If you are trying to live an inspired life or inspire yourself to new heights, there is a lot to learn from tennis superstar Andy Roddick.
You don't need to know anything at all about tennis and you don't need to even like tennis to glean lessons in how to be successful from Andy Roddick's legacy.
Both tennis players and tennis analysts have commented about how Andy Roddick gave 100% all the time.
Not just one match at a time, but literally year after for over a dozen years.
He gave 100% to his craft all the time, day in day out.
What was he most proud of? His consistency.
Ten years in the top ten.
He had a consistent winning process off the court and winning formula on the court - mentally and physically.
Let's take this out of the context of sports and discuss it abstractly.
What was applied here was passionate consistency of process and performance - this ultimately yielded success.
This is a very important lesson no matter what you do for a living.
Let me reiterate, these qualities can be applied to anyone trying to make more out of their life.
You'll need a process that will get this most out of your abilities and you'll need to work at it consistently to keep pushing the envelope of what you can do.
I "bring it" every day, year in and year out, and I sit at a desk.
I've spent most of my adult life self-employed, but for two years I worked at a large corporation and you could tell the difference between someone who was Roddickesque, always bringing their A game, staying late, helping the younger employees and the people that just dialed it in, came to work sipping their coffee complaining like their job was a pain in the butt, taking long lunches or drinking too much during lunch, and leaving right at 5 o'clock.
You get the picture.
The latter people look like the agents (bad guys) from the movie "The Matrix.
" No matter how subtly different they are in appearance, they really are made of the same stuff and cut from the same cloth.
That most certainly was not Andy Roddick.
And if you want to get farther in life than where you are now - that can't be you either.
What else did people say about Andy Roddick?

• He was grateful.
  So many individual resources across the success stratosphere say the same thing, you must have a grateful mind.
  
• He was his own man.
  He didn't copy anyone's style on or off the court.
  He did what worked for him.
  So it's important to note that while we want to use others as our inspiration, a unique self is the ultimate goal and probably yields the most fulfilling success.
  
• He had a sense of humor.
  This is another very important quality, especially when you are in a field that has a lot of tension built-in.
  
• He is known for going the extra mile.
  Once he was successful, he was a generous role model.
  He was generous with his time coaching younger athletes as well as with charitable organizations.
  This is another quality that crosses the success stratosphere - give back once you've reached a certain level of success.
  It helps the world go 'round.
  
• "Hard work pays off.
  " This quote is what Andy Roddick's mom said of her son.
  You need to have a vision of what you want, passion to breathe life into it, and then roll up your sleeves for the daily hard work to see it through year after year after year.
  

What's curious about Andy Roddick is that athletes and commentators are now suggesting upon his retirement, that he actually may have been underappreciated.
Can you relate? Have you given 100% and still found yourself underappreciated? Somehow he had the mental strength not to be petty about it.
He stayed positive and continued to run his own race so to speak.
He maximized his potential.
He went as far as he could go pushing the talent that he had.
That is exactly what is incumbent of us all; there are no excuses.
He retired with no regrets, because he said that he gave it everything he had.
What more can one ask of oneself? This is exactly what this article is trying to reinforce - just give it everything you have and success will find a way to care of itself and you.
Andy Roddick's passion was tennis.
The qualities that he possessed and then nurtured will pay dividends for anyone in anyone walk of life.
Build your own unique legacy by giving 100% to that which gives meaning to your life.
Extract the elements that Andy Roddick used to become a tennis champion to help you go farther in your own life off the court.
On a personal note - his grit and determination have inspired my life off the court for over a decade.
In resolving his retirement in my mind, I'm certain that his legacy will continue to give me that extra "umph" on the days when I really need it.