The Most Successful People In Life are Magicians...

An excerpt from The Book of Hov ...

There are two quotes from Jay-Z that I want to share with you, one from the Lenny Kravitz-featured song, “Gun and Roses” and the other from his memoir, Decoded. I think the best way to illustrate the insight in these quotes is to give you a sports analogy. Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. He was a highly skilled player who could do it all; shoot, pass, rebound, play defense. But as great as he was as a player, he was far from perfect. In fact, he was often lucky. Many of the phenomenal shots he made throughout his career he could not do twice. The most skilled player is often the luckiest.

You can never have too much skill in your hustle. Mastery of craft gives you a powerful advantage as you move forward in your life. Some people seek fortune, fame (even if it’s just popularity in your ‘hood) and gratification without being willing, ready and able to master the drive that can get them to their desired destination. We saw Jordan’s great performances on the basketball court on game day. But what we never saw was all of the hard work before, during and after practice that made Jordan the player he was. In any given game, Jordan’s hard work before tip-off paid off in ways that he couldn’t plan. Because he played with skill, oftentimes, good luck happened.

“They say when you play with skills, good luck could happen.”
–Guns and Roses

“Without work, the magic won’t come.”
-Decoded

There were moments on the basketball court when Jordan was in a zone. It’s as if he couldn’t miss a shot! When an athlete is in a zone, he’s playing with skill-and luck. But as Jay states in his memoir “Decoded”, you won’t reach your full potential “without work”. But he goes further than that. The harder you work the more you put yourself in the position to do extraordinary things.

Working hard to master your skill is a tried and true formula for success. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Even the most ambitious person can accomplish things greater than expectations and way beyond imagination. When you work hard and play the game of life with skill-good luck happens and the magic comes.