One of the greatest quotes of all time to me is the quote credited to one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time – Henry Ford, who pioneered the assembly line in vehicle manufacturing. He said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.”. On the night LeBron Raymone James Sr. was crowned the scoring King of the NBA, many thoughts flashed through my mind. I started thinking about the many hurdles Lebron had to overcome to become the only threat to the continued GOATship of Michael Jordan. I thought about him being a single child to a single mom. I thought about him entering the NBA straight from High School with the immaturity that should have derailed him with the money that came with him being the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft.
My thinking also took me to another quote from another greatest of all time – Nelson Mandela. Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” As I watched Lebron James giving his acceptance speech with his mother – Gloria Marie James, who was 16 at the time of his birth, alongside his wife and three children, I could not but conclude that Lebron James could be considered the greatest sportsman of all time. The most recent sporting greats from Tiger Woods to Serena and Venus Williams, including Lewis Hamilton of Formula 1, have all been a product of their father’s vision and mission. But Lebron James’ mother has shown to all that maybe there is a lot of truth to the statement that what a man can do, a woman can do better. Anyway, today is not the day for such debates. Today is a day to celebrate what mothers can do, and what their sons can do to reciprocate their mother’s efforts and investments.
It is also a day for us to jettison all reasons for not making it in life. No alibi is good enough for failure. Whatever reason you present for your inability to make it, there is someone out there who had a worse set of circumstances that they overcame to become successful in whatever field of endeavor they pursued. Just as Henry Ford said over a century ago, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” The ball is in your court. You can decide to use the ball like Lebron James in basketball to not only become arguably the greatest of all time in your calling but also become a billionaire while doing it. And in the process inspire millions of youths and even old people to take their lives seriously with the mindset that impossible also means i’m possible.
Ata Ukuta, Editor – Towncryyers