Over the weekend, I binged The Last Dance (IMDB Link). I’m not a huge basketball fan – especially NBA – but it allegedly has a grab bag of life lessons and I do enjoy sports overall. So, why not…maybe I could learn a thing or two. In an effort to pay attention and not get distracted by other things, I decided to jot down the most relevant lessons that struck me in each episode. Here we go…
Episode 1
- Be humble and work harder than the next guy
- Don’t do drugs
Episode 2
- Know your worth and fight for it
- You need to have the right team around you to bring success. One guy cannot do it all
Episode 3
- Good players want to be coached hard
- To get the best out of people, sometimes you need to let them cut loose
Episode 4
- Be focused and be One team
- Show good sportsmanship when you win and when you lose
- inspire others by setting examples
Episode 5
- Shutdown the naysayers by staying true to yourself
Episode 6
- Be a voice of reason, but challenge others
Episode 7
- Follow your dreams
- Don’t give up because you will regret it
Episode 8
- Never be satisfied
- “If you’re going to spend time watching me do something, I am obligated to give you my best”
- Find something about something that gets you fired up
Episode 9
- Didn’t capture anything
Episode 10
- Be present
- Don’t allow what you can’t control to be in your head
- Start with hope
Overall, I enjoyed the hell out of the docuseries. The story was inspiring and I learned a ton about the players, the coaches, and the support structure. Most importantly, I took a way a lot about leadership and what it means to manage a diversity of thought. I will definitely take the episodes and lessons to heart.