Michael Jordan is largely regarded as the best basketball player in history. He’s considered to be one of the best athletes of all time. He won four gold medals with USA Basketball, including two Olympic gold medals, and was awarded Male Athlete of the Year twice. He was the NBA’s public face for nearly a decade. Then he made his decision: he would change careers. How could a guy at the pinnacle of his achievement turn his back on it?
He not only left, but he also committed the unthinkable. He put his athletic prowess on the line by attempting to play baseball, a sport he hadn’t played since he was a teenager, knowing that millions would be watching his every swing, throw, and pop fly.
Is it ego that caused this? Was it ennui, or something else entirely? No. It was all about the mind. It was an attitude he’d had since high school, one that had been seared into his soul after getting cut from his basketball team. Let’s look into Michael Jordan’s thinking to see why he took such a risk:
“I’m okay with failing; everyone makes mistakes. But I can’t live with myself if I don’t give it my best shot.”
“I’ve always thought that if you work hard enough, you’ll get results.”
“Throughout my professional career, I’ve missed over 9,000 shots. I’ve played about 300 games and lost nearly every one of them. I’ve been given the opportunity to make the game-winning shot 26 times and have failed each time. Throughout my life, I’ve failed numerous times. And it’s because of this that I’ve been successful.”