In a World of No’s, Don’t say No to Yourself

Getting a job in the NBA

“I’ve gotten so many no’s in my life… the principle is you are never the one telling yourself no.” – Liz Moody

One of the things you will face while working your way towards a career in the NBA is rejection.  It’s inevitable.  And once you’re in the NBA, you’ll still face rejection.  Even Dwane Casey was fired while simultaneously winning the Coach of the Year award.  It’s a cruel business.

But you only need one person to believe in you to keep your journey going, and that’s you. 

I remember when I first started applying for jobs and internships in the NBA.  I’d fill out a resume online and then another and another… and I’d called Basketball Operations departments and I would call Human Resources… and mostly, it was just crickets on the other end.  Occasionally someone would respond just to let me know that they’d give an actual response when necessary (which happened to be never).  And after working in the NBA, I learned that most jobs posted online are just for legal purposes while teams likely already know who they are targeting to hire.  (This is most but not all… it is still important to apply and put your resume out there at any opportunity). 

For me, I knew I was set on working in basketball.  No one in operations was getting back to me, so I started looking at other opportunities that I was getting feedback for and that was in PR and in the G-League.

As you work towards your professional goals…

1 – Take the Opportunities that are available to you

You may not get the end goal immediately.  Look for other opportunities in basketball where you can continue to grow and develop.

2 – Continue to evaluate the path you are on

Have your goals shifted?  Evaluate your goals to see what is presenting itself.  Don’t be afraid to change course or take a different path than your expected.    

3 – Don’t let the no be yours

Rejection is inevitable.  People aren’t going to believe you.  People are going to think you’re being foolish to chase unpaid internships.  Teams are going to say no.  And that’s okay.  You can’t change what others think about your dreams.  You can’t change what a team ultimately decides.

There is nothing wrong with a No… if it comes from you.  There may be a point where you need to pivot, change course, or take another path.  But let that choice be from you and not from someone else.      

You get to decide the path you want to take and you get to say yes to yourself as long as you want to stay on that path.