“How can we move from bracing for failure to waiting for fulfillment? Is there any other question as significant for our performance or our happiness?
I’ve been around greatness all my life. I roomed with basketball great Dr. J (Julius Erving) in college, and I’ve worked with the elite of elite athletes, including Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal. There is no doubt these athletes were tremendously gifted, loaded with talent. But what I’ve learned from my association with them is that natural ability wasn’t what made them great. What made them so exceptional was that they were what I call unlocked—they were in close touch with that a part of themselves that was most truly who they were. That is what allowed them to develop their potential in the way they did.
Greatness can be discovered in each and every one of us. It’s not just the Kobes of the world; I’ve seen that greatness emerge in men convicted of murder serving consecutive life sentences in prison. This potential is not a euphemistic, feel-good fantasy. It is real and tangible and attainable for all.
I know this from working with everyone from elite athletes and powerful CEOs to those pushed to the margins of society. I also know this from the arc of my own life. I’m almost forty years into recovery from alcoholism, and heroin addiction. My life changed through prayer and meditation and through service. I dedicated myself to working with people from Yale to jail, from locker rooms to boardrooms. I know that in order to keep learning and growing and expanding, I have to teach. That’s what I’m doing in these pages.
My mission has been to help anyone in any place at any time unlock the greatness within them. The greatness within is why we are alive. It is what we have to offer the world.”
~ George Mumford from Unlocked
I love George Mumford.
He’s an incredibly humble, Heroically wise human being who beautifully embodies the wisdom he shares.
This is the second Note we’ve done on one of his great books. The first was on The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance.
As we discussed in that Note, George was Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s mindfulness coach. Phil Jackson brought him in to help take the Chicago Bulls to the next level then did it again when he was coaching the Los Angeles Lakers.
As per the introduction, this book is all about how to “unlock” your inner greatness. It’s fantastic. Get a copy here.
It’s packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share a handful of my favorites so let’s jump straight in.
Unlock this PhilosophersNote
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