Watching the Australian Open Tennis tournament final in 2019 where Naomi Osaka took on Petra Kvitova, something caught my attention.

Naomi seemed to manage the highs and lows much better than many other tennis stars.

She had her emotions in check and went on to win her first Australian Open tournament.

I kept thinking this skill of keeping emotions in check is something everyone in the world would benefit from.

The next thing that impressed me was how she thanked her team. She said something that made me look intently at the Player's box and noticed her coach ...

Would These Skills Work With Anyone?

I wondered what impact did her coach have on how she played this amazing match?

What skills had her coach and trainer given her to win this tournament?

Selfishly, given we were about 6 months into the Covid-19 pandemic, I wondered if I could find out how I could learn the mindset secrets he shared with his athletes so I could also win big!

I immediately went to Google and did a quick search and I learnt that Naomi Osaka had hired renowned fitness and mindset coach Abdul Sillah to train her.

Digging deeper into my research, I learnt that Abdul had been the trainer behind tennis superstars Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens as well!

WOW - just WOW!

Abdul said something that intrigued me. He said champions are "teachable"

I started to wonder if the skills he taught his champion athletes could be used to win in business and in life?

A Spur of the Moment Decision

I wondered if Abdul was on social media?

I found a profile (which I wasn't even sure was real!) and sent him a message of congratulations to Naomi Osaka and him and the whole team and wished them the very best for the season.

What happened next blew me away

Two months later, I got a reply from him thanking me and he said something about him just shining the light on her path and Naomi taking the path herself.

Who was this man? He was so humble and I really wanted to know more about this person behind these superstar athletes.

Abdul builds a Champion

Over the next few months Naomi Osaka went from strength to strength.

I would message Abdul whenever I saw that Naomi Osaka was playing in tournaments - just to wish him and the team luck.

In September 2020, I read that Naomi Osaka had won her 2nd US Open Grand Slam and again I sent a message of congratulations to Abdul.

A few days later, I got a reply - and something compelled me to send another message.

The Day my Life Changed

I simply asked Abdul if he would allow me to interview him for 30 minutes so I could share his knowledge and experience with my connections on LinkedIn - and within a few hours he agreed to an interview!

We spoke for about 45 minutes, and it was one of the most MIND BLOWING interviews I've ever done. Abdul was extremely down to earth and so humble.

The Janitor Man

One thing he said at the end of the interview was that he saw himself as "The Janitor Man" - when you visit a hotel you see the furniture polished, the windows spotless, the tables extremely clean - everything is just perfect.

But someone has been there beforehand to make the place spotless - that's how Abdul sees himself, the invisible person behind the scenes - allowing the athlete to shine.

At the end of the interview I asked him if we could keep in touch and if I could learn from him so that I could share his message with people in the world - the people who knew they were destined for greatness, but just needed a little help to get them to be the superstars they knew they were.

An Amazing Partnership

I became like a fly on the wall.

I spoke to Abdul regularly and tried to capture every lesson he taught his champions on how to build mental fortitude.

I listened to him intently and then I created videos on each of the topics he teaches his champions.

We call it The Champions Philosophy, the foundations of building a Champions Mindset.

I pleaded with Abdul that we had to share these lessons with the world.

Abdul always says "If I am uncomfortable with something, it's not on you. It's on me. It means that there is something I need to work on"

He also teaches all his champions to "Sacrifice the good for Greatness"

Isn't it time for you to discover your Greatness?