So Lebron James is back in town tonight and of course it’s the talk of the town. All morning long it has dominated the radio and news reports. Lebron further fanned the flames by going on record as saying he would consider playing in Cleveland again if the fans would have him back. Those that know me know that I am a huge fan of Basketball. I played a lot growing-up and continue to be a fan to this day. Heck, I even got arrested the night Lebron left because I was so upset I mugged a camera guy (for the record there were no charges, I just had to spend about 4 hours in a holding cell-not that I’m proud of that either). I used to be a much larger fan of Lebron, for obvious reasons but just because he does not play for Cleveland anymore does not mean I don’t like to watch him play. The guy is really fun to watch and he does some pretty freakish stuff on the court.
And of course, anytime Lebron comes up, so do the conversations about his greatness as an athlete. Is he as good as Jordan or Kobe? Larry Bird recently said that given a choice he’d rather play with Kobe than Lebron. These “who’s better” discussions lead to a lot of physical skill assessments and comparisons. We compare ability to score, pass, lead and close. Lebron is the least clutch of the 3, I think we can all agree on that.
Then people start to talk about his mental and why it might be weak. They talk about his insecurities and the probable cause. It got me to thinking, of the three, Jordan, Kobe & Lebron, the most successful of the bunch is the guy who had the best family. Michael Jordan. Jordan grew up with both parents, who were middle-class regular people. He also had an older brother and I think maybe a younger brother (not completely sure, they always talk about the rivalry between Larry and Michael but I think he has more than one brother). Kobe had his parents around and his Dad was an international Basketball star who played all over the world, opening Kobe up to a global perspective. Lebron did not have this life, at least from what I have heard.
In sports, self-confidence is a must to be successful. And the athletes who believe in themselves the most never give-up, ever. They push, they claw, they climb.
It’s clear that Lebron is still developing this part of his mental. He now has access to all of the finer things his celebrity provides. But he’s digesting it differently. He’s scarfing it down like a starving teenager. Now that Lebron is an adult, his ego is more fully developed, so the experiences he has now are more than likely absorbed differently than if he would have had them as a kid. Furthermore, he’s doing it for himself, he’s teaching himself. So naturally he can filter out or pursue whatever makes him happy, further feeding his ego.
This is why I think Lebron struggles under pressure. I don’t think he has had enough mental conditioning to support the physical ability he has cultivated.
What’s the point of this post? I honestly don’t know! I just thought I’d share a quick take and see if anyone had something to say in the comments.
You don’t have to look much further than headlines in business publications or research studies to see that many companies are not only losing confidence in traditional marketing and advertising but diligently looking for more productive and cost effective alternatives.
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