made them want what Jordan wanted that much more fervently.
I always told the musicians in my band to play with what they know, and then to play above that. Because anything can happen, and that’s where great art and music happens.
—Miles Davis
JAZZ MUSICIAN
Bill Russell believed, “Hustle is a talent.”
Former major-league baseball player Gene Woodling said, “You don’t tell me to hustle. That’s an insult. I never wanted to hear a ballplayer saying, ‘Nice hustling. ’You’re supposd to do that, and I did.”
“I Won’t Be a Bitter
Old Man”
You’ve got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.
—John Irving writer
B ut let’s say something’s missing. Let’s say you don’t share this feeling. Let’s say you’re swept up in the modern malaise of our culture, the dour and cynical cult of people who, as sociologist Tony Campolo suggested, don’t dance, don’t sing and are “becoming emotionally dead.”
What then?
People don’t choose
careers. They’re engulfed by them.
—John Dos Passos
WRITER
The only intervention is to discover a passion in life. I cannot tell you where to find it. I can only tell you that it is absolutely crucial that you find it, wherever you have to go, whatever sacrifices you have to make, whatever risks you may incur. It’s the only way. Because I can guarantee that what you’re lacking is not intelligence, not education, not training. What you’re lacking is that fire, that certainty of action that branches forth from those early musings of energy and enthusiasm. What you’re crippled by is a lack of purpose.
Hockey’s Gordie Howe stated, “If you’re not in love with what you’re doing, just move over and make room for somebody who is.”
And why aren’t we engulfed by our careers? Why do we lack passion? Here, courtesy of author Greg Morris, are four possible maladies:
Routine —We allow something precious to become familiar. This was Jordan in the aftermath of his father’s death, his senses dulled by basketball, his focus nosing elsewhere, eventually choosing baseball for a shake-up.
Acceptance and approval —Passion both draws and repels people. Some are attracted to clarity of focus, and others are threatened by it. This means that there are times when we feel as if we have to protect ourselves from others’ skepticism, when our passion may seem misplaced. And so we mask it for the sake of consent.
If you are going to try to persuade others to go with you, it certainly doesn’t hurt that you’ve got very strong convictions about where you are going. Like Columbus did, for instance, to discover the New World. And if you’ve got passion and conviction, you’re more likely to be inspiring. If you’re inspired yourself and you’re passionate about something, you’re more likely to get others to come with you.
—Ted Turner
MEDIA EXECUTIVE
Apathy increases with age —As we grow older, it is harder to contain our skepticism.
We have no purpose beyond ourselves —We lose sight of possibility, of the impact we may have on others. And without those notions, we’re condemned to skepticism.
“You’re only bitter if you reach the end of your life and you’re filled with frustration because you feel you missed out on something,” Jordan said. “You’re bitter because you regret not accomplishing things you could have accomplished. I won’t be a bitter old man.”
“Michael has passion,” says his ex-teammate, B. J. Armstrong, “and you have to have that same passion, that same will, to beat him. He prepares himself in a way that no one will understand, because I don’t think too many people are willing to pay that price.”
Enjoy every minute of life. Never second-guess life.
—Michael Jordan
In 1984, before he joined the Bulls, before he began his glorious professional career, Jordan had one last amateur experience: the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. His coach was Bob Knight, and one of the first things Knight did when pulling
I always told the musicians in my band to play with what they know, and then to play above that. Because anything can happen, and that’s where great art and music happens.
—Miles Davis
JAZZ MUSICIAN
Bill Russell believed, “Hustle is a talent.”
Former major-league baseball player Gene Woodling said, “You don’t tell me to hustle. That’s an insult. I never wanted to hear a ballplayer saying, ‘Nice hustling. ’You’re supposd to do that, and I did.”
“I Won’t Be a Bitter
Old Man”
You’ve got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.
—John Irving writer
B ut let’s say something’s missing. Let’s say you don’t share this feeling. Let’s say you’re swept up in the modern malaise of our culture, the dour and cynical cult of people who, as sociologist Tony Campolo suggested, don’t dance, don’t sing and are “becoming emotionally dead.”
What then?
People don’t choose
careers. They’re engulfed by them.
—John Dos Passos
WRITER
The only intervention is to discover a passion in life. I cannot tell you where to find it. I can only tell you that it is absolutely crucial that you find it, wherever you have to go, whatever sacrifices you have to make, whatever risks you may incur. It’s the only way. Because I can guarantee that what you’re lacking is not intelligence, not education, not training. What you’re lacking is that fire, that certainty of action that branches forth from those early musings of energy and enthusiasm. What you’re crippled by is a lack of purpose.
Hockey’s Gordie Howe stated, “If you’re not in love with what you’re doing, just move over and make room for somebody who is.”
And why aren’t we engulfed by our careers? Why do we lack passion? Here, courtesy of author Greg Morris, are four possible maladies:
Routine —We allow something precious to become familiar. This was Jordan in the aftermath of his father’s death, his senses dulled by basketball, his focus nosing elsewhere, eventually choosing baseball for a shake-up.
Acceptance and approval —Passion both draws and repels people. Some are attracted to clarity of focus, and others are threatened by it. This means that there are times when we feel as if we have to protect ourselves from others’ skepticism, when our passion may seem misplaced. And so we mask it for the sake of consent.
If you are going to try to persuade others to go with you, it certainly doesn’t hurt that you’ve got very strong convictions about where you are going. Like Columbus did, for instance, to discover the New World. And if you’ve got passion and conviction, you’re more likely to be inspiring. If you’re inspired yourself and you’re passionate about something, you’re more likely to get others to come with you.
—Ted Turner
MEDIA EXECUTIVE
Apathy increases with age —As we grow older, it is harder to contain our skepticism.
We have no purpose beyond ourselves —We lose sight of possibility, of the impact we may have on others. And without those notions, we’re condemned to skepticism.
“You’re only bitter if you reach the end of your life and you’re filled with frustration because you feel you missed out on something,” Jordan said. “You’re bitter because you regret not accomplishing things you could have accomplished. I won’t be a bitter old man.”
“Michael has passion,” says his ex-teammate, B. J. Armstrong, “and you have to have that same passion, that same will, to beat him. He prepares himself in a way that no one will understand, because I don’t think too many people are willing to pay that price.”
Enjoy every minute of life. Never second-guess life.
—Michael Jordan
In 1984, before he joined the Bulls, before he began his glorious professional career, Jordan had one last amateur experience: the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. His coach was Bob Knight, and one of the first things Knight did when pulling
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