On Monday evening, the Boston Celtics won their 13th NBA Championship in convincing style with a 106-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Afterwards, series Most Valuable Player Jaylen Brown said the following 128-word, 41-second speech in the postgame news conference. It is a masterclass on what is required to win championships at the highest level. The following were his comments:
“We learned. We learned from all of our mistakes. All of our adversity I think has made us stronger, made us tougher. All season you could see it. We started from the jump. We made all the sacrifices. We played both ends of the ball at a high level. We didn’t skip any steps and this was the result. All of those experiences led to here. All of those moments where we came up short, we feel like we let the city down. We feel like we let ourselves down. All of that compiled is how we get to this moment. It makes it feel even that much better. We had to go through the journey, the heartbreak, the embarrassment, the loss to get to the mountain top.”
Brown reflected on the personal and corporate obstacles faced and sacrifices made needed to win the championship. Notice the phrases he used – “all our mistakes, our adversity, all the sacrifices, where we came up short, we feel like we let the city down, we feel like we let ourselves down, the journey, the heartbreak, the embarrassment, the loss.” In 128 words, 36 (28%) of them reflected on the challenges need to achieve success.
“No pain, no gain” is too simplistic when describing what is required for greatness. Greatness requires so much more. The following is the series of costs Brown and the Celtics were willing to pay:
- Learning from mistakes.
- Overcoming adversity.
- Sacrifice.
- Hard Work (playing offense and defense at a high level).
- Refusing to take shortcuts and skip steps.
- Disappointment.
- Being humbled.
- Heartbreak.
- Embarrassment.
- Loss.
Brown reminds us struggle is necessary for strength. So many times people want the perks of leadership but are unwilling to pay the costs of leadership.
The Celtics were willing to pay those costs for years. This is why they are champions today.
Are you willing to pay these 10 costs? If so, you may one day be a champion in your industry as well.
Full disclosure – I have a soft spot in my heart for Brown as he graduated Wheeler High School in Marietta, GA, the same high school as my wife. So I’m always rooting for the Celtics!
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