BOOK EXCERPT: Introduction

The Athlete CEO

The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.

John Wooden

So what exactly IS the Athlete Matrix and why is it important that you soak in every word I have to share with you? The Athlete Matrix is the personal management system that I believe is fundamental to your overall success during and after your professional athletic career.

The Athlete Matrix is a visual inventory of all the diverse components (and people) that make up your daily life and provide the necessary support you need off the court/field/ice.

What Is a Matrix?

In the mathematical sense it is a compact notation for describing sets of data or equations. I’m going to take the same concept and apply it to the Athlete Matrix for our purposes. I’m going to describe distinct areas that are part of an athlete’s life, and then I’m going to break down and solve the equation of what it takes to be a successful Athlete CEO.

The Athlete Matrix is a model that I developed to empower you as a professional athlete to understand how to manage yourself to achieve success during and after your professional sports career. It’s a 360 degree approach to your life as an athlete.

You must stare down the personal, professional sports, family, financial, public, charity and post-career aspects of the Matrix so you can successfully conquer and manage your life both in the present and after your career ends. Throughout this book, you will learn the valuable principles that will shape, polish, and prepare you to be the CEO of your life.

The primary objective of the Athlete Matrix is for you, the athlete, to fully understand the dynamics of your extremely exceptional—and most often—short career.

What Do I Know about It, and Why Should You Listen to Me?

What qualifies me to tell you about developing a personal management system during and after your athletic career?

As a 13-year veteran of the NBA, I learned a thing or two about how to navigate the waters of success both on and off the court, how to demonstrate consistent professionalism, and how to utilize the unique resources that were at my fingertips so I could thrive during my playing years and especially beyond. I am a published author of multiple books, a national speaker, consultant, and Community Ambassador for the 2015 World Champion Golden State Warriors. I’ve made significant strides throughout my career in the NBA; pursuing education, community service, philanthropy, business and broadcasting opportunities.

I’ve existed around the sport of basketball for many years as a player, as an executive, and now in the capacity of “old person.” Is that you laughing? One of the things I continue to observe consistently is the plethora of issues and challenges faced by athletes, and my tendency is always to ask, “What can I do to make the life of a player better?” Within that capacity, I feel like it’s long been one of my callings to figure out how to share my vision with players in a variety of ways so they can see the role that they play in their own level of development and come to relish the ownership of those choices.

I understand that there are a lot of issues you won’t necessarily know how to handle as an athlete, and I will continually ask you to consider another way to think about solving the problem or challenge.

I’ve been there and I almost feel like it is my moral imperative to try to help the next generation figure out how to do it better than we did. It’s just the way I view the world. I’ve consistently sought to understand and embrace my role as someone who has benefited from all of the riches of the league and everything that it has to offer. Giving back and helping to empower and move the next generation forward is one of my highest ideals and one of the things I always strive to achieve.

With both my highs and lows playing basketball for over three decades and my steadfast commitment to empowering the lives of fellow athletes, I believe I am in a good position to speak as an Athlete CEO. After interviewing many retired sports professionals and discussing the challenges they face, I feel that more than anything I appreciate the difficulties athletes encounter.

Ultimately the countless hours I spent speaking directly with professional athletes about the struggles they face on and off the court became the driving force behind the Athlete CEO project. I bring with me all their pain, successes, wins and losses, and most importantly their desire for survival as human beings

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