Life lessons from the Last Dance
Highlight reel
Humility and falling in love with the process of what you do fuels work ethic and creates the recipe for greatness
Stay present - Most live in fear because we project the past into the future, Jordan never let what he couldn’t control affect him
Audacity - The man retired in his prime to play baseball. Baseball! That’s a completely different sport by the way
Be Humble
Even the man who became perhaps the greatest sportsman of all time started out from scratch having to earn everything. He famously didn't make his high school varsity team but his mum wouldn't let him cry about it for long, if he wanted to make it to the NBA he had to earn it. When MJ first got to the Bulls they were an awful team. In his 1st season, he said, "I just want the Chicago Bulls to be respected as a team like the Lakers or the Boston Celtics". Even as he became the best player on the team in year 1, he considered himself the lowest on the totem pole, preferring to stay in, play cards, and drink orange juice with 7UP rather than go out.
I felt it important to start with humility since it surprised me the most; you don’t associate the man who refers to himself in the 3rd person and who many referred to as ‘Black Jesus’ with humility but he had to be in order to avoid complacency and fuel his ridiculous work ethic. In episode 2, we find Scottie Pippen, who seems to be everyone's favourite character in this story, begin his journey as the equipment manager in college. Even with NBA aspirations his ego was not too big for this role. He waited patiently and took advantage when someone lost their scholarship. As MJ and Scottie went on to dominate the NBA, Phil didn't let it go to their heads saying "You're only a success at the moment you perform a successful act. You have to do it again"
If the most devastating wing duo the NBA has ever seen can be this humble, I'm sure you can too.
"I'll show you, nobody will ever work as hard as I work"
When he came home crying after not making the high school varsity team, he wanted to quit basketball. His mum told him if you want it, you better work hard every day. This moment sparked a theme we see throughout MJ's journey. His high school told him he couldn't do something. He took it personally and worked harder than everyone else.
Michael joined North Carolina University and started out hugely inconsistent but he was competitive, wanted to get better, and had the ability to do so. Here is a conversation with coach Roy Williams which sums up his approach:
MJ: I want to be the best player to ever play here
Roy: Well you have to work harder than you did in high school
MJ: Well I worked harder than everybody else in high school
Roy: Oh excuse me, I thought you just told me you wanted to be the best player to ever play here
MJ: I'm gonna show you, no one will ever work as hard as I work
Even as the leader of the Bulls and the best player in the NBA, he was the first one in the gym and the last one out. He focused on being the best every day. Despite the commercial, everyone doesn't want to be like Mike. This is because being like Mike takes this kind of work ethic and getting so big you can barely leave your hotel room. Not a life to envy but it might get you to Obama is an extra in my documentary level.
Secure the bag
Scottie, what were you thinking? In 1991 Scottie signed a 7-year $18M contract with the Bulls. I know you're thinking that’s a ridiculous amount of money that you and I will never see. However, time and time again athletes make poor financial decisions and fall into bankruptcy. Don't forget that many grow up poor and need to take care of friends as well as immediate and extended family. On top of that, they often retire at a relatively earlier age, around mid-’30s and this money needs to last for the rest of their lives. Oh and the Government taxes a huge chunk of this.
This deal made Scottie the 122nd highest-paid player in the NBA. For context, during this deal, he was probably a top 10 player and top 50 in all-time NBA history. The lesson here is to not leave money on the table. When you get a new job offer, always negotiate. If you're adding significant value to your organisation and believer you deserve one, ask for a raise, back it up with evidence and clearly set out what further value you will add with this increase in salary. In Securing the bag, I provide a step by step approach to salary negotiation, as a beginner, this is a great place to start.
Listen to your mum (obviously)
When it came to signing a shoe deal, MJ wanted to sign with Adidas. Unfortunately for Adidas, some genius didn't think he was worth the investment. Converse was another major player at that time. Unfortunately for Converse, some genius didn't think they could focus on MJ since they already had Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Originally he didn't even want to take a meeting with Nike. After previously not letting him quit basketball, Mrs. Jordan came up clutch again and forced MJ to take the meeting with Nike. Nike expected to sell $1M worth of Jordans by year 4. They sold $126M in year 1. Listen to your mum!
Stay Present
Mark Vancil explains MJ's mindset the best. He says in the doc that “Most people struggle to be present and try to meditate, do yoga, travel to find themselves, and so on. Most of us live in fear because we project the past into the future. Jordan’s greatest gift was not that he good jump high, run fast and shoot a basketball, it was that he was completely present that was the separator.”
Good players who could otherwise become great are handicapped because they think about failure. "Why would I think about missing a shot I haven't taken yet?” Jordan didn't allow what he couldn't control to get inside his head. You might not have this superhuman ability like MJ but consider your internal dialogue when approaching challenging tasks.
The Audacity
Perhaps the craziest part of the Jordan story is that he retired in his prime to play professional baseball. Let that settle in. He was the greatest player in the NBA and switched to play baseball! Imagine if Lewis Hamilton said,"Nah I'm cool, I'm just going to play table tennis from now on, peace". It's like Serena Williams saying "Sure I'm great at tennis but wait until you see my beach volleyball game". Jordan had doubters everywhere but he believed in himself and decided not to let anyone else determine what he did with his life. Sometimes its good to be a little audacious or even a lot audacious.
Relentless Determination
Game 5 of the 1997 NBA finals between the Bulls and the Jazz is famously known as the Flu Game. However, the Last Dance revealed to us that MJ actually had food poisoning from a pizza the night before the game. Despite being unable to hold down any food the day of the game, he simply said "I have to play". At the beginning of the game, he looked weak and out of place. What happened next can only truly be understood by watching (check the highlights of the game here). Jordan dug deep and found what he needed to have an exceptional game. This is what greatness is truly about, consistently striving for success at the highest level no matter the circumstances. Can you name anyone else famous for repeatedly performing well while injured or sick?
Time and time again the Last Dance showed us that if you crossed him, if you managed to win a game and celebrated in his face or disrespected him in any way, well, you got added to the hit-list. Jordan loved to hold a grudge and the fact that he would even make up stories about things people said to motivate himself is just flat out ridiculous. But what allowed him to do this was his relentless determination in committing to the process. At the end of the documentary, after winning his 6th and final championship, he's asked "Can you believe it, you've won again?" Jordan replies "Yes, I can, this is what I work hard for. Every time it was close I knew we were gonna do it". This really is a common theme amongst great people regardless of the industry. The love and commitment to the process fuels hard work and self-belief. Remember this but also don't forget even the best athlete on the planet can have a pizza every now and again (apparently).
