Recently on the Jim Rome Show (9/12/16), Bob Myers, General Manager of the Golden State Warriors, was on discussing his brother-in-law.
This TED talk by the late Scott Dinsmore is well worth the watch: https://www.ted.com/talks/scott_dinsmore_how_to_find_work_you_love?language=en
“Success has nothing to do with money. Being successful is about people that know you the best, love you the most.” – Bob Myers, General Manager Golden State Warriors
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Here are some business tips from Michael Franzese a former mob boss who reformed his life and is now an author, speaker and business leader. I have read Mr. Franzese’s book “Blood Convenant” and also heard him speak when I was an Assistant at Clarion University of PA in the Fall of 2011.
Here is a snippet of Franzese’s interview on the Jim Rome Show with guest host Marc James from August 10th, 2016: http://jimrome.com/2016/08/10/8102016-marc-james-in-the-jungle/
“Business is business. Whether you’re doing it on the street or you’re doing it legitimately, there are still certain business practices that you have to put into play.”
“Honestly, I don’t believe I was a brilliant business guy. There were guys out there that were smarter than me. But there’s certain things that I was able to do to that kept me always ahead of the game. Number one, I was always able to find a good deal. I knew how to weed through the bad ones and find the right ones. At that point I knew how to surround myself with the right people to get the job done and then motivate them to do their best for me.”
“I came up with a slogan that always worked for me and is working for a lot of business people now that I speak to and that is ‘do what you do best and delegate the rest’ and just get the most out of the people you put in place.”
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I was listening to an interview on the Jim Rome Radio Show on Monday when he was interviewing Fairleigh Dickinson Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Greg Herenda.
During the interview, Rome commented on Herenda’s career path and good fortune. Rome stated, “sometimes it doesn’t break the right way for some people,” to which Herenda agreed that after a long struggle, he did catch some breaks.
How true.
Think about how many coaches and/or players would have or could have “made it” if they were just under the right system, had an agent promote them a little better, were professionally networked better or were under better coaching mentors?
It brings me to one of my former players, Troy Jackson Jr. Troy is currently playing for the Rochester RazorSharks of the PBL (Premier Basketball League – “The Triple ‘A’ League of Professional Basketball”). Troy is the reigning MVP of the league and has a tremendous professional career but I always felt that timing did not work out for him.
Considering he played at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore for one season and then transferred and graduated from Alcorn State, it is amazing that he even played overseas and professionally in the United States for almost 10 years.
Troy was forced to take (and make — see this ridiculous highlight video) lots of bad shots at ASU due to his supporting cast. Nevertheless, the future Alcorn Hall of Famer’s ability shined through and he was fortunate enough to get some looks overseas.
Troy was overseas and playing well when the checks stopped coming…that is his team essentially went bankrupt. Bad luck, right?
After moving from league to league like countless others do, Troy showed out with the Vermont Frost Heaves (now defunct team owned by Sports Illustrated’s Alexander Wolff), going 9-10 from 3pt range, which landed him another overseas opportunity. Again, that experience was short lived due and Troy was once again sent searching for a team.
As PBL MVP in 2014-15, Troy could definitely have been playing in the D-League or making close to six-figures overseas. However, as Rome said, “sometimes it doesn’t break the right way for some people.”
So why not? I think there are tons of factors: College coaches with insufficient professional contacts (guilty as charged), former agents who did not really work for him, lackluster marketing my teams/leagues, coaches who have agendas and limit his minutes/production, overall bad timing and some poor choices by Troy himself with selecting his professional support staff.
So what? Others have been subject to this too…I agree. Countless others. Others most of us will never hear about.
The real difference is which athletes/coaches are willing to continue to work when the chips are down, dreams are unrealized and they have only themselves to count on? (Sounds like Daymond John’s “The Power of Broke”, doesn’t it?)
Troy’s RazorSharks (13-2) plays in Providence on Sunday vs. the Sky Chiefs (6-7) at 1pm. Come see him play and you will understand what I am saying.
No complaints. No sob story. Just witness a professional chasing a dream and being patient for it to “break the right way.” The Power of Broke is what has kept him going and what motivates him.
Come up and see it for yourself.
Follow Bert DeSalvo on Twitter at CoachDeSalvo
Expressions from the Hardwood 