August 13, 1993. James R. Jordan, the father of NBA superstar Michael Jordan, was found dead, a victim of a random highway robbery. October 16, 1993. Michael Jordan decides to retire from basketball to play … baseball. The unthinkable had happened. The greatest basketball player in the history of the game had lost his desire to play basketball. The man who, the previous three years had led the Chicago Bulls to the NBA Championship, was burnt out. Mind you, Jordan still possessed plenty of passion; the focus was just different. You see, playing baseball was something he’d been considering for a while. His father, at one point, had even challenged him to take action on his baseball aspirations. The reaction to Jordan’s retirement and his decision to play baseball was instant and worldwide. Disbelief. Criticism. Ridicule. Even laughter. Some thought it was a hoax. A publicity stunt. Steve Wulf, a writer for Sports Illustrated, said the idea of Jordan playing baseball was ridiculous. Players were resentful, Wulf said. He quoted one manager as saying, “It takes some guys 15 years to learn how to hit a baseball, and this guy thinks he can just walk on and do it?” Even though he hadn’t played baseball since he was 18 years old, Jordan insisted this was no gimmick. “I won’t be a sideshow for anybody. If my skills are not good enough to be there, I don’t want to be there. It doesn’t hurt to try. I don’t think it damages the sport,” he said. If you’re old enough to remember the year Jordan played minor league baseball, you may look back and think of it as being “unsuccessful.” A strange and unusual blip on the otherwise stellar career of one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen. But I, for one, would disagree. It’s a story of a man devastated by a personal tragedy. And who, as a result, made a decision to follow his passion. To take up the challenge of the man he loved and respected most in the world — his father. The qualities Jordan exhibited are the qualities anyone needs to be successful in any field, whether you’re a doctor, a bricklayer, or a freelance writer. I invite you to be inspired by Jordan’s year of playing minor league baseball by looking at five important actions he took as the right fielder for the Birmingham Barons: 1) Don’t let criticism slow you down. Aside from the talking heads across the land, Sports Illustrated published a story with the headline: “Bag It Michael, Jordan and the Sox Are Embarrassing Baseball.” The press then started a rumor that the death of James Jordan was somehow...

It was the first time he had won the award. Super salesperson Joe Girard was at a banquet put on by the automobile company whose cars he sold. They announced that he had won The Number One New Car Salesman Award. He received hearty applause as he walked to the stage to accept his award. The following year he won the award again. He received applause, but not as much. The next year he won the award again. He was stunned that when his name was announced he received jeers and catcalls from his fellow salesmen. He looked at his wife sitting at his table. She was in tears. Shocked by the reaction he was receiving, he conjured up the image of one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Ted Williams. Every time the crowd would boo, William’s batting average would go up. Girard tossed away his prepared acceptance speech and instead said… “Thank you.  I’ll be back again next year.  You have given me the right to come back.  You have fuelled my tank to keep my motor running.” He went back to his table and his wife explained why she was crying.  She said she was shedding tears of sympathy for him and she had tears of anger for the others. Joe took her hand and said… “The day they quit booing me is the day I’m no longer number one.  They’ve paid me a compliment.” Girard won the award many times after that.  The same thing happened.   All the while he tried to analyze why it was that they were booing him. He determined that it was envy, jealousy, and a willingness to settle for second best and in some cases just give up. He knew if he was to remain number one, he must never let those emotions happen to him. “Those who are number two and number three in life are not content until they pull the number ones down to their level,” he says. In life, in order to succeed, we must all be our own number-one fans.  In fact, Girard says the number one rule in life is to have faith in yourself. Here are his ten rules to keep yourself as the number one person in your life: Buy a small number one/lapel pin (or ring, necklace, or bracelet) and wear it proudly every day. Tape a three-by-five file card with “I Am Number One” printed on it to your bathroom mirror where you can see it first thing every morning.  Read it out loud and smile. Keep a similar card in your office or shop or kitchen or locker.  Put another on the sun visor of your car....

Hypothetical situation… You’re a real estate agent. You knock on the door of a house with a sign that says “For Sale By The Owner.” A lady answers the door. You begin to speak, but after a few seconds she cuts you off… “Just a minute. Let me ask you a question. Do you sell real estate? Just answer “yes” or “no.” “Yes,” you say rather sheepishly. She continues… “I’m just not interested. I’m going to tell you the same thing I told the last two people who came by here selling real estate. I’m going to sell this house myself. I planted every bush, every shrub, every tree in this yard and I’m not going to give you thousands of dollars for selling my house when I know a lot more about the house than you will ever know. Furthermore, I don’t want to hear any more about it.” She slams the door in your face. Dejected you say to yourself… “Poor little me. Nobody likes me!” Instead of making more calls you decide to go to a coffee shop and mull things over. After two coffees, you go back to the office and do some administration work. It’s Wednesday after all, you can start selling again on Monday when you’re more organized. In other words, you procrastinate. The above example is from the late Zig Ziglar’s book “Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale.” When it comes to procrastination, Ziglar mincing no words says that “ninety-eight percent of the people who procrastinate have image problems.” Ziglar’s example really hits home with me, because back many moons ago when I was selling steak and seafood door to door, one nasty scowl from a receptionist could immobilize me for the rest of the day. I had a “less-than-perfect” self-image. I considered being a steak and seafood salesman somewhere between an inchworm and a three-toed sloth on the evolution scale. Instead of telling myself, I was there to provide them with some wonderful food that will make their evenings with loved ones more special, I saw myself as someone who was infringing on their space. Have you ever felt that way when looking for new prospects for your business? Ziglar says that in his real estate example, someone with a good self-image would have said, “It’s not me who has the problem, it’s the lady who has the problem” and then continued on with their journey to find their next prospect. Successful people control their reactions, they don’t let their reactions control them. So how do you give your self-image a boost? Ziglar suggests taking a good public speaking course and becoming an expert in your chosen profession. And always be...

In his book Pushing to the Front, American spiritual author Orison Swett Marden tells a significant story… A French military soldier on horseback had a message for political leader Napoleon. He delivered it with such haste that before he could actually hand the message over to Napoleon his horse dropped dead. Napoleon dictated his response to the messenger and then ordered him to take his horse and deliver it as fast as possible. The messenger looked at Napoleon’s magnificent horse and said… “Nay General, but this horse is too gorgeous, too magnificent for a soldier.” Napoleon replied, “Nothing is too good or too magnificent for a French soldier.” Marden then points out the world is full of people like the poor French soldier. People who think that what others have is too good for them. They believe they can’t expect to have as good of things in life as others who are “more favored.” Without even realizing it, they weaken themselves through self-deprecation and timidity. Consequently, they do not claim, expect, or demand enough of or for themselves. Marden surmises that most people are educated to think that it is not intended for them to be the best there is in the world. That the best is reserved only for the fortunate few. Instead of doing great things with their lives, they do small things. British novelist Marie Corelli echoes what Marden says… “If we choose to be no more than clods of clay, then we shall be used as clods of clay for braver feet to tread on.” The bottom line is if you consistently think that you are a weak, ineffective person then that is what you will become or remain. On the other hand, if you believe yourself to be a self-reliant, positive, effective, worthy, and optimistic person then that is what you will become or remain. Marden writes that one must “set the mind toward the thing you would accomplish so resolutely, so definitely, and with such vigorous determination, and put so much grit into your resolution, that nothing on earth can turn you from your purpose until you obtain it.“ Even a racehorse, he says, cannot win a prize if he has no confidence in himself. “The reason why so many men fail is that they do not commit themselves with a determination to win at any cost. They do not have the superb confidence in themselves which never looks back; which burns all bridges behind it,” he adds. You must carry with you an air of victory. You must radiate assurance. And, in turn, impart to others that they too can do anything they attempt. Marden says that if he could give the...

As documented in his book Unlimited Power, after attending a seminar in the early to mid-eighties, motivational expert Anthony Robbins went for a midnight stroll around Boston’s Copley Square. As he was soaking in the sights, he noticed a man wobbling back and forth coming his way. The man reeked of alcohol…hadn’t shaved…and looked as though he’d been sleeping in the streets for weeks. As the man got closer, he said to Robbins… “Mister, can you loan me a quarter?” Robbins’ first reaction was that he didn’t want to reward this man’s behavior by giving him money.  His second reaction was that he didn’t want the man to suffer either. So he figured he’d try to teach the man a lesson. “A quarter?  That’s what you want, a quarter?” Robbins said. “Just a quarter,” the man replied. So Robbins reached into his pocket, pulled out a quarter and said… “Life will pay any price you ask of it.” Perplexed by this, the man staggered away into the night. As Robbins watched him fade into the moonlight, he reflected on the differences between those who succeed and those who fail. What was the difference between the unshaven man down on his luck and Robbins? Why did Robbins have such a great life where he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, with whomever he wanted, and as much as he wanted… …and why did the man he’d just met have such a terrible life – sleeping in ditches and begging for quarters? Was God smiling on him and, for whatever reason, had forgotten the other man? Highly unlikely. Was he given superior resources and advantages throughout his life? Probably not. Robbins himself was once down on his luck (although he never drank as much alcohol or had to resort to living on the street.) Robbins concluded that at least part of the answer was in what he had said to the man… Life will pay you whatever you ask it for. Ask for a quarter and you’ll get a quarter. Ask for happiness and success and you’ll get happiness and success. Robbins is convinced that if you manage your states and behaviors, you can change anything you want to in your life. And if you learn what to ask of life, you can be sure to get it. Makes sense right?...