Former National Basketball Association ( NBA ) player Earvin “ Magic ” Johnson Jr . is known for his strong work ethic . When he was a kid growing up in Lansing , Michigan , he would shovel the snow off the basketball court just so he could play basketball every day . “ Everybody in the neighborhood thought I was crazy ,” Magic said .
But the two-time Hall of Famer , five-time NBA Champion , three-time NBA MVP , Olympic gold medalist , and founder and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises wasn ’ t born with a strong work ethic .
Magic watched his father , Earvin Johnson Sr ., work two jobs his whole life to feed his 10 kids . One job was on the assembly line for General Motors , and the second job was picking up trash . Magic and his siblings went along to help pick up people ’ s trash on the weekends and when they weren ’ t in school .
“ It was a cold Saturday ,” Magic recalled . “ My job was to break the ice , get the trash out of the ice , then throw it on the truck . It was maybe 7 below in Michigan and 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 seventh floor , Magic would kick his feet up on the CEO ’ s desk ,
WWW . TECH-ADV . COM | 17