Michael Jordan, Kanye West, Serena Williams and You

Some recent events surrounding these three above entitled superstars got me thinking. Even people at the pinnacle of success sometimes fall back into old (bad) habits.

If you watched the Basketball Hall of Fame Induction ceremony or read any of the comments that were part of Michael Jordan’s speech, you no doubt were struck as I was by some of the sour grapes displayed by MJ. The infamous All Star game ‘freeze-out’ by some veteran players during MJ’s first All Star game, former college basketball coach Dean Smith’s leaving him off of the cover of Sport’s Illustrated in favor of another North Carolina player, limited playing time during his rookie season; and numerous other examples were cited by MJ documenting how he was wronged in the past. It seemed oddly strange behavior, especially in contrast to the speeches of the other inductees; to focus so much attention on these ’slights’ by others, rather than to simply celebrate the feats he achieved as the greatest basketball player of all time. Jordan even qualified his remarks by saying he felt sorry for his kids having to live in his shadow.

Kanye West seems to find it difficult if not impossible to let the universe take it’s course when it comes to dictating who gets recognized for their achievements, if those being recognized do not live up to his own personal standards. If you saw the recent MTV Video Music Awards ceremony and his behavior and treatment of Taylor Swift, you know what I’m talking about. This rude behavior has now spawned a new phrase, with many talking and tweeting on Twitter about: a “Kanye” as a way to describe bad, childlike  behavior; as in “Don’t pull a Kanye.”  

Anyone who saw or heard Serena Williams’ meltdown at the US Open was probably shocked! I know I was. While being very competitive when playing tennis myself (certainly not at that high a level), I can only begin to imagine the volcano of passion for the game & tremendous desire to win that accompanies such greatness for playing the game of tennis. But even Serena has to recognize that although tennis is an individual sport, there is a team of people behind her amazing skill and talent for tennis (including her coaches and family); and her legions of fans fuel her success as well. Much more disturbing than her verbal outburst is her continuing failure to apologize (say “I’m sorry”) to the lines-woman involved.

So what does all of this have to do with you and I? None of us will probably ever dunk like Michael Jordan, sing like Kanye West, or serve like Serena Williams. But we have the opportunity to honor and respect the universal Law of Attraction when it influences us or those around us. Following  a few simple rules can greatly facilitate this LOA process and affect our own inter-personal balance & harmony as well.

Don’t play the blame game: Blaming someone else for our lack of success may temporarily make us feel better and/or more secure, but these feeling of being justified & redeemed are only fleeting at best. Long term we are left with feelings of unfulfilment and often remorse as well.  

Letting go of bitterness & not walking around with a chip on your shoulder: Besides the effects blaming others has on them and ourselves, this type of attitude tends to color our world and block the very types of things that we wish to attract into our lives. Negativity attracts more negativity and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we can adopt an attitude of gratitude and be thankful for even the little successes in our lives, we are more likely to attract the ultimate success and achieve the greatest goals in our lives.  

Don’t rain on somebody elses parade: Stealing someone elses limelight: Not only is it bad karma, but the act of taking away from someone else doesn’t add to your own prestige and success, but rather diminishes it.

Take joy in other people’s triumphs: Other people’s joy has a way of rubbing off on us. We all know the axiom about in order to be successful, we should hang around successful people. The same can be said for joy. In order to be joyful, we should hang around joyful people.

The Law of Attraction tells us that there is an infinite amount of abundance and prosperity to go around. Yet some people behave as if they must ‘compete’ against the whole world for a limited supply of success. The true competition in life should be amongst ourselves. Your biggest task is not to get ahead of others, but to surpass yourself.

Treat judges and officials with dignity and respect: Beyond the fact that officials are human beings with feeling and desires just like all of us, the game simply cannot be played without the rules of the game and those to enforce them. Officials often have a real passion for the game, just as the players do. 

 Following the above rules and practicing this type of behavior will not only make you a better and more liked (likable) person, but will help you feel more comfortable in your own skin as well, and better able to attract the happiness and contentment that you desire in your life.