How I Met Michael Jordan and the #1 Life Lesson He Taught Me

Shana Douglas
Jul 20, 2017 · 5 min read

Ok . . . so . . . I don’t like telling this story.

Because even though it’s a story about the time I met one of the biggest celebrities ever (Michael Jordan). It also happens to be my most embarrassing moment.

Ever.

I was young and stupid. Let’s just leave it at that.

Here’s what happened:

I’m a singer, and I used to sing all the time. I also used to be a huge basketball fan. And I used to watch it all the time. The Chicago Bulls were one of my favorite teams. And I used to be in love with MJ.

Totally.

I thought I was going to grow up and marry him.

What an idiot.

So, I found out that the Bulls were going to be in town playing the Knicks.

I had to go.

I was a teenager at the time and none of my friends were into basketball like I was, so I begged my parents to take me. So, me, my mother, my father and my sister went to the game. It was at Madison Square Garden.

The game was close, but the Bulls lost.

Ugh. Really?

Ordinarily, I would have been happy that my Knicks had won, but in this case, I was sad. This was MJ. And I was in love. He should have won.

Anyhoo. After the game, people started clearing out. I looked around and spotted where the players exited the court. I told my mother I was going to sneak back there and asked her to go with me. She agreed.

So, we headed over and sneaked in.

Nobody noticed us, and we got into the backstage area. We saw reporters and other people waiting around by a certain area where the players were going to leave the locker room to get on the elevator and head to their bus. We waited there, too.

My mother and I were chatting, and then I heard all this commotion. Players had started to leave the locker room. A few of them passed us.

I turned around and there he was. He was walking toward me. I froze. OMG! It was really him. I couldn’t believe it.

I was speechless.

Speechless!

He passed right by me. Then he stood in front of the elevator waiting to get on. My mom and I were standing a little bit behind him. But I didn’t say anything.

Not even “Hi.”

There were a bunch of people around. Just looking and taking pictures.

Then my mother looked at me and said, “Sing!”

And I’m thinking, “Sing? Right here? Right now? Are you serious?!”

“Sing!” she shouted.

The next thing I knew, my mouth flew open, and I started singing. MJ was facing the elevator, and we were standing behind him. I sang one verse of a love song. I don’t even remember the name of the song.

After I finished, everybody started clapping.

MJ hadn’t turned around to look at me the whole time I was singing.

After the clapping stopped, he turned around and said:

“Only in New York.”

Ugh!

Ugh!

I was so embarrassed. I wanted to crawl under a rock.

The rest of the night is a blur. I only remember bits and pieces.

But I remember that he was nice enough to take a picture with me. I guess he figured it was the least he could do, after I had just sung my heart out to him.

I was crushed. It was unrequited love. The marriage was over, even before it began.

But when I look back on it, even though it was my most embarrassing night ever, and even though I felt like a failure, that night turned out to be one of my boldest nights ever.

And that reminds me, shortly after I gave birth to my first daughter. She caught a cold when she was only a few months old.

As a new mom, I was scared.

I had never seen someone so little, suffer so much.

It was tough.

So, I took her to the pediatrician. I was frantic, and I just wanted her to get better . . . fast. The doctor looked her over and confirmed that she had a cold.

And then the doctor said something to me that I’ll never forget.

He said: “Having a cold is part of the human condition.”

And I thought, “Wow.” Because I had never heard anyone describe it that way before.

Then I started thinking:

· No matter who you are.

· No matter what you look like.

· No matter where you live.

· No matter how you dress.

· No matter how much money you have.

If you live long enough, you are going to catch a cold.

Period.

And that’s sort of how it is with failure.

If you live long enough, you will fail.

At something.

Failure is part of the human condition.

You can’t avoid it.

I’m not saying you should glorify failure.

You shouldn’t.

Nobody likes to fail. It doesn’t feel good.

Do you think I liked it when MJ said, “Only in New York”?

No, I didn’t.

It didn’t feel good.

But after the sting of rejection wore off, I decided that I wasn’t going to let MJ throw me off my game or let that failure wreck my self-esteem and confidence.

MJ taught me that failure isn’t fatal.

Even though I didn’t get the outcome I wanted (horse and carriage; ring and marriage), at the end of it all, I was still standing.

Failure is all about perspective.

It’s been said that all failure contains seeds of opportunity and that there is a lesson in every experience.

Remember what Thomas Edison said: “I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

When you have that perspective, you can accept the situation, learn the lesson, and then move on.

So, if you failed at something that you really, really, really wanted, then figure out what happened, and see if you can do things better the next time.

If you can’t do things better or if there is no next time, then consider it a lesson learned and add it as a chapter in your book of life.

Just like I did.

The bottom line is this: failure happens. No one likes it. But we all have to accept it.

It’s not personal. It’s just life.

Those who can find the life lessons and seeds of opportunities inside their failures are the ones who do best.

If you liked this story, then please hit the heart button below and recommend it, so others can read it, too. And to learn more about how to turn failure into F.A.I.L.U.R.E., please visit me at www.shanadouglas.com. Thank you.

The Ascent

A community of storytellers documenting the journey to happiness & fulfillment.

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Shana Douglas

Written by

Lawyer | Health and Nutrition Writer | Content Marketer | Personal Development Blogger | www.shanadouglas.com

The Ascent

A community of storytellers documenting the journey to happiness & fulfillment.

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