Michael Jordan, basketball dunk and free throw champion, says that, “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” In the 1997 championship games, when Bill Bartmann was in negotiations for purchasing the Chicago Bulls for $200 million, Jordan put his career on the line with his eyes closed. We can learn a lot about how to accomplish success from a story that Bill Bartmann told at a recent business training.
Michael and Bill were chatting on the bench before the second game of the 1997 championship between the Chicago Bulls and the Seattle Supersonics. Bill told Michael about a book he was writing. Bill said that one of the topics was going to be on seeing the future, and an envisioning success before it happens. Michael quickly responded, “Oh, I get it.“
Bill told him that he couldn’t get it, because he hadn’t told him anything yet. But Michael emphatically replied that, “I know exactly what you are going to say. I practice and shoot free throws in my mind. I can envision the results before I do it. I do this so much, so often, that I can do it blindfolded.“
Envision It
He then proceeded to walk to Bill Bartmann out onto the court just before the game. Bill was in his street shoes, and later commented, “But when you buy a team for $200 million, they will let you walk out there with street shoes.”
Michael walked him over to the free throw line and stood facing towards the basket. Bill Bartmann stood in front of him and Michael Jordan said, “Watch my eyes.”
He closed his eyes, took the basketball, dribbled it, and caught it. He closed his eyes, bent his knees, tucked his elbow, shot, and followed through. Bill watched his eyes all the while. They were closed, and behind him Bill heard a swoosh.
“That is really cool, Michael. Really amazing,” exclaimed and incredulous Bill.
Michael Jordan laughed and said “See, I envision it before it happens.”
In the last two minutes of the championship game, the Bulls were down by four points. Two minutes to go, down by four. Michael got fouled. He walked up to the free throw line, looked over to where Bill Bartmann was sitting courtside, and winked. Bill got scared. He knew what Michael Jordan was going to do. There was not another person in the stadium that knew what Jordan was about to do, but Bill did. He just knew that Michael was going to shoot a free throw with his eyes closed.
He did. They won.
What lesson does Michael teach us by his example? That it doesn’t matter who we are, what we do, where we are, or what we want to accomplish. We can practice success in out head! If we will envision MLM techniques and results, and practice enough, we will not be afraid to be in front of anybody. We will be able to give any presentation, perform any task, call any person, and win in any business activity. Practice seeing the results you want in your MLM career, and those results will come. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen,” even with their eyes closed.