GDN Book Feature: “Come To Win” By Venus Williams

Venus Williams has become a household name. Venus is synonymous with success. At the young age of 30, she has become a huge success in a number of ways. Most people are familiar with her career in tennis. She is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and she has won numerous Wimbledon titles.

In addition to her success as an athlete, Venus is a founding ambassador for the WTA-UNESCO Gender Equality Program, which addresses worldwide gender issues and she launched a successful clothing line in 2007. Now she has added “Author” to her many professional titles. In July, Venus released her new book,

This book shows how to turn a competitive spirit and an athletic background into success in other areas of life. Venus explores how her drive for tennis will continue to help off the court in her post-tennis career. She draws on experiences of others who got their start in sports and who are now on top of their profession. She discusses with them what principles they gained from playing competitive sports and how that has helped them in the business world.

Venus features nearly fifty business leaders, politicians, doctors, and artists. Some of the forerunners featured in this book are Ken Chenault, Meg Whitman, Phil Knight, Jack Welch, Condoleezza Rice, Bill Bradley, Marcus Samuelsson, Magic Johnson, Robin Roberts, Bill Clinton and Vera Wang. Here is an excerpt from the portion of the book that features Vera Wang –

“Vera Wang is a fashion designer. She launched her eponymous label in 1990. She served as design director of women’s accessories for Ralph Lauren, and spent sixteen years at Vogue, where she became the magazine’s youngest editor. She was born in New York City and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in art history. She says: ‘I fell at Nationals in 1968… It is a lot of pressure when thirty or forty thousand people are going “Oooh” together and you’re sitting on the ice. It’s the same with fashion. I’ve had a show that I thought represented a great effort, and a certain reviewer killed it. … It’s not unlike sports where one is subjectively judged! … It’s the ups and downs of it. You have to be passionate to stay in it. If you don’t love it, why put yourself through it?'”

The advice in “Come to Win” is knowledge every aspiring professional and entrepreneur will want to read. It’s also a very useful tool for parents and coaches looking to build confidence and discipline in their children. All who read this book will greatly benefit from the experience of Venus and other professionals.