THINK PIECE: The Last Dance, Lessons from episode 1

words by: Arehone B Raselabe

I have never watched a single match of basketball in my life nor do i know much about how the game works or is played but, one person i do know is Michael Jordan. He's without a doubt one of the greatest athletes in the entire world

I have recently started watching "The Last Dance", a documentary by Netflix on the life of Michael Jordan. It doesn't take much convincing for me to watch a documentary really, make a documentary about paint drying and guaranteed i will watch, make one about the great Michael Jordan? It's a no brainer, I'm definitely watching.

From episode 1 i was hooked, excited mostly.

As i was watching the first episode there were a lot of things that stood out for me, one amongst many others was the fact that Michael Jordan was undeniably talented but, one thing is he worked very hard. He put in the work, that plus his natural talent was definitely a formula for greatness and the world was not going to ignore him for long.

One of the statements that he said while being interviewed for this doccie was, and i quote: " i was too young to be nervous", he said this referring to a match his team had to play against one of the biggest teams in college at the time.

All i could think was, 'wow' imagine if we all had that attitude with regards to our careers, to our lives. That we would be open to take more risks, maybe change careers, maybe go back to school and study something different because, well we are young and have time on our side, not saying that all these cannot be done at whatever age but, the understanding that you are at liberty to do so and have a greater advantage of time.

Another thing that stood out for me was that he had a coach that believed in him, that coach then went on to set him up to take a shot that led them to winning the college basketball championships, and from that day on everyone knew who Michael Jordan is.

Michael Jordan's success is a combination of hard work and having someone advocating for you and setting you up to win. I am not saying we wouldn't know who Michael Jordan is if it wasn't for his coach, I mean... the man is undeniably talented, what I am saying is it would have taken the world a little bit longer to know the great Michael Jordan.

I think at this point in our lives we have a little idea of how the world works, and I truly believe that ones success is a combination of hard work and the contribution of other successful individuals who are lifting you up and advocating for you. it is very important to have people in your lives who are holding you up and setting up to win, at whatever field you are in, these people should have direct access to the space you want to occupy

I have watched a TED talk about this, here is the link: https://www.ted.com/talks/carla_harris_how_to_find_the_person_who_can_help_you_get_ahead_at_work?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

As I watched this episode it was plain and clear that to get ahead in life you need people or it could be just one person who is rallying behind you, advocating for you.

I have to end it here, and I hope this has contributed to your life greatly because I really want us to win. One last thing I hope that once we have entered those doors and have a seat at the table we do the same for others, that we lift as we rise

love and light,

Arehone