The Medici family sought political power, not through war such as previous leaders had done, but through commerce and patronage of the arts and letters. Through investing in the personal development of the city, and thus the citizens of Florence, through patronage of the arts and letters, the Medici family dynasty stimulated, sustained, and accelerated the Renaissance and the enlightenment of Europe for several hundred years.

A key to the contribution that the Medici family made to the advancement of scientific and philosophical thought, the advancement of the arts and the enlightenment of western civilization was the development of the most powerful bank in Europe. The money from their bank provided the fuel that supported the scholars and artists of the Renaissance. Without their money, the Renaissance may have never been as important a factor in the development of the western civilization as it was.
The lesson of the Medici family is that by channeling your ambitions into a form that serves the common good, your tennis success becomes a contribution to society; your tennis success becomes every citizens success; your growth becomes an example of how athletic performance can make a difference as powerful as any political action and, perhaps, even more powerful than any political action.