#44 - Fall from Grace
Fall, rise, and gaining
We love a scandal.
Few scandals have captivated the world like that of Tiger Woods.
On top of the world, he imploded. What followed was a shocking fall from grace.
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Fall
There’s never been anything quite like Tiger’s rise to fame. He exploded on to the world stage in the late 90s- dominating in a way never seen before or since. For the next decade Tiger was the biggest sports star on the planet. And then the wheels came off.
Ruthless. That’s the only way to describe his reign. It went far beyond the golf course- famed for his cold, emotionless stare. There was no room for laughter or cooperation it was all about winning. But Tiger’s mindset had two terrible side effects.
Firstly, he pushed his body far beyond what it could handle. Riddled with injuries, he even played the 2008 US Open with a fractured leg. And the craziest thing? He won. He was, however, playing on borrowed time.
Secondly, the ruthlessness wreaked havoc in his private life. He thought the rules didn’t apply to him. In 2009 scandal hit. Tiger had cheated on his wife. Beyond belief. He confessed to sleeping with 120 other women in five years of marriage. He checked himself into a sex addiction clinic and his world feel apart.
Rise
The most amazing piece, and the reason for this post, is that he bounced back. He spent a decade dealing with the a body and personal life in tatters, but he recovered.
In 2019, 11 years since his last, Tiger Woods won a major. What’s remarkable is that he did it with a smile on his face. He might not have come back a better golfer, he was 43 by this point, but he did come back a better person. The surly, ruthless competitor of the noughties gave way to a kinder man.
Tiger is great example of anti-fragility. It’s a phrase popularised by its prophetic author, Nassim Taleb, but it’s little understood.
Gaining
Fragile is something that’s damaged by disorder. Anti-fragile is not just something not damaged by disorder. It’s something that gains from disorder. That’s what Tiger did. He came out better.
Startups have a surprising capacity for anti-fragility. Everything feels fragile. Each mistake can feel like a death sentence. But I’ve been surprised again and again by how it’s the mistakes that lead to the best results.
It all comes down to how you see the world. Anti-fragile is a mindset. You’re going to get to shaken up, especially if you’re trying to do anything difficult. I certainly have been. But don’t waste those opportunities. Within them, are the biggest opportunities for growth.
It’s the last thing on your mind in the heat of the moment, I know. But zoom out. You know how this one ends.
My Week in Books📚
Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian
Thrilling. Such a crazy story. It’s a good reminder that everything in life is a tradeoff. Wood’s achieved dizzying success but at what cost?
Ask Iwata by Hobonichi
Wisdom from Nintendo’s former CEO. A humble and amusing character.
I’ll be updating the books I’ve read this year here. Any recommendations? Let me know!
A Final Thought 💡
“I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.”
– Serena Williams