The Los Angeles Lakers just won the NBA Championship! It’s like a Grammy for best group vocal. It’s like an Emmy for best series ensemble. It’s like an Oscar for best picture, and it’s like winning the World Series. And LeBron James also won the MVP award. It’s like being voted best artist of the year.
King James joined the NBA right out of high school at age 18 (he’s now 35). He’s played 17-seasons, and 14 have gone to the playoffs. He just became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the NBA playoffs, surpassing Michael Jordan for the top spot, and he broke his best friend Kobe’s record for most career points scored. He also has four world championship rings, and he’s not done yet.
During a postgame interview LeBron was overwhelmed with lights, cameras, reporters…and emotion. And when asked what motivates him to keep playing, keep pushing, keep climbing, and keep reaching for that brass ring when he already has so many of them? King James paused, and then said, “The thing that motivates me the most is doubt.”
He went on to say that he reads all the reviews about how great he is, and what a champion he is, and how he has become the greatest player of all time. But he said deep down inside he doesn’t feel that way. He still has the same feelings he had when he was a kid shooting hoops in the park. “That some day I’ll make it. But not today, I still have more to learn. I still need to improve.” He said that doubt motivates him to work harder to be a better player, a better teammate, and a better man.
Important because for whatever reason, it’s hard to get that our heros have doubt, or they procrastinate, or they question their talents or abilities. We place our heroes one level above ourselves, and then we are surprised when they reveal a side of themselves that is well…just like us. And the more you listen to the acceptance speeches of actors, musicians and champions, the more you realize that doubt follows artists & treps around like a fly on honey. A reminder to all of us, that the main ingredient in the DNA of every artist and entrepreneur is honey.