Championship Mondays

 The tournament of the Americas in 1992 was held before the actual Olympic games. Charles Barkley said that before the game, him, David Robinson, Chuck Daly, and Michael Jordan played 18 holes of golf. Jordan went and played 18 more, then he came back and asked to guard the point guard of Puerto Rico. His reasoning was that the player had said something about him. So Michael went out and shut the player down.

This was a meaningless game, not game seven of the finals, not the gold medal game, an exhibition. In that exhibition Jordan motivated himself to play at a high level.

Michael Jordan didn’t wait for the “big moments” to bring his best. He brought excellence to an exhibition game that most would have coasted through. The gold medal didn’t motivate him—his personal standard did.

This is Monday morning. It is a normal Monday for me, and I am not sure what type of Monday it is for you, but my goal and desire is to shake away the thoughts of where I hope to be and settle into being the best I can where I am currently.

What if we led like Jordan played—treating today’s “exhibition” tasks with championship-level focus? The IEP meeting that feels routine. The email that seems minor. The staff check-in that won’t make headlines. These aren’t distractions from our calling; they’re the arena where we prove what we’re made of.

Jordan didn’t need a championship on the line to lock in. He needed only his own standard of excellence and a point guard who underestimated him. What seemingly small task in front of you today deserves your full attention—not because it’s urgent or glamorous, but because it’s yours to do?