Roger Federer

Djokovic propaganda cliches

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Last night, tennis player Novak Djokovic won the US Open, one of the four major tournaments of the year.

It’s Djokovic’s third win at a major this year and the 24th in his career. This ties him with Margaret Court for most majors won (men or women), and moves him two ahead of his rival Rafael Nadal (22 majors) and four ahead of former rival Roger Federer (20 majors).

I didn’t watch Djokovic win last night. But I read a New York Times article about it this morning. The article said this:

“The nearly 24,000 spectators welcomed him with a massive roar, then showered him with the biggest one when Medvedev dumped a shot into the net to give Djokovic the title…”

That’s new. The last time I wrote about Djokovic was January 2022, when he was detained and then deported from Australia, among general controversy and much hate and contempt world-wide.

I had an entire email back then on why Djokovic was hated so much over the years. He was called a malingerer early in his career… a new-age kook in the mid 2010s… and a dangerous anti-vaxxer over the past few years.

And yet, like the New York Times says, now he’s loved. He’s routinely called a “mental giant” and “undisputed GOAT.”

But I come here not to praise Djoko, nor to bury him.

I simply thought the reaction of the US Open crowd was a great illustration of something interesting that I read in a 100-year old book last night, about the psychology of masses, as opposed to the psychology of individuals:

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The group mind does not think in the strict sense of the word. In place of thoughts it has impulses, habits, and emotions. [When the group mind does have to think for itself,] it does so by means of cliches, pat words or images, which stand for a whole group of ideas or experiences.

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That 100-year-old book is Propaganda, by Edward Bernays.

You might have heard of Bernays as the father of public relations.

The entire point of his book, as far as I can see, is that PR is important… that you can’t leave it to chance… and that there are strategies and tactics that allow you to take PR (or propaganda, if you choose) into your own hands.

One such tactic is tacking on a cliche, a simplified and simplistic tag, onto yourself, or even better, onto the alternatives your audience might have to you.

But on to business.

If you haven’t yet checked out my Copy Riddles course, consider doing so.

Copy Riddles is nothing like the many “water off a duck’s back” copywriting courses out there, which tell you stuff that goes in one ear and out the other.

Instead, Copy Riddles gets you writing actual copy, practicing, getting feedback, getting better, day after day, through a gamified process that’s actually fun and enjoyable.

For more info on how this process works:

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The real Djokovic problem

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If you’re a tennis fan or an Australian or a non-Australian, you’ve undoubtedly heard the smouldering news:

World tennis #1 Novak Djokovic is being deported from the Land Down Under.

Djokovic arrived yesterday to play in the Australian Open, which he has won 9 times already. But…

Djokovic is not vaccinated against corona and was not willing to get vaccinated to participate at the Australian Open.

So the organizers had to finagle (“rigorous review process”) a special medical exemption for Djokovic to be allowed into the country, which has strict vaccine mandates.

And then the folks at the Australian Open had themselves a “good news, bad news” situation:

“Good news! We have the world no. 1 coming to play at the tournament!”

“Bad news! The people of Australia seem genuinely pissed about the medical exemption… since they’ve been forced to live under lockdown for the better part of two years!”

And so, while Djokovic’s plane was in the air, and the smoke from the wildfire on the ground was rising thick and heavy, the Australian PM went on TV to take a tough stand. On arrival, Djokovic would have to prove his medical exemption is legit — or “be on the next plane home.”

The tension was immense. But thankfully, it seems to be getting solved in a nice and clean way.

It turned out somebody on Djokovic’s staff had fumbled the visa application, and had ticked the wrong box somewhere. So Djokovic’s visa is invalid. The Australian government refused to make an exception — “rules are rules” — and so here we are.

At this point, I could switch and talk about direct marketing, and the kinds of prospects you want to sell to, and more importantly, the ones you want to avoid.

But instead, I’d rather talk tennis. All right, not really tennis tennis, but what this Djokovic situation can teach us about personal branding, in tennis and more broadly.

Because I feel this entire situation could not have happened — not with this level of scrutiny, outrage, and interest — without the animosity that has built up against Djokovic over the years.

Let me make it clear:

I personally like the guy. I’ve been a tennis fan for a long time, and I root for Djokovic whenever I see him play. Plus, I find his public appearances charming and funny.

But the tennis media will tell you the world hates the man. His corona stance is just the latest reason why. Before that, it was that he is a cult-minded kook… before that, that he is arrogant… and before that, that he is a whiner and malingerer who takes medical time-outs as a game strategy.

To me, all these seem like surface justifications for something deeper. So I kept asking myself, why do many tennis fans hate Djokovic, and why does the media keep making him into a villain?

I’ve had my own theory about this for a long time. And today, I read a very interesting article, which put my theory into a bigger context. The gist of it is this:

There is a difference between having an enemy and a nemesis.

An enemy is just somebody in your way to getting what you want.

But a nemesis is much like the “Shadow Man” in the Prince of Persia video game — an eerie, bizarro version of yourself, who can match all your skills, who keeps foiling you at key moments, and who ultimately forces you to learn, develop, and grow in order to win.

A true nemesis makes for peak levels of drama, a story we instinctively respond and cling to.

And that’s what made Djokovic so offensive.

My theory for all the Djokovic hate is that he ruined the greatest rivalry tennis has ever known, the one between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Federer and Nadal had a true nemesis storyline, which fans and media loved.

Djokovic ended that. And in his dominance over the past 10+ years, he has had no true nemesis of his own. People never forgave him for what he took away and failed to replace.

That’s been at the core of why he’s been made into a villain. And now it’s coming back to bite him, at the tournament which was his best chance to break the biggest record in tennis — the number of Grand Slam titles — for which he is currently tied with Federer and Nadal.

So here’s my takeaway for you:

If you want a personal storyline that people eat up, get emotionally involved with, and fight to defend, then find yourself a worthy nemesis. Somebody who matches your skills and who can genuinely defeat you.

Because if you don’t, the consequences are clear. Over time, you’ll face growing resentment at your success… hostility at your attempts to be friendly and open… and eventually, a long and lonely flight, “on the next plane home.”

By the way:

The article on the nemesis I mentioned above, by a guy named Ted Gioia, was both interesting and well-written. So in case you’re curious about nemesizing your life or your business, here’s where you can read more:

https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/you-dont-need-a-mentorfind-a-nemesis

Roger Federer offers a bit of negotiation wisdom

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Last night, Roger Federer lost in the semifinals of the ATP year-closing tournament.

This means that Federer, possibly the greatest player who has ever played tennis, still has just 99 titles under his belt.

Asked by a journalist whether he needs that elusive 100th title, Federer responded:

“I don’t NEED it. I will breathe air if not.”

It might sound as if Federer is simply debating semantics, or that he’s even a little testy after his loss.

That’s not what’s going on.

Here’s a bit from an interview earlier in the week when he was asked a similar question:

“Personally I’m still not thinking of the number 100. I won’t let that get in my head, make me go crazy because it should be something I’m excited about and not something I should feel extra pressure about.”

This exactly mirrors what negotiation coach Jim Camp says.

One of Camp’s main rules is not to get needy. In other words, don’t trick yourself into thinking you need something when you actually don’t, and when you have all the things (like air) that you actually do need.

There was a time when I didn’t fully get the importance of this.

“There’s no difference,” I used to think, “between really wanting something and needing it.”

If that’s how you feel now, I won’t be able to convince you otherwise.

All I can do is tell you that I noticed, personally, that needing something actually seems to take place in an entirely different part of the brain than wanting that same thing. It seems to be an entirely different chemical process, and an entirely different emotion.

In short, even though it might seem needing and wanting are closely related, in truth they couldn’t be further apart.

As Jim Camp himself wrote in his book Start with No:

“As a negotiator aspiring to excellence, you must, at all costs, avoid showing need. In order to avoid showing need, you must never feel it. You do not need this deal. But what happens if we simply substitute the word and the emotion ‘want’ for ‘need’? The dynamics change. […] ‘Need’ is death, ‘want’ is life.”

I doubt Federer read Camp’s Start with No, but he seems to have learned the same lesson on his own.

And even though he only has 99 titles to his name, it’s hard to say his focus on wanting instead of needing has left him with a lack of motivation or success.

Something to think about, whatever your chosen field is.

A special note if you happen to be in the health field and you want (not need) more effective marketing:

You might like my upcoming book on email marketing in  the health space.

Along with advice on actually writing emails and structuring email marketing sequences to sell supplements and health info courses, this book will also have a section on the mindset you should adopt to be successful in today’s marketing-saturated world — such as the Roger Federer/Jim Camp lesson above.

Anyways, if you’d like a free copy of this book when it comes out (I’m planning to sell it for $17 when it is out), put your red RF headband on, and sign up at the link below:

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