"Find something that you're really interested in doing in your life. Pursue it, set goals, and commit yourself to excellence. Do the best you can"
About this Quote
Evert’s advice lands with the clean, disciplined economy of a champion who won by making “simple” look inevitable. On the surface, it’s classic self-help: find a passion, set goals, work hard. The subtext is sharper. Coming from an athlete whose greatness was built on repetition, restraint, and an almost clinical mental steadiness, “commit yourself to excellence” isn’t a motivational poster line; it’s a demand for structure. Interest isn’t enough. Desire has to be translated into routines, benchmarks, and the unglamorous willingness to do the same hard thing again when nobody’s watching.
The intent feels less like inspiration than instruction. Evert isn’t promising that passion will make life easy; she’s arguing that passion is the only thing sturdy enough to justify the grind. “Pursue it” implies motion and choice, not daydreaming. “Set goals” is about making effort measurable, turning ambition into a schedule. “Do the best you can” reads like a soft landing, but it also reveals an athlete’s pragmatism: perfection is the direction, not the guarantee.
Context matters here. Evert came up in an era when women’s professional tennis was still fighting for legitimacy and equitable stakes. Excellence wasn’t just personal fulfillment; it was credibility, leverage, a way to hold space in a system that didn’t automatically grant it. Her line carries the quiet confidence of someone who knows talent gets you noticed, but commitment is what keeps you there.
The intent feels less like inspiration than instruction. Evert isn’t promising that passion will make life easy; she’s arguing that passion is the only thing sturdy enough to justify the grind. “Pursue it” implies motion and choice, not daydreaming. “Set goals” is about making effort measurable, turning ambition into a schedule. “Do the best you can” reads like a soft landing, but it also reveals an athlete’s pragmatism: perfection is the direction, not the guarantee.
Context matters here. Evert came up in an era when women’s professional tennis was still fighting for legitimacy and equitable stakes. Excellence wasn’t just personal fulfillment; it was credibility, leverage, a way to hold space in a system that didn’t automatically grant it. Her line carries the quiet confidence of someone who knows talent gets you noticed, but commitment is what keeps you there.
Quote Details
| Topic | Goal Setting |
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