My Time at Purdue: Failure to Success in 4 years

Who I am is irrelevant without first knowing my life experiences.

As I finish my last week as a student at Purdue, I have been thinking back about my 4 years at this school. And I realized that a famous line, written by Charles Dickens in a Tale of Two Cities, sums up my four years at Purdue perfectly,

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

My time at Purdue was the best of times, more recently, and the worst of times, during my first two years at Purdue. My Freshmen year started out in August 2011, and just like everyone else, I was happy to be on my own, but homesick because I missed my high school friends. They were some of the best people I ever met in my life, you all know who you are.   Then, my high school friend Matt died in late September. It was a life changing event for me, and for many others. Everyone has their own way of dealing with things, and everyone thought that I was dealing with such a traumatic event in my life, just fine. They were right to some extent, but the Purdue Police wouldn’t agree with them. Exactly 6 months after Matt died, I was arrested and put in jail for the night. Within 6 months, arguably 2 of the worst things that could have happened to me, did happen to me. Even worse, these two events had happened in an environment that I didn’t necessarily have a great support system. My friends at Purdue were great, but I didn’t have the support I used to have. If being arrested taught me one thing, it was that you simply shouldn’t break the law.

I came back to Purdue to start my Sophomore year with a court appearance hanging over my head. I completed all of the courts requirements: community service, a class, and tests. Really, my sophomore year at Purdue was the least productive year of my life. I don’t know why this was so, but living by myself for the first time may have contributed. I had very little interest in Accounting, which was what I was studying at the time. The two semesters of my Sophomore year I had the two lowest GPA’s I ever had in college. I guess things have a way of lingering longer than they should. I really think I just couldn’t get past the fact that I thought society was telling me,

“You are a FAILURE. You are WORTHLESS. You will amount to NOTHING.”

The summer after my Sophomore year, 2013,  I went back home to Valparaiso. I was relieved to get out of the hectic environment I had created for myself at Purdue, an environment where I was most definitely NOT successful.

“Life has a funny way of kicking you when you are down.”

That summer after my Sophomore year I was arrested AGAIN. Again, I spent the night in jail. This time it was for minor in consumption, or underage drinking. What can I say, I was a stupid 20-year-old and that 20 year old’s make mistakes. There was something about this event, that seemed to change me more than ANYTHING else. Which doesn’t make much sense. This time I learned a lesson, again. Maybe it was to be careful who you trust. This event was completely written off in my mind, for whatever reason I started to tell myself,

“Maybe I am a failure. The best thing a failure can do is to make changes, try again, and hope for a better outcome.”

As I started my Junior year at Purdue, the good times finally came. I made changes, I tried again, and I received a better outcome and better outcomes to come. The Fall 2013 semester I received straight A’s, and had doubled my GPA from the previous semester. I have had continued success since my last BIG failure when I was 20.

Today, I am looking at law schools to attend next year. It was a long time goal of mine to go to law school, but one that I did not think was achievable when my train was derailed just a few years ago. I know how lucky I am to be where I am right now. I hope that these words can reach someone who has failed, but is still TRYING to succeed. That’s my life’s story, and I am just willing to admit the facts.

To conclude, if life is like being dealt a hand of cards, I may have had some shitty cards dealt my way: Matt died, I was arrested twice, I had a horrible year of school grade-wise. But I also had some great cards dealt my way: A loving and supportive family, great friends, an incredible internship opportunity, the opportunity to remember my friend Matt- through the Matthew Lee Erickson Scholarship, a degree from Purdue University, accepted to two law schools, countless opportunities that I did take advantage of, and countless opportunities that I should have taken advantage of and didn’t. I feel as if I have used those bad cards and made something good out of it all, and that’s all I can continue to do. No Excuses.

If you would like to support a great cause, The Matthew Lee Erickson Scholarship Fund, in memory of my late friend Matt, Check us out on Go Fund Me: http://www.gofundme.com/MLEScholarshipFund

Julian Treasure: Speaking so Others will Listen

Video Link (9:58): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIho2S0ZahI

I think the two most important aspects of leadership are speaking and listening. The better you can do both, the more you will understand and the more you will be understood. As one of Covey’s most important rules, seek to understand before seeking to be understood. Julian Treasure talks about the importance of speaking so that people will listen to you.

First, Julian Treasure outlines 7 negative speaking habits for people to avoid. Most importantly, to be a leader, one must avoid these 7 negatives- gossiping, judging, negativity, complaining, making excuses, lying, and dogmatism. All of these seem relevant to speaking and listening, but most important to leadership is dogmatism. It is explained as having it “my way”, which everyone is guilty of in some way. As a leader, I think it is important to put other people first. Followers are more important than leaders because there are more followers than leaders.

Next, Julian Treasure talks about his acronym HAIL. The definition of the word hail is to greet or acclaim enthusiastically. H stands for honesty. Honesty is important because without trust, a relationship does not really exist. A stands for authenticity. Authenticity is important because people want to see other people being themselves, not trying to be something they are not. I stands for integrity. Integrity is important because you have to do what you say, you can’t make promises and then not show up. L stands for love. Love other people by showing them that you really wish them well. As a leader, you have to want other people to succeed.

:Lastly, Julian Treasure gives 6 vocal exercises to warm up vocal chords. I will be using these before my next presentation, they seem very helpful.

John Wooden: Winning and Success

Video Link (17:37): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MM-psvqiG8

John Wooden defines success as being peace of mind from the self satisfaction of knowing you did the best you possibly could. As a competitor, I know this feeling well. I have been a part of losses, where it felt like the team lost because some players did not give their full effort. However, I have also lost games thinking that my team played the best we could possibly play. Although I would rather win all the time, when I do lose I would prefer to feel like I did my best. If there is one thing I know about myself, it is that I am either 100% involved or 100% not involved. When I lose, I want to feel like I gave 100%, but also that I got 100% production out of my team. Anything less and I will know we gave away a victory.

Wooden talks about the difference between reputation and character. Reputation is what other people see you to be, and character is what you really are. In success and winning, it is important to have a both. You are not going to get better and continue to succeed if you do not have good character, you will not be able to deal with the failure and the losses. A reputation is important if you want to be liked. I would think that having a bad reputation would hurt your chances of succeeding because people don’t like you. If people don’t like you, they most definitely don’t want you to win and succeed.

Wooden has a couple rules in 3. The first list of 3 rules are never be late, don’t use profanity, and never criticize a teammate. Although these rules come from many decades ago, I think they still apply. I never like to be late, and I think it is very important to not only be on time, but be early. I think it is disrespectful to be late to anything. I cannot believe that I have showed up to interviews early before, only to wait for the person interviewing me because they were late.Those companies must not value time like I do. I think it is important to not use profanity around certain people. As a general rule,  I would not use profanity around people I do not know well. However, if I know them well or if they use profanity, I may be more inclined to do so. Lastly, I think it is extremely important to never criticize a teammate. It is important to never criticize anyone, because you may not know their life experiences. As a culture, we criticize too much. Wooden’s second list of 3 rules are don’t whine, don’ t complain, and don’t make excuses. Seems fitting for leadership and responsibility.

Towards the end of the video clip, Wooden says a good quote, “the journey is better than the end.” I find this to be true, the thrill is usually in the hard work. It seems as if all of the great accomplishments in my life were more about the hard work that I put in, and not that good feeling of success at the end. In fact, that good feeling doesn’t even last that long. Looking back at the memories, I think more about the time I spent working on something then the end result of it.

Mark Cuban’s Advice

Video Link (5:01): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgdNTzul27k

Mark Cuban seems to be one of the most popular people in business today. He owns an NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks, and is on Shark Tank. He is a rare celebrity businessman, and many people want to know what he thinks and how he became successful. In this video clip, Cuban gives advice to high school graduates and college graduates.

Mark Cuban’s advice to high school graduates is to go to the cheapest college possible for freshman year and possibly sophomore year. I think this is great advice. If I could do it all over again, I would maybe have done this. When I was a freshmen and sophomore here at Purdue, I was an accounting student and I was not motivated to succeed. Looking back, the first two years out of high school were the most difficult years of my life. I could have benefited from still living with my parents and attending a community college. However, this was not an option for me at the time.

Mark Cuban then goes on to talk about how much debt students can incur in college. I agree with his views that college is getting to be quite expensive. I am proud that Mitch Daniels froze tuition costs, so Purdue is at least attempting to solve the problem. They are not adding more fuel to the fire. However, I am currently looking at law schools, and some are ridiculously expensive. Some do offer scholarships, but the schools range from $19,000 to $50,000 per year, for 3 years. There is a chance that I could be over $150,000 in debt after graduating from law school, if I do not receive any scholarships. There are ways of dropping the debt, such as working a government job or for a non-profit organization for 10 years, something I may end up doing.

Mark Cuban gives advice to college graduates. As I am about to graduate in less than a month, I found his advice helpful. He says that you don’t need the perfect job, and when I was looking for jobs, I may have been looking for the perfect one. I never found it. He then goes on to say that there is no way that the 30 year old you, or the 25 year old you, is going to look back at the 22 year old you and say that guy had it all together. I hope this is the case. It is very difficult to have a life mission at 22 years old. I believe it is important to have a life mission, but so many things are dictated from external factors. You may want to live in one area, but be offered an incredible job in a different area. You may want to work in one industry, but be a failure in that industry. You might fall into something you didn’t even know about. There are so many unpredictable outcomes in the world.

In 3 years, I know I will be thinking much differently than I do today. I know that because 3 years ago, when I was 19, I was thinking much differently than I do today. It’s such a large change in thinking, that I could not have even predicted it. However, it’s the journey that matters. The life experiences that I had along the way. When I was 19, I thought about possibly going to law school. That idea went away for the next few years, however. Last summer, as a sales intern, I realized that I might not want to be a sales person. It was more something that I just fell into. I could succeed at it, but I might not be happy being a sales person. Then, I was led back to the idea of being a lawyer. I went through the whole process of taking the LSAT, applying to law schools, and getting letters of recommendation. I recently was accepted to NIU law school, despite the odds against me. In my eyes, everything has a way of working itself out in the end. I really believe that everything in my life has happened for a reason.

Bill Clinton on Leadership

Video link(1:42): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b1OnUJOA8Q

Bill Clinton has always been an interesting leader and person to me. Despite scandal after scandal, former President Clinton always seemed to make it right. He is one of the more charismatic politicians in the recent era, and he wasn’t born in to it. He rose quickly the political ranks in Arkansas in the late 1970’s and eventually was elected to be the youngest governor in Arkansas history. He was also the youngest ex-governor in Arkansas history. He ran for governor again and won, and then became president. Bill Clinton is also the only president of the USA that I have ever met, and maybe that’s why I seem to respect his opinion more.

In the video clip, Clinton talks about leadership as continuing in the face of failure. He says that leadership is a state of mind, not just a place in a hierarchy. Clinton makes the point that an ordinary person, with a deep conviction, can make an extraordinary impact on the well-being of society. I find this to be true. Clinton goes on to say that he needs to find more people like that to help his humanitarian causes. Although I like everything that Clinton says, I think the most important piece is what he says about continuing in the face of failure. He talks about persistence and the importance of not giving up on a cause. As leaders, and as followers and people, being persistence is one of the most important traits a person can have. If you want something, or anything, you will most likely not get it on your first try. All of us are then faced with the choice, are we going to give up or are we going to try again. I think that most people will try again, given the opportunity of a second chance, or even a third, fourth, or fifth chance. However, some people give up due to the circumstances. Giving up can happen for a number of reasons, and I have seen too much of it around my life- suicide, failing out of school, closing out society. Nobody likes to fail, and my thought is that failures are misunderstood. There’s something more going on that might miss the eye. Understanding why you or someone you know failed is maybe more important than knowing why you were successful. If a few things can be pinpointed as reason for the failure, the process of change can be started. Look at me, I went from a back row (near) failure, to a straight A student. I was able to accept that fact that things were not going right and I needed to make a change. I went from sitting in the back row, to sitting in the front row. I stopped skipping classes, and I started attending classes. My life feels characterized by the failures, or mishaps, I have experienced; and in that way, I think I am similar to Mr. Clinton

Of all people, I would think Bill Clinton should understand why an ordinary person can make such an extraordinary impact. Bill Clinton is really just an ordinary person. He was born in a poor Arkansas town and his father died before he was born. There were plenty of people around Bill Clinton that didn’t make it and weren’t successful, and Bill Clinton went on to become the president of the USA. The example that Clinton gives in the clip, sounds somewhat similar to his own story. Of course Clinton did not have HIV, but he did have the want to want to be in public service. He wanted to make a difference, even though he was just an ordinary person. He learned how to adapt to his surroundings.

Matt Erickson: A Natural Born Leader

Matt Erickson was the best friend that I ever had. It would be impossible to use words to describe the friend that he was to me and the person he was in this world. Matt was an interesting person who had a lot of things going for him. On September 28, 2011, a day that will live in infamy for the rest of my life, Matt killed himself. I will never be able to truly understand why Matt did this, but I can only speculate as someone who knew him very well. However, speculation over this matter is unimportant to me. I want to remember my best friend, Matt, for the way he lived his life, not the way he chose to end it.

Matt was a natural-born leader. He was involved in many activities in high school, so many more than me. All I ever did was play tennis, and I even quit the team my senior year. I wasn’t very good, and I couldn’t take the competitive nature of it all. I was too afraid to fail. But Matt was never like that. Matt ran cross-country for 4 years, even though he wasn’t the best. He stuck with the things that were important to him, Also, Matt joined the Varsity Singers group at our high school, a group of students who sang and danced, and performed shows. Even though I was involved with the school choir as a freshmen, I quit because I was embarrassed that I liked to sing and I didn’t want to be judged for it. Matt played trumpet in the high school marching band, while I quit playing guitar and I quit playing piano. Matt performed in high school plays and improv shows, something that I always wanted to do but never acted upon. Matt was a Boy Scout, a member of a church, and had real interests, such as marine biology. If I had only half the dedication and involvement that Matt had, the world would have limitless possibilities for me. But I never even compared to the Involvement and Dedication that Matt had in everything he did. Nonetheless, I never stuck with the things that I set out to do, leaving me to ask myself, “Why did you do this Matt?” It should have been me, if anyone.

That is why I will never meet a better person, a better friend, a better leader than Matt Erickson. I will not remember him for how he left this world, I will only remember him for what he achieved and his unwavering loyalty to his interests and his family and friends. My friend, Matt, taught me more about being a leader than anyone ever could. His death changed my life forever, pushed me to the edge of everything I ever knew, and forced me to change who I was. I can never thank Matt for doing this for me, and that is, by far, the saddest thought I can ever have. As I sit here in tears, finishing this post, I don’t know what more needs to be said. He was great at everything he did, just because he showed up and didn’t quit.

I have changed my life so very much since losing my best friend, Matt. So many things changed and accomplished, all of which I wish I could tell my friend, because I know how much he would have cared. I don’t sit in the back row in my classes any more,  I sit in the front. I went from being a horrible student, to being top of my class. I went from being a complete waste of a person, to someone who can bring value to any situation. Oddly enough, it only happened because I lost my best friend. That is why I vow to be successful. I vow to achieve as much as I possibly can in life. I take each opportunity as a blessing, and treat the time I have on this earth as very valuable. It is because this horrible event happened to me, that I want to rise above it all. Lastly, it’s for Matt. Because someone needs to live a successful life for him.

I always think of my life’s dreams that I shared with Matt, and all the very in-depth conversations we had. After Matt died, I struggled with school work and tried to think of what would really motivate me to succeed. I told Matt of the vision I had of myself in the future, speaking at the Lincoln Memorial. I think he bought into what I was saying and his spirit continues to support me to this day. To remember my great friend, Matt, I am working with a scholarship fund in his name, “The Matthew Lee Erickson Scholarship Fund”. Please support this great cause. I guarantee Matt Erickson would have supported you.

http://www.gofundme.com/kmmiek

Benjamin Franklin Dillingham: Hawaiian Entrepreneur and Businessman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin_Dillingham

Benjamin Franklin Dillingham was my Great-Great-Great Uncle, and was a larger than life figure in Hawaiian Industrial History in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. His legacy is remembered as one of the first industrial men who capitalized on growing Hawaii into what it is today. He had his hands in many different industries and battled through debt most of his adult life.

Benjamin Franklin Dillingham was born in 1844, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where the Dillingham family had lived since coming over on the Mayflower in the 1600s. Massachusetts is all the Dillingham family ever knew, that and farming. BF Dillingham survived the Civil War as a merchant sailor and continued sailing after the war. It was one fateful day, on a stop in Hawaii in 1865, that the 21-year-old broke his leg, after being thrown from a horse, and was left behind by his crew. Dillingham was faced with creating a new life for himself in a new place.

BF Dillingham started working as a clerk in a general store soon after his injury. Within two years, he was a co-owner of that general store. This young man fought his way to a position of leadership in Hawaii. Although he lived most of his adult life on the brink of financial ruin, he managed to come out a successful man. He borrowed money as a young man and remained in debt until he was 68. He held onto his business ventures through natural disasters, depressions, revolutions, and failures. He passed his enterprises on to his sons Walter and Harold, who grew the business substantially.

BF Dillingham used his good connections and personality to live a successful life in Hawaii. His daughter married the future Governor of Hawaii Territory, and his sons succeeded in Hawaiian business and politics. He played a leading role in building Hawaii into what it is today. He started 5 sugar plantations, built the Hilo Railroad, and helped modernize Hawaii into the 20th century. Dillingham’s strongest trait is listed as having “Unfailing Optimism”.

I would hope that I inherited a small amount of the traits that made Benjamin Franklin Dillingham successful. It would seem to me that I am a very optimistic person, and that I truly might have inherited this from this great man. The most amazing part of the story to me is that he could have just given up when he broke his leg. He was in a place where he knew no one and didn’t understand the way things were done. He could have easily justified not caring about where he was, or left Hawaii after his broken leg was healed, but he did NOT. He stayed in Hawaii because he saw it as the opportunity of a lifetime. I think that I share this in common with my relative as well. Although he and I could have given up easily, faced with the things that we have faced, we both made the decision to make the best out of our situation. I cannot think of a more valuable trait to have because even in times of failure, we try to make the best of it.

Anton Maciejewski U.S. House of Representatives 1939-1942

Anton Maciejewski was my Great-Great-Uncle. I never had the chance to meet him, as he died in 1949. He was born in 1893 to immigrant parents from Poland. He was a first generation American who understood the American Dream. In 1938, Anton was elected to the 76th U.S. Congress and in 1940 he was elected to the 77th U.S. Congress.

I am so amazingly proud of this ancestor of mine because he didn’t have much when he was born. I could only imagine the difficulties he and his parents had when assimilating into U.S. customs and culture. Anton was born in Anderson, Texas, but his family moved to the Chicago area when he was a young boy. His mother died at a very young age, and his father remarried and started work on a second family. Anton had a large number of half brothers and sisters. Not only did he stand out among his large family, he stood out in the community as well.  I could only imagine what motivated him to be involved in the Cicero community and eventually run for U.S. Congress. Around the time, Al Capone had a strangle hold on Cicero and used the community as his home base. Anton wanted to clean up the neighborhood of the crooks, and his life was threatened many times. A few times, he came close to being killed by the mob but narrowly escaped.

Anton went on to serve two terms in U.S. Congress from 1939 to 1942. After being in congress, Anton returned home to Cicero and was elected to the Board of Trustees for the Sanitary District of Chicago, and soon after was elected President of the Board. Anton worked his way up through the community and went back to the community that meant so much to him. Anton died in 1949 and I never had the chance to meet him. My grandfather Harry, whom I am named after, was Anton’s favorite nephew and was like a son to him. However, my Grandpa Harry died when I was just a baby. Now, all I have left of Anton are a congressional picture and portrait of him. I have done the research that I can, but many details about him were not online. I was lucky enough to talk with my Great-Aunts about the impact Anton had on their lives and it was truly remarkable. Anton had paid for my Great-Aunt’s entire 8th grade class to make a field trip to Washington, D.C. while he was still a congressman. I could only imagine the impact he had on all of those young children’s lives. He represented a poor area of  the Chicago area that was run by the mob, and mostly populated by first generation American citizens. I would bet that those kids truly believed that they could do anything after seeing Anton achieve such a high position in Government.

I wish that I could have the opportunity to talk to my Great-Great-Uncle Anton just for a few minutes. I think that he and I would have a great deal in common. The bottom line is that what he did was truly remarkable. He was a first generation American citizen who achieved a great deal of success without ever attending college or university. I wonder how proud his parents were of him, knowing that they came to a new country for the future benefits of their own children. Anton Maciejewski went from nothing to something great, and I think he made a big difference.  I am proud that I can call this man a relative of mine and I can only hope I inherited some of the skills that he had.

What is the American Dream? Is it dead or alive?

The American Dream is an interesting subject. Some might argue that the American Dream concept is dead. However, I do not believe it is dead. I believe most people aren’t willing to put in the work to ever achieve their dreams, and that needs to change. Throughout my life, I seek out people who are motivated and who act like they care. However, in the millennial generation, they are few and far between. Everyone has dreams, but are they really willing to work for them?

Failure is an important aspect in my life because I have failed before. Undesired outcomes have a way of pushing me forward, but that may only be because I am very competitive and don’t like to lose. How do other people motivate themselves after losing or failing or reaching an undesired outcome? That sad truth is that they don’t. They give up, at least on that dream, and settle for the next best thing. While settling for the next best thing is always an option, will it ever lead to success in the long-term? Most likely not.

I would argue that you have to fight for the things you want in life. Plain and simple, it is not going to be easy. Whatever you don’t want to happen, will happen. Beyond that, things may happen that will devastate you and push you to your limits. However, the night is most dark before the dawn. The people who put in the hard work at the difficult times, often come out stronger and more successful than ever before. However, how do we get more younger people to truly believe this and not just settle for the next best option?

For me, it has always been about the end game. One of Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is to think with the end in mind. I have life goals; I know where I want to end up. They are big goals, that I may never end up achieving. However, I would rather push myself to do something great than to sit back and be told I am great. Young people today look at successful people, such as athletes and other celebrities, and think it easy to be rich and successful. Worse, young people act like these celebrities and are ruining future chances of success with today’s actions. To make a mistake and learn from it is one thing, but to act in a manner that is truly childish isn’t smart. Why are there pictures of drugs and alcohol on your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts? Don’t you know there will always be a record of that?

I would suggest that younger people need to think with the end in mind more often. Thinking with the end in mind has lead me to be much more successful just because I am working towards something that I know is very hard to achieve. Younger people need to stop idolizing dumb celebrities and start idolizing true successful people. If a young man idolizes a gangster rapper, how do you think he is going to act in real life? The answer is he will act like a gangster rapper. But what if that young man idolized a CEO or President of a large corporation? He would act completely different and he would be working towards something achievable.

Looking forward into the next decade or two, I see a large problem spreading its’ roots. That problem is that young people are making mistakes, not learning from those mistakes, and not realizing how open they are being with their lives, through the use of social media. At some point in time, more young people will be arrested for underage drinking and possession of drugs, and these offenses can greatly affect their futures. I see this problem growing out of control, and a solution will need to be implemented at some point. The American Dream is not dead, but determination in young people is dying.

Is Failure the American Success Story?

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-the-best-success-stories-often-begin-with-failure-3851517/?no-ist

Why is it that the best success stories often begin with failure? Behind some of the greatest success stories in American history are people who were willing and able to put in the work to be great. Why were they putting in the work? What motivated these people to be great?

In any story, or in any life, one will stumble before they can gracefully move forward, most times at an early stage in life. However, when the average person sees someone who has become successful, why is it that we think that something was different for them? Why is it that we think that everything went their way, all of the time? My best guess is that things didn’t go their way at first, and they kept working through their difficulties or setbacks. Bob Dylan and his band lost a high school talent competition to a no name tap dancer. To truly understand the impact that these failures or undesired outcomes, one must only look into their own mind.

The most competitive people in the world know that failures, or undesired outcomes, are the best way to learn and move forward. The most competitive people use that failure as motivation. While some people dwell on their past failures, the people who can admit their mistakes and admit what they learned from those mistakes will often be better off then someone who always got what they wanted. A favorite quote of mine, from Michael Jordan, goes like this, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games.
26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and I missed. I’ve Failed Over and Over and Over again in My Life. And that is why I Succeed.” If using failure to motivate future success is what one of the greatest competitors of all time used, then I want to be “Like Mike”.

Failure is the American way, not in a bad way. The American Dream is to succeed at whatever goals you might have, and failure is bound to happen to the best of us. However, if you are willing to stand up after you’ve been knocked down, there is simply nothing more American than that. Michael Jordan won 6 NBA championships in 8 years, and may have won 8 championships in 8 years if he hadn’t been retired for 2 years in the middle. However, people forget that Michael Jordan was in the NBA for 7 seasons before his first championship. The best things in life are there for the taking. All it takes is for you to not give up, for you to not give in to the outside forces wanting you to fail, and for you to not give in when the going gets tough. The most successful people in the world are so successful because they failed. They failed over and over again, and kept doing what they thought was right. I would argue that failure is the most valuable motivation tactic.That is the life that I want to live, one where I move past the failures and undesired outcomes and onto success and desired outcomes. It may never happen for me, but at least I will never give up. You can’t kill this spirit.