The 3 Un-Sexy Secrets to Success (that I Learned from Michael Jordan)

Everything I ever needed to know about success can be summed up in a quote by Michael Jordan that I’ve heard a thousand times:

I’ve played organized basketball since I was 8. It has been one of the greatest passions of my life. But I never really cared to be great. I just loved to play. So as crystal clear as MJ’s message was, it was lost on me for most of my life. It wasn’t until I had a big, insurmountable dream that I began to understand. 

As a self-proclaimed personal growth junkie, I’ve consumed countless articles, books, quotes, interviews, podcasts, and documentaries (you name it) on success and successful people. Here’s what I believe are the top three super un-sexy secrets to success (in marketing, branding, business & life).

SECRET #1: Directed Desire

It may seem obvious, but before you go anywhere, you have to know where you’re going. And you have to really want to get there because it will not be easy. 

In the case of Michael Jordan, his desire was rooted in a simple principle: you play to win. Period. And if you play to win, then winning is the only outcome that matters. If you extrapolate that out across an NBA career, you get 706 wins and 6 championships. 

We all have dreams and ambitions that drive us, including many that we never achieve and some that we don’t even attempt! Regardless of what holds us back, life is a series of opportunities and opportunity costs. The beauty is that it is up to each of us to balance our own scale. 

But you have to really want it.

I’ll never forget reading author Mark Manson’s popular article “7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Life’s Purpose” wherein he asks, “What’s your favorite flavor of sh*t sandwich?” What this question illuminates is that you can’t just want the glory. You have to want the dirty work. You have to like the day-in-day out process, even when it is awful and difficult–which may be a substantial portion of the time.  

Which leads us to the hard part: unraveling the mystery of human desire and motivation. Just kidding–I’ll leave that challenge for scientists and anthropologists far smarter than I am. But suffice it to say that if you’re lucky enough to find something that you truly want, it’s still hard to stay motivated all the time. 

John Spacey breaks motivation down into two types:

“Push motivation is a behavior that an individual forces themselves to complete in order to satisfy a need or achieve a goal.”  An example would be pushing yourself to complete a 30-day workout challenge. Push motivation is essential to progress, but it relies on willpower and self-discipline, which we humans have a finite supply of. It also comes more naturally for some people than others. 

In contrast, “Pull motivation is a behavior that an individual feels drawn towards.” For example, imagine a lifetime running lacing up at 5 am everyday to grab a piece of peace to start her day. She feels compelled to do it and her day would be incomplete without it. It’s part of a ritual, a habit. And habits are essential. 

“Without habits, our brains would be overwhelmed with details.” says Charles Duhigg, author of the NY Times bestseller The Power of Habit. “People spend a lot of time trying to break habits using willpower, but research is showing that habits are the opposite of willpower. With willpower, you have to make a decision, which can be derailed by life’s stresses. Habits require no willpower, no decision — they stick because they are effortless and automatic.”

But here’s the good news: Willpower-driven push motivation creates consistent action. Consistent action creates habit-driven pull motivation. And pull motivation drives success.

Which leads us to our next secret…

SECRET #2: Consistent Action

There is no such thing as an overnight success. Period. Even behind every “Eureka!” or “aha moment” are years of behind-the-scenes effort, education, experiences and social or cultural shifts that all aligned in a perfect moment to bubble above the surface and manifest as success. 

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy says, “If we walk far enough, I am sure we shall sometime come to someplace.” And she’s right. If you just keep going, you’ll get there eventually!

There are countless examples of the power of consistent action, from MJ himself (9,000 in-game shots, let alone practice!) to Thomas Edison (“I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that didn’t work”) to Nipsey Hussle (The Marathon Continues) to businessmen, athletes, entertainers, world leaders–literally, pick your Great and they will have a story of persistence and perseverance.

But this mindset is at odds with our society which demands instant gratification, measures worth in dollar signs and commas, and values youth over everything. Because legacy-building takes time, resources and risk. You probably won’t be 23 when you get there! And what a shame it would be anyway to peak with 50+ years of life left. If you arrive at your destination at 45, or 65 or even 95, did you achieve anything less?

K. Anders Ericsson, the “expert on experts”, has defined the minimum amount of “deliberate practice” necessary to raise any novice to the level of expert as 10 years or 10,000 hours. MINIMUM. The good news is that the average person lives 683,280 hours so you have plenty of time to get there, even factoring in stuff like sleep, food, family. And honestly, the time will pass anyway. You might as well work towards something meaningful.

But if it’s that simple, why isn’t everyone a world-renowned master? Well, just because something is simple doesn’t mean it is easy! 

In fact, in many ways, consistent action goes against the very nature of evolution that underlies human consciousness. According to neuroscientist Mark Churchland, “The nervous system was not designed to do the same thing over and over again. The nervous system was designed to be flexible. You typically find yourself doing things you’ve never done before.” This “improvisational style” evolved in response to the predator-prey dynamic where predators never catch and kill prey in exactly the same conditions.

So how do you achieve consistent action with an improvisational style? That’s our next secret. 

SECRET #3: Ongoing Optimization

Growth = change. You can’t get one without the other. High performers are continuously navigating and adapting to change, on macro and micro scales, in order to continue to thrive. As we just learned, that is rooted in evolution. The concept of evolution itself says that we have to adapt in order to survive. 

Some of my favorite advice I’ve ever gotten came from my grandfather, William Botts. A successful business consultant, nuclear and electrical engineer, and many-time CEO, he once told me that it never made sense to him to strategize for distant 5-, 10- or career-long goals because there are so many variables outside your control. Instead, focus on optimizing your current situation at all times. That means making the best decisions you can and seizing opportunities as they arise. Repeated optimization will compound over time and take you further than you would have ever imagined.

You can see endless examples of optimization in real life success stories. To continue with our Michael Jordan example, as he faced new challenges, he adapted his game. For example, when he failed to defeat the physically dominant Detroit Pistons, Jordan began weight training to build physical strength, and put his teammates through rigorous mental training. And even within those individual strength workouts, Jordan and his trainer added new stressors as his body began to adapt. In fact, that’s the basic premise of resistance training.

On the surface, it may seem that consistent action and ongoing optimization are at odds with each other. You may wonder, “How can I be consistent and change at the same time?” The answer is that your effort remains constant, but your methods must adapt as you progress. 

Over time, as you learn and grow, you are able to hone in on the methods, tactics and approaches that work best for you. Inevitably, change will come again and give you another variable to account for or pivot to navigate. But your threshold for adaptation will be much higher, and the foundation of knowledge, skills and experience you’ve established will be the springboard.

For me, this concept took the longest to grasp. A rule-abiding perfectionist whose self-identity was rooted in straight A’s and positive reinforcement, I spent my entire adolescence avoiding most things I wasn’t naturally good at. I couldn’t handle making mistakes or the discomfort of growth so I avoided it. Many experts say the path to mastery is to double down on your natural competencies rather than developing your weaknesses, so in that regard, I did just fine. But I was playing it extremely safe. Over a decade, I was able to force myself out of my tendencies and my comfort zone. And now, I thrive on progress, growth and (calculated) risk-taking–even if it’s still uncomfortable!

How to apply these secrets to marketing and branding

While I believe these secrets can be applied to any goal or measure of success, they are especially relevant in business. If you’re trying to build a brand or develop a marketing strategy that drives growth, here’s what you do. 

Set your objectives and align your approach accordingly (Directed Desire)

You have to start with a specific goal. Examples of goals include to drive revenue, to increase brand awareness, to sell more of a specific product, to increase customer loyalty or to generate more inbound leads. Each of these goals requires a different approach. Start with one so that you can strategize in a clear direction. 

Define your actions and their frequency (Consistent Action)

For each goal, pick 1-3 actions that you will take in order to achieve it. Examples of actions include: post on social media, create blog posts, run display ads, send email campaigns, etc. For each action, pick a frequency (daily, weekly, monthly) and stick to it. Give an action at least 3 months to determine if it’s a viable approach for you.

Observe, analyze and iterate (Ongoing Optimization)

For each of your actions,  you want to consistently monitor your progress and adjust accordingly. Pay attention to what seems to generate positive results and do more of it–and vis-versa. Over time, you will optimize your approach and generate more consistent results.

I’m putting Directed Desire + Consistent Action + Ongoing Optimization to the test myself as I build my own business. If you’ve had success with any of these secrets, I’d love to hear your story.