Venus Williams: 'Always bet on yourself'

The night began with a rousing welcome and closed with a standing ovation. In between, women's tennis legend Venus Williams talked about her successes and failures, finding balance in life and never creating self-imposed limits.

On Thursday night at the Show Me Center, a week removed from a semifinal appearance at the U.S. Open, the seven-time singles Grand Slam champion opened up the eighth season of the Southeast Missouri State University Speakers Series by urging those in attendance to "bet on yourself."

An all-time tennis great who, along with sister Serena, broke ground in the sport both as an African-American and a woman, Williams said a major factor in her success has been she never saw limits where others may have tried to impose them on her.

"You can't box yourself in just because society wants to," Williams said. "You can't have limits. ... I think of myself as limitless.

"I always joke, on my tombstone, I want it to say, 'She never peaked.' Serena and I have these things we say to motivate each other, and we always say, 'Peaking is the worst thing that can happen, because it means you're done.'"

That was the message underlying Williams' hourlong talk, in which she fielded questions moderated by university director of health communication Brooke Clubbs.

Beginning with her start in the sport in Compton, California, Williams recalled how her parents set the tone for her entire future, embedding Venus and Serena with the idea they not only could accomplish anything, but would.

"I always said my parents brainwashed us," Williams said. "Not the Jim Jones kind -- not that kind. We drank the Kool-Aid, but it wasn't laced."

While that self-belief was instilled from an early age, Venus said she had to learn to approach her goals with heart -- something she learned from watching her sister compete.

That provided an opportunity for Williams to offer another life lesson to the crowd at the Show Me Center.

"[It's about] recognizing what you have to work on and being honest with yourself and truthful, and you need to build yourself up, too," Wiliams said. "Sometimes you can be your own worst critic. ... It's a balance of being honest with yourself and giving yourself a pat on the back."

Williams spoke about the many balancing acts she performs, from avoiding burnout as an athlete to maintaining a relationship with her sister -- who is at times a competitor and at times a partner, not to mention the lifelong role of sibling -- to starting her own clothing design company, Eleven.

She has taken up musical instruments, embraced (somewhat) a vegan diet -- extolling the virtues of French fries as a vegan food item -- and is enjoying life as a new aunt after the birth of Serena's daughter two weeks ago.

Coupled with her ongoing tennis career, slowing down is not something Williams does well.

"I struggle with people talking slow," the tennis star said.

"I decided there are different forms of meditating. ... Hitting forehands 100 times in a row is a form of meditating, just a very fierce form of meditating."

While she is happy to share her off-the-court accomplishments, the foundation of Williams' success has come with a racket in her hand. She has won 43 Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour titles and has been the WTA No. 1 player three times, becoming the first African-American woman in the modern era to reach the top spot in the rankings when she did so in February 2002.

Her seven Grand Slam singles titles put her 12th on the all-time list, and she has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles -- all with Serena -- and collected four Olympic gold medals.

That's only the start of a laundry list of accomplishments that also includes the fastest serve recorded in women's tennis history.

Perhaps more importantly, Williams was a driving influencer of the 2007 decision for Wimbledon and the French Open finally to offer women equal prize money to the men.

"When I was on tour, I just found I had an opportunity to speak up," she said. "Sometimes you just find yourself in a situation, and you have to decide to do something."

It's a fitting accomplishment for a player who, as a young girl growing up in Compton, was asked by her parents to pick a tournament she was going to win one day. She chose Wimbledon.

"I most certainly do think I was meant to play tennis," Williams said. "That's a strange thing. Who would have thought that I would play tennis? But here I am.

"At the same time, I think all of our calling is to help other people and give back and be the best person we can be."

Even when discussing the gravity of the things she has accomplished and the example she has set for millions of young women around the world, Williams approached everything with levity and positivity, unafraid to be self-deprecating at times.

When asked how she has managed to exude such a positive aura throughout her career, Williams offered one final message.

"I would say always bet on yourself. Always believe in yourself, even when it's not easy," she said. "Believing in yourself isn't about always feeling like you believe in yourself; it's about taking actions that set you up for your goals. ... It's important for me to behave and act and take actions as if I'm on the top of the world.

"If you walk the walk and fake it like you make it, trust me, you will get there every time."

Pertinent address:

Show Me Center, Cape Girardeau, Mo.