Most of us know that to reach our true potential and achieve a life we dream about there is a necessity, even an urgency to replace poor habits with ones that will lead to success.

Maybe that’s why we seem to love stories about underdogs. People who overcome their fears and break bad habits to realize their dreams. Movies like Rudy, Karate Kid and Miracle come to mind for me.

Perhaps that’s why the best headline from the first week at Wimbledon was Marcus Willis. Willis the 772^nd ranked player in the world, won six qualifying matches and a first round match only to face one of the greatest players of all time, Roger Federer during the second round.

Willis, a child prodigy and one of the best players in Great Britain, rose to 15th in the world junior rankings. He was both party boy and discipline issue. During his teens, he was sent home from the Australian Open for behavior problems including showing up to practice without racquets. A former coach described him as a ‘likeable rogue who just didn’t want to grow up. Everyone knew he needed to break bad habits and find the discipline to succeed, except perhaps for Willis himself.

That lack of discipline and bad habits led to a weight issue. The weight gain was so noticeable tennis fans nicknamed Willis Cartman,  after the obese character from the cartoon South Park.

Wimbledon commentator and tennis coach Brad Gilbert once gave Marcus a lesson. He talked to him about his game but more than anything he needed to get fit.

“If I walked around with a backpack all day long and 20 extra points of weight my knees and hips would be sore. He wasn’t giving himself an opportunity to become a pro and reach any of his potential because of how out of shape he was. There was no doubt he had skills but he couldn’t make them work because of his level of fitness.”

Willis apparently found a way to break bad habits. Fast forward, he dropped weight, got into shape, won a qualifying tournament and made it to the second round at Wimbledon. Marcus did not beat Goliath, aka Roger Federer.

So what’s the lesson in this for us? Check out the video below.

I think the 4th point here could be to Enjoy Life’s Journey. The score was pretty lopsided, yet it was an amazingly entertaining match to watch. He was smiling throughout the event and soaking it all in. I cried as he slowly left the court. He was going to use every last second to enjoy the moment.

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CJ Johnson’s Fitness Transformation Blog
Train Smart · Live Bold · Age Well

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Need more help breaking bad habits? This Ted Talk by Judson Brewer is only 18 minutes long and has over 4 million views.

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