It’s been a while since Michael Jordan has been in the spotlight, and it’s easy to forget that he was the best basketball player of all time. The best. Jordan has become so iconic that it somehow doesn’t effect our minds with the weight of it all - we’ve been inundated with fakers and posers claiming the words “the best” as if it honestly applied to them. That’s what I loved about this book. At least for basketball, I know what “the best” means. It means Michael. Jeffrey. Jordan.
Driven From Within details MJ’s life and career in an unusual and interesting way. The book doesn’t read like a usual biography*. Written for the everyday man and not for the NBA statistician, I felt a genuine sense of fire and motivation inside myself when reading it. The book uses short blurbs and quotes from Michael and others close to him to flesh out the main themes in his life. When you finish the book’s 208 pages, it’s clear what MJ’s about and why he’s the best. You’ll know why he was an awesome clutch player, being able sink difficult shots under the most extreme pressure.
You might appropriately ask why, specifically, Jordan was the best. There are two reasons. First, he built his basketball game from the ground up by training harder, more constantly, more often, with more intelligence and more passion than anyone else. Second, that’s just who he was - who he was driven to be. Pushing to the brinks of his physical, emotional and psychological limits wasn’t something he had to fight himself to do. MJ gave a literal 100% at every practice, in every drill. When he played his heart out it, he was being authentic to who he was.
The book also shares a lot of information about Brand Jordan - the business entity of MJ which includes the Air Jordan shoes - and how commitment to core values has made them successful. Jordan has a strong sense of self, what he is and what he is not. With his business he tries to do the same thing, and so far, has been financially successful. Always pushing the envelope, but staying true to the core, I learned valuable lessons about the business concept of branding. Further more, if you read between the lines, there are volumes of teachings about inner game*.
Check out these two short videos below about Michael Jordan. I feel that they really express the essence of the book.
Minor’s lyrics from “Remember the name” played in the above video are an appropriate summation.
This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill
Fifteen percent concentrated power of will
Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain
And a hundred percent reason to remember the name
(Above: a string of diamonds with the patented Korloff cut)
Josh, a friend of mine, works for Korloff Paris a very exclusive luxury jewelry boutique. When I say “very exclusive luxury jewelry” I mean that they sell $50,000 dollar watches. Josh wears a chic black suit to work that matches his attractive and muscular physique. It’s a high class gig. However, things are slow right now and Josh is looking for a hotter, more active market. He’s thinking to relocated to one of the few other Korloff locations. He likes his job, but he wants more success.
Curiously, I was listening to Earl Nightingale’s most excellent retelling of a story called “Acres of Diamonds”, in the Lead the Field CD series. The story details a man who works on his farm in Africa, and is enticed by the rich fortunes in diamonds and sells all that he has to go search for them. His search is fruitless, leaving him drained and penniless. Dejected, he takes his own life. The man who bought his farm discovers diamonds in the stream on his property, making the farm into the most productive diamond mine in Africa. Had the first owner looked under his own feet he would have found out that he was standing on acres of diamonds. In summary, you should look for diamonds right where you are - the grass isn’t greener on the other side. Earl points out that there is just as much opportunity in your business, in your area no matter your field or location. You just need to know what to look for.
To Josh, and all others searching for something better, let me be straight up with you. Read the rest of this entry »
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