“ It was a cold Saturday ,” Magic recalled . “ My job was to break the ice and get the trash out of the ice and then throw it on the truck . It was maybe seven below in Michigan and was just freezing . I went and got half the trash out of the ice and jumped in the cabin of the truck and shut the door . By the time I shut the door , my father had opened the door back up . He grabbed me by the neck and dragged me all the way back to the trash that was still stuck in the ice and said , ‘ Son , if you do this job halfway , you ’ re going to practice basketball halfway . Everything you do in life , you ’ ll do halfway . You have to do things right . At that moment in time , I became a perfectionist . Not just in basketball but also in life and in business . I ’ m so happy my father taught me that lesson early , because it ’ s helped me not just to achieve my goals and dreams in basketball , but also my goals and dreams in business as well .”
Here Are 12 Strategies Magic Used To Build His Business Empire That Will Help You Achieve Your Goals And Dreams In Your MSP .
# 1 BELIEVE AND ACHIEVE .
As a young man , Magic didn ’ t just dream of playing in the NBA , he dreamed about being a businessman . “ I didn ’ t know people of color could own buildings and car dealerships ,” Magic said . “ There were two gentlemen back in Lansing , Greg Eaton and Joe Ferguson , who were African American and owned businesses . I got a chance to meet them , and they showed me their businesses . So , my dreams changed . Now I was saying , ‘ I want to be a basketball player playing in the NBA , but I also want to be a businessman one day .’” They gave Magic his first job , cleaning all seven floors of their building . A big believer of “ If you dream it , you can become it ,” Magic vividly envisions what he wants . When cleaning the CEO ’ s office on the 7th floor , Magic would kick his feet up on the CEO ’ s desk , hit the intercom button , and pretend he was the CEO asking his assistant to bring him donuts , coffee , and the paper . “ I was sitting there dreaming I was CEO at 16 years old , and now here I am 63 , and I ’ m the CEO and own my own business . I think those moments helped shape who I am today .”
# 2 SEEK OUT MENTORSHIP .
When Magic started in the NBA , there was an unwritten rule that “ players just played , and owners owned .” Unfamiliar with this rule , Magic started a conversation with Lakers owner , Dr . Jerry Buss , which led to a lifelong mentorship . “ I had never been away from my family my entire life ,” Magic said . “ Dr . Jerry Buss picked me up and we instantly hit it off . He knew I was out in Los Angeles by myself , so he used to pick me up every weekend and we used to sit and just talk and talk .”
When Dr . Buss asked Magic what his dreams were after basketball , Magic told him he wanted to be a businessman . “ He didn ’ t say anything , but a week later he brought me all these books he wanted me to read ,” Magic said . “ And then he said , ‘ I ’ m going to help you accomplish your goal . I ’ m going to open up the Laker books to you to teach you business ,’ and he did . I learned so much , and he became my first mentor .”
After five years of mentoring , Magic asked Dr . Buss if he would give him the names and phone numbers of all the season ticket holders . Magic wanted to cold call all the CEOs and presidents that were season ticket holders to invite them to lunch so he could pick their brains . “ I wanted to find out how they became successful and what I should look out for ,” Magic said . He called all 50 names and all of them said yes . One of those 50 turned out to be Peter Guber , who was running Sony at the time and later became one of Magic ’ s business partners .
Many of Magic ’ s mentors and business partners came out of those lunches and are still his mentors today . “ If I were to tell anybody anything , mentors are very important , especially when you have goals and dreams but don ’ t know how to get there . They can tell you their journey and you can grab from that and incorporate it into your own goals and dreams . I have mentors today , and I became a mentor to a lot of people as well .”
# 3 REFUSE TO LOSE .
When Magic left basketball and started in business , people thought he had it easy , but he struggled , made mistakes , and even failed . There was a lot of pain and frustration . People wanted his autograph , so they ’ d take a meeting but didn ’ t take him seriously . “ I could get the meetings ,” Magic said . “ Magic Johnson got me that part , but Magic Johnson also played a role against me getting deals too . . . I used my own money in the beginning , but then I wanted growth and sustainability . I wanted to go for bigger deals , and I needed other people ’ s money to accomplish that , but they all turned me down .”
It took him three years before he was finally able to get a loan . He made wise investments with that money , which took him to a whole other level in business that he is at today . And all those banks that turned him down ? They all want to do business with him , and HE is the one turning them down .
MSPSUCCESS . COM | 19