Top 10 Inspirational Quotes From the Legend of Basketball – Michael Jordan
We all remember Michael Jordan scoring again and again, as naturally as breathing, so it’s not hard to see why many of his fans think of him as the greatest basketball player of all time. What’s more interesting about Michael Jordan, apart from his victories and athleticism, is the lessons he has taught to millions of people.
Michael is a mix of talent and passion, but he has also picked up practical, pragmatic, and measurable knowledge and skills, which are applicable in our lives and the business world.
Read on to find out what you can learn from one of the basketball’s greatest players:
- “The key to success is failure.”
It’s difficult to associate the player who won 5 MVP awards, played in 14 All-star games, and scored an average of 30 points per game with failure. However, Michael Jordan was not always the superstar he is known today. His journey to the top started with failure and changed the way he perceived the world.
Michael has been competitive since his childhood, being the youngest of his family. His elder brother, Larry, was considered as the better athlete, and this caused the two to battle it out in their backyard time and again. It was through Larry’s success in sports that Michael found his love for the game.
When he was 15 years old, Michael and his best friend LeRoy Smith were asked to attempt to qualify for their high school basketball team. The team’s coach was impressed with Jordan’s skill and speed. Unfortunately, young Michael didn’t meet the minimum height requirement. The boy was devastated.
Watching his friend qualify for the team while he missed became one of the most pivotal moments of his life. He was disappointed, but his mother motivated him by urging him to prove the coach wrong. Michael was determined to grow taller. He trained relentlessly.
Soon, his game reached a level that was way above everyone else’s. His intense training paid off when he grew five inches in the next few years, meeting the minimum requirements to join the high school team. A year later, he made it to the All-American High School Team.
Michael has had many other failures throughout his life, but he used each experience as a stepping stone to glory. He replayed those dark moments and used them as motivation. His ability to use failure as motivation is legendary.
- “If you do the work, you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life.”
Michael Jordan’s aptitude to go above and beyond was amazing. How he competed against teammates and rivals is a true testament of the attitude that brought him success. He continues to motivate players years after he retired. His desire to remain competitive and win drove him to greater heights.
Michael not only led by example but also trained his teammates to develop the same mindset he had. He never took a day off training, and he believed that if you were to play on the same team as he did, you wouldn’t miss training either. Many of his teammates described his hard work as contagious.
The star believed that to win, you have to practice more hours than your opponents, and the whole team must have what it takes to beat the opponent. This meant he had to keep training, even when he was disappointed by the performance of the previous day. He didn’t allow himself to be mentally defeated by anything, and he kept putting in work.
- “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
During his career, Michael played for many teams, some of which were good and had outstanding success. However, he also played in a few rough seasons. As expected, it was easy to stay positive when the team was winning games and playing well. On the other side, when the team has a bad season, it’s easy for negativity to spread like a bushfire throughout the locker room.
Michael viewed the bad times as obstacles that he had to move around. He knew that the teams always have to figure a way out and remain positive to turn around the situation. It was through the ups and downs that he and the teammates built resilience and managed to win countless games.
- “My body could stand the crutches, but my mind couldn’t stand the sideline.”
Several injuries interrupted Michael Jordan’s career. At 39 years of age, he missed most of Washington Wizards’ games as a result of a nagging knee problem. He had to set a target of playing 82 games that season, oblivious of the health problems he’d face. He sustained the injury in a match against Los Angeles Lakers that saw him score a career-low 2 points in 12 minutes.
Even after he sustained the injury, Michael tried to get back to play as soon as possible, but the knee continued to swell. It was best that he took a break and let it heal properly. This was Michael’s second major injury, only second to his 1985-1986 season with Chicago Bulls when he broke his foot.
Following both injuries, Michael did absolutely everything he could to come back to full fitness. He battled tendinitis in his wrist and both knees and overcame two broken ribs to prepare for his comeback.
- “I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. Failure always made me try harder the next time.”
Michael Jordan frequently iterated that many fears, apart from the ones that are life-endangering and critical for survival, are merely an illusion. His position was that when you view most of your fears this way, you can gain the courage to do what’s right, even if it scares you at first.
Take the example of a child trying something new, like riding a bicycle. The parents encourage the kid to pedal without someone holding them. After the child attempts riding, they end up with a smile, thinking that it wasn’t that bad. Just like children, Michael stated that we need constant pushing against our fears. This helps to get us out of our comfort zone.
- “I play to win, whether during practice or a real game.”
Michael expected his teammates to deliver at the same level he demanded from himself. His drive and intensity made him difficult to work with, although it brought the best out of the Bulls. Sometimes, he’d test new players to see if they were ready to be competitive.
Michael’s desire to perform exceptionally every time forced the Bulls to be at their best. The competition was motivating because it compelled his teammates to do their best.
Unlike Michael Jordan, most of us want to have it the easy way. To succeed, we need to expect the most out of ourselves. We need to work with commitment and desire to excel.
- “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.”
Michael’s desire drove him to overcome challenges and never let failure get in his way. His father revealed that if you wanted to get the best out of Michael, you had to tell him that he’d fail. This would always challenge him to put in extra work and avoid failure. When he didn’t make it to his high school basketball team, Michael worked to prove his worth by putting more effort into being the best player.
When his team lost the first team in the finals, he wouldn’t get upset. Instead, he’d inspire his team by telling them that they had seen everything he needed to see to win. He’d also declare that he didn’t lose; he only ran out of time to come back.
- “If you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.”
To become as legendary as he was, Michael Jordan committed to keep practicing, even when he wasn’t at his best. He knew he wasn’t the best talent out there, and that he needed to work more than his opponents.
During his first season at the NBA in 1984, his coach thought that Michael’s outside shooting hadn’t reached pro standards. Michael worked on improving this. His training routine comprised of hundreds of hours focused on shooting, and he drastically improved.
Others criticized Michael for being weak in defense. He put in countless hours learning how to defend through multiple videos of his opponent’s strategy. This practice enabled him to stop his opponents in their tracks. In the 1987-88 season, Michael Jordan was the league’s best defensive player.
Michael was the king of preparing for games, and organizing his schedule so that he’d be present whenever his team needed him. This meant that he didn’t waste time in court. He was always working on improving his abilities. You can also improve your strengths and weaknesses by using your time more effectively.
- “I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… When you think about the consequences, you will always think of the negative result.”
Throughout his career, Michael had the honorable quality of taking responsibility for his team’s performance. This means that he was always ready to lead and motivate the team.
Leading from the front, Michael took charge of games, often showing his exceptional shooting. He wasn’t afraid of missing, and it’s not a surprise that because of his confidence, the ball found its way to the loop most of the time.
Michael missed more than 9000 shots over his career. He also lost nearly 300 games. Twenty-six times, his team trusted him to take the winning shot, and he missed. The legend failed over and over, but he learned from it, which is why he succeeded. Michael didn’t focus on the times he missed but looked at the positive side that he could score and guide his team to victory.
- “To be successful, you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.”
To reach the height of his career, Michael had to put in countless hours into practice. This meant that he had to commit to practice as his priority over events that happened off-court. His dedication to training is what made him one of the most skilled players. While playing with his teammates, he tried to teach them the values that had brought him to the top, which greatly improved the teams he played in.
Michael often said that many great players never won titles because they didn’t sacrifice enough for the team. Their unwillingness to sacrifice only made their individual goals more difficult to attain. Each team member should work together and achieve as a team. Through the team’s success, the individual will also receive accolades. Talent wins matches, but teamwork wins championships.