Happy Friday,

It’s hard to believe it’s coming to the official end of summer. I felt it this morning in the air; it had this brisk underlying sense of fall for the first time.

Transitions are a part of life; some we choose, and others, like seasons, are found in the natural rhythm of our lives.

Like many, I have been following the US Open this week & the transition journey that Serena Williams is on as she ends her competitive tennis career.

We watched with amazement, Serena leaning into her best self on the court at the end of this career phase. She is winning against the best players in the world, inspiring all of us with her talent, professionalism & drive in her final act.

Tonight she plays the third round after beating some of the world’s best players.

“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition. Still, I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis toward other things that are important to me.”

Serena is correct; transitions gradually happen, like seasons, until they don’t; they are rarely abrupt. In an ideal world, change is more like evolution, which happens step by step. There is a defined time when the new season is fully integrated into all dimensions of our lives.

Serena just gets it.

“I am lucky that my desire to win is always stronger, whatever fear I have inside me. The success of every woman should be an inspiration to another. We should raise each other up.”

Transitions are about evolving towards something new, not away from something old. It’s about us becoming more who we are so we can inspire & serve others to become who they are.

Thanks, Serena, for how you have lived these truths over the past 25 yrs.

Along the road with you

Alan

Leadership Lessons From Retiring Tennis Star Serena Williams | Forbes

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6 Retirement Lessons From Serena Williams | INC