Martina Navratilova!

There are few people who can be globally lauded as a champion, classic, advocate, and role model. Martina Navratilova is such a woman; she is a brave, outspoken role model and is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, with an impressive 18 Grand Slams singles titles under her belt and three of the six longest winning streaks in tennis history. And not only is she an amazing athlete—she’s also an excellent speaker! Martina is a world-famous advocate for the empowerment of women and for her encouragement to women everywhere to create their futures. Martina’s athletic prowess and role as an advocate made her a hero of our parents’ generation, and now, with her excellent speaking skills, she is speaking to thousands of people about two of her fundamental values: the freedom to create your own identity and empowerment of women. Early in November of this year, she came to speak at a luncheon for the Women’s Foundation of Colorado, which I was able to attend with my mother and my tennis coach, who’d gone on the pro circuit with Martina when they were younger.

In addition to the 2,000 guests—mostly women—at the luncheon, Governor Hickenlooper warmly commemorated Martina and then turned over the mic so we could hear her words of wisdom, motivation, and pride. Martina spoke for just over an hour, and shared with us her beginnings in the Czech Republic, her dream to be a tennis champion, and the strength she gained—both to become one of the finest athletes in the world and to live openly and freely as her truest self.

Martina is one of the best speakers I have ever heard. Not only is she articulate and sincere, but she speaks and acts for something that she believes in, and she believes in this message so much that she risked her career, her image, and even the love of her father because she knew that it could be worth it one day. Martina is, in the truest sense of the word, an advocate for self-ownership, identity, and passion. Her pursuit of these goals led her to make many choices that others would consider fatal to her career and lifestyle—but in the end they led her to happiness and an identity greater than any previous sports enthusiast had ever embodied: an advocate who lives what she preaches.

Martina does things her own way, no matter what life throws at her. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, Martina refused to let the disease control her life. ‘I wanted to go to Paris,’ she said, to commentate for the French Open. ‘So I did my radiation in Paris! It was an international treatment; I wasn’t going to let it keep me from doing what I most wanted to do’. While her diagnosis was one of the scariest events of her life, Martina also recognized the strength that her philosophy holds, even in the direst of circumstances. Martina’s belief that “there are many forces strong enough to change our destiny, but only if we let it” has pulled her through a life of challenge, willpower, and finally success.

Her belief that “the human spirit thrives on being authentic” has also shaped her every move; it gave her the courage to be openly gay, it gave her the motivation to leave an oppressive country, and it inspired her to, in turn, inspire others by being an advocate and mentor to women and girls around the world. Martina has been loathe to hand the controls of her life over to any power except herself since childhood, and her sense of empowerment was never just remarkable; it is transformative. As a tennis success story, one expects that she knows how to plan for a goal and how to achieve it, and Martina does not disappoint! She has embedded her work ethic and beliefs into her daily life, and encourages others to do the same. If you have a goal, she believes, you should let nothing prohibit you from getting to it.

She provided a four-step plan for anyone who wants to be successful:

1.          1.Stay positive

2.           2. Find your passion; if you truly care about what you’re doing, you will always do it better.

3.          3.  Have a great attitude

4.            4. Recognize your gifts

These techniques worked for a woman who became a champion against political, social, and athletic opposition; they worked for a woman who embraced who she was and showed people to love her, even after an initially horrific and hateful reaction; they worked for one person in our world who faced a lot of the same pressures, dilemmas, and choices that we face. In light of this truth, it might even work for you.

Martina had one last message that speaks to our ability to transform our lives and ourselves no matter what: we can change anything within our control that we want to change. And our thoughts are within our control. If you do not like something, she recommends, change it (not so tricky, right?)! If you have a negative thought, make it into a positive one. “If you don’t like your address, move! You’re not a tree!”

Martina faced a wonderful world that had some not-so-wonderful aversions to who she wanted to be, but that wasn’t strong enough to choose her life. Martina picked who she would be—to herself and to the world—so that she would know her future, and choose it. As she said, “the best way to know your future is to create it”.