who said this?

• 29:08Speaker 01

  A coach at the time that I had, and I looked at him and was like, I've had those on for a while.

• 29:13Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 29:15Speaker 01

  It's just, I think it's.

• 29:17Lewis Howes?

  So you weren't able to, you weren't distracted?

• 29:18Speaker 01

  No, I think it's a self, I created like a self-protection for myself. Because that's that's how that's how my parents always guided me through life. And that's how, because when you're out on the court, when you're at tournaments, it's just you. There's no one's protecting you out there, you know, it's it's you on your own, so I.

• 29:37Lewis Howes?

  You can't be vulnerable the whole time.

• 29:39Speaker 01

  No, I mean, you can be, I mean, there are many times where you feel vulnerable, but you you have to get through it. You have to get through it. So I think just, I mean, the profession itself taught me a lot about toughness.

• 29:50Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, at an early age too.

• 29:51Speaker 01

  And obviously adversity and not, I didn't have all the things that maybe other young girls and boys grew up with having, or the luxuries of having.

• 30:00Lewis Howes?

  Like a normal life?

• 30:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, having a car or, you know, having.

• 30:05Lewis Howes?

  Were you in school then too or no?

• 30:07Speaker 01

  I was homeschooled, yeah. So through high school, I did a, did it online. So they would send me books. I had a tutor that I'd connect with on the phone or email. They would send me books and my mom would break them up for me and I'd take them in folders like and. She cut them up in six pieces, so I didn't have to travel with all the thick books.

• 30:24Lewis Howes?

  Oh, I hate those books.

• 30:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's funny. When I received them, I was so happy.

• 30:29Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 30:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, I I I think it's because I just grew up with the culture of learning. Like, I I I love learning. I know, it was in the library and I there was something very, I loved it. I I loved that when you you have an assignment and you have to get it done. I love that feeling. So when I received those books, it was like, I have this assignment and I have schoolwork and homework and I'm gonna get it done.

• 30:51Lewis Howes?

  Wow. And and now you're studying more. You were.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  I was studying.

• 30:54Lewis Howes?

  You went to Harvard for like a two week.

• 30:56Speaker 01

  I did. I did two different programs at Harvard Business School. They were Global Strategic Management and a Leadership Course.

• 31:05Lewis Howes?

  How was that?

• 31:06Speaker 01

  It was great. I spent first part of it on campus and at Harvard, which was pretty surreal and and I think for me, it was being surrounded. It was about fifty people in the first class.

• 31:19Lewis Howes?

  Because you didn't go to college, right?

• 31:20Speaker 01

  No, didn't go to college.

• 31:23Speaker 01

  But I remember when I enrolled and I sent the application in and I got my confirmation on email.

• 31:28Lewis Howes?

  For Harvard?

• 31:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, I want I I printed it out and I just walked straight up to my mom because.

• 31:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, because like that's something that she's so proud of. Like, of course, she's proud of what I've achieved on the court and everything that I've been able to do in my life. But for her education, just so it it means so much. So she was she was so happy. She sent it to my grandmother and, you know. Became this family conversation. But I think for me, the experience of being surrounded by, there's about fifty people in a classroom where I'm not, I'm not the subject. Do you know what I mean? That I'm not the one. Usually, I'm at the front getting asked questions by media. And the Harvard Business School schoolroom, I mean, it's it's an auditorium. It's this beautiful, I mean, everything is top notch and.

• 32:19Speaker 01

  It's a theater room and where the professor is standing, as I'm sitting there, I was just thinking to myself, how nice is it just to be a participant?

• 32:28Lewis Howes?

  The pressure on you.

• 32:29Speaker 01

  Not even the pressure, but just to be someone that's getting information rather than just talking. Because, I mean, as a tennis player, we have to do a press conference after every single match, before every single tournament. I do interviews for sponsors. So there's always, I mean, you're constantly talking about yourself and your life. It's sometimes awful.

• 32:54Speaker 01

  So it was just nice to not be, to have a conversation about business and about companies and doing case studies with 50 people that are from different parts of the world, sharing each other's knowledge. And the biggest thing for me was to be okay with asking a question and not having an answer. Because when you're in that environment, you want to act like you're a know-it-all. And I was the youngest one in the group. I mean, you had CEOs of airlines there. Whereas I was, instead of actually contributing to a particular subject, I, most of the time, wanted to ask a question because I want to gain knowledge.

• 33:35Speaker 01

  Because when I was young, I was always very shy and I never, I don't know if I particularly enjoyed asking questions, I think.

• 33:42Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 33:42Speaker 01

  Yeah, I was very reserved and very quiet. And as I'm older, that's something that I've learned a lot, is you actually don't learn until you ask questions.

• 33:54Lewis Howes?

  You're curious.

• 33:55Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:55Lewis Howes?

  When do you think I started this podcast?

• 33:57Speaker 01

  Right.

• 33:57Lewis Howes?

  Because I can ask all the smartest people. You're a professor on the School of Greatness, teaching.

• 34:04Lewis Howes?

  That's cool. So what's the big thing you learned then? Because didn't you do a case study with your candy?

• 34:09Speaker 01

  So we were separated, so it was 50 participants or so. And then in the evenings, they separated us into smaller groups. And they said at the end of the course, we want to, within your group, you have to choose one of you and one of you will have to present on your company. And based on what you've learned during these 10 days and how you're going to apply the challenges that you have as a company. So. For some reason, as we're sitting there at 6:00 PM in Boston in a, in a small, in a small room, they just pointed to me, everyone in, in that room and said, "We're gonna do it on you, because our companies are not so interesting."

• 34:44Lewis Howes?

  There you go.

• 34:45Speaker 01

  So they're like, "We're gonna do a case study on, on Sugar Pova." And we did it, and it was, I don't know, I, I felt like, besides, obviously, presenting to 50 people at, at the end of the 10 days.

• 34:56Lewis Howes?

  So you presented it.

• 34:57Speaker 01

  I presented, yeah, I presented, um, kind of what we're, the plan, what we faced, the challenges that we have, and how I will try to apply, or attempt to apply, um, what I learned in the past 10 days, and what I, I've learned based on my business. But I was just, of course, I was nervous, because I, there are Harvard professors next to me. Um, there was also the 50 participants, but actually, one of them was, um, was from China, and he, while I was presenting, he went on a, on a Chinese version of eBay, and he looked at my product, and he started reading the reviews. And he's like, so, after, after I did the presentation, um, the participants could ask me questions, or give feedback. Um, and he's, as I'm doing the presentation, he's looking at the reviews and, of the people,

• 35:42Speaker 01

  and then after I was done, he's like, "So everyone that's bought your product has these great reviews, why aren't you, why aren't you distributing more in China?" So everyone just, it was ama, and then everyone kind of had their two cents, and, and asked me a question about distribution and so on, and it was just, it, it felt like this family that really cared about each other's issues, and, and what they faced in their businesses, and that, that was just a different feeling, from people that I've never met in my life. Um, because I, you know me, I'm surrounded all the time by people I know.

• 36:14Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 36:15Speaker 01

  So just to come out of-

• 36:16Lewis Howes?

  Same team.

• 36:17Speaker 01

  Same team all the time, probably 340 days a year.

• 36:20Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 36:21Speaker 01

  So to be around and to interact with them, um, was, it was great, to come out of my shell.

• 36:27Lewis Howes?

  That's cool. I get to do more of this in the future, more classes when you have time.

• 36:30Speaker 01

  Well, now that I'm coming back, I, I hope that I won't have time.

• 36:33Lewis Howes?

  You have no time.

• 36:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm back to my day job.

• 36:35Lewis Howes?

  Exactly. No night classes online?

• 36:39Speaker 01

  No time, which is a great thing.

• 36:41Lewis Howes?

  Your spare time, though, you are working on different businesses. You have like, how many different businesses do you have now?

• 36:46Speaker 01

  Um, so I have Sugar Pova, um, which is a lot and takes a lot up over time. Um, but also I invest in a sunscreen.

• 36:54Lewis Howes?

  Candy chocolate company.

• 36:55Speaker 01

  Candy chocolate. We just launched chocolate a couple of months ago.

• 36:57Lewis Howes?

  It's unbelievable.

• 36:58Speaker 01

  I know. Thanks for the product placement here. So nice of you.

• 37:01Lewis Howes?

  Yes, you're welcome.

• 37:03Speaker 01

  Um, I also, um, I also own a company called Super Group, which is a sunscreen brand. Um, became investor a few years ago. And I'm just, I think over, especially when I was injured and I had my shoulder surgery, I realized that even though tennis was part of my, is, might be a part of my life for many years to come, but at one point it's gonna end.

• 37:24Lewis Howes?

  It's gonna end. So what are you gonna do?

• 37:25Speaker 01

  What are you gonna do? And I just, I'm not good at sitting still. I'm just not, I'm not good at it at all.

• 37:31Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 37:32Speaker 01

  I mean, even after the Vegas trip, I came home and my coach was like, you need to take a couple of days off because it's been a world when you were in New York and doing the press.

• 37:40Lewis Howes?

  You're like, I need spin cycle.

• 37:41Speaker 01

  I do. I was like, I need to go do high yoga and he made me cancel the class. I was so disappointed. Um, so I always look for, I always look for projects that one I'm passionate about.

• 37:53Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 37:53Speaker 01

  Um, one that I feel have room for growth and potential for growth. Um, recently I invested in UFC fighting, which was a very different, um, yeah, a different, very different because I'm not so involved in it. Um, I wouldn't say I'm

• 38:08Lewis Howes?

  Passionate.

• 38:09Speaker 01

  A passionate or a huge fan of it, but I realize its potential, um, especially globally. I know how big it is over here. Um, I followed it a little bit. Um, I know all the, the names and, and so on, but I, I feel that has a lot of potential to grow.

• 38:24Lewis Howes?

  And I'm IG body, right?

• 38:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:26Lewis Howes?

  And you're part of IG.

• 38:27Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 38:27Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 38:28Speaker 01

  So I had the chance to, um, to invest. So that, so I always look for things that when I'm done with tennis, that I can really learn about and grow. Um, but it's very helpful when you're passionate about it.

• 38:41Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. How do you navigate? Cause I'm sure so many people want so much from you all the time. I could, I could assume, maybe I'm wrong, but how do you navigate at least from sixteen?

• 38:48Speaker 01

  Like you.

• 38:49Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, always.

• 38:50Speaker 01

  Kind of my podcast.

• 38:50Lewis Howes?

  Always. How do you navigate it though from just like and maybe because you have a great team around you that you're kind of protected. But do you feel like people are always taking or wanting to grab things from you and is that why you're so stubborn?

• 39:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, well, I do. I think a lot of it comes with having a good team and a lot of people know my interests. But to be honest, I love, I love doing different things and I love to be a part of things. And sometimes you do have to slow me down because I I put too much, I put too much on my plate. You know, I was building a house for three years and I gotta decorate it and you know, I practice and then I'm at an antique shop thirty minutes later looking for furniture. And then, you know, I don't like those legs. We gotta customize the legs. Gotta change the material and then I have a Nike design meeting and what are the girls, what is, because I wear a collection on court and then some girls that plan the tour wear some of my pieces as well. So not only thinking about what I'm wearing, I'm thinking about what the team girls are wearing as well.

• 39:48Speaker 01

  So and I'm thinking a year, year and a half in advance. So I go from practice to working at my home, to a design meeting.

• 39:58Lewis Howes?

  To eating chocolate, tasting chocolates. Wearing sunscreen, testing sunscreens.

• 40:03Speaker 01

  So there is, there is a lot, but I really, I love it. I don't, there's rarely things I don't, I mean boredom is sometimes good. Like even in the last couple of days where I just had

• 40:15Lewis Howes?

  Nothing.

• 40:16Speaker 01

  Nothing. I finally finished a book. I watched a few shows. Yeah, that I was reading that.

• 40:22Lewis Howes?

  Because you're writing a book too, right?

• 40:23Speaker 01

  I'm writing a book as well.

• 40:24Lewis Howes?

  Why should we not say that?

• 40:25Speaker 01

  No, that's fine. No, everyone knows. I'm writing a book. I haven't been able to write in the, in the previous months. I think I almost didn't want that memory on paper.

• 40:33Lewis Howes?

  It's gonna be there though.

• 40:35Speaker 01

  It will absolutely be there.

• 40:37Lewis Howes?

  People want to read about it.

• 40:38Speaker 01

  Yes, I'm gonna be working on it next week in New York.

• 40:40Lewis Howes?

  That's cool.

• 40:41Speaker 01

  But yeah, I, I love the things that I'm a part of and I think that's what, that's why, one of the reasons I've been able to be successful. And it takes my mind off the physical grind of my, of my real job.

• 40:56Speaker 01

  It is so physical and so mental that it's just, it's nice to go into different areas. It helps you grow. And there's also so much you can do after you're, after I leave that court.

• 41:08Lewis Howes?

  I don't know if I I got the answer yet, but I'm curious, why do you, why do you want to win so bad? Why do you want it so bad? Like, you've won so many things. You've been number one, you've you've done the every grand slam you've won, right?

• 41:22Speaker 01

  Right.

• 41:22Lewis Howes?

  What's that called? When you win every grand slam?

• 41:24Speaker 01

  I don't even know.

• 41:25Lewis Howes?

  No. You've done it, you've won everything, right? You've won every match that you could win, right? Every tournament you've won, pretty much.

• 41:33Speaker 01

  Uh, I'm somewhere there, yeah. I've won all the grand slams.

• 41:36Lewis Howes?

  Why are you, I mean, how are you so driven and why to win and and strive to be the best still? Like, why?

• 41:43Speaker 01

  Cause I love, I love the sport. I love the sport, I love the feeling.

• 41:49Speaker 01

  I think also selfishly, uh, as a woman, it's just, it's a really good feeling to feel good at what you do.

• 41:56Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 41:56Speaker 01

  To feel strong and powerful and um, and just good at it. And and and know that there's by working on it that you can be better.

• 42:07Lewis Howes?

  Hmm.

• 42:07Speaker 01

  That's just, uh, there's nothing else that where I feel that.

• 42:11Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 42:11Speaker 01

  You know, I'd love doing other things, but I, when I'm on the court and I, even when I'm rusty or even when I don't get to a ball, which is a lot of times.

• 42:21Speaker 01

  It's like, oh, that chocolate I ate last night.

• 42:25Lewis Howes?

  Now you're sugarbooba.

• 42:26Speaker 01

  Exactly, um, you know, I eat a lot, so.

• 42:30Lewis Howes?

  So do I.

• 42:31Speaker 01

  I eat a lot. So, yeah, I just, I love the feeling of getting better. Um, I love that challenge and there's nothing winning. I mean, winning is a, in tennis is is a spur of the moment. It's not, it's like that final point and that emotion that you don't get with anything else. It's not like.

• 42:53Lewis Howes?

  I get it.

• 42:53Speaker 01

  You're not, you're, I guess, y- your success is in your own hands. It's not in the hands of anyone else.

• 43:01Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 43:01Speaker 01

  You know, like you have a team that that you build and that helps you get to, to get you to walk to center court and then you walk out there and, but then it's you, so. And if you lose, you know, or you win.

• 43:14Lewis Howes?

  It's on you.

• 43:15Speaker 01

  Yeah. And that's, I love that, I love that pressure.

• 43:19Lewis Howes?

  Hmm. Yeah, you can't get it anywhere else.

• 43:21Speaker 01

  No, not, I haven't found it yet.

• 43:23Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 43:24Speaker 01

  So.

• 43:25Lewis Howes?

  I hear you. Do you have any regrets for your career of like, starting too soon or? Not going to school or relationships or anything like that. Is there any regrets along the way?

• 43:38Speaker 01

  Um, I don't want to use the word regrets. It's a pretty strong word. The one thing I I Well, one thing I do regret is not learning more languages when I was young.

• 43:46Lewis Howes?

  How many do you know now?

• 43:47Speaker 01

  Two, Russian and English, but I wish that I would have learned more languages. You pick them up so well when you're when you're young. Um, and I think especially in today's growing, just growing society and and world, um, it would be really great to know more languages.

• 44:04Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 44:05Speaker 01

  That's one thing. Um, as far as other things in my career, um, I don't know, or relationships. I think I think when you talk about career and relationships and regret, I think, you know, people you talk about balance a lot like that, kind of strive for balance. Um.

• 44:21Lewis Howes?

  How do you do that? Cause you.

• 44:23Speaker 01

  I don't, cause I don't, I don't, there's no balance.

• 44:26Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 44:26Speaker 01

  I don't.

• 44:27Lewis Howes?

  It's full on for your.

• 44:28Speaker 01

  Well, I don't think there's, I don't think balance exists. I don't think there's ever fifty fifty.

• 44:33Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 44:34Speaker 01

  I think if you're, if you're fifty fifty, then you're just fifty percent at one thing and fifty percent at another thing. And is that good enough? I don't think so. You know, it's not in my, not in my opinion.

• 44:46Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 44:46Speaker 01

  Um, it can be good enough.

• 44:48Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 44:49Speaker 01

  Which is, I know a lot of people that that do it and and that's, that's their good enough. That's their great.

• 44:55Lewis Howes?

  That's, yeah, it's what they want.

• 44:56Speaker 01

  It's what they want and that's what, and it just has never worked for me. I never feel, I don't feel fulfilled. I don't feel that I'm getting the most out of myself when I'm just fifty fifty.

• 45:05Lewis Howes?

  How many days are you on the road on a normal year when you're healthy and?

• 45:08Speaker 01

  A lot, like two hundred fifty maybe?

• 45:11Lewis Howes?

  Two hundred fifty on the road?

• 45:12Speaker 01

  Probably.

• 45:13Lewis Howes?

  So how do you have a, you know, or how have you had a relationship?

• 45:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:18Lewis Howes?

  When you're, when you're competing and so focused on being the best at one thing?

• 45:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's, it's hard. It's hard to, it's hard to kind of, you know, you're sacrificing your career when you're trying to make a relationship and you're trying to make a life for yourself, um, off the court, which obviously I would love very much because I, you know, I'm almost thirty years old and I do see myself being married one day and having children, obviously being so close to my parents. Um, but how did I, I mean, I've, I've managed it somehow. I mean, not well enough, obviously.

• 45:53Lewis Howes?

  Sure, sure.

• 45:54Speaker 01

  Um.

• 45:55Lewis Howes?

  What do you think, what do you think it's gonna take from you to be able to have, have it all in the future?

• 46:00Speaker 01

  I don't know, I don't know if I always want it all. I don't know if I, all is, that's pretty strong.

• 46:08Speaker 01

  All is very strong.

• 46:10Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 46:10Speaker 01

  Um.

• 46:11Lewis Howes?

  Just take it one year at a time.

• 46:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't, it's not something that I, that I sit here and say, oh, I'm, I'm gonna have it all, I'm gonna, you know, have a healthy and strong relationship while ha- while winning grand slams and yeah, that's my goal, I'd love to have that. That's obviously what everyone would love to have in any, any career that they have.

• 46:30Lewis Howes?

  Right, yeah, yeah. I'm curious about what you think about when you said, you know, you're with the team until you walk on the court and they escort you on the court. So what is, what does you think about either in the locker room beforehand, you guys have locker rooms, right?

• 46:43Speaker 01

  We do have locker rooms.

• 46:45Lewis Howes?

  In the locker room beforehand? In the locker room beforehand or when you're walking on court, do you have a pri- a mental practice or a visualization technique or something you do? Or do you just go out there and perform?

• 46:55Speaker 01

  Pretty much, I just, I don't.

• 46:58Lewis Howes?

  You just turn it on?

• 46:59Speaker 01

  I didn't grow up, yeah, it, that's one of the big differences that I, I see, um, and I've lived in the United States since I was seven years old. But I think that's one of the biggest differences that I see culturally, um, is, like before I ma- it's not that I have a ritual or I'm reading, um, an inspirational book on how to become a better person or a better fighter or a better athlete. Um, it was funny, when I came to the United States, that was the biggest surprise, was that you see so many, um, books about like chicken soup for the soul or chicken soup for, or it was about, um, or, you know, from a woman's perspective, like take care of your body and I'd never, like that was not-

• 47:41Lewis Howes?

  I don't have the positive messages in Russia.

• 47:43Speaker 01

  Well, I, I'm not sure, I just wasn't really exposed to it. So that was, so it's always a lot of things that you read. For me culturally, it was like poetry and reading like very, you know, deep literature that would just kind of inspire your mind. Um, whereas in the United States, a lot of, a lot of books that are written are, you know, to motivate yourself and are more like a self-help book, which- In certain times is very helpful and I've I've read many of them and have been inspired by many of them and I've read yours um as well.

• 48:14Lewis Howes?

  Thank you.

• 48:15Speaker 01

  But I that so that practice for me of okay, I I need to meditate for you know 10 minutes before a match because that's how that's no it's just like I have a routine of you know, I know, I know when I like to to warm up.

• 48:29Lewis Howes?

  Put your shoes on at a certain time and then you're like.

• 48:31Speaker 01

  No, like I put my left shoe on before my right and I've done that since I was young. Like that's just almost like a routine to me, you know?

• 48:38Lewis Howes?

  Right, right, right. But you know, when you like to warm up, you have a.

• 48:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, I know when I like to warm up. I know when I like to eat. I know what I eat.

• 48:44Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 48:44Speaker 01

  I know. And that's it. That's all I need. I I usually have a book with me that I read it and that doesn't really matter what it is.

• 48:51Lewis Howes?

  To kind of just chill your mind out or to kind of?

• 48:53Speaker 01

  Just because I don't want to be doing it. Like, I don't want to. I usually don't watch any TV or because in tennis, you're usually following another match. So you're always waiting around and looking at the score. So instead of that, I just want to be more in a different mind instead of reading a book or.

• 49:08Lewis Howes?

  And you can get more focused when you're not thinking about the match beforehand by kind of being in a different world by reading and then just turn it on?

• 49:15Speaker 01

  I think that's the best. That's the goal. The goal is to think for me. Personally, the goal is to to think of the match or to think of the situation when you have to and not not when I'm in the locker room eating my chicken with no sauce and cold rice and carrots and broccoli.

• 49:35Lewis Howes?

  Sure, sure, sure.

• 49:37Speaker 01

  Like you want to be. Yeah, you're just focused on the food. And then when the time comes that, you know, 20, 30 minutes before the match where you finally huddle with your team and and talk about the match, absolutely. You think about, you think about strategy, but everything before it just becomes too much.

• 49:53Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. I want to do something I've never done. I'm gonna have, I want to turn the camera towards Sven. So you want to turn it towards Sven. I'm gonna give you the headset for a moment.

• 50:01Speaker 01

  He was my driver today.

• 50:03Lewis Howes?

  He was your driver today. So Sven is Maria's coach. How long has he been your coach?

• 50:08Speaker 01

  Three years.

• 50:09Lewis Howes?

  Three years. You can turn it to him. I'm gonna give it to him in a second. Yeah. Three years. So I want to ask you the question of why did you choose to work with Maria exclusively one on one for the last three years? And what's the thing that's impressed you the most about her over every other athlete you've worked with? And what does she do better than everyone else?

• 50:34Speaker 03

  This is Sven.

• 50:38Speaker 01

  He needs his... He was wearing a t-shirt the other day that said, "I don't do interviews", which was pretty... It was pretty funny. Oh, now he's in the spotlight. He's not going to lunch afterward.

• 50:56Speaker 03

  Because I normally don't speak. I only speak to her.

• 50:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's right.

• 51:01Speaker 03

  So, these are three... She gives me the green light.

• 51:05Speaker 01

  Of course. He's his own boss.

• 51:09Speaker 03

  Why did I choose working with Maria?

• 51:14Speaker 03

  It actually was a very easy choice to do so. I came out of a... I worked 15 years with players one-on-one, many different players, men and women. And then I worked eight years as a consultant for a brand, which I'm not going to name at the moment, but which involved scouting, development, interim coaching. So, a lot of variety. And there came a moment where I knew that she would become available and I had a good relationship with her. Somebody else was coaching her, but I also knew she was going through a tough time,

• 51:58Speaker 03

  being in the tennis industry and being so, you know, emerged in the desk for the last 25 years. I also know her coming on the scene and I've always been very impressed by her demeanor. And I wanted to work with her because I knew I was going to learn things that I hadn't learned before. I think very selfishly, actually. Not only that I can add value to her, but she has to add... A player has to add value to me. In order for me to give my best, she has to give her best. And I knew that going into that, she would open new doors.

• 52:42Speaker 03

  It would give me definitely new experiences. The last experience I didn't anticipate.

• 52:51Lewis Howes?

  Just say it lightly.

• 52:53Speaker 03

  So I was definitely not ready for that. And so, but I knew, I knew that I, I would get inspired. And in order for you to travel the world about forty weeks out of the year that I do. And actually turned out that the first year was like forty-six weeks we were together. You better be around people that inspire you. Because if they don't, then you, you really don't last. So, you know, now, three years on, I can't wait to get back on the court. I still, every day, it's like a first day. And to have that, and to get that, that inspiration and the feeling of we've not reached a ceiling.

• 53:38Speaker 03

  So that was the reason, actually. It just gave me a lot of perspective and a very bright horizon. So that, that, that inspired me. What's the biggest thing you learned? The biggest thing I learned is her ability to adapt. Her ability to shift from being on the court and then going absolutely, you know, at one stage also having some losses. And to be able to walk into a press room and able to answer questions so articulate. And so, without any hesitation of words.

• 54:20Speaker 03

  I, I, I think her ability to shift is, is phenomenal. In, in, in competition, but also on court, from sponsor to, to the media. That I've learned from her that, that is phenomenal. Well, I think you touched that very, you know, and she said she's very stubborn. And, well, that's, it's a gift. It is, it is a gift. And it is a, you know, we had a laugh about it the other day. Actually, also her father said something that was quite interesting. And it was about consistency makes great champions. She's consistently stubborn.

• 55:02Speaker 03

  Um, and that drives me because I have to be constantly, if I say something to her, I better be damn sure about something because if not, I have no, no chance against her because.

• 55:20Speaker 01

  Do your fact checks first.

• 55:22Speaker 03

  If her mind is set on A and I'm coming with B. I, I, you know, I.

• 55:28Speaker 01

  No chance.

• 55:29Speaker 03

  There is absolutely no chance, you know. That's, and that's the thing, this other stubbornness, but and, and in my experience of working with professional tennis players, individual sport, um, the greatest that I've worked with is Maria, being the greatest stubborn player individual, and doesn't matter if it's a woman or a man or, her ability, that, that sets her apart. I am most proud of her, how she, um, and, and that's just because I'm with her for those three years, only three years, that's, um, but the past seven months, how she,

• 56:12Speaker 03

  um, stayed in the moment, uh, worked on herself, um, how she, absorbed and was like a sponge to, to grow, uh, it's inspired me, it got the, the team through it, um, because of her strength, that allowed us to also give more support. And, um, yeah, I'm very proud of that. That's, that's a, a big, big step for me to, uh, to experience.

• 56:42Speaker 01

  Thank you. Very nice. That was like an exclusive with Sven Grenov.

• 56:46Lewis Howes?

  Exclusive with the legendary coach. I like it. We'll have to do more.

• 56:51Speaker 01

  We had a good practice. You missed our practice this morning.

• 56:53Lewis Howes?

  Ah, I'm not invited. You gotta.

• 56:55Speaker 01

  You're all, oh, please.

• 56:56Lewis Howes?

  Am I always invited?

• 56:57Speaker 01

  How many times have we've invited you to practice and you've.

• 56:59Lewis Howes?

  Gone or something, yeah. I'm gonna show up one of these days. I'm gonna text Sven and just show up.

• 57:04Speaker 01

  You should, you should.

• 57:05Lewis Howes?

  With my racket and my 10, uh, times of experience on court.

• 57:10Speaker 01

  Beach tennis, I remember, I think you won.

• 57:11Lewis Howes?

  I was not bad.

• 57:12Speaker 01

  You weren't bad. I mean, you know, there's room for growth.

• 57:15Lewis Howes?

  Lots of room. I've played tennis maybe like 10 times in college and, uh, I could never figure out how to serve.

• 57:21Speaker 01

  But I did beat you in bowling.

• 57:23Lewis Howes?

  One game.

• 57:25Speaker 01

  What?

• 57:25Lewis Howes?

  I won another game, though.

• 57:26Speaker 01

  You did win the other game.

• 57:27Lewis Howes?

  So we have a rubber match.

• 57:28Speaker 01

  That's fine, but I do want to say that I beat you in bowling.

• 57:33Lewis Howes?

  I let you win. It's okay.

• 57:35Speaker 01

  I never won in bowling in my life before.

• 57:37Lewis Howes?

  Oh, you're amazing. You were great.

• 57:39Speaker 01

  That was special.

• 57:40Lewis Howes?

  You were great.

• 57:41Speaker 01

  Just wanted to make sure that all the listeners know.

• 57:43Lewis Howes?

  Yes, well, I don't know, one of the greatest.

• 57:44Speaker 01

  It's very important.

• 57:45Lewis Howes?

  One of the greatest female athletes of all time can beat me once barely by bowling. It's all good.

• 57:49Speaker 01

  That is because I'm terrible at everything else that I do in sports.

• 57:53Lewis Howes?

  Except for tennis?

• 57:53Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 57:54Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 57:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:55Lewis Howes?

  Are you good at ping pong?

• 57:56Speaker 01

  No.

• 57:57Lewis Howes?

  I am really good at ping pong. I'm gonna say it.

• 57:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm not, not even playing you.

• 58:01Lewis Howes?

  We play. Are you good at tennis? Uh, table tennis? We should play.

• 58:06Speaker 01

  Table tennis.

• 58:07Lewis Howes?

  Do you have a, do you have a, you don't have a table, do you?

• 58:10Speaker 01

  No.

• 58:10Lewis Howes?

  You gotta get one.

• 58:11Speaker 01

  I just have a bowling alley.

• 58:12Lewis Howes?

  I know, you're insane.

• 58:15Lewis Howes?

  Okay, I want to ask a few more questions before we go get some sugar fish. What's the thing you're most proud of? That maybe most people don't know about you, or that's not in the public eye?

• 58:27Speaker 01

  I'm, uh, I'm most proud of the consistency with the people that I have around me. I've had same, same faces and same minds and, um, with me through so many years. And that's, it's special because I see so many people come and go out of people's lives.

• 58:54Speaker 01

  And just proud of having that, that support and that, that team that really, um, that you grow with together. You know, you grow and you learn and sometimes you don't even need to say things about it, but just getting through situations gets you. I mean, I'm certainly proud of, you know, I only have a handful of friends, um, but I've known them for so long. Very close friends.

• 59:18Lewis Howes?

  You've got a ton of acquaintances, I'm sure.

• 59:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, I have a lot of acquaintances, but I just, I have a really strong group of friends that are so. Just amazing.

• 59:26Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 59:27Speaker 01

  Um, and I've

• 59:28Lewis Howes?

  Good people, solid.

• 59:28Speaker 01

  Good people.

• 59:29Lewis Howes?

  I've met a lot of them, they're great.

• 59:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, you have, and they're very different and come from very different businesses and um have different jobs, live in different parts of the world, but are very special people.

• 59:40Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, that's cool.

• 59:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 59:41Lewis Howes?

  I like that. What is it about uh athletes after they retire? There are some who are successful in the next thing and there are others who, you know, just live in the past and they're not able to break through mentally, they don't have the same mental toughness. What do you think that is about athletes? Have you seen some of your friends retire from tennis and kind of not do as well? And have you seen others do extremely well, whether in business or something else? And what do you think that is?

• 1:00:06Speaker 01

  I think everyone has a choice. You know, everyone has a choice and and and it's it's up to them. You know, it's up to them to do something with their life and and some people choose um look, be- being an athlete, it takes a lot out of you. It takes, I mean, it's very easy to burn out and it's very easy to get tired. It's from simply traveling and you know, just when I was in Vegas a couple of days ago and I wake up and I, you know, you're kind of, you know, I've been home for a while, but also traveling on like trips that, you know, I'm usually in a hotel where I want to stay or but I was in a hotel room and, you know, spent like sixteen hours in the room and just, I was a little sick, but I was like reading and then I ordered room service and it it gets so, it it's lonely.

• 1:00:51Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:52Speaker 01

  It's very lonely and and years of that in the same place, year after year. You know exactly which tournaments you go to. But I was saying to my team after the match, I said, yeah, this morning I kind of felt really crappy because I was like, you know, I'm coming back, but this feeling that I had in the hotel room in the morning, it was awful, you know? Because I've I've loved waking up to this beautiful view every morning.

• 1:01:16Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 1:01:17Speaker 01

  That I, that I, yeah, and then I was just, I don't know, I was in the middle of buildings and I ordered this coffee that was just awful.

• 1:01:24Lewis Howes?

  Oh my gosh.

• 1:01:25Speaker 01

  And I thought to myself, oh. And then I went, six hours later, I was on the court. And I came back from that and I said, this is exactly why I'm doing it.

• 1:01:34Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:01:35Speaker 01

  This is what makes it, you know, this is what's, this is why.

• 1:01:39Lewis Howes?

  Of course.

• 1:01:40Speaker 01

  But, but the, the point is that you, you have, you go through those moments and some people just, that, that's enough. And, and, and it's totally understandable.

• 1:01:49Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:50Speaker 01

  Um, I just personally, I, I love, I love challenging myself to different things and I, I love, I love traveling. So that's not, that's never been a problem for me. I love the fact that you can get on a plane and be anywhere in the world. I know when I'm on a long trip and I'm walking in the airport and I see all these destinations. I'm so happy because I know that I can be in a matter of, what, like 10 hours on the other side of the world with anyone that I want to be with. So that always gives me a sense of almost perspective that, yeah, I know I'm far. I know that I'm, you know, all my friends have this, a wedding that they're going to, or a birthday party, or a holiday that I'm missing.

• 1:02:29Speaker 01

  But I know that I can be there with them, uh, maybe not in this moment, but when I finish the tournament, I know I'm just a flight away. Um, and that hasn't changed for me. Um, but work wise, I, I think people just, you, you choose what you want to do. And I've, I think you have to like, like in the past seven months, like I could have chosen not to do anything. And I could have just.

• 1:02:52Lewis Howes?

  And there are other athletes who have.

• 1:02:54Speaker 01

  Rented a barn in the middle of nowhere and I don't know.

• 1:02:58Lewis Howes?

  There are other athletes and, uh, who have, I'm thinking of a woman in the UFC who kind of go off the grid when something bad happens. And they don't post anything on social media for months. They don't do any press. They're like depressed when some adversity they, they face. And, uh, you chose to be the opposite. So I think it's, it's true. You have a choice on how you respond to every situation and every transition in your life.

• 1:03:20Speaker 01

  I think everyone, I think, of course, everyone has a choice, but everyone is affected by something in a different way. And I think the way that I took things in my own hands, it, it made me, I don't know, it, it just, from the first day, I, I felt, I felt really good about the way that I handled the situation. I was proud of it. And I think that helped me build towards, you know, training. I've been training differently, but challenging myself in different ways. Um. You know, making sure that my mind, as I said, I couldn't, it was very painful to look long term. So I just, I really put a lot of effort into my body and, and just trying to work on staying fit, which is when you're a professional athlete and you're, don't have your profession.

• 1:04:03Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:03Speaker 01

  Um, it's very difficult because I love to eat and I love a lot of sweets and I love being social.

• 1:04:09Lewis Howes?

  You have a sugar company.

• 1:04:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, I have a candy company.

• 1:04:11Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:12Speaker 01

  And I love going out with my friends and having Moroccan tea with biscuits and, you know, it adds up. Love having sangria.

• 1:04:20Lewis Howes?

  I hear you.

• 1:04:21Speaker 01

  You know?

• 1:04:22Lewis Howes?

  I hear you.

• 1:04:23Speaker 01

  It's not, it's not great when you don't have a profession.

• 1:04:26Lewis Howes?

  I hear you.

• 1:04:27Speaker 01

  So I really had to put my mind and my body and, and train and so, and I chose that. I, people can guide you, but you have to do it.

• 1:04:36Lewis Howes?

  Your discipline.

• 1:04:37Speaker 01

  You have, you have to. And, and maybe there will be times in my life when I don't.

• 1:04:42Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:43Speaker 01

  Um, but in this situation I did and I'm, I'm really glad I did.

• 1:04:46Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Well, I think you've got a powerful vision for how you want to be, the things you want to create, the things you want to achieve in, in your profession. So.

• 1:04:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, I do. I think vision is really important.

• 1:04:56Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:57Speaker 01

  I think vision is a strong word.

• 1:04:58Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 1:04:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:05:00Lewis Howes?

  So you like vision then?

• 1:05:01Speaker 01

  I do.

• 1:05:02Lewis Howes?

  It's not like the other two?

• 1:05:03Speaker 01

  No.

• 1:05:04Lewis Howes?

  Words he does.

• 1:05:05Speaker 01

  No.

• 1:05:06Lewis Howes?

  Vision is a strong word in a good way.

• 1:05:07Speaker 01

  Vision is, yeah.

• 1:05:08Lewis Howes?

  What would you say your vision is?

• 1:05:09Speaker 01

  Um, my vision is to, to keep getting better, to keep improving to, um, as, as a, as an athlete, as a person, as a daughter, as a, anyone. Um, I think it's just to, to keep getting better.

• 1:05:25Lewis Howes?

  And do you have any fears?

• 1:05:26Speaker 01

  I don't think so. I, I've had, you know, I've gone through a lot of adversity in life and I've, I think if there were things to fear, it would probably be then.

• 1:05:38Speaker 01

  Um.

• 1:05:39Lewis Howes?

  But not before then.

• 1:05:40Speaker 01

  Well, it would have been like I'm talking about even when I moved to the United States. I mean, we didn't have a lot of money as a family and um thinking my father came with $700. Um savings from grandparents, um never, I mean, I was seven years old with and we the only thing we came with was a tennis dream, which is.

• 1:06:01Lewis Howes?

  At a seven year old.

• 1:06:01Speaker 01

  It's a pretty optimistic.

• 1:06:05Speaker 01

  So there's a lot, there's a lot of things that could have happened that obviously wouldn't led me. I I realize that I'm amazingly fortunate to be where I am today and that people that will take the same route will maybe not end up in the same position and I know that and I'm so grateful for it.

• 1:06:20Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:21Speaker 01

  Um, yeah.

• 1:06:22Lewis Howes?

  Is there any question that you wish people would ask you?

• 1:06:26Speaker 01

  Um, I don't think about it because people ask a lot of questions. So I, once they're done asking, I'm just thankful that there are no more questions.

• 1:06:35Lewis Howes?

  Okay, we'll get to the last couple of questions.

• 1:06:37Speaker 01

  No, that wasn't a message or anything, it was just.

• 1:06:40Lewis Howes?

  Teasing. What are you most grateful for then in your life recently?

• 1:06:45Speaker 01

  Um, health, health, I'm I'm so thankful for being healthy and having a healthy family around me. My my dad struggled with um the health of his mom in the last year and that was really difficult to go through as a family and and she's doing much better. Um, just health, you realize when when something hits like that in life that it's health is is just key to the way that you feel to your to like to energy, right? Like even when even when I'm a little sick, I get so down because I'm just, it's not me. I I don't feel like my normal crazy self.

• 1:07:19Lewis Howes?

  Sure, stubborn self.

• 1:07:22Speaker 01

  Just, yeah, I'm usually, I'm usually quite energetic and I'm passionate and and so when something is limiting me or I know I'm injured and I can't go train, it's it's really hard.

• 1:07:33Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 1:07:34Speaker 01

  So health is very grateful for that.

• 1:07:37Lewis Howes?

  All right, well, I think I, I think you know what this last couple of questions are.

• 1:07:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't know them by heart, but I I listen to them.

• 1:07:42Lewis Howes?

  You've heard them, so subconsciously.

• 1:07:43Speaker 01

  And trust me, I don't know what my answers will be, so.

• 1:07:45Lewis Howes?

  Okay, we'll give you a moment to think about it. So this is called the three truths question. And if it's the last day for you many years from now, what would you say if if there was no record of anything you've ever created is gone, no books, no, no videos of you playing, no interviews. So there's no messages of you.

• 1:08:04Speaker 01

  All right.

• 1:08:04Lewis Howes?

  And you have to write down three things, three lessons, truths that you would pass on to your friends, your family and the world. What would those be?

• 1:08:12Speaker 01

  Messages to them, but not about me.

• 1:08:14Lewis Howes?

  Three truths that you would pass on.

• 1:08:17Speaker 01

  One clarification.

• 1:08:18Lewis Howes?

  From all the lessons you've learned in your life. Yeah, three truths about how you, what you would give to people to to live by.

• 1:08:26Speaker 01

  All right.

• 1:08:29Speaker 01

  I think be real. Realness and reality is something I've, I feel like I've always had to come back to in my life. I think that's very important. No matter what, what you're going through, just be real to who you are, be real to what you give. Don't do something or don't accept something that's not you.

• 1:08:53Speaker 01

  Honesty. I think honesty is huge. It's a huge part of life and it kind of goes with being real. Being first honest to yourself.

• 1:09:05Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 1:09:05Speaker 01

  Which is the most important thing because you can guide yourself in so many wrong directions when you're not honest.

• 1:09:13Speaker 01

  And honest to to the world and to to people that are obviously very close to you because that's, I think that's how friendships and relationships really build and become strong.

• 1:09:24Speaker 01

  And the third, I don't know.

• 1:09:31Speaker 01

  Oh goodness.

• 1:09:33Lewis Howes?

  Be real, be honest.

• 1:09:36Speaker 01

  Learn, you know, learn. Don't be afraid to learn and grow. I think sometimes people are almost a little afraid of that, right? Like it's, it's almost too powerful in many ways. Like when I was in the classroom and I, like the first day I was so, like there was a conversation which I didn't understand. It was a topic about finance and it was just numbers and I just couldn't. And finally, after like four hours, I finally raised my hand and I asked a question. And I felt like, I actually felt like I contributed because it started this whole other conversation. And I realized that other people around me weren't quite aware of what we were talking about.

• 1:10:14Lewis Howes?

  Sure, sure.

• 1:10:16Speaker 01

  So, um, so I think that's, that, yeah, learn, learn by asking questions.

• 1:10:20Lewis Howes?

  I like it.

• 1:10:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:10:21Lewis Howes?

  Those are great. Those are great. Good answers. What, um, how can we support you? You got Maria Sharapova.

• 1:10:27Speaker 01

  Oh, you're supporting. You're always supporting me.

• 1:10:29Lewis Howes?

  Well, how can we as a community support you? Where, where do we, where do you like to hang out online the most? I know you're on Instagram a lot.

• 1:10:35Speaker 01

  I know. Yeah, I, I'm, I mean, I have a Facebook, I have a Twitter, um, they're all different. Instagram, Instagram's more my creative platform, I would say.

• 1:10:44Lewis Howes?

  Great on Instagram, yeah.

• 1:10:45Speaker 01

  Thanks. Yeah.

• 1:10:46Lewis Howes?

  So we follow you everywhere.

• 1:10:47Speaker 01

  Twitter's more like informative, news-related. Um, Facebook, I'd say, is a little bit more corporate.

• 1:10:53Lewis Howes?

  Instagram's you, behind the scenes, personal.

• 1:10:55Speaker 01

  I think so, yeah. I love, nothing like putting thirty different filters on a picture, right?

• 1:10:59Lewis Howes?

  Exactly, yeah, yeah.

• 1:11:00Speaker 01

  That take twenty minutes of your day.

• 1:11:03Speaker 01

  Make your life look so much better than it is.

• 1:11:05Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely. So, so we'll have everyone follow you on social media.

• 1:11:10Speaker 01

  Oh, thank you.

• 1:11:10Lewis Howes?

  And can we, can we get some?

• 1:11:11Speaker 01

  I can't wait for my fans to, um, to listen to all the other podcasts.

• 1:11:15Lewis Howes?

  I'm excited. I'm excited for them too as well. I'm excited for them to hear this one.

• 1:11:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, they'll.

• 1:11:19Lewis Howes?

  This is the most important one. Maria, come on.

• 1:11:21Speaker 01

  I don't know about that.

• 1:11:22Lewis Howes?

  How can we, how can we get some of the candy and chocolate?

• 1:11:24Speaker 01

  Sugar Pova, yeah. Sugar Pova's on sugarpova.com.

• 1:11:27Lewis Howes?

  Sugar Pova.

• 1:11:28Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:11:29Lewis Howes?

  The chocolate bars are amazing. Candy's amazing.

• 1:11:31Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:11:31Lewis Howes?

  Grab some of this. Check it out.

• 1:11:34Speaker 01

  In time for Halloween.

• 1:11:35Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Oh, you got some Halloween stuff?

• 1:11:36Speaker 01

  We do. We have some, um, spooky sours, which are little spiders.

• 1:11:40Lewis Howes?

  I saw the photo shoot with that, yeah. I saw you post that. That's cool. All right. All right. Anything else we can?

• 1:11:44Speaker 01

  No.

• 1:11:45Lewis Howes?

  It's all on maria sharova.com. All this stuff.

• 1:11:47Speaker 01

  All of this is on maria sharova.com.

• 1:11:49Lewis Howes?

  Okay, awesome. We'll go there and connect there.

• 1:11:51Speaker 01

  Yes, thank you.

• 1:11:52Lewis Howes?

  When you get your book coming out, we are gonna push it extremely hard.

• 1:11:55Speaker 01

  Oh, thanks.

• 1:11:55Lewis Howes?

  Everyone will buy it, so.

• 1:11:56Speaker 01

  Oh, cool. Yeah, I don't know when it's coming out yet, but, um.

• 1:11:59Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, like five years, yeah.

• 1:12:00Speaker 01

  Well, with, with my pace and, and all the life events that happen to me, I mean. You never know. I need a, a second book.

• 1:12:09Lewis Howes?

  Yes, I hear you. Uh, well, before I ask the final question, Maria, I want to acknowledge you for a moment.

• 1:12:13Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:12:14Lewis Howes?

  For your incredible friendship.

• 1:12:16Speaker 01

  Thanks.

• 1:12:17Lewis Howes?

  I'm, I'm really proud to be your friend and to know you because of. I don't think many people I've met are able to go through life so gracefully with the adversity you have, with the platform you have, with the attention you're getting, with the press, the pressure that could potentially be built upon you. It's been so beautiful to see how graceful you are.

• 1:12:38Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:12:38Lewis Howes?

  And how strong and amazing and inspiring you've been through the adversity. This is the only time I've known you.

• 1:12:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:12:45Lewis Howes?

  Is when adversity struck.

• 1:12:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, you actually wrote me a birthday card.

• 1:12:48Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 1:12:49Speaker 01

  You wrote me a really, a really nice birthday card. You said, I've only, I've pretty much only known you through this time.

• 1:12:55Lewis Howes?

  That's it.

• 1:12:55Speaker 01

  And I can only imagine what you are like when.

• 1:12:58Lewis Howes?

  That's it.

• 1:12:59Speaker 01

  When you're gonna, yeah, win and.

• 1:13:01Lewis Howes?

  Exactly. So I acknowledge you for.

• 1:13:02Speaker 01

  In your happy days.

• 1:13:03Lewis Howes?

  Exactly. You've been amazing in the worst of times.

• 1:13:06Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:13:07Lewis Howes?

  And I acknowledge you for who you are in the world, for the, the way you inspire so many people. Whenever, uh, you know, I post a photo with you guys, when I'm with you guys and people are like so inspired.

• 1:13:18Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:13:18Lewis Howes?

  They're like, Maria is like my favorite tennis player. She inspires me so much. So.

• 1:13:22Speaker 01

  Funny. I, I never, I don't think I ever realized that until I've gone through this last seven months.

• 1:13:28Lewis Howes?

  So many people have supported you.

• 1:13:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, I just, I, not that I took it for granted, but I just, I don't, I'd never like believed how impactful, um, the things that I've done in my career, how, how they've impacted people.

• 1:13:41Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:13:42Speaker 01

  You just, I don't know. I, I, I almost, I, I don't think I ever wanted to feel that way or have that responsibility. And, you know, almost, or almost the pressure of, wow, I am actually inspiring so many people. But just the messages that I've received over the past, yeah, months has been, made you realize, made, made me realize how, how many amazing fans I have.

• 1:14:04Lewis Howes?

  Well, you deserve it.

• 1:14:04Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:14:05Lewis Howes?

  You're a great symbol of inspiration. So.

• 1:14:07Speaker 01

  Thank you very much.

• 1:14:08Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 1:14:08Speaker 01

  Wait, is there another question?

• 1:14:10Lewis Howes?

  Yes. The final question is what's your definition?

• 1:14:12Speaker 01

  That's right. I should probably know this after listening to your podcast.

• 1:14:15Lewis Howes?

  Come on.

• 1:14:18Speaker 01

  Oh, my definition of greatness.

• 1:14:22Speaker 01

  Well,

• 1:14:24Speaker 01

  I think definition of greatness is, I don't know, it's who you are inside and it's not, it's something internal. I, I don't think it's something words ever, I think it's a feeling, right? I think everyone has in a different moment in their life, always different feelings. And I think greatness is how, you know, is almost what you do with those feelings and what you, which you turn them to be. I, I just think it's a very personal feeling, right? That it's in your mind and in your body and it's not something that's around you or, um, yeah, it's a little bit more personal.

• 1:15:02Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 1:15:02Speaker 01

  Did that answer any?

• 1:15:04Lewis Howes?

  Perfect for me. It's your answer. It's your, it's your answer.

• 1:15:07Speaker 01

  It is my answer.

• 1:15:08Lewis Howes?

  So it's perfect. Maria, thank you so much for being here. I'm so glad we made it happen.

• 1:15:12Speaker 01

  Yes, absolutely.

• 1:15:13Lewis Howes?

  Appreciate it.

• 1:15:14Speaker 01

  Can't wait for everyone to hear it.

• 1:15:15Lewis Howes?

  It's gonna be great. And thank you, Sven. Come on on.

• 1:15:18Speaker 01

  I know.

• 1:15:19Lewis Howes?

  You're the man.

• 1:15:20Speaker 01

  First question's answered in about three years.

• 1:15:23Lewis Howes?

  Thank you. Appreciate it.

• 1:15:27Lewis Howes?

  There you have it, guys. I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I enjoyed connecting with Maria and sharing all her insights and wisdom with you. It's been an interview I've been wanting to do for a long time now, so I'm super pumped we were able to make it happen. And it's so exciting for me to see all the things that Maria is creating, how she's overcome adversity and what she continues to do on a daily basis to grow personally. Again, if you enjoyed this interview, make sure to share it with your friends. LewisHowes.com/395. Post it on Twitter, post it on Facebook, Instagram, tag at Maria Sharapova and let her know what you liked about this the most. Let me know as well, at Lewis Howes. And if this is your first time here, make sure to subscribe to the podcast over on iTunes.

• 1:16:12Lewis Howes?

  We do this every Monday, Wednesday and Friday as it's our goal to bring you the most inspiring human beings on the planet to show you how to unlock your own inner greatness. So again, if it's your first time here, subscribe and let me know what you think over on social media. I appreciate you guys so very much. You're the reason why I continue to do this every single day to seek out the information, the wisdom, the humans who can teach us all how to become better. So, thank you guys for spreading the message, for listening daily, and for using the information in your own life to achieve your dreams. I thrive off of hearing your results, so keep it up, keep pushing, and you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.