Soul of a Champion

Michael Jordan: The Soul of a Champion
(excerpt by Andrew Bernstein)
Dear Michael,
Thank you for winning six NBA titles and earning hundreds of millions of dollars. If you ask why I thank you when obviously, you did it for yourself, not for me – I will respond: That’s exactly why I thank you. I can imagine the pride you take in your achievements – of being the greatest ever in your field – but I wonder if you realize fully all you have to be proud of. Most people, unfortunately, do not push themselves to excel – and the problem is not a lack of capacity. Over a period of twenty years as a teacher, I have observed many talented students who squander their gifts. It is not ability that is missing; it is will.
It is hard work for a man to actualize his potential. Thomas Edison, who knew defined genius as one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Many of us- perhaps most – do not wish to perspire that profusely. But you, Michael, do not share such reluctance. When the teenage boy, cut from his high school basketball team, practices hours everyday before school, he displays his work ethic. When the University of North Carolina hero busts his rear-end at Bobby Knight’s drill-instructor practice sessions in order to win the Olympic gold, he reaffirms his commitment. When the greatest player in the history of basketball continues, at age thirty-five, to out-hustle far younger players – on defense as well as on offense – to lead his aging team to yet another championship, he surpasses the meaning of such concepts as “dedication” and “perseverance”; he sets an example and a standard for which, perhaps mankind has not yet developed a vocabulary. You are supremely talented, and your performances are a marvel, an art form to behold. But it is the “over-achieving” part that is so extraordinary. For most of us, unlike you, are mere mortals; we cannot push ourselves to the limit of our ability and achieve the highest level possible to us. In this regard, you are an inspiration.
When I see you playing in a championship game with a fever that would keep most men in bed- when I see that physically, you are too weak to stand but that, by an act of will, you score thirty eight points and hit the game-winning shot-it raises in me the feeling: what can I achieve if I will myself similarly in my field and in my life?
The dedication to excellence-to being all one can be-that is necessary to win a championship… is a concrete reminder of the motto that so eloquently expresses the essence of the Olympic Games; “ Citius, Altius, Fortius ” – “Swifter, Higher, Stronger.”
No athlete of our time, Michael captures this spirit like you. It isn’t merely or primarily the dominance you exhibit on the basketball court; it is the way you conduct your life. The way you dress, the way you speak, the importance of your family, the ads for the products you endorse, your loyalty to your coach and your team, the dignity and grace with which you handle the hoopla surrounding you, all add up to one thing: class. In an era in which so many athletes, musicians, movie stars and politicians are guilty of drug use, infidelity and domestic violence, you stand high above the rest as a man of dignity and stature. As Ayn Rand stated in her great novel Atlas Shrugged: “ the sight of an achievement is the greatest gift a human being could offer to others.” You have offered such a gift, abundantly to us. You do, and will continue to inspire those of us who. like you, hold a vivid concept of man’s proper stature, and who yearn to attain it. This is the full measure of that for which you should be justly proud.
This is why I say to you, “Thank you.” … I say, with full reverence for the glory of human achievement: Vaya con Dios, Michael – Go with God.