underestimated, each time someone didn’t do things his way, it made
him a better player.
The problem is that he delivered almost the exact opposite
message.* Yes, he had shown that anger was powerful fuel. He had
also shown just how likely it is to blow up all over yourself and the
people around you.
There were undoubtedly moments in Jordan’s career when
resentment had worked to his advantage and made him play better.
It was also a form of madness that hurt him and his teammates (like
Steve Kerr and Bill Cartwright and Kwame Brown, whom he
physically fought or berated). It had cruelly wrecked the self-
confidence of competitors like Muggsy Bogues (“Shoot it, you fucking
midget,” he’d told his five-foot-three opponent while giving him a
free shot in the ’95 playoffs). In training camp in 1989, Jordan threw
a vicious elbow that knocked a rookie named Matt Brust
unconscious, and ended the man’s hopes of an NBA career.
Jordan’s game was beautiful, but his conduct was often savage
and ugly.
Was anger really the secret of Michael Jordan’s championships?
(Did his anger get him that varsity spot he wanted the next year...
or did growing four inches help?) Could it have actually been a
parasitic by-product that prevented him from enjoying what he
accomplished? (Tom Brady wins a lot without being mean or angry.)
If history is any indication, leaders, artists, generals, and athletes
who are driven primarily by anger not only tend to fail over a long
enough timeline, but they tend to be miserable even if they don’t. It
was without a hint of self-awareness that Nixon—who hated Ivy
Leaguers, hated reporters, hated Jews and so many other people—
said these high-minded words to his loyal staffers in his last hours in
the White House: “Always remember, others may hate you, but those
who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then you destroy
yourself.”
He was right. His own downfall proved it.
The leaders we truly respect, who stand head and shoulders
above the rest, have been motivated by more than anger or hate.
From Pericles to Martin Luther King Jr., we find that great leaders
barry
(Barry)
#1