Michael Jordan explains how he built elite performance through relentless work ethic, fearless mindset, and constantly raising his own standards. He never feared failure because he prepared obsessively in practice, treated it like competition, and let his performance speak instead of chasing external symbols. Jordan retired on top but came back because he still had more to prove.
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Hello, Believe Nation! I started the Mentor Me series to try to hang around people who've done a lot more than us, and hopefully by spending a little more time with them, some of their mindsets and attitudes and work ethic seeps into us to help us become the best version of ourselves. So today we're going to learn from Michael Jordan on staying motivated. Mentor me, Michael!
Chicago Bulls pick Michael Jordan.
My own expectations are just to go in and try to contribute, you know, and, uh, don't try to do anything out of the ordinary.
There's a kaboom driving all the way in. Oh God, an unbelievable move!
You know, I was all by myself, so it was time for creation.
63 for Jordan, a new NBA record.
Whenever I go against good or great competition, I enjoy that. It makes me become a better basketball player.
Michael Jordan scored 50! They gave it a 50! They gave Jordan a 50! Bounce dribble now to Jordan. Michael in from the left side, jammed it right over Rollins. Here's Michael at the foul line, a shot on ELO, good!
The Bulls win!
They win it!
I really set a standard for myself, which is normal, but then you have to step it up another level to be above normal.
Steal, he kept it in bounds. Here it is again. Oh!
Everyone's saying that a scoring leader can't be an NBA champion. I never believed that.
Spectacular move by Michael Jordan! And the Chicago Bulls have won their first ever NBA championship!
Maybe it's my fault. Maybe I led you to believe it was easy when it wasn't. Maybe I made you think my highlights started at the free throw line and not in the gym. Maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game-winner. That my game was built on flash and not fire. Maybe it's my fault that you didn't see that failure gave me strength. That my pain was my motivation. Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a God-given gift and not something I worked for every single day of my life. Maybe I destroyed the game. Or maybe you're just making excuses.
A shocking revelation tonight for all Chicagoans. Bulls star Michael Jordan will announce his retirement tomorrow.
I achieved practically everything I could from an individual standpoint and from a team standpoint, and it really made it easy to walk away while he was on top. Will I ever unretire? I don't know. A lot of people may think it's off the wall. Maybe it is. The White Sox will let me know if they feel that I'm not, I'm not doing well. Michael Jordan is returning. He released a press release today that said, quote, I'm back. At the time that I retired, I didn't have anything to prove.
Now I got something Are you as good now as you were when you left?
I'm better.
65 points by Michael Jordan! The Bulls have won 70! Bulls are the champions of the world! An emotional moment for Michael Jordan.
It's not about the shoes.
It's about knowing where you're going, not forgetting where you started.
It's about having the courage to fail, not breaking when you're broken, taking everything you've been given and making something better. It's about work before glory and what's inside of you. It's doing what they say you can't. It's not It's not about the shoes, it's about what you do in them. It's about being who you were born to be. If you put your mind to doing whatever you want to do, you know, good things can happen. That I could be better than what people think, and I can, you know, surpass any expectations that I may have for myself. And I'm a firm believer that if you have good game, your game is going to say that, you know, you don't have to say it. So I guess just trying to play down some of the trash talking, you know, animosity that's between— in words and than the whole promotional thing. Let your game be your promotion, your marketing tool.
This whole thing about your— you practicing, I mean, if you talk to any of your teammates, they would say, even if they saw something in the game, it's like, shoot, you should have saw him Thursday. The practice with you was like, like they had a game instead of a practice.
And when I got to the pros with Kevin Lockery, You know, when I was drafted number 3, Kevin Lockett used to put me on the starting 5. We used to be killing the second 5, but he wanted to test me out. So we can be— let's say we're going to 8, and it can be 5-1 or 5-2 against the second team. If you lose, you gotta run. He would switch me in the middle of the game to the second team. Now I'm saying, well, okay, he's trying to prove a point. Boom, we'll bounce back and win the game. Those are all training tools for me, and every day in practice was like that to me. It was a competition. So when the game comes, there's nothing that I haven't already practiced. It's a routine, you know. Whatever happens in the game now, okay, I've done this before.
Jordan for the win! Got it at the buzzer! He's done it again!
Was fear of failure a motivator?
Uh, I never feared about my skills, you know, because I put in the work. Put them away, MJ. Work ethic eliminates fear. Yes. You know, so if you put forth the work, then what are you fearing? You know what you're capable of doing, what you're not.
We're down to 2, now to 1. Here's Jordan. Yes! It is all over! The Chicago Bulls have won at the buzzer!
6 rings, 10 scoring titles, 5 MVPs, All-Defense 9 times. Did I leave anything out? 2 Olympic gold medals. One word to sum up your career?
Fun.
Thank you guys so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed. I'd love to know, what did you think of the video? What was the best clip? What was the single best clip that got you the most motivated? I'm really curious to find out. Please leave in the comments below. I'm gonna join in the discussion. Thank you again for watching. I believe in you. I hope you continue to believe in yourself and whatever your one word is. Much love. I'll see you soon.
