A recent Sports Illustrated story reported that 60% of all NBA players are broke within five years of retirement. The other 40%, it’s implied, remain solvent. Still, a much smaller percentage actually flourish and prosper. There are those few who transition out of the game yet continue a remarkable glory streak in other areas. And Shaquille O’Neal is one of them.
A full description of all his business involvements would require far more space than this will allow, but suffice to say, he understands the importance of entrepreneurship. Owning tons of Five Guys Burger Restaurants, car washes, fitness centers, nightclubs, and prime real estate, Shaq is also an investor or stakeholder in Google (invested pre-IPO), Muscle Milk, Vitamin Water and video media platform Tout.com, among many other things.
With a personal net worth of $350 million, it’s quite evident that he does things the right way—things that some of his contemporaries either didn’t know or weren’t willing to do.
But it didn’t start out that way. Shaq could have easily been among the 60% who lost their way. So what did he do differently? And how can you apply it to increase your own success?
A Lot of Money, A Lot More Humility
In 1991, O’Neal was a 21-year-old LSU basketball sensation, named Player of the Year by the NCAA, as well as by both the Associated Press and UPI. The following year, he was drafted by the Orlando Magic in a deal that paid him $41 million over seven years—the largest ever rookie contract at the time.
Within the first 30 minutes of joining the League, before even playing his first NBA game, he blew through his first $1 million NBA check. There’s nothing wrong with buying exotic cars for your mom and pop, but that “get-it-spend-it” mentality is what ultimately winds a player up in the 60% group.
O’Neal’s banker got on the phone immediately and warned the rookie to manage his money better or risk ending up a penniless former athlete. It’s not so much the call that’s important here; it’s likely that a lot of bankers make those kinds of calls to their clients. What matters is that O’Neal actually listened.
In later years, O’Neal joked that because he’d made a “C” grade in Accounting at LSU, “I thought I knew what I was doing.”
The Takeaway: O’Neal displayed great humility, an awareness of the things he doesn’t know, and, as we will touch on later, an abiding willingness to learn.
Superior Brand Beats Superior Quality
At 7’1” and 325 lbs., O’Neal was one of the largest and most imposing players of all time. But it wasn’t just size. He had power, control, and legendary dunking ability. His many pro basketball accolades include four NBA Championships, being one of only three players to be named NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP in a single year (2000); and holding the 3rd highest field goal percentage of all time.
Though he’s undoubtedly one of the most able and recognizable players ever, it doesn’t appear that he ever aspired to be “the greatest”; he just wanted to play basketball:
“I wanted to be a basketball player but I wasn’t very good,” he told Inc. magazine. “One day my father threw a paper at my chest and said, ‘Look at this guy. He just signed an NBA contract for $3 million a year, and he’s not that good.’ I watched him play on TV and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ I realized if I worked hard and stayed out of trouble, I could make a name for myself.”
He did ultimately make a name for himself, due to his skill on the court and just as much to his very large personality. History has given us players who were more outstanding, more flamboyant and more controversial. Despite some controversial remarks he made during his NBA career, O’Neal generally exudes a high degree of comfort with himself and others—a liveliness and personality that’s very appealing. It’s made him a successful pitchman for the many products he’s endorsed.
The Takeaway: You have to be good but you don’t have to be innovative to succeed. If others are selling similar product or service, it means there’s a market you can also sell to. O’Neal didn’t revolutionize the game but he did put his stamp on it. He’s a brand. He’s “Shaq.” You will get much further in business by identifying your brand and presenting it as strongly and consistently as possible.
At 7’1” and 325 lbs., O’Neal was one of the largest and most imposing players of all time. But it wasn’t just size. He had power, control, and legendary dunking ability. His many pro basketball accolades include four NBA Championships, being one of only three players to be named NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP in a single year (2000); and holding the 3rd highest field goal percentage of all time.
Though he’s undoubtedly one of the most able and recognizable players ever, it doesn’t appear that he ever aspired to be “the greatest”; he just wanted to play basketball:
“I wanted to be a basketball player but I wasn’t very good,” he told Inc. magazine. “One day my father threw a paper at my chest and said, ‘Look at this guy. He just signed an NBA contract for $3 million a year, and he’s not that good.’ I watched him play on TV and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ I realized if I worked hard and stayed out of trouble, I could make a name for myself.”
He did ultimately make a name for himself, due to his skill on the court and just as much to his very large personality. History has given us players who were more outstanding, more flamboyant and more controversial. Despite some controversial remarks he made during his NBA career, O’Neal generally exudes a high degree of comfort with himself and others—a liveliness and personality that’s very appealing. It’s made him a successful pitchman for the many products he’s endorsed.
The Takeaway: You have to be good but you don’t have to be innovative to succeed. If others are selling similar product or service, it means there’s a market you can also sell to. O’Neal didn’t revolutionize the game but he did put his stamp on it. He’s a brand. He’s “Shaq.” You will get much further in business by identifying your brand and presenting it as strongly and consistently as possible.
A Love of Learning
Though he left Louisiana State University in 1992 to join the NBA, O’Neal studied for three degrees (and obtained two) while he was still playing professional ball:
In 2000, he completed his Bachelor’s degree in general education.
In 2005, he earned an MBA through online study with University of Phoenix. Though he succeeded as an entrepreneur nearly a decade earlier (more on this below), the degree would set him in good stead after his retirement from basketball.
In 2012, he completed a Doctorate degree in Human Resource Development through Barry University in Miami.
“He is very intellectually curious,” said Dr. David Kopp, chairman of Barry’s Organizational Learning and Leadership program told the South Florida Sun Sentinel of O’Neal. “He is like a sponge, he takes everything in.”
It’s no surprise. Success speaker-trainer Tom Corley, conducted long and in-depth study of both wealthy and poor people, which showed that a love or desire to learn was a trait of wealthy people. Only 26% of poor people love to read, whereas 86% of the rich do. The 88% of the wealthy people read 30 minutes or more each day for educational or career reasons, compared to only 2% of poor people.
The Takeaway: Predominantly, the wealthy enjoy learning. So, if you’re not wealthy and don’t regularly read or learn, perhaps it’s time to start. An open and inquisitive mind will give you not only a more interesting life, but might make life’s transitions easier. “It’s not about how much money you make, it’s about whether you’re educated enough to know how much you can keep,” O’Neal said in his 2013 keynote address for the NCAA. “We as athletes have to realize we can’t play sports forever.”
The Entrepreneur
O’Neal didn’t simply retire from basketball in 2011 and decide to go into business.
He reportedly began investing in stocks and bonds in the 1990s, including blue chip stocks in companies based on his personal affinity for each.
But there’s no doubt the man has the entrepreneurial spirit. An article in Forbes describes a 1996 incident in which a tearful mother accosted the then-Orlando Magic center after practice, pleading, “Why don’t one of you make an affordable sneaker?” (This is back when companies began marketing $150 court shoes endorsed by star players. O’Neal was endorsed by Reebok at the time.)
Like a true entrepreneur, O’Neal recognized a need. By the next year, he was marketing his own brand of low-cost basketball sneakers: The Shaq, priced under $30. In the first year alone, he sold two million pairs. Five years later, he came out with The Dunkman, a $35 pair that he retailed through a deal with the Payless Shoe Source chain. These two shoe lines, which O’Neal is personally involved in the design and promotion of, earned him $6 million a year in salary and royalties.
He also made an attempt to make high-end shoes. However, the market for the pricier sneakers took a terrible downturn, which ended in a failed venture.
Since then, Shaq has invested in many businesses where he spots potential. His portfolio has diversified across real estate, franchises, small businesses, securities, and more.
The Takeaway: One man’s problem is another man’s goldmine. Entrepreneurs solve peoples’ problems for a fee. If you stay alert to what’s going on around you—in your neighborhood, your city, the markets of the world—you can find the problems (e.g., a mother’s plea for a cheaper sneaker) and provide the solutions.
Purpose
Neither O’Neal’s name nor his face is on the majority of properties and enterprise he’s involved in. His long reach and big investments are not merely for the sake of fun or his ego.
“The ultimate play for me as a father is to make sure the children have something to fall back on,” the father of six told NY Magazine. “My brand is the way it is now out of fear, constant fear.”
The Takeaway: Wanting to make millions of dollars is not a bad goal. It might actually be fun. You may, however, find that you need a reason to aim for that much money—like O’Neal’s fear of his children doing without—before you’re willing to do what it takes to get it.
Neither O’Neal’s name nor his face is on the majority of properties and enterprise he’s involved in. His long reach and big investments are not merely for the sake of fun or his ego.
“The ultimate play for me as a father is to make sure the children have something to fall back on,” the father of six told NY Magazine. “My brand is the way it is now out of fear, constant fear.”
The Takeaway: Wanting to make millions of dollars is not a bad goal. It might actually be fun. You may, however, find that you need a reason to aim for that much money—like O’Neal’s fear of his children doing without—before you’re willing to do what it takes to get it.
Final Thoughts
One could say, “Sure, it was easy for him … He had his NBA and endorsement deal money to bankroll his investment whims.” True, but he never would have acquired any of it without already having possessed a certain quality.
O’Neal had a drive to succeed, even as a kid. He extended his ball-playing success even further into other avenues, but it all started with that drive. He tempered and refined that impulse with education. He kept learning. Then he acted, invested and took some chances. Not all of them paid off, yet it didn’t shake his yearn to grow and be smarter.
The Takeaway: Start where you are, and with what you’ve got, then enhance it in anyway possible. If you want to invest, learn about investing and then buy a share of stock, if that’s all you can afford. Identify a problem and develop a solution that people will pay for.
The success of Shaquille O’Neal perhaps boils down to: find your drive, get into the game, learn, observe, do, build a strong brand, refine your purposes, and don’t forget to have some fun.
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One could say, “Sure, it was easy for him … He had his NBA and endorsement deal money to bankroll his investment whims.” True, but he never would have acquired any of it without already having possessed a certain quality.
O’Neal had a drive to succeed, even as a kid. He extended his ball-playing success even further into other avenues, but it all started with that drive. He tempered and refined that impulse with education. He kept learning. Then he acted, invested and took some chances. Not all of them paid off, yet it didn’t shake his yearn to grow and be smarter.
The Takeaway: Start where you are, and with what you’ve got, then enhance it in anyway possible. If you want to invest, learn about investing and then buy a share of stock, if that’s all you can afford. Identify a problem and develop a solution that people will pay for.
The success of Shaquille O’Neal perhaps boils down to: find your drive, get into the game, learn, observe, do, build a strong brand, refine your purposes, and don’t forget to have some fun.
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AND DON'T FORGET THAT YOU NEED SIYATA DISHMAYA!!!!
