The Problem with Comparing LeBron to Jordan

LeBron James and Michael Jordan; two men separated by time, yet, united by greatness. One still currently playing, the other a memory. One with a defined body of work, the other we have projections. Yet, somehow people are constantly either trying to defend, or impose, the superiority of one over the other without realizing that there is no universally-accepted definition as to WHAT exactly is “greatness.” Instead, greatness is an emotion we as fans experience, regardless of how much we try to prove this with statistics.

Unfortunately, we will never see this so all we have left with is comparing memories.

Everything about being a sports fan is solely based on emotion; the pain, the joy, the loyalty, commitment, and the sense of purpose. Emotions we then warp into memories that shape narratives we never forget. For instance, “The Last Shot” wasn’t just an important shot to win the NBA finals, something many other players have done ; No, THAT shot was confirmation of greatness. His pose while he soaked-in the moment  forever engraved in our memory. 

Thus at its core, who is “The Greatest” is purely emotional decision, and LeBron’s continued ascent to Jordan’s claim as the GOAT is in reality an assault to the memory of millions of people. A task we cannot measure since Jordan is more than just a basketball legend to many; he’s a hero and a childhood icon. Not to mention, a reminder that their childhood kicked ass with “I want to be like Mike” serving as a childhood slogan, not just an advertising campaign.

We all want to think that everything related to our childhood was the best, the food, the people, the “way things were.” This is why I cringe at the sight of a 13 year old kid wearing skinny jeans without realizing that the Dickies pants I wore with one leg rolled up were just as ridiculous to the older folks then. In our own distorted memories, our childhoods kicked ass and are superior to anyone else’s. We do this not because we are malicious, but rather because we are human. Thus begging the question, does LeBron have the ability, or the platform, to convince millions of people to love him more than Jordan? Not sure. Just like I’m not sure there is a quantifiable amount of indisputable evidence that can convince an 8 year old kid that their dad really isn't a Super Hero. But don't be that 8 year old. Save yourself the agony and stress that comes from picking one player over the other.

If you are a fan of basketball, the absolute best approach you can make is not to compare one to the other, instead just accept that both players are “great.” This appreciation will help you avoid falling into the irrational world us sports fans suffer with; the world where we attach an emotional reservoir to the statistics that confirm the narratives we love, and ignore the ones that done. Avoid expecting that other people believe the same narrative you do. Avoid the anger that comes from having to defend your childhood or demolishing someone else. But most importantly, enjoy the moment of watching a great player provide us with memories we will cherish, memories that we will one day use to build a narrative that describes his greatness.

In the meantime, just remember that "Sometimes I dream, that he is. You've got to see that's how I dream to be...."

The Agonizing and Wonderful Experience of being a Heat Fan

Currently hours away from what feels like the biggest moment of MY life; Game 7 of the NBA Finals. I know this shouldn't feel this way, well, at least to any rational person, but that is the beauty of being in-love with a team, in-love with the moment, and in-love with the happiness they bring when they succeed, that beauty, of course, is living life with an irrational mindset that what they do somehow gives your live purpose. If they succeed tonight, I'm a winner, if they lose, I'm a loser and the next week will be lived in a state of depression that even my birthday celebrations can't pull me out of.

I know nothing I do from here to now will affect the outcome, but believing it, is tougher. So I go through my day repeating the same superstitions; same socks, same shorts, brush my teeth a certain way, championship Heat hat, and my beloved Mike Miller jersey. I begin to act like some sort of Greek priest and try to find signs with whats going on around me: the wind is blowing from east to west meaning that the Heat will push the Spurs back home. I do this without realizing that I'm standing near a beach and that's the normal pattern of the ocean breeze on the east coast.

When the team you love is minutes away from what feels like the biggest game in its history, EVERYTHING matters, everything has meaning and the fact that I feel this way is why being a fan of the Miami Heat is as agonizing as it is wonderful since the Nation constantly tries to find different reasons to mock you. They interpreted some fans leaving Game 5 early as affirmation that all Heat fans are disloyal, but those same people shouting insults ignored Spurs fans clearing the building with 10 minutes left in Game 4. Why? Because in Miami's case they just wanted some evidence that solidifies their preconceived notion that all Miami fans are terrible in the same way a racist person interprets one act by a single person as a representation of their entire demographic. The nation didn't like The Decision, nor did they enjoy seeing fans celebrate their arrival. They were unable to realize that they would act in the same fashion if it was their team who went from a possible future with Chalmers and Beasley as their anchors, to Wade, LeBron and Bosh. What started as a moment of dislike, has  transformed itself into disgust the same way a girl begins to hate the way her boyfriend breathes once that relationship is nearing its end.

As a loyal fan, one who suffered with losing the Derrick Rose lottery then was stuck with game after game of Beasley, Chris Quinn, Ricky Davis and Q-Rich, one who felt the heartbreak of losing to Pacers in 2004 after the wonderful ride Wade gave us his rookie year, I confess to wasting time defending Heat fans, the same way someone defends their family although knowing they are imperfect. But now, the war of words ends and my team has the opportunity to shut every one up for another summer. So excuse me, since I have to get back to my rituals.

Until there is definitive proof that eating 6 jelly beans per quater does not directly impact the performance of my team, I will not stop doing so. Until then, this has to mean that there is a chance I'm making a difference, a chance that I don't plan on missing out on.

Now to counting. Go Heat!

The Day My Life Changed

I remember after miserably failing my first college test, in my favorite subject of math of all possible subjects. I tried to weasel my way out of it like how it worked for me countless times before in high school. By this stage of my life, I was a master at creating excuses; on cue too. I knew that the “perfect” excuse was something that was completely relatable, something that tugged at the heart strings of the teachers, tug at the heart strings, but my plan backfired. This teacher was having NONE of it when she told me that my grade was a reflection of my effort, then procceeded to cite the numerous times I came in late, wasn't paying attention while I spoke to a lady friend, or I flat out fell asleep. Then, in the same way baseball feels when it hits you upside your head, she proceeded to tell me that “Maybe, I wasn’t fit for college,” in that condescending tone of hers that I so desperately deserved. 

I'm not ashamed to say that I went back to my dorm that day and cried in disappointment, correction, BALLED in disappointed. All I can think about was how heartbroken my mom was going to be when she learned that her son just (MISERABLY) failed a test after how proud she was telling her friends that I decided to “ponerme las pilas” (get on the ball) and go to college, nor can I deal with the image of her ear-to-ear smile when she accompanied me to my freshman orientation.

However, something about those tears created a spark in me. My disappointment with my grade slowly turned into anger towards the effort I gave. How did I become "THAT" guy? The guy who didn't care, the guy who only cared about being cool? Right then and there, in my tiny little dorm, I made a promise to myself: I was going to not only get straight A’s in that class, but in all of my classes…..for the rest of my college career. If I didn’t earn an A, it wouldn’t be because I didn’t try.


That lady, whatever her name was, changed my life forever. I controlled my ego, I ate a big ol’ pie of humility and began studying and going to tutoring, two things I previously GROSSLY detested.  By the end of the semester my professor felt differently as I completed the rest of the year without getting a single question wrong, and completed college by graduating with the highest GPA in the school of business.


 In this process, I realized that not only was I capable of doing more but I actually enjoyed it. In addition, my mentality of “do your best or don’t do it all” has trickled into other parts of my life.  You probably wonder why in the world did I just post this, why would I spend the time writting this story, but the answer is simple. I’m currently reading “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink and he’s instructed me to practice my storytelling.

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to share similar events in your life that caused a paradigm shift in you attitude, perception and effort in the comments section below. J

Public Battle with My Quarter-Life Crisis

Today I woke up with the terrible realization that I haven't been giving this life everything I have. I've gotten lazy by resting on my past accomplishments. And yes, although it pains me to admit, my previous actions reflected self-entitlement, hollow ambitions, and that is definitely NOT who I want to be so it's time for a change. This is the primary reason why I'm posting this on my blog; here, I will be publicly accountable for my promises regardless if anyone reads this or not.  (What can I say, I don't have the greatest following.)

Most of us young professionals have enormous ambitions to 1) make an impact in the world and 2) maybe make some money along the way while pursing #1. However, how many of us actually act upon those? Exactly, not many. We read stories about Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Walt Disney, or Henry Ford and in our young-ambitious-idealistic minds we find a way to consider them our equals. We come to the conclusion that "If they can do it, why can't we?" But we never consider HOW exactly we are going to accomplish this macro-scale impact we desire. Instead, we become consumed with our daily routines and the next thing you know, one day becomes a week, then a month, then a couple years. All while personal responsibilities keep growing exponentially and we no longer have the flexibility to take risk we can TODAY.

If we never take time to self-reflect and calculate a plan, then all we have is a hollow ambition that creates frustration, and in some cases depression, when we compare those ambitions to reality. This my dear friends is the quarter-life crisis, and I'm experiencing one.

To find a way out of this hole, I recently asked an extremely successful entrepreneur who never went to college for some guidance/advice. I wanted to know how he was able to get to where he was and his response was as insightful as it was simple. He looked me right into my eyes and said "All you have to do is hustle." I was shocked. So shocked in fact, I didn't know how to respond. I was certain there was more to it. There had to be some big secret successful people knew that I didn't, but apparently there isn't. We all know we need to hustle, it's the actually doing it part that we struggle with. We have to remind ourselves that the difference between success and mediocrity is action. Just like Sir Issac Newton said in his laws of Thermodynamics "For every action there's an equal or greater reaction" (Obviously, I'm improvising his words). So guess what happens when we take no action? NOTHING. 

Today, I will make my plan of attack. I will begin taking actions to take me where I want to be and I will live with the consequences if I never get there. However, I won't be able to live with never trying. Today marks the first day of the rest of our lives and it's time take control of that.

To conclude, I'm going to leave you all with a video I wish could wake me up everyday. I hope it makes the same impact on you that it does on me, and that is it makes me want to run through a wall........hypothetically, not physically of course..... Okay, you win. Maybe I'll run through drywall, but that's just for effects.

Now ask yourself, do you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe? Or do you just kinda-want-it?

What can Santa teach us about innovation?

I'm sure you remember the feeling. That unparalleled heart break. The disappointment. The force of reality's hand when it smacked you in the face and told you that Santa didn't exist. If you were like me, you probably cried until your eyes dried. You probably even had a tough time looking at your parents for at LEAST a couple of days.

Now rewind this moment to a year earlier.

If I walked up to you and told you that Santa Claus didn't exist would you believe me? Probably not. You would tell me something along the lines of "Nuh-uh my mom said he does. Plus, who do you think eats the cookies, stupid? My dad?!? No way he does!"

In this moment of our lives our parents build conventions that we guide our entire belief system on. To us, they are the equivalent of human Google's since they know everything. It isn't until later that we realize their faults.

What's the moral of the story?

What you think is true, probably isn't. What you think is right, is probably wrong. And what you think is for the best, is probably doing more damage than you can imagine. Thus if we want to be true innovators and create paradigm shifts against convention, we must be willing to accept that our life experiences may not provide us with a true representation of what is 'best.' Unfortunately this is easier said than done as embracing uncertainty is against our human nature. Similar to how you wouldn't have believed me when I told you Santa wasn't real.

Now, I write this without mentioning the 'professional' workplace as I've come to learn that it is not 'professionally' acceptable in most places to walk into your boss's office and prove him/her wrong. Plus, I don't want to have your firing on my conscience. So remember, this is just my unqualified opinion.....

My Problem with the NBA Lockout...

I have to admit, I’m a pretty cool guy. Soooooo cool that I’ll give you the privilege of buying me a house so I can throw my INSANE parties with all the top celebrities and because you bought me the house you’re now invited as well. But I there’s rules you have to play with. Once you buy me this house, I can do as I choose. I can throw parties, or not, and that’s completely up to me.

You in?

Probably not.

You see I’m a firm believer that business owners should have the right to do whatever they want to do with their business as long as they 1) obey laws and 2) pay taxes. But when they take a bite of the forbidden fruit and accept public funding those rules change. At that point they have an obligation greater than themselves. And this is where my problem with the NBA Lockout starts.

Owners (some not all) wanted tax payers to pay for new arenas, and they did. But now they are in the middle of a labor dispute and have chosen to completely disregard the hand that fed them.  In any other business context, I wouldn’t be at odds with decision. But the NBA isn’t any other business. Those owners that accepted public funding have to understand that they have a moral economic responsibility to the municipalities that help fund their place of business.

They made their bed and now is their time to sleep in it.

But this is just my unqualified opinion…..

How will Millenials Change the Way Companies are Managed?

The moment man created a vehicle called a business to increase his personal net worth, he understood that the Management of this vehicle's people/resources would is critical. Hundreds of years later, the manners in which companies are managed have changed but the interest in finding effective methods remains in high demand. This is why if you go to any bookstore and you will find entire sections dedicated to the topic of 'management,' as a matter of fact, management even has its own genre.

From Carnegie to Drucker and from Scott to Gladwell, the underlying message rarely differs. As a matter of fact, each author's respective messages are quite congruent to one another, and that is "to effectively manage people you have to understand how they function."  Thus as society's general mindset evolves as each generation passes, the methods of how to manage them will evolve as well. Which begs the question; "How will companies manage its employees' once Millenials like myself start to dominate the workforce?"

Photo was obtained from http://www.flowtown.com/blog/who-are-the-millennials

I predict that The Google approach to managing employees will be even more dominant in the market place then it is now.  That is ‘provide an employee with an environment that induces and rewards high performances, but also maintains accountability for production.’ In addition, although the prototypical corporate ladder will still exist, the interaction/compensation between the different layers will differ as drastically as we value work life balance just as much, if not more than our career advancement. This will lead to many superbly qualified employees choosing to stay in their job roles instead of advancing to the next level. However, as they are 'high performers' companies will find ways to still maximize their potential without requiring the prototypical promotion.

But this is just my unqualified opinion…..