Michael Jordan's Wisdom Found in Rare Interview

you know I I really don't have regrets I'm I am a person that says you know as soon as you look back in your history and you come up with something that you feel like you want to change something else has to change you know so what about your biggest disappointment once again that's the same same analogy you know disappointment to me to win you got to lose to be successful you got to have something that's not successful uh to be happy you got to have disappointment so I think all of those things have evolved

and happened to make me who I am and understand the benefits and the Privileges I have for being who I am you know um and not to wear it on my sleeve be very humble about it that's one of the things my parents taught me very well is you know don't wear your reputation don't wear your accolades don't wear your you know your personality on your sleeve let it happen Let It Be You it is who you are don't hide from it but don't you know don't wear it and rub it in people's faces so

you know when you sit there and you say well you know in 1990 or 2005 they voted me as like the best or the most popular athlete you know where it's ironic that I'm the youngest of the three so in essence it's it's all relev on who is watching now uh if you ask 20 years from now I'm pretty sure LeBron may beat me you know you based on who's going to be making the voting so I take I say that to say to understand that you know it is what it is you know I

don't wear it I don't showcase it I don't rub it in other people's faces someone else's opinion if you ask me I could never give you an opinion about things like that because as an athlete all you want to do is be the best athlete you can be well well on that point when we did the interview 12 years ago you made a big point that you wanted to be private that you wanted to take back your life that you had been in the public eye and so forth what would my father do right now

first of all he'd probably be sitting here smoking a cigar and asking answering some of the questions that you he's he you know he's a very thoughtful guy you know the thing that I remember the most about my father and you know I had him for 32 years you know and I never look at it from a negative sense obviously he was murdered and you know and you know rarely do I get the chance to talk about him you know but the thing that I do remember all the time you I think about him practically

every day is for a person like myself who live in this in the spotlight and and so critical you know from people all the time in terms of what I do what I say you know where I go the thing he's always said take a pause before you make a decision and say what if and the purpose for saying what if is that whatever decision you make always either going to have consequences either pros and cons no but you obviously listened to your father because in the very beginning you spoke about being humble not shouting

about who you are and what you've done and just being within yourself true and a lot of kids growing up may start that way because of their parents but don't end up that way right you ended up that way well I mean once again I mean it's not just my father you know my mother calls me practically every day reiterating keep your nose clean that's her that's she ends a conversation of every time I hang up as opposed to me you know hey obviously we say I love you mom can't wait to see you talk

to you soon blah blah blah the last words is keep your nose clean that's her constant reminder to say look people are watching you know people are learning people are paying attention and you know the best news in today that sell m is negative news that's what other the reporters want I know and not that I I live in a in a box to where I'm afraid to do things I know that you know as as my father says the Whata if comment is to be able to deal with the consequences of what decisions you

make and you think about that if you think about the consequences Pro acon you make the F you make the the right decisions that you feel it's the right decision now all the decisions I made other people may view to be not the right decisions from their perspective but for me to go play baseball and everybody says oh it was a it was a failed opportunity to play baseball you know that's what they think for me it was the best thing that could have happened for me because it allowed me to go back to the

game with the stronger passion at the same time I was able to understand the love that these minor league baseball players have making $1,500 a month $1,500 a month which is nothing but for them it was big to me to see that helped me put things in perspective to understand the platform that I was on in '93 that when I went back to it in '95 and '96 I appreciated it even greater so when we won those champ ships and we went through those those things mattered to me far greater than what I did in

' 9192 93 people don't see that people will never understand that to be success you know all they think about well he bet at 202 you know and he struck out certain number of times yeah okay you know but the effort was there and the learning curve and the passion was there that has transcended not just to me but to other people who are afraid to do things because they worried about the perception that may come from other places to me that's more gratifying than anything you know um so that's the things that my father

and my mother instilled in me take a negative and turn it into a positive don't be afraid to fail why do you do so few interviews I mean hardly any and why have you agreed to give us a second one you haven't figured that out all you got to do is look at those two boxes over there yeah but you didn't you didn't know they were coming oh well I told you the only way I was going to do is you have to dig in your humidor and give me something that's worthwhile so I laid

the parameters early but you trusted me I did I trust you I figured you would be honest I don't think you're going to do but uh part of the reasons why I've kind of tone back is I want my life to be my life you know I don't want to sit here and constantly reiterate things that you know I've said countless number of times and at the end of the day my time you know my time in in in the spotlight is is dwindling and I I I want to be able to control what I

can you know what I do and what I don't want to do and blah blah blah someone else need to step into the light Limelight and and and either enjoy it you know prosper from it or grow or have people understand who they are blah blah blah me I'm I I need no more admiration you know I I've had enough and it's been great I'm still going to be a very positive you know Force within the community you know within you know with the kids of tomorrow but I got my own kids I got my

own wife I mean I'm 54 54 years old you know I want to be able to to go through a day or go through a week not worrying about what I got to do Wednesday what I got to do Thursday what I got CU I never enjoy Monday I want to be able to you know and sometimes I surprise the out of myself saying look I got nothing to do today oh I got nothing to do tomorrow I got nothing to do on Wednesday that's to me is ultimately retirement you know that's where I want

to be and if I choose to get involved in things then hey you know I want to go to Charlotte I want to see what's happening with the team or I want to go to Portland spend a week out in Portland blah blah blah but not to where you know my My Moment the moment that I'm living right now I'm worried about what I have to do tomorrow and that's where my life was getting