Playing tennis, I didn't tie in my self-worth into winning or losing matches.
If I feel strongly, I say it. I know I can do more good by being vocal than by staying quiet. I'd have a whole lot more money if I lied, but I wouldn't enjoy spending it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of expressing one's beliefs and truths rather than remaining silent for the sake of comfort or profit.
Martina Navratilova's quote highlights the value of being outspoken about one's convictions, suggesting that speaking out can lead to more positive outcomes than silence, even if it may not always be financially beneficial. She reflects on the moral integrity of honesty over material gain and expresses that true enjoyment comes from being authentic rather than suppressing one's voice for personal gain.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about leadership, one might say, 'As Martina Navratilova reminds us, if we feel strongly, we must voice our beliefs to make a difference.'
More from Martina Navratilova
All quotes →I just wanted to play tennis. It wasn't a job. It was an ambition. I knew I could make money at it. I was 18 - old enough to think I could do it, young enough not to consider the consequences.
To those people doubting Serena Williams, writing her off - do not do that to a champion.
I can teach many sports, but obviously, tennis is the one. When you do other sports, you see things from different perspectives: different footwork drills, body positions, angles and geometry. All that stuff is helpful, and so when I do other sports, I can see things, because once you know one sport, then the other sport becomes more clear.
So many athletes are afraid to use their platform to do the right thing and speak what they feel, and that's very depressing. Sure, they are afraid of insulting people and losing money because of it, and everyone wants to make the maximum amount of money in their lifetime. But at the expense of who you are? I don't know. That just wasn't in my DNA.
I am just sorry my own mother had to live under that regime for most of her life. I was lucky. I got out and, 14 years later, Czechoslovakia became a free country. So I feel anger, even fury, at this bloody system that ruined so many people's lives for no reason whatsoever.
Similar quotes
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty or mercy which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky.
We need more men with the guts, with the courage, with the strength, with the moral integrity to break our complicit silence and challenge each other and stand with women and not against them.
It is easy to go down into Hell; night and day, the gates of dark Death stand wide; but to climb back again, to retrace one's steps to the upper air - there's the rub, the task.
I don't think that every single case of sexual harassment has to result in someone being fired; the consequences should vary. But we need a shift in culture so that every single instance of sexual harassment is investigated and dealt with. That's just basic common sense.
You face the biggest challenge of all: to have the courage to seek your big dream regardless of what anyone says. You are the only person alive who can see your big picture and even you can't see it all.
Hardness shatters; strength endures.