The Secret to Success

For a while it looked like they had his number. In fact, the Detroit Pistons invented a term for it, “The Jordan Rules,” which was a defensive strategy employed by the Detroit Pistons against Michael Jordan in order to limit his effectiveness on offense. Devised by head coach Chuck Daly in 1988, the Pistons’ strategy was “to play him tough;” to physically challenge him to try and throw him off balance. The Pistons defeated the Bulls in the 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals and would go on to beat them the next two seasons in the Eastern Conference Finals. But in 1991, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls reinvented themselves. With the help of their new coach Phil Jackson, they implemented the triangle offense and not only swept the Pistons, but went on to win the Championship. Jordan would dominant the NBA for the next decade. He demonstrated the power of reinventing oneself. After pondering for quite some time about how Mike did it, I finally figured it out. Mike made some minor adjustments to his game. I would eventually model the next phase of my life after Mike in an attempt to become one of the “Greats.”

Michael jordan

Eric Thomas

He was placed in a structured system.

I went back to school and brought more structure to my game.

He went from an individual to a teammate.

I developed a nonprofit organization and hired students to go on the road with me to lighten my speaking burden.

He studied the game on a deeper level and began watching more film.

I became a student of the game by mimicking people who were better at the technical aspects of the game (i.e. promotional material, networking, business cards, etc).

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.

Just as the triangle offense helped Mike dominate the game, I knew deep down that going back to college could help take my speaking to a whole new level. But going back to school would require me to make some professional sacrifices. I was all too familiar with the kind of commitment you had to make and the amount of time you had to devote to your studies in order to do well. My poor study habits were another concern. As long as I could remember, I was never a serious student; I just went to school and never had a real love for learning. My friend Lois, she had that love for academics. When we would go bowling on the weekends she bought her textbooks to the bowling alley. I remember thinking, “Who does that?” Who brings their books to a bowling alley?” Between frames, she would grab her highlighter and start taking some serious notes or reviewing flashcards. It never dawned on me that that’s what real students do; they study. Students don’t do it just for a letter grade or numeric values; they study because it’s in them. Lois might have taken breaks during her fouryear stay in college, but I never saw it.

Although I had been out of school the last three years and had no proof of any academic progress, my work in the community and the church preceded me, so I wasn’t surprised when my advisor reinstated me. She probably figured that I had matured during my extended vacation and that I would make better decisions the second time around. She was right. I managed to finish the school year with a 3.5 G.P.A. I owe at lot of my success that school year to Lois. I knew Lois had the secrets to academic success and all I had to do was sit at her feet and learn her system. Like MJ, I knew once I learned the new system, there was no stopping me.

The following advice is a result of my conversation with Lois Clay and my personal observation of Michael Jordan:

Get support.

One of the first mistakes I made as a freshman was playing individual ball. I knew I needed help but I was too embarrassed to ask for it. Other students made it seem like getting help was for people who were slow. When I struggled in a class, I just kept it to myself and as a result, I failed. I wasn’t going to make that mistake the second time around. In fact, I needed more help this time because I was living off campus and working full-time so resources were not as readily available. Like Mike relied on Phil Jackson, I too relied heavily on my advisor and other faculty to help me devise a game plan to overcome my past defeats. They kept me informed about meetings, study tables, scholarships, and special events that were offered for education majors.

Set up the Triangle Offense.