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My friend Joel Marion, founder of BioTrust Nutrition business, launched a new program, $100 Million Mastermind Experience, where he brings together entrepreneurs and influencers who have generated $100 million, views or followers to teach group members the “insider secrets” they need to quickly scale their businesses. I invested and it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.
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I could write a little book about all the life-changing lessons I’ve learned within the Mastermind, but today I want to share five of the most powerful and unexpected success lessons I’ve learned from Magic Johnson.
Related: 8 Success Lessons From The Richest Person In The World
I’ve attended hundreds of events, masterminds, and seminars over the past 20 years, but I’ve… never seen a presentation as powerful and useful as the one he gave. And today I want to pass on some of the wisdom I learned from him to help you Break through to your first 7 numbers and build the life and business of your dreams.
1. Know your market
When Magic retired from professional sport and embarked on his entrepreneurial journey, the first step he took was to familiarize himself with his market and buyers.
He wasn’t worried about his offer or his sales funnels or his Facebook ads – he focused all his time, attention and energy on learning everything he could control the people he wanted to serve. Particularly American minorities.
During his research, he discovered that this hugely underserved market had over $1.3 trillion in purchasing power and loved going to the movies. And so he made his first investment in a cinema and shopping center with a capacity of 50%.
Magic set to work improving the mall to make it more attractive to its target audience and within a few months the theater was running at 100% capacity. He and his investors made millions of dollars before eventually selling their investment to AMC.
As an toptecheasy.com, knowing your market and buyer isn’t just a good idea – it’s a mandatory recipe for success. Challenge yourself to double your market research. How well do you know your target audience… their pain points, fears, desires, hobbies and lifestyles?
Remember that if you know your customers better than themselves, your business will grow faster than you ever thought possible.
Related: 15 Success Secrets of Female Founders with $1 Billion Companies
2. Plug into silence to think bigger
Magic has three rituals that he uses to think bigger and keep himself open to new opportunities:
The first is waking up at 4 a.m. and spending 30-60 minutes of “thinking” (mediation thinking) on the treadmill.
The second retires to his home in Laguna Beach after a long week of flying across the country attending board meetings and giving presentations, going to the water’s edge, slowing down and thinking.
And the third is to take the whole month of August off every year to travel to Europe and experience different cultures.
These three rituals help Magic see through the chaos in his life and unlock creative business ideas, such as the deal he struck with Starbucks.
Magic struck a deal with Howard Schultz to become the first “outside owner” of a Starbucks location.
Magic placed locations in urban areas, changed the menu and atmosphere to accommodate its market, and soon its stores were earning more per customer ($4.89) than Starbucks’ suburban locations ($4.59).
How did he do it?
“We don’t like scones,” Magic told our Mastermind, referring to his minority status as an African American. “We don’t even know what scones are. We love peach cobblers. So we took the scones out and put peach cobblers in it. We got rid of all the stuff we didn’t like.”
Magic then asked a middle-aged white member of the Mastermind to stand up.
“What’s your name, sir?” asked Magic.
“Gary,” my friend Gary Watson replied.
“What’s your favorite music group?” asked Magic.
“I’m old school,” replied Gary, “it’s Aerosmith.”
“Well… we got Aerosmith out!” said Magic with a big mischievous smile on his face.
The hall burst into laughter. Obviously Magic had done that joke before. But it proved the position of knowing your market to get maximum profit.
Related: 18 Destructive Habits That Hold You Back From Success
Now here’s the thing. Magic never would have had this chance without “unplugging” the madness and plugging it in silently so he could think bigger. As an toptecheasy.com it is easy to let life pass us by. To spend every waking minute putting out fires, managing our teams and working in our company.
But your greatest insights and breakthroughs often come when you step out of the chaos and… find time for silence and introspection.
Challenge yourself to consciously make time to disconnect. Get away from your business and the demands of everyday life and make time for quiet introspection. I promise you will be amazed at the insights you discover.
3. Run with the best
Magic’s mentor, Dr. Jerry Buss, the former owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, advised Magic to get the best accountant, money manager and lawyer he could afford. “If you believe you are the best, always run with the best,” Magic said. “Because if you don’t, you’ll end up paying for them and still come back to get them!”
He went on to say something I resonate with: “If you want to stay on top of your game, you have to stay on top of your relationships.”
After sharing this lesson, Dennis Rodman, another Mastermind participant, asked Magic to tell the story of how Dr. Buss became Magic’s mentor.
In 1984, after the Lakers won two championships in Magic’s first three years on the team, Dr. Buss Magic to commit to the Lakers for the rest of his career. He offered Johnson an unprecedented 25-year contract worth $1 million per year.
Magic accepted – on one condition. He demanded that Dr. Buss was his business mentor. Over the next two decades, Dr. Buss Magic all about business, finance, investing and networking.
Later, Magic made another extraordinary move. He asked Dr. Buss for access to the phone number of every season ticket holder who sat in the first two rows of the arena. Magic called 150 wealthy basketball fans and asked them to have lunch.
Guess how many said no? None of course. Of those 150 lunches, Magic met seven more millionaires and billionaires who became his mentors.
Big lesson: find a mentor (or 7)…and if you can get paid to get a mentor, even better!
4. Always prepare too well and come early
Magic was supposed to speak to our group at 12:30pm. He arrived at 11:30 am and saw us play basketball with Rodman, Matt Barnes and a few other stars (that was the “Experience” part of our $100 million Mastermind Experience).
This wasn’t just a one-time thing; it’s magic’s mo
He later explained to us, “I once had a meeting with Michael Ovitz, the most powerful man in Hollywood. I arrived at 1 am for a 2 pm meeting. I am always early and always prepared.”
Magic also made headlines for showing up an hour early to meet Lebron James and convince him to join the Lakers once his contract with the Cavaliers expired. Magic knocked on James’ door at 9:01 pm, literally the very… minute he became a free agent.
Magic’s preparation and speed led him to success then and many more times after that. Imagine what his habit of preparing and showing up early says to the people he’s dating and how? at ease he feels by not being in a hurry.
Related: Richard Branson’s 8 Keys to Happiness and Success
5. Losing is not an option
“My daughter plays college basketball,” Magic said, “and she’s a point guard. One day my wife told me to play 1-on-1 with my daughter.”
“I said, ‘Honey, you know me.’ But she just told me to go play If your wife asks you twice to do something don’t argue So we went to court The game went to 10 I let my daughter come to 9. .. and then… I crushed her.”
Now, as heartless as it may seem to “crush” your kid in a basketball game, this story reveals an important part of Magic’s mindset responsible for his success: Losing just isn’t an option for him.
“That’s just who I am. I’m the most competitive person you know, and I won’t lose.”
This isn’t just Magic’s mantra in basketball; it is his to live motto. He’s had his share of hardships, but he won’t let it bring him down.
When asked what he would do if everything was taken from him, Magic said, “I would wake up tomorrow and come up with something. Winners win. Winners always win.”
Apply this mindset to your own life. Never give up. Never settle. And never allow the circumstances in your life to beat you.
Find a way or make one. Because there is always a way if you are resilient, persistent and resourceful enough.
