Career Lessons from Del Potro's win against Federer

Sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, in his first Grand Slam final, stunned defending champion and top seed Roger Federer to take the men's singles title at the U.S. Open in New York.

The 20-year-old Argentinean ended Federer's five-year reign at the U.S. Open.

How could this have happened ? Upon being interviewed for National Public Radio's program "It's Only a Game", Del Potro's coach was asked (I'm paraphrasing here ) "How did Del Potro get this good?" His response was "with great effort, and much passion".

There's a huge lesson here folks. Del Potro's coach did not say "he was born with great talent", or that "he was coached by the best", etc.

Great effort, much passion. That's what it takes to succeed in today's economy. That's what it takes to set yourself apart from the hundreds of people that applied for the same job that you did.

Michael Jordon was not born with the vertical jump that set his name into basketball history. Del Potro was not born with the ability to dethrone Roger Federer. They worked for it, with great effort, and much passion. Their effort, sweat, and passion made them stars.

Great effort and much passion can make you a star as well.

Becoming Uncommon

In his New York Times bestseller, "Quiet Strength", Tony Dungy, who led the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Super Bown XLI, said the following:

"Some Players are uncommon because of their God-given natural abilities, like being blessed with the height of Yao Ming or the vertical jump of Michael Jordan. Others have to work to become uncommon. Steve Kerr of the Chicago Bulls shot five hundred free throws a day to make himself uncommon. The truth is that most people have a better chance to be uncommon by effort than by natural gifts. Anyone could give that effort in his or her chosen endeavor, but the typical person doesn't, choosing to do only enough to get by".

In the current economic environment in which we look for new employment or work to advance our careers, "becoming uncommon" is an absolute necessity if you hope to "stand out from the crowd".

What are you willing to do to "become uncommon"?