Super U Podcast | 7 Super Tips with Magic Johnson
You’ve heard the name. Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. Today, Erik sits down with the man who’s often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time. They discuss basketball versus business, the importance of mentorship, patience with unpredictability, and why you should meet hardships head-on. Plus, Erik shares the story of how he and Magic first met and played against each other years ago while Erik was at Michigan State University.
Johnson played 13 seasons in the NBA. He was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, leading the team to five NBA championships during their Showtime era. Johnson’s career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, three NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, 12 All-Star games, and nine All-NBA First Team selections. Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker.
5x #1 Bestselling Author and Motivational Speaker Erik Qualman has performed in over 55 countries and reached over 50 million people this past decade. He was voted the 2nd Most Likable Author in the World behind Harry Potter’s J.K. Rowling. Qualman is also the inventor of the bestselling board game Kittycorn.
Need a sneak peek? Below are the main takeaways from the episode.
Super U Podcast | 7 Super Tips with Magic Johnson
[9:44] Tip #1
“The same principles really apply from being a basketball player, as well as a CEO when you think about focus, strategy, discipline. So I’m still that Same guy that has those same principles as a CEO and what I was doing as a basketball player first, and also a competitor because I hate to lose at anything, right? And I took that same competitive spirit to the boardroom as well. I’m a perfectionist. So I was a perfectionist as a basketball player. I did the drills over and over and over again. And even today, I’m a perfectionist. And I want to do everything the right way. So when you think about principles of being an athlete, or a basketball player, it’s the same thing as a CEO.”
[12:09] Tip #2
“Well, we up three to Kareem springs his ankle the night before. Now we got to go to Philly for Game Six, I get to the airport. My teammates’ heads are down. And I said what’s wrong? Then you hear Kareem can’t play. I said so what? I told him we don’t win despite Kareem not playing. Rookie, go sit down. They said no way we can beat Philly without Kareem. Because he was averaging over 30 points a game in the series. So I said I gotta do something. So I asked the flight attendant, if could I get on the plane first because Kareem said in the first seat always. So I’m gonna sit in a seat. So I said Kareem seat. And as every Laker went by I said Never fear. Magic is here, they started laughing like that. So I have five hours to work on their mindset and attitude because a winner figures out how to win despite the market. If you lose a big contract, you’re gonna come back and get another big contract. You’re sitting here for a reason. See, this is important. So I knew that if I didn’t work on him for five hours going to Philly, we were gonna get blown out. So I did. I kept telling him, we’re gonna win this game, we’re gonna win this game. This is how we’re gonna win this game. We blew him out in Philly. And that dude named Irving Johnson knows that little rookie does 20 years old have 42 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists.”
[14:03] Tip #3
“First of all, you have to take your ego out of it. See what made me a great basketball player wouldn’t make me a great CEO, I have to understand because I didn’t know the business. So that’s why those mentors were so important to me. And then somebody finally is gonna say no to you. And then you have to have a thirst for knowledge. Right? And so that’s why I was meeting with so many people because I was hungry for knowledge. And I wasn’t shy about asking questions. And so I think for me, it was just making sure I got in the right rooms with the right people. Make sure I got enough experts in terms of being my mentors, that experts in business and then and then may Make sure that then I apply what I learned from them.”
[15:18] Tip #4
“You can work for six months or two months on a deal. And you think everything is lined up, and now it’s coming down to you guys just signing the papers. And that person or that company can change their mind, or the economy can go bad. I mean, there are things that you can’t predict in business, you can do everything right. And, or you can be aligned with each other. Same mission statement, on and on and on. And you may never get a deal, or, you know, some things you expect won’t happen a deal, you say, Oh, that’s not gonna happen. And then it can turn and it can happen. So you have to have a lot of patience.”
[16:37] Tip #5
“I think pressure, we all gonna have pressure. But if we are prepared, right? If we’ve done everything we were supposed to do, do all the research, we know all the numbers. We understand the deliverables, which is very important. And then who’s going to manage those deliverables, right? You only hire people like yourselves. See, I only hire people like myself, workers are smart. And they love to work until we get it done. Once I know I got that team, and we’ve done all the research and homework and vetted the deal, and we’re ready, then I don’t feel pressure, because I know that we’ve done everything we’re supposed to do to put ourselves in a position to win. That doesn’t mean we’re gonna win. But we’ve done everything that we were supposed to do.”
[18:00] Tip #6
“When you think about urban America, there was no new money and no new investments in our community. So what I wanted to do was go into the community and bring just that. So I was addressing a demand that was already there. See, when you start a business you have to you don’t want to build a company or a business and then say hope they come that’s going to be a quick downfall where I said, Oh man, there’s a demand in urban America. They’re spending power in urban America. So if I build it, they will already come. I didn’t have to sell them on it. And if it’s in business, it was really having this great business strategy and business plan. And Tim banks turned me down and they didn’t want to invest in urban America they didn’t believe in urban America. They had never set a foot in urban America. So that was the setback as far as a business not understanding why they didn’t want to do that. No, it’s sometimes it’s how you really deal with it. See all of us gonna have to deal with something that’s tough whether it’s a disease or ailment or not just for you might be your family member so it’s how you deal with it is important and so I always meet things head on.”
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Connect with Magic Johnson:
Twitter: @magicjohnson
Instagram: @magicjohnson
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18STpMGHAF0aitjAs-Hnbw
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The Super U Podcast is hosted by #1 bestselling author and Motivational Speaker Erik Qualman.
