Michael Jordan’s Growth Mindset

Michael Jordan once said, “If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But 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.”

When seeing people who are really good at what they do, like Michael Jordan or Tom Brady, it’s easy to think that they are born that way and that they have had an inevitable rise to great success. But making some research you will realize that they didn’t achieve success solely because of their amazing, born talent. Every one of them put up a great deal of work, and when they were met with obstacles they powered through them.

Yes, while some people are born with certain passions and talents and build them, many who never achieve anything are born with those talents and passions but they never see through them. The raw material is what we have to develop.

So, which group are you in? Do you try something new or are you too afraid to fail? Maybe you are in the middle, basically waiting to figure out what’s next…

When trying to learn something new, do you try your hardest? Or do you try it one time and quit if you can’t do it? Do you do it once or twice and quit if you have success? Or do you keep working at it until you become an expert?

Obstacles are a part of life and sports. How you handle those obstacles defines who you are as people. Having a growth mindset is beautiful… with time and deliberate practice you will be able to do hard things and improve.

 It’s hard to believe that Michael Jordan was cut from high school team as a sophomore but it really happened. Just a few years later, North Carolina claimed the 1982 national championship after MJ made the game-winning jumper against Georgetown. This was the beginning of Jordan’s legend. He then won six NBA championships in six trips to the NBA Finals, as well as eight scoring titles, five regular season MVP awards, six NBA Finals MVP awards, three NBA All-Star game MVPs and one Defensive Player of the Year award.

Michael Jordan established a record by making the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team nine times and he was a 14-time NBA All-Star and a former NBA Rookie of the Year (1985). Jordan finished his career with 32,292 points, averaging 30.1 points in 1,072 games over 15 years (13 with the Bulls). He also had 6,672 total rebounds, 5,633 assists, 12,192 field goals and 5,633 steals.

MJ averaged 31.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 930 games over 13 seasons with the Bulls and he was the star of their legendary teams in the 90s. He averaged 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 38.8 minutes over 82 games to win the NBA MVP award in his final season with the Bulls in 1998.