I’m actually not one of those people who was indescribably and desperately in love with Michael Jordan (I was born and raised in a Laker loving family). But I have to say this: Michael Jordan was a great man. I’m reading this book about him- I”m 25% of the way through and I’m already learning things I can incorporate in my own life.
Confidence:
“Why would I think about missing a shot I haven’t taken yet?”
“I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot. Why? Because when you think about the consequences, you always think of a negative result. If I’m going to jump into a pool of water, even though I can’t swim, I”m thinking about being able to swim enough to survive. I’m not jumping in thinking to myself, ‘I think I can swim, but maybe I’ll drown.””
It’s this innate knowledge, bordering cocky almost, that let Michael Jordan succeed. But here’s the thing- he had to have that confidence even when he was failing. Even when he didn’t make his high school basketball squad. He felt the same way. That’s the only way he became great. Just know that you are going to make it. With NextDrop, I know that it will succeed. I thought I was crazy (especially with all those people giving me skeptical looks), but I actually couldn’t (still can’t) even imagine a future without NextDrop making it big. I thought I was being naive. But now I know that I’m actually just being Jordan-esque. And hey, I’m putting in the work to make it happen. So there we go.
Focus:
“Even when he’s smiling and talking to his teammates, or walking through a crowd, you know he’s in the tunnel looking towards the end.”
“Tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I think about today. People don’t believe I don’t know what’s going to happen next week, next month, or next year, but I truly live in the moment. I have created the opportunity to have a choice. That is how I’m going to live.”
Apparently, that’s the number one thing that set MJ apart from everyone else. He would only concentrate on that day. I tried that yesterday- pretending I was going to die that day and just do whatever I felt like doing, and being happy about it. Yes, it was a little morbid, but I realized that I could push myself more when I didn’t think about tomorrow. You give it your all ON THAT DAY. I didn’t realize how much I actually had to give. Also, I appreciated things a lot more.
Love of the Game Clause:
“Jordan is the only player I know of who had a “Love of the Game” clause inserted into his contract; it meant he could play in any basketball game at any time, whenever he wanted, without getting approval from the team.”
“Historian David McCullough observed, ‘I would pay to do what I do. People say, “Take a vacation,’ How could I have a better time than what I am doing?'”
“You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you’re doing is work or play”
I think this one was huge. I love my job. I love NextDrop. I used to think I had to “take a break” from doing it because…I had to. Like something in me would self destruct if I didn’t. But now I know I’m not crazy. Jordan did it. Great people do it. I can’t help it if I love what I do. I would do this in my free time. This IS what I used to do in my free time. And now that this became my job, I was finding it hard to figure out what to do in my free time. But now I know- I don’t HAVE to. Great people do their work in their free time because guess what- they love it.
And that’s just from 25% of the book. More to come later
So I Quit My Job and Moved to India 