Michael Jordan on Living the Win
I stumbled on a story about winning. Winning is a very popular topic because many people simply want to win. At least that’s the assumed reason why people play in the first place. But how do we win the game? When do we win?
I’m writing a very short article about winning. I hope it reminds us of a very simple but powerful concept of success.
In the SportsRadioInterviews website, I found:
One time we played in Washington. We played a five game series against the Bulls. It was the year they won 72 games. We lose all three games by a total of seven points. I saw Michael Jordan come into our locker room with a cigar, while it was lit, and said, ‘Who’s going to check me tonight?’ And we looked at Calbert Cheaney and we were laughing like little school kids knowing that Calbert Cheaney was going to get him, we knew it wasn’t a game for Mike. He was going to be there and he was going to be playing like he said. Game Three we get off the bus and Juwan (Howard) is from Chicago and used to workout there. I’ll never forget, Jordan was sitting on his Ferrari and Pippen was right there and they have a cigar lit. We get off the bus and we have to pass them with a lit cigar. You want to talk about posturing? Forget Phil Jackson. You got Michael Jordan there behind the scenes smoking a cigar before the game, letting us know that he’s the Red Auerbach before the game even started. It was almost like, ‘I lit the cigar. I’m celebrating already. This is just a formality, you guys getting on the court tonight.”
What do get from this excerpt?
It tells us a very powerful idea in the universe. We need to have a clear picture of what we want to happen before we can make it happen. The term formality serves an important reminder for people who’d lik to win: Every game starts and ends in the mind.
Michael Jackson is a very common illustration of personal achievement. His life story in and out of the basketball court solidifies what a winner is made of. As I would always tell my audience whenever I give motivational speeches, “you don’t want to play and lose.”
Of course, we don’t have to be another Michael Jordan to do these miracles. But we will need to have that kind of attitude and perception towards winning should we want to be an achiever like him. No, it doesn’t have to be that “huge” success.
If you’re a student, you can always tell yourself to graduate as an honor student. Think and then do. Without the “think,” there’s no do. As I always say and remind myself: You can’t do more than you can think.
