Never Go Hollywood! 💯

I had the honor, privilege, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work alongside Gus Fernandez who transformed me into a fighter on the tennis court. We both aired on the side of crazy and that's why we worked so well together🤪. I honestly miss all of our brutal training sessions where he pushed me past my limits time and time again. There were so many lessons learned, but none more important than this. "Never Go Hollywood"!!! Without fail, I could expect these three words bellowed at me every time we shared the court. It took me a long time to understand exactly what he meant. As I started to progress, I remember coming back to him and telling him that my opponents are getting worse haha. He would always laugh and tell me that they went to Hollywood. I still didn't understand what he meant, but always nodded and continued grinding. It wasn't until my sophomore year in college that I truly understood what he meant. My sophomore year was undoubtedly the most challenging period on the court. Nothing seemed to be going my way and I struggled a lot to get a grip on things. I remember talking with Gus at a training camp and yet again he echoed the words "Never Go Hollywood"!! I guess this was a lightbulb moment for me haha💡. He was trying to tell me that no matter how much I achieved or where I might find myself in life, never take it for granted and truly be grateful for it. I was entitled to absolutely nothing and still am. Just because I was successful in the past, does not mean I'm guaranteed to be successful in the future. Ultimately, I had to take responsibility and figure out a way to get the needle moving forward again. The second I began to feel complacent/comfortable/give up is the moment I've gone Hollywood and that's a place I hope to never visit. Whether I'm conscious of it or not, this is my default mindset for everything I venture out to do. I will put the work in every single day and I owe that only to myself.

Don't go Hollywood, block out the noise, and let your work speak for itself!