Quick Bio
Name: Michael Jeffrey Jordan
Born: February 17, 1963
Occupation: Retired Basketball Player, Businessman
Nationality: American
Net Worth: $1.24 billion (Forbes 2016)
Famous Quotes
“I have failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can not accept not trying again.’’
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.’’
Nicks
- His Airness
- Air Jordan
- Black Cat
- Money
Though Jordan’s story is not the typical rags to riches type, he is another practical example of a successful billionaire who chased his dream, overcame numerous trials and difficulties, and achieved success.
Jordan, who is considered the best basketball player of all time made it clear that as Wilma Rudolph said, Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something great in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.
Due to Jordan’s constant failures and struggles, he was popularly known with the saying,
I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.
I’ve lost almost 300 games.
26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot but missed.
I’ve failed over and over and over in my life..
And that is why I succeed.
Early Life
Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the fourth child of James R. Jordan and Deloris Jordan. Being the fourth child, Jordan had two older brothers: Larry and James, an older sister: Delores, and a younger sister: Roslyn.
With Jordan’s parents’ occupations as the general electric plant supervisor, and bank worker, it is agreeable that Jordan had quite a comfortable childhood.
Despite being born in Brooklyn, Jordan grew up in North Carolina. Jordan’s parents relocated to North Carolina after his birth as a result of their concerns about the lifestyle in the streets of Brooklyn; there was a growing indulgence in drugs and a rising rate of violence.
Being quite poor academically, Jordan was very athletic right from his childhood; he was very skilled and took part in baseball, basketball, and football.
Though he participated in the three sports, Jordan never really had any special interest in any of the sports. His lack of interest in the sports was primarily because he was unfortunate to have inherited the average height which runs in the family. Therefore, he was always considered as “short” by the coaches.
Because of his height, Jordan was never able to make the high school basketball team in his sophomore years in DC Virgo middle school, Wilmington.
However, on getting to Emsley A. Laney High School as a tenth grader, Jordan surprisingly was already five-foot-two, being both taller than his dad and his older brothers.
As a result of the sudden increase in height, Jordan’s view of an athletic career began changing and he immediately joined the Laney JV Football team. He also became more focused academically; he became a B+ student.
At home, Jordan would engage in one-on-one basketball playoffs with Larry. Jordan admired Larry a lot, but however envied his skills and superiority in the playoffs.
The regular engagement in the playoffs, in turn, initiated a passion for basketball into Jordan.
Career
After a little while, Jordan who recently developed a passion for basketball switched from the school’s football team to the basketball team.
Fortunately for Jordan, after joining the JV basketball team, it was stated that the JV main team needed an extra player. Excited by the young chap who just got a newly found hobby, Jordan applied for the main team with full enthusiasm and with his hopes up. In as much as he expected to be chosen, Jordan was turned down for his teammate who was an inch taller.
This devastated Jordan and almost crushed his newly developed passion for basketball. However, Jordan bravely embraced his lost. He considered it as a motivation to strive harder and make his many potentials clearly noticed. He engaged in resolute private training all through the season. As a result of his persistence and consistency, he eventually got accepted the next season.
On finishing high school, Jordan was already widely perceived as a remarkable basketball genius in regards to his talents and skills showcased in school tournaments; he led the basketball team to win many trophies. He was as a result offered a basketball scholarship to North Carolina University. This brought him a lot closer to achieving his basketball dreams.
Throughout Jordan’s first season at the North Carolina basketball team, he upheld his previous glory from JV team by working relentlessly. He led his new team to winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) trophy with his winning shot against Georgetown University. He also facilitated the team’s victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship, after which he was named the ACC rookie of the year.
After a year of endless strive and hard work in North Carolina basketball team, Jordan’s talent grew more widely noticed. He was eventually approached by the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1984. Jordan had to make a tough decision of staying in college or joining the Bulls; he decided to join the Bulls. However, he returned to North Carolina two years later to complete his degree in Geography.
With Jordan’s skills, fun personality, and endless strive, he instantly turned Chicago Bulls from a poorly performing obscure team to a winning team and infected his teammates with his team spirit.
During the 1985-86 season, Jordan’s career seemed to be advancing progressively. However, just a little while later, Jordan was faced with a great setback which almost ended his basketball career. Jordan broke his left foot in a game against the Golden State of Oakland.
This unfortunate accident caused Jordan to be away for as long as six weeks. Jordan missed series of matches as a result. This was a great challenge not only to Jordan but to the Chicago Bulls which lost a series of competitions during the injury period.
Jordan had to bear the pain of watching from the sideline while his team gets crushed.
However, after his injury, Jordan made a great comeback and created an NBA playoff record with his 49 and 63 points against the Boston Celtics in the first and second games of the playoff. Jordan played skillfully and led the team to win series of matches and championships afterward.
Unfortunately, after Jordan won his first championship in 1993, his father, James Jordan, was murdered. Jordan was hugely affected by this accident, both physically and mentally. As a result, he optioned for his first retirement from the Bulls.
Jordan, however, rejoined the Bulls two years later and led the team to win many more trophies.
After a while playing for the Bulls, the legend decided to finally retire on January 13, 1999. He made his retirement official in 2003 after making few comebacks.
He emphasized his retirement to be as a result of his desire to spend more time with his wife, Juanita, and his three children: Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine.
Jordan with his family
Achievements and Luxury
After Jordan’s retirement from basketball, the billionaire turned to business and investments. He decided to invest in basketball once more. In 2010, he founded a basketball team, The Charlotte Hornets (An American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina).
Jordan resides in a $20 million home. His home comprises 9 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, a 15-car heated garage, an indoor basketball court, an outdoor tennis court, and a putting green (according to lonny).
Photo credit – Gothicginobilli
Jordan also owns a 154 ft mega yacht which he nicknamed Mr. Terrible.
Mr. Terrible contain an outdoor dining area and a dining room fitted with a chandelier.
Photo credit – Ballnroll
In Jordan’s basketball career, he undoubtedly missed countless shots. He definitely failed to accomplish certain expectations. However, he’ll be remembered for generations for those successful shots he made.
The number of times you’ve failed or will fail doesn’t count. What matters is the great achievements you make amidst these failures and how much effort you put in.
In high school when Jordan was not selected because of his average height, he never gave up his passion for sports. Instead, he viewed it as an opportunity to improve his skills. He practiced relentlessly and grew taller unknowingly, and therefore was eventually selected. Because of his improved skills from the private training, he began breaking and setting records upon being selected.
What seems like a difficult situation or setback might actually be your stepping stone to success once viewed from a positive perspective.
Joseph Chukwube
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