Going to the Portland Trail Blazers, who actually took the time to invest in me, was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to me in my career. I got to a small market where I could focus on basketball, basketball, basketball. No distractions.
Interpretation
Investing in oneself and focusing on one's passion can lead to significant success.
Clyde Drexler emphasizes the importance of finding the right environment to nurture one's talent. By choosing to play for the Portland Trail Blazers, he was able to dedicate himself fully to basketball without outside distractions, which ultimately contributed to his success in his career.
In practice
In a motivational speech about finding the right opportunities, I would use this quote to highlight the importance of supportive environments.
Growing up, people will tell you that you have a better chance to become an astronaut than becoming an NBA player. So when you finally get to the NBA, you've beat the odds. So when you put on that jersey, everything else is downhill.
We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make sacrifices that come along with making that decision.
My history has been to grow the roots as deeply as you can before going on to the next thing. That's why it took 10 years to go from Union Square Cafe to Gramercy Tavern, and another 10 years to go from Blue Smoke's first location to its second, and five to go from Shake Shack 1 to Shake Shack 2.
All I ever wanted to do was play competitive golf against the best players in the world.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Do you see the consequences of the way we have chosen to think about success? Because we so profoundly personalize success, we miss opportunities to lift others onto the top rung...We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail. And most of all, we become much too passive. We overlook just how large a role we all play—and by “we” I mean society—in determining who makes it and who doesn’t.
Sound strategy starts with having the right goal
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