This article was last updated on December 29, 2015
Is there a person on this planet who doesn’t know who Michael Jordan is? I doubt so, he is the most widely recognized athlete in the world according to Forbes. And in 2014 he also became a billionaire. And as every athlete and entrepreneur he follows a certain set of rules that allow him to outcompete his competition. Here are the 10 rules Michael Jordan followed to become the most recognizable athlete in the world and a billionaire.
10 Rules Michael Jordan Owes His Success To
1. Keep Working Hard
In order to be the best, you simply have to outwork others and that’s especially true when it comes to sports. Putting up the hours when no one is watching you – this is what separates the bad from the good and the good from the great.
It doesn’t matter if you are talented or not, you will have to work hard if you want to achieve anything in life. It all comes to that – how many hours are you working towards your goals?
2. Ignite the fire
Are you passionate about your business? Are you passionate about your dreams? You should be. Being passionate fuels confidence, creates excitement and on top of that passion is contagious. Passionate people live happier and better lives than the average individual.
Let’s bring this to an end – do you think that you need to be passionate to be successful? No, you don’t need to, but if you are passionate, you might have better chances at succeeding in life
3. Be different
We tend to think that being different is something really really bad and in reality that is not true.
I am pretty sure you noticed the “different” bird. People that are different usually stand out from the rest of us, and the ones who dare to be different are the ones who end up doing great things in the end.
4. Fail your way to success
You want to have a successful business? You want to be a successful athlete? You want to be a successful singer?
Then get ready to fail. We learn through failure, that’s something wired in our brains – how do we learn to walk? We start by crawling, then we learn to stand up, then we make few steps and we keep falling on the ground, then one day we are suddenly running. Learn from your failures and you are moving in the right direction.
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
5. Have high expectations
I would like to use one of my favorite quotes for this one – “Most people fail in life not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit.
Imagine this – You are sitting in front of a 10 story building with a ball in your hand – if you aim for the 2nd floor will you reach the 6th one? I doubt so, but if you aim for the 10th floor even if you miss, you might still reach the 6th floor.
At the office, on the court, at home and even in health, expectations have an impact, so set yours high.
6. Be Positive
You need to adopt the attitude of positive thinking in everything you do. It’s not an easy task to become a positive thinker, but a bad attitude never helps any situation. When you see the world through positive eyes it will be easier for you to overcome the difficulties that you face in your life.
Don’t consider yourself a positive person? Then find the positive people in your community and stick around them, positivity is contagious. And if you hang out with positive people then you will become positive as well.
7. Be who you were born to be
Ask yourself – Is this the life I was meant to live?
That’s something that you have to answer for yourself. And I would love to see your thoughts in the comments below.
For those of you that don’t have an answer to this question – here are some tips that will help you find your purpose.
- Notice what captivates you.
- Use your values as a guide.
- Get More Action
8. Have a vision
Vision and strategy are both important. But there is a priority to them. Vision always comes first. Always. If you have a clear vision, you will eventually attract the right strategy. If you don’t have a clear vision, no strategy will save you.
That’s probably the biggest “feature” that we humans have. We are the only species that can imagine the future, isn’t that amazing? So where do you see yourself in 5 years or 10 years and are you working towards that vision?
9. Stop making excuses
Excuses will take you nowhere.
You can make all kind of excuses, at the end of the day nobody will care about them. The first step to stopping making excuses is to examine how much you view life as being in your control. If you are in control – start working on solutions.
10. Practice
You want to be better? Practice, practice, practice. End of story.
So do you agree with Michael Jordan? What advice resonates best with you and if you could give others one tip to be more successful what would that be? I would love to hear your answers in the comments below.
Photo source: Jason H. Smith
