September 11, 2025 • 71 mins
Magic Johnson sits down with Earn Your Leisure for one of the most legendary conversations ever. In this powerful interview, Magic opens up about the highs and lows of his career as an athlete, entrepreneur, and billionaire investor.
From losing $1.5 billion by passing on Nike equity to building billion-dollar businesses with Starbucks, Magic breaks down the blueprint for scaling, identifying good investments, and why it’s not only about money—it’s about having a seat at the table. He shares the secrets behind his success, the failures that shaped him, and his philosophy on competition, family, and legacy.
Magic also reflects on his iconic partnerships, including buying into the Dodgers, owning the LA Sparks, and becoming part-owner of the Washington Commanders. He explains the importance of knowledge-sharing, the 3-year rule to success, and even delivers a moving prayer at Invest Fest. This conversation is motivation, mentorship, and history all in one.
2026 Tickets to Invest Fest (50% off!): https://investfest.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
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(00:45):
by P and C Bank. A lot of people think
podcasts about work are boring, and sure they definitely can be,
but understanding of professionals routine shows us how they achieve
their success, little by little, day after day. Like banking
with P and C Bank, it might seem boring to save,
plan and make calculated decisions with your bank, but keeping
(01:06):
your money boring is what helps you live or more
happily fulfilled life. P and C Bank Brilliantly Boring since
eighteen sixty five. Brilliantly Boring since eighteen sixty five is
a service mark of the PNC Financial Service Group, Inc.
P and C Bank National Association member FDIC.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Erners. What's up?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
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Speaker 3 (02:44):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
Oh yeah yeah oh yeah, very very very well. Yeah
oh yeah, ah.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
The time has arived. We did it again. That's a fact.
We did it again.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
Man.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
More importantly, we did it again. We all of us. Man,
this is amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Hold on, let me just take two seconds just to
really look.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Right out here right now.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Y'all look absolutely incredible and bronoplults for yourselves. So being
here this weekend, I told you we had history to make.
Y'all heard the messages. Y'all came through in droves. We
made history. This is the biggest investments of all time.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Y'all. Clap it up. Did we over deliver? We not
even done yet.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
It's not done yet, man, So we're not gonna take
too much of your time. We got one of the
greatest inspirations, one of the greatest entrepreneurs, one of the
greatest athletes, one of the greatest businessmen, one of the
world greatest.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Just keeps flowing.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
But first, be first, before we bring out the great
Irvin Magic Johnson. We gotta make a motion picture out
of this. Of course, you know we have an intro,
but we gotta really state to state. We gotta set
the stage. So let's let's do it. Let's do it,
please av team. Let's let's get it going.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Man has a smile that lights up a television screen
from here.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
The bangor made on my Irvin Magic Johnson.
Speaker 6 (04:25):
Back then, I was dreaming that I was playing the
NBA and that that would be a businessman.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So we got a reach back and give back. So
those are less fortunate. Can we do that, my Irvin
Magic Johnson. I'm in the prizing.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I keep the ghetto like the hood before an a
gentry five.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
So when I can't die, Nat gottamental just what I thought.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
I've got a twelve guys. When I first started, nobody
thought about urban America. Didn't think they could make money,
but now they know they do.
Speaker 6 (05:03):
I know there worth the number one group of people
going to the movies at that time, but we didn't
have no theater.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
We built six and zeros across the country's top ten
highest grossal theaters of the nation.
Speaker 7 (05:12):
In nineteen nine, game Mate Johnson became the first person
to reach a franchise agreement with the Clock each ot and.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Went from building three to a building one hundred and
twenty five.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
The Multi Bowl was already negotiated, aid a record price
for the Dodge over two billion dollars.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
Our TV deal just came out at eight hild and
they say, oh, they're the smartest guys.
Speaker 6 (05:30):
We want to bring that doctor pride back to our fans,
to our players, to the Los Angeles to me.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
I've got time to myself.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I want to You're a billionaire here building there. I'm
going with him.
Speaker 6 (05:43):
I have over delivered to my customer base for thirty years.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
He got the magic. And when I was at this
level and I could deal with you. But I'm not
at that level no more.
Speaker 6 (05:57):
See I went here, then I went here, Now I'm here,
So the deals got to be here.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yeah, buddy, get on your feet.
Speaker 8 (06:09):
Make some noise.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
That was Isaac Johnson.
Speaker 8 (06:12):
Let's go time.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Oh how does this feel? You played in front of
twenty thousand people? How does this feel to see this
for financial literacy?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
The hell you speak?
Speaker 5 (06:51):
This is amazing what both of you brothers have built.
Because we need education and we need to learn how
to work with each other because once we get the
financial literacy, the.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Education of money.
Speaker 5 (07:06):
We already got the work ethic, we already got the knowledge.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And everybody out here is hungry. But you too are
the key here.
Speaker 5 (07:13):
Let's give it up for both of them, because we
wouldn't be here without that. And let me just say,
God is so good and all the time.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
All right, let's go. Then emailed it. He didn't. That
wasn't plan. You know, that was not we didn't prob that. Look,
I promise you that wasn't no disrespect. But he'd been
to a few cookouts.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
All right, everybody, take your seats. Take your seats, please,
please please, Oh man, they said, call for the ice off.
This ain't nothing but God, brother, it's nothing but indible.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
It's incredible. Yes, yes, wow.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
And it can only happen in Atlanta too. You gotta
do it in tl It only happened in atl.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Only in Atlanta, only in Atlanta. All right, all right,
ladies and gentlemen. So yeah, let's try to clear the
ours if we can.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
So magic. I want to start right off.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
You're one of the most successful entrepreneurs, our coach, are
one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. But
everybody has mistakes and failures, right, So my first question is,
what's one financial mistake you made in business that you
learned from or might have been painful.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Well, along my journey and along all of our journeys,
we're all going to make a mistake, and we might
make two mistakes, right. But my first mistake was when
I was actually nineteen years old.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I had just won the.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
National championship and I beat that dude named Bird.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I don't know, I heard of them, And.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
So all the shoe companies came to recruit me to
sign with them. And this is why this conference is
so important, because conference offered me the most money.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
And so when you black and you broke, you take.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
The most money, right, And so I decided to go
at Converse.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
But Phil Knight came in.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
And he said, I can't offer you the same amount
of money as Converse, but I can give you something
called stock. And I passed on the stock, not knowing
anything about stock at nineteen years old. You know how
much money forty six years later that stock would be
(09:43):
worth today? A billion five ooh, So I wish I
was this herban fact when I was nineteen years old.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
But let me just say to all of us, make
sure we.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
Educate ourselves about with you about stock.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
You know, we want to own and so I.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Didn't know anything about it, but God put me in
a position to make up for it, right I'm doing Okay?
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Well, I mean, let me just follow up all that,
because that story is a crazy story. When did you realize,
oh man, I might have messed up a little bit? Like,
did somebody educate you, like, yo, this this is equity,
this is stocks, Like, at what point in your journey
did you realize?
Speaker 5 (10:27):
Okay, I realized I messed up when Michael Jordans came
out with Air Jordan.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
That's when I knows.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
I could have owned some of that, right, So I
messed up big time. And but you know that that's
what happens you're not educated, and so now I educate
myself about everything. And that was a huge mistake on
my part. But also my family didn't know money. See
(10:59):
a lot of times you're going to be the first
generation of wealth and knowing money in your family, and
so it's important that you're successful so that your siblings
or people in your family or friends can follow your lead.
And that happened to me now that I'm successful, others
(11:20):
in my family are successful as well.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
He trail blaze.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Everybody knows, like we grew up in the eighties, obviously
watched your Hall of Fame career, and everybody just knew
that magic smile.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
He's the nicest guy in the world.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
And then you hear people who've played with you and
they said, he's the most competitive person I've ever met
in life. So I wonder, how did you transition or
did you have to transition when going into the business field.
Were you just as competitive it's not even more?
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Oh, I'm competitive right now. I don't want to lose
at anything. And you take that same competitive drive that
you had on the basketball court and you put it
in business. Listen, I go to bed at eight o'clock,
I'm up at four o'clock. I work out for two hours,
and then I'm in the office all day. I'm driven.
(12:11):
I'm driven, and I'm driven. I don't need nobody to
pat me on the back or anything. I'm self motivated.
So that plays in my favor. Right, and so everything
that I learned as a basketball player I've taken into business.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I'm a disciplined man, right, I do all the.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Research because I had to research my opponents back in
the day.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Now I research.
Speaker 5 (12:38):
Companies and businesses, and so I'm also when you think
about I'm a perfectionist. I like to do everything the
right way. And that's the key for all of us
out here. The way you're gonna grow your brand and
keep your brand. You gotta be particular about what you
let come in right and what you put out there
(13:02):
on social media and all that because that goes.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
To your brand earners. What's up?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Look, this episode is brought to you by Square Banking.
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Speaker 2 (14:35):
Block Inc. Is not a bank.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Banking services provided by Square Financial Services Inc. And Cutting
Bank members. FDIC loans are subject to credit approval. So
I'm very very particular about.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
The companies I get involved in as well as what
I send out on social media, because I don't want
nothing to hurt my brand or dilute my brand.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
It's interesting if I just asked follow up when you
were playing, it was obvious the competition was there. Was
this guy in Chicago, and there was this guy in Boston.
In business, how do you look at it? Are you
looking at companies, are you looking at other entrepreneurs or
maybe some of your contemporaries who used to play sports
as not competitors, but hey, they sent a benchmark we
(15:19):
got to go hire.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
Now, I think when we get to this level, you
cheer for Michael Jordan and his business. You cheer for
Robert Smith, you cheer for any brother who or sister
who is doing very very well. See, I'm not no hater.
I cheer for them, and then I also try to
learn from them. If they got something that will helped
me be successful, I'm gonna steal it, take it and
(15:42):
grab it right and put it into my business. So
what we need to do is, really, I saw Bob
Johnson change the landscape, right, and so when I saw
Bob do bet, that really inspired me to really say,
I want to be like Bob Johns. But at the
same time I said it, I also want to go
(16:03):
past Bob Johnson.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Right in my own mind, I was saying that, right, And.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
So I always look at success of black people and say, wow,
that's wonderful and also how did they get there?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
What road did they take?
Speaker 5 (16:21):
And if I can learn from them, whether that from
their success or their mistakes, I'm going to get up
under them to try to do just that.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Crap it up for that for sure. Ain't no hater.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
So I mean, you've told the story about Starbucks. But
my whole thing is how do you go from opening
one business to having several hundred different type of businesses
scaling without losing quality.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
What the hardest thing to do is a scale of business, right,
because you may have enough money to start that first business, right,
But the hardest thing is, now am I in a
financial situation where I can build the second one? So
what I did was Starbucks. I let the first one
(17:11):
build the second one. I didn't take any money from
the profits we made. Then I let the second one
build the third one, and fourth one, and on and
on and on. I didn't take no money out until
we build fifty stores.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
And so why is that important?
Speaker 5 (17:27):
Because it was important to scale the business.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
But also put myself in a position where I could.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
Sell those stores back to Starbucks and Howard Schultz. We
built one hundred and twenty five Starbucks, and now I
was able to sell all of them back. That was
my excess strategy. And make sure you always have an
extra strategy. You might not decide to sell, but at
least you got the strategy in place, so if you
(17:56):
do decide to sell.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
You're ready to do just that. That's important right to me.
It speaks about being mentally prepared. Right, so I know,
as your before you.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
Go into that next one, let be given this, I
go for it. And then also two, don't sell too early.
I'm gonna say that one more time. Don't sell too
early because a lot of time they gonna come with
this check and know you might be in a position
(18:29):
and they know you won't take You're gonna take that check,
and then they turn around say you sell it for
five or ten million, But then three or four years
later that guy sells it for two hundred million. So
make sure you understand that sometimes you can still hold
on to the business and help it grow so that
(18:51):
you can sell it for the two hundred million instead
of somebody else. So make sure you understand that timing
is everything.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
So I had to stand up and tell him that
because so many of our brothers and sisters sold their
business too early. Absolutely, And I'm gonna give you an
example of that. I know Ryan is here, young brother
stand on a Ryan.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
So this young brother we had, he was in Stanford
NBA program, but we recruited him to join our company.
But he negotiated the w NBA Sparks deal that we
had and thank you for that too, that we entrusted
(19:37):
this deal in this young brother's hand. Now we've owned
this the Sparks for a few years. We haven't made
a dime, right, It's been a tough going for the
w NBA. Except now, hold on. There was a time
(19:59):
when we said, shall we sell this? And we kept
saying no, let's hold on to it. Now a group
out of Boston just bought the Connecticut Sun for three
hundred and twenty five million.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Oh thank god. We didn't sell too.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
Early, right, right, right, because now we only paid ten
million dollars for the franchise. So when you think about
that return we're gonna have, it's amazing.
Speaker 9 (20:31):
So don't sell too early. Okay, I just wanted to
point that out, Troy. I can just follow up real
quick because it's right on path. I'll just follow up
real quick because my next question is right on the
path of what you said. My next question was going
to be why did you liquidate? So you you just
explained that that you that you liquidated just Starbucks.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Can you walk us.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Through why you liquidated, the deal of liquidation, and what
you did with the money after you liquidated.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
That's a great question. Should should I? Should I stay?
Should we stay? I'm gonna just let's sit here. I'm
gonna I'm gonna just do it like this. I'm never
gonna change. So listen.
Speaker 5 (21:23):
So when we built that hundred, we had a deal
to build one hundred and twenty five Starbucks, and we
did that in five six years. We were making so
much money that Howard came in and said, well, first
of all, let me take you back. They said it
could never happen. Starbucks wouldn't last in the black community.
(21:46):
H We proved them wrong, right, proved them wrong. We
had to make some changes to make sure that Starbucks
was successful in our community.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
So we don't eat scone, So we.
Speaker 5 (22:06):
Had to take the scones out of my Starbucks. Sweet
potato pie peace Cobb Loska.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
To me, kay.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
So when you walked into my Starbucks, the field was different.
The desserts were different, and definitely the music was different.
So I customized it.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh this is important. Now get with me right here.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
I customize it to my customer.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Oh, very very important.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
I never made it about me where black folks fell is.
You make it sometimes about you and your likes, Oh,
not about what the customer like. So remember, always make
your business about the customer, and then you will get
(23:13):
the returns that you're looking for.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
So I knew it was time. Howard Shows came to me.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
And said, listen, we don't have to wait these next
four years. We're making a lot of money. The multi
balls already in the contract. So I start timing times
that revenue. Who shoot, I'm good, VICKI. That's my financial person, VICKI.
(23:41):
I go to Vicky for finance. I said, oh, I'm good.
So I said, yeah, it's time for me to sell.
And sure enough I sold Starbucks. And who would have
ever thought that the Dodgers would be for sale? So
I used the money that came back to me from
this our books sell and put it into the Dodger deal.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
No stop, stop, stop, stop stop. Why did I do that?
Speaker 5 (24:09):
First of all, there was no people of color being
owner in Major League baseball. That's one reason. The second
reason is I'm buying the Dodgers. The Dodgers got the
biggest brand it's in baseball, them and the Yankees, those
were the two biggest brands. So I knew it was
(24:32):
gonna be a home run. And now I'm gonna give
you the numbers. When we bought it two point two
billion twelve years ago, the highest anybody had ever paid
for a North America sports team. Forbes just came out
with the list with value that seven point five billion.
(24:53):
So again, understand what you're buying when you buy something, right,
that brand is so important. I knew we would hear
the home run, and sure enough we were able to
do that.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
I'm not sure should should we? I know, I know
going back, I don't all right, I'm gonna go back.
I'm gonna leap.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
I just can't sit down when I'm trying to go
with my people.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
I just thought you was gonna go behind the back path. Yeah, yeah,
I was ready. I'm in pocket. I was weighing. I
had my hands ready for the past. Since man ain't
not no, I know, I know, so, I mean, I'm
just a little slower now at sixty six years old.
We saw the jump shot too on the on the Yeah,
we'll get to that.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Well, you talked about a lot there, but one of
the things that was missing and gets you missing we
kind of talked about the backstage is Yes, ownership is
important from a financial side, also from a representation side.
Talk about the importance of that, because in order to
see something right, in order to be something, we have
to see at first. So talk about the representation. Because
(25:51):
there was a generation where we watched it, we don't
know how.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
They did it. You're doing it a lot different.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
We've watched you play, We've watched you make these business moves.
We've watched you put stores in locations that people wouldn't.
We've watched you become successful. You've left clues for us.
Talk about the representation park, Well, i'm gonna talk about you. Well,
we got to remember something. It's not just about the money.
(26:19):
It's about having a seat at the table.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Oh wait a minute, I didn't hear. Nobody wasn't.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
What is our biggest challenge is that we don't.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Have a seat at the table.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
So when you become successful, you're able to now have
a seat at that table, and then you can help
the city change. They include you on decisions that happen
in the city or in different areas of the city
that you live in.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
So it's like the power and so that's what it's
all about.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Yes we can it's a lot of people can make money,
but we need to be represented. That's what you two
brothers are doing right now, giving all of us a chance.
You're representing the culture of these young people.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
They see you and they see what you built.
Speaker 5 (27:25):
This is amazing and this is just what we needed,
right and so now hold on one second, you're driving
twenty thousand people. The mayor got to come see you.
What wait a minute, two black men driving twenty thousand
here in the city. Oh, I got to have a
(27:48):
meeting with them too. And then it just continues on. So, yes,
we want to be successful, but also we want to
have a seat at the table to be able to hope,
be change agents on what's happening in our community, but
also what's happening in the city too as well.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
So that's what it's all about.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
So you've invested in everything for movie theaters, Starbucks, the Dodgers.
What is your fourth Obviously you have a great vision.
What is your foresight to know something is going to
be profitable ten years, twenty years, a good investment to
put your money in.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Well, I think, first of all, I was ready to town.
First of all, you.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
Got to research the industry or the sector. So when
you research the sector or the industry that you're investing in,
you can see if it's been growing.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Right, So we'll go back probably five or.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
Ten years to see if that sector that I'm going
to invest in has been growing. And if I see growth,
then I said, Okay, look like it's gonna be a good.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Investment for me.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
But then we have an investment team of people try
to break out down the investment, making sure it is
the right move for us to make both financially and
align it with our brand. Right because anything that you
bring in you gotta align it with your brand. So
it's very important. So right now we have contracts select
(29:31):
so Magic Charles Johnson is doing a wonderful job.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Child's where are you?
Speaker 5 (29:37):
Yes, yeah, Chiles, Brother Robbie is with them down us
here yep. So when we think about we have more
house contract Federal Reserve, we have contracts at the airport,
we do delta, the headquarters on and on and on.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
We knew that industry was.
Speaker 5 (29:54):
Gonna grow because people gotta eat right, and so we
understand that and has been grown. We're over a billion
dollars in revenue now with this small company.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
That's just shot. You said a billion dollars of revenue
and two people clap Can we clap it up? That's
not an everyday thing.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
No. Well, the reason that's important is that we started
from the ground on up, and so we wanted the
same thing that happen for all of you.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Right.
Speaker 5 (30:27):
Take, take your ideal, your strategy, start your company and
build it right and so and scale it. And we
were talking about how to scale. But scaling is so
hard because you got to have the financial resources and
then you got to have the right team in place.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
If anything, I can tell you this is.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
So important and it's gonna hurt a lot of feelings
in this in this audience.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Please do not hire your family.
Speaker 5 (31:00):
Oh oh oh oh unless they have the expertise. Whoa
whoa whoa woa, unless they have the expertise. One has
made more black businesses fail in America. Uh oh, because
you hired your family member and they didn't have the
(31:22):
expertise or they thought they could show up instead of
nine o'clock. They showed up at twelve o'clock. I paid
mine to stay away. Here you go to check or
be on the way. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidd.
I'm just kid. I'm just kidding. Make sure, though, if
you're gonna be in a family business, make sure he
spell out roles and once everybody know their role, make
(31:46):
sure that they over deliver in that role. So so important.
I'm gonna stay I learned my lesson.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
I wasn't gonna give me a game. I was waining.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
But you brought up a billion dollars in revenue, and
so that that word stuck in my head.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
We have a common theme here at Investment US.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Every year we've been able to bring a billionaire to
the stage.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I love that thing. I love that fae. I love
that fame. Now the billionaires that we brought looked like us.
That's what There you go, there you go.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Twenty twenty five list comes out Hervy Magic Johnson a billionaire.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Well, oh yeah, stand only your feet for.
Speaker 8 (32:40):
That, right.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
I wonder.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
The kid that's walking on the campus in east Landson, Michigan.
Your white to the man who's standing here today? Was
that on the vision board? And what was that moment
like when it? I mean for us in our minds,
we already thought you were there, But now that it's
been reported, what was this moment like for you?
Speaker 5 (33:08):
Well, when I first started to know, it wasn't on
the vision board. It was just being successful. See, my
whole business thesis was to be successful for other people
of color could come behind me.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Okay, now remember this.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
See when I went to ten nine, ten banks, they
all turned me down. They wanted the picture, they wanted
the autograph, but they didn't want to loan me the money.
Then I went up to Calpurr's this pension fund to
get money because I was gonna start my real estate fund,
(33:48):
and they turned me down three straight years.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
Same thing. See, this hasn't been easy.
Speaker 5 (33:54):
A lot of you think that, oh he magic Johnson,
so it was easy. No, that actually worked against me.
But I love the challenge. See, I'm not gonna run away.
I knew my business thesis was strong. I knew my people.
I knew what they wanted and what they like, So
all I had to do was deliver it and then
(34:17):
over deliver it to them.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Once I started my business, and so as I.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
Became successful, first the Starbucks, the theaters, Magic Johnson theaters,
and then I said, hey, I got to really get
into a bigger business. So I needed somebody else's money
to do that, to grow and have sustainability. So once
the finally the bank said yes, I took that one
(34:45):
hundred million dollars and turned it into what it is today.
But stop, stop, stop, stop stop. Anything I've done is
not just for me. It's so that you can come
behind me. Because now they said, oh that black man
was successful, we'll take a chance on another one.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Because if I.
Speaker 5 (35:06):
Fail, then they ain't not gonna take a chance on
another one.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
So that's what it's about.
Speaker 5 (35:12):
So when you build your business, you don't even other
stand and it's not just about you. You're giving another
young person, young lady, young man, a chance and an
opportunity to say wow, if she made it or if
he made it. I think I got a chance too.
(35:33):
So what I always have my theme is I turned
the impossible into possible. That's what it's all about, right,
That's what it's all about. So I'm still on the
basketball court. I just don't have the little hot pants
on no more. I'm wearing suits. But I just want
(35:56):
to win and be successful man, and nobody's gonna outwork me.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Nobody.
Speaker 5 (36:03):
I'm a smart guy because I'm smart because I put
smart people around me, and then I pay them.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
To do their job. That part. Always remember that.
Speaker 5 (36:15):
Hire smart people, pay them to do their job, and
they'll help you become successful.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Clap it up for that.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
So some other deals that people may not know you
were involved in that didn't necessarily go your way, but
great learning experiences.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
I'm sure twenty four hour fitness is it plan?
Speaker 3 (36:40):
No, twenty four hour Fitness TGI Friday, Yi Friday, Can
you tell them about that experience?
Speaker 5 (36:45):
Yeah, because some has failed, right, every business is not
going to be successful. We had the number one TGI
Fridays in the West in Los Angeles, and we were
able to really do a fantastic job of over delivering
to the community.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
Then I built the second.
Speaker 5 (37:05):
One here in Atlanta, and Atlanta supported me like crazy,
but we were not ready for the volume of customers
that came through our door, and we made a lot
of mistakes and we had to close that Friday because
it was on us, not on the people of Atlanta,
(37:27):
and I learned a valuable lesson that we got to
make sure we hire the best and talented people and
they can drive unbelievable customer service. And we did not
deliver that to the people of Atlanta. But the next businesses,
you learn from that one and make sure the next.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
Businesses that you do a better job.
Speaker 5 (37:49):
And we've been better because of those mistakes we made
back then, so every.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Business has not hit the home run.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
And then also too, a lot of businesses I own
hit singles and doubles, and that's okay. If you get
enough singles and doubles, you're gonna make a lot of
money anyway. So I think for me, it's learn from
your lessons, learn lessons from your failure, excuse me, and
then make sure that it doesn't happen again.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Amen. Amen, I'm just making sure. I'm just making sure
I'm taking so well. You thought it was coming out, yeh, yeah, yeah,
yea yeh. I'm just making sure.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
So I want to talk about legacy a little bit
because backstage I showed you some of my emails.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
That's right, Yeah, it's a true story.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
I got this email and it said Alicia Johnson, and
I said, who's that I don't I never ordered from there,
and my wife said, don't worry about that.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
And then the next.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Week it said Alicia Johnson again, and I said, what
is that? She said, oh, he's just these sunglasses I got.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
I don't worry about that.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
And then for the next six months, every three days
I get another email from Alicia Johnson. So I said,
I gotta figure this out. Who's this Alicia Johnson? Come
to find out it's a close attachment to you.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
It's your daughter.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
So I want to talk about legacy and watching your
kids walking their journeys of entrepreneurship obviously Dre and the
EJ doing their things and their respective industries. What's that like,
watching your kids carve their own path and creating Because
I didn't know it was your daughter, it was the
product that sold.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
What's that like for you? Well, it's a great moment.
Speaker 5 (39:33):
We all want our kids to be more successful than ourselves,
you know, and so for me to be able to
watch my kids be happy, first of all, and also
to look at their dad or their mom and say, hey,
(39:54):
I want to be like them.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Right. So, my daughter she went to Ft and she.
Speaker 5 (40:01):
Love sunglasses, She loved the dress, so she said to
me one day after she graduated, said Dad, I want
to start my eyewear line and I want you to
get me the seed money. And I said, okay, where's
a business plan? She said what, I'm your daughter. I said,
(40:27):
m M, you got to have a business plan. So
she went crying to Cookie, Dad don't love me, you know,
And so Cookie said, is that what he said? She
said no, Well what did he say? He said, I
have to have a business plan, so well, go right one.
(40:47):
So she came back two days later with a half
good business plan and I said no. She stormed out
the room again, and I said, you need two things,
you know, the p and ls. Where's the money section
(41:08):
the real business? And so she finally put that in
and I said, okay. So she's been very successful selling
them online. She built a great business for herself. I mean,
I'm you know, I cry every time I think about
it because again she took my trade on working hard.
(41:31):
Nobody's going to outwork her. And then this is what
really touched me about a year ago. We're riding and
she says to me, Dad, thank you for taking me
through getting a business plan. Six of my girlfriends started
their companies at the same time. I started mind and
(41:52):
they all failed, and I said, that's my job as
your father. You hated that I took you through that exercise,
but it has helped you in the long run. So
make sure that you have a solid business plan, everybody,
that's so important, and then adhere to that.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Right.
Speaker 5 (42:11):
You can always make adjustments, but adhere to your business plan.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
And then my son Ej. I love him.
Speaker 5 (42:17):
He's fabulous, you know, EJ gonna be EJ. And he's
in entertainment doing a wonderful job. And then my son
Andre works for me. Now it's it's kind of cool
to go into office and see my son side by
side and doing his thing with me. And so it's
been it's been a joy to watch our three kids.
(42:38):
And now we have two grandchildren. So it's a blessing, man,
a real blessing, real blessing.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
So I got to talk about mentorship.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
You are a rookie, the Lakers, sensational player, and I
believe you kind of isolated.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
It was a level of isolation.
Speaker 3 (42:59):
In the locker room because you made friends with the
owner of the team, doctor Jerry Buss.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
So you would have to bring this up. Go ahead.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
So yeah, walk us through not only that relationship, but
he taught you and what made you, at that young
age have the foresight to go against the peer pressure
of the older veterans and put yourself in that position.
Speaker 2 (43:26):
That's a great question. Look, I was curious, man.
Speaker 5 (43:28):
I knew I wanted to be a businessman, but I
had to get up under somebody who was already doing
it and so he could give me knowledge. So it
happened to be the owner of the Lakers, doctor Jerry Buss, and.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
I told him my dream.
Speaker 5 (43:43):
After I was done winning championships with him, I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Own businesses. And now you heard.
Speaker 5 (43:51):
What I said first, right, you didn't miss what I
said first, right after I'm done winning what? Okay, after
I'm done doing what? See, I had to be serious
with that basketball first, and once I did what I
(44:11):
was able to do on that court in the summertime,
I would then go and spend a lot of time
with him for he can teach me. But I knew
that it wouldn't have worked out if I wasn't successful
on the basketball court. So I handled that business, got
up under him. So three years in, next thing, I know,
(44:35):
I'm coming into the locker room and the guy said, Irvin,
we got to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
I said, okay, what's going on. I thought we were gonna.
Speaker 5 (44:44):
Talk about Larry Bird and the Celtics or something, how
we're gonna defend him or something. They said, no, you
can't be hanging around the owner.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
No more.
Speaker 5 (44:55):
It's an unwritten rule that players can't hang out with
the owner. All the guys now they head like, yeah,
So I took my time because I'm never gonna react first,
I said, what can I say? I said, Okay, you
guys are millionaires. Here a billionaire. I'm hanging out with
a billionaire because oh stop stop shop, because he's.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
The only guy that can help me go where I
want to go. You see.
Speaker 5 (45:27):
See, sometimes we forget about that and then don't let
your friend. See don't let them say you can't go.
See a lot of time our friend just because they
(45:48):
want to stay where they are, They.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
Want us to stay there too.
Speaker 5 (46:01):
If I would have listened to them, I wouldn't be
on this stage today.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
See. So I stayed with that man.
Speaker 5 (46:09):
He taught me so much and that's why I'm successful.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
What did I do?
Speaker 5 (46:15):
I took the knowledge that he gave me and brought
it to the black community right and started building my business.
So gain knowledge, as much knowledge as you can, be
as smart as you can, study as much as you can,
and always whether it's on your phone. I know a
lot of time we don't read the newspaper. I grew
(46:37):
up in the newspaper era, so I still read the newspaper.
You guys, get everything on your phone. Make sure you
just keep up with what's going on, the trends, what's happening,
whether it's that with AI. Now, black folks, we gotta
study AI, so we have to do that, right, So
just keep up on what's going on out here.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
It's very important. So again, no, I won't gonna let.
Speaker 5 (47:03):
Them all they should be concerned about when I come
down shaking and bacon and I throw that. No, look,
they better be worried about delivering that basket.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
That's it.
Speaker 5 (47:18):
What I do on that court, that's their concern. What
I do off that court wasn't they concern. Okay, I'm
gonna handle my business on that court.
Speaker 1 (47:29):
You handle your business in the boardroom as well. And selfishly,
I talked to you backstage about it. One of the
things I'm most proud of is that there now owner
of the Washington Commanders.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
Yes, sir, childhood team of mind.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
But having black ownership in the NFL is probably one
of the hardest things to do. Ye talk about that
moment and partnering with Joe Harrison. What was that like
being a part of our ownership group pitching to the
NFL to say we need to change this franchise. Feel
like you've done a great job. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (48:02):
Man.
Speaker 5 (48:02):
Well, first of all, you know, I got every team
almost in terms of in every sport, I got a
team almost right, and so the NFL was the last one.
And I never thought it's gonna happen because I didn't
see us. We see ourselves on the field and we
(48:23):
take care of our business as players on that football field.
We also we seen it in the coaching ranks and
now sometimes even in the executive roles, but we hadn't
seen it in the ownership role. And so once that
happened for me, I was so blessed, not just for me,
but now what they've done in Atlanta, and we should
(48:46):
clap for that because you got.
Speaker 2 (48:47):
Black ownership here with the Falcons.
Speaker 5 (48:50):
You know, now Denver black ownership, so now we're starting
to see us being those roles as owners. Why that's
important not only for myself, also for the players, right,
they feel better about it as well. So it's been
great for Cookie and Eye to be involved with the
(49:11):
commanders and two in two years, we've turned it around.
We're heading in a positive direction. The fans are back
and always about that quarterback boy. We got a brother
that can, he's a bad boy and Jay Daniels and
so we're excited about him and.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
And to do it in d C Man Chocolate City,
the DMV.
Speaker 5 (49:36):
Brother Man, it's a it's a beautiful thing. So again
I can't stop working though. Let me tell you guys something. See,
when you get there, it's hard to get there, but
it's even high harder to stay there. M So when
(50:01):
you get there, you just starting.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
I know they waiting on me to make a mistake.
I already know that.
Speaker 5 (50:16):
So that's why I'm so careful about what I do,
what I put out there on social media, how I
am as a husband or father, now a grandfather.
Speaker 2 (50:32):
So it's so important.
Speaker 5 (50:36):
Because your business, that sussess can go just like that,
just as fast as you got it.
Speaker 2 (50:42):
It can go just that fast.
Speaker 5 (50:45):
So make sure that you're making all the right decisions
in the right moves, which is very important.
Speaker 2 (50:53):
And so I always think back.
Speaker 5 (50:58):
When I when we got the commanders man and cooking
our we were on the plane, I said, baby, I
remember when we had the peanut butter but no jelly.
Speaker 2 (51:13):
I remember when.
Speaker 5 (51:14):
We had the kool aid but no no sugar.
Speaker 2 (51:19):
See, I went.
Speaker 5 (51:19):
Back to how I grew up and and I just
sat there on the plane thanking God for putting me
in this position. But stop, stop, stop. But also I
know what to do with it. Oh oh oh oh see.
You gotta know what to do with it when you
get blessed, and make sure you bless others. That's why
(51:44):
I've been blessed, because I blessed others, and that's that's
what's important. So yeah, I'm feeling good, and it's a
great thing to be in the NFL. We gotta keep keep,
Hopefully more minorities will keep being in an ownership role.
And I think what you're doing here today, there's some
(52:08):
future owners. You're gonna have a lot of billionaires out here,
because that's what it's all about, multi multi millionaires. Now,
put yourself there every time I did something. I put
(52:31):
myself there and then I went after it. All right,
write this in your phone right quick? See long now
the days of five ten years, that's over with. Now
everything you should go after should be three years. Okay
(52:57):
in terms of hey, I want to start that business
or I want to coomplisice.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
This, give yourself three years.
Speaker 5 (53:04):
I want you to then go home, talk to your partner, wife, husband, whoever,
and say, honey, give me three years. I went to
Cookie and said, I need three years to be on
the road. I got to build my business, but it's
our business. Can you handle the kids for three years
(53:28):
without me being there a lot? She said, honey, go
do your thing, and look what happened. You see because
if you get longer than three years, that means you
you haven't put one hundred and fifty percent into building
this business. But you gotta have sign off with your
(53:52):
partner because they have to understand that, hey, date night,
what it used to be might not be there. So
when she or he buys into that, now you good.
So that's very very important. Three I do everything in
three years. I told my wife, I'm gonna have a
(54:13):
plane in three years. Let me do all save up
the money. Let me understand the plane industry. What happened
three years? I got the plane boom. You know, you
just keep going so all the things I want to
do three years. I can't wait to see what happens
(54:34):
to this in three years. Ah, I can't hear you.
Come on now, they are already billionaires. You know why
because they're blessing you with knowledge. See, God gonna bless them,
(54:57):
both of them. Oh, they they on their way because
they blessing you with so much knowledge, so much access.
Speaker 2 (55:12):
What a black what the black people need? Access? Man? Man,
I gotta come back.
Speaker 5 (55:22):
You don't even have to pay me when I come
back next time, you don't even have to pay me.
Speaker 2 (55:25):
I'm coming back older two holder two.
Speaker 5 (55:41):
Stop, stay up, stop, stop, stay up now. Thank thank you,
love your back to love your back for real. I
want you to know something and hear this. We were
both taught, all three of us, was talking about this
the last year generation, a couple generations back, all those
(56:02):
successful black men and women took the knowledge to the
grave with them. That hurt our community.
Speaker 2 (56:12):
See.
Speaker 5 (56:13):
I'm standing here in front of you because I want
you to be successful and always remember it's enough room
for everybody. We forget that, we forget that. Look what happened.
Let me now sit down, Look what happened. Now. I
(56:36):
gotta give you this look Junior Bridgeman before he passed away,
basketball player, billionaire Lebron Michael Jordan. You see, it just
keeps going. It's enough room for everybody.
Speaker 2 (56:57):
And when Michael and I see each other, we patty
each other on the back. Man, can you believe it?
Can I beat him?
Speaker 5 (57:06):
Now? He got that one on one thing. See, I'm
always gonna be honest with myself.
Speaker 2 (57:14):
The only thing I beat.
Speaker 5 (57:15):
Michael in is them no little passes and leadership.
Speaker 2 (57:26):
Oh talking about it.
Speaker 5 (57:29):
It ain't no question, just like it ain't no question
what he.
Speaker 2 (57:32):
Gonna do to me, dunks and all that.
Speaker 5 (57:36):
But you know that's what makes him a bad boy
and the best that's ever done it.
Speaker 2 (57:41):
Don't don't get it twisted. I love Lebron, but mm
hmm no, no, no, no, yeah, we got that documented,
that documented. Okay, I shot you heard that. Hold up?
You know Lebron's I love my boy. I love him.
But when Michael.
Speaker 7 (57:59):
Jordan took go on with that Tarlil, hold up, hold up,
hold up, listen, because a lot of you wasn't born then,
nineteen ninety one against my Lakers right hand, we thought
we had him.
Speaker 5 (58:16):
He looked as we went down, he switched it to
the left. Here Tom went left, spunning against the glass
and good. There's nobody alive that's been able to do
just that. That boy is too bad, I'm telling you
(58:37):
right now. But Lebron is a bad boy too. He's
a bad boy, but he's not Michael. Appreciate that magic.
Speaker 2 (58:47):
Look at it.
Speaker 8 (58:53):
Look at that face right there.
Speaker 2 (58:57):
Oh my staying on that. I always wanted that.
Speaker 3 (59:00):
I ask you this question as a basketball fan, that
Barcelona experience. I mean, we watched documentaries and all that.
What was it like being with the greatest players of
all time, greatest team of all time? What's the story
that maybe nobody knows?
Speaker 2 (59:14):
Like, what's that?
Speaker 3 (59:14):
What's a great memory from you on that dream team? Okay, well,
let let me first put it in perspective. First. See,
see I learned.
Speaker 5 (59:27):
I'm a visual learner, and also I learned what I
read and so on and on.
Speaker 2 (59:32):
So we go to Spain. I'm jumping ahead and reason
for that.
Speaker 5 (59:38):
So we go to Spain and they're having this big
reception and we're on this yacht. The air conditioning go
out in the yacht, so they had us all go
off the yacht and go back on the bus. Another
yacht pulls up, so we all get on the second yacht.
So we're talking to the guy and I'm talking to
(01:00:02):
the guy, excuse me, and I said, man, that's crazy.
A second yacht came up. Well, who's yacht that broke down?
Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
He said?
Speaker 5 (01:00:12):
The guy said, it's my yacht. I said, well, who
yacht is this one? He said, this one is mine too.
I said that let me know wealth, wealthy rich. It
is a whole different thing. And I said, wow, I
(01:00:35):
want to be like him. I tell him this story.
Mickey Erison, or the owner of the Miami heat He
changed my life because that let me know that I
had a long way to go. And I thank him
for talking to me that whole time. So we're Monico
(01:00:56):
and Prince Raynier to us in the Big Castle and
we're up there. So we're in Texas. All the guys
were over here talking. Prince Rayner and Commissioner Stern was
over there. So I get up and I go over.
(01:01:19):
I got to meet this dude who run all the
money co. See that's who I am. Man, Hey, brother,
y'all cool. But this dude here, so I go introduce myself.
He said, Oh, Magice, I know who you are. I said,
how do you run all of this?
Speaker 2 (01:01:37):
You know? Drop some knowledge on me? Man. I stood
over there for about thirty.
Speaker 5 (01:01:41):
Minutes talking to him about Monico.
Speaker 2 (01:01:44):
And on and on and on. You know what he did?
Speaker 5 (01:01:48):
He called his son and daughter over and introduced me
to them. Said, as long as Magic is here, you
hang out with Magic. So they took me to the
nightclubs and on and on and on.
Speaker 2 (01:01:59):
But guess what now his son the same one I
was hanging out with.
Speaker 5 (01:02:04):
It's the Prince of Monico, now right, I said. See,
that's why I'm glad. I ran over there and Matt
the man. But why am I saying this? Sometimes you
gotta step out that group that you in.
Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh.
Speaker 5 (01:02:27):
You keep hanging around the same people, you only gonna
get the same results. Oh, get out of your comfort
zone when you go to that function and it's somebody.
Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
Over there, go on over there.
Speaker 5 (01:02:43):
Hey, I'm so and so just want to say I
admire you, or how did you get to where you
are it takes two or three minutes, but sometime we are.
Speaker 2 (01:02:55):
No, I don't want to bother them or I'm not
like that.
Speaker 5 (01:03:00):
I'm gonna go over there and get me that knowledge
that I'm looking for, and it has.
Speaker 2 (01:03:05):
Paid off for me. So you that elevator speech is real.
Speaker 5 (01:03:14):
So when you got those three minutes riding up that elevator,
take advantage of that.
Speaker 2 (01:03:19):
So the Dream Team was the greatest.
Speaker 5 (01:03:22):
Basketball I've ever been involved in. And to be the
point guard on that team and represent the NBA and
our country, and but just to be able to hang
out with Michael and play with him. Finally, Larry Bird
and Charles Barkley, the Slimmer was the Slimmers, Child Barklay,
(01:03:44):
Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullen, Clyde Drexer,
and I mean it was just amazing. We just job,
you know, we just it's the greatest team ever assembled.
And so I'm excited to say I was on that team.
Speaker 2 (01:04:03):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (01:04:04):
But before we go, you talked about the yachts, you
talked about your image on social media.
Speaker 2 (01:04:11):
We saw you on the treadmill.
Speaker 1 (01:04:14):
I mean, we saw you on the tread mill. We
saw you with the basketball court on the yacht. It
talks about earning your leisure, which is obviously our name
and our brand, but being able to vacation and find
balance and find peace with your family. Talk about the
importance of that and all this man, because it's chaos,
but you find tell them.
Speaker 5 (01:04:35):
Well, I can't do this without that. You know, I
love dating my wife. So when I go on those
six weeks, we're able to date.
Speaker 2 (01:04:45):
And there's like two veried people here. They clubs like
that section right there.
Speaker 5 (01:04:50):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:04:53):
And so it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 5 (01:04:55):
And because you know, when I'm grinding, I'm grinding, so
I'm working, So this gives me a chance to be
with my family. And then last but not least, when
I was traveling is important, right, so you can.
Speaker 2 (01:05:10):
See the world.
Speaker 5 (01:05:11):
And I love traveling, Cookie and I just love it.
And so I remember when Denzel see Denzel introduced yachting
to me, and I seen that I was able to
open it up for a lot of other blacks to
now go. And Cookie and I have been yachting now
for thirty two years. So it's a blessing to to
(01:05:34):
do it. But at the same time. This is what
I want you to take from that. When I was
in Montico in nineteen ninety two, we just talked about this.
I saw the yachts down there, and I told myself,
one day, I'm gonna be on one of them.
Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
See it didn't happen right away because I didn't have
enough money. But what did I do? In three years?
Speaker 5 (01:06:08):
I say I'm gonna be on that yacht. And what happened?
In three years? I was on that yacht. See what
you say, you've been yachting for three years, or you
will be yachting in three, four or three years. See
that's that's that's it. We just listen. We want to
open it up for our people to know that traveling
(01:06:29):
is wonderful.
Speaker 2 (01:06:30):
It's not about the yacht. Whatever you can do.
Speaker 5 (01:06:33):
I just saw Luda, Chris and Kevin Hurt out there.
That's great, let's keep doing it. But the main thing
is understand that you can do it one day if
that's what you want to do. Now, everybody stand up.
No phone in your hand. I don't want nothing in
your hand. First of all, let's give God some glory
(01:06:54):
because we're here right. I can't hear you come on now, now,
(01:07:16):
I've given you some nuggets. These two gentlemen, for the
last three days, but also for the last years, have
been giving you unbelievable nuggets on your business.
Speaker 2 (01:07:28):
How to take yourself to the next level. I can't
hear you. Come on.
Speaker 5 (01:07:42):
God has placed two vessels in your life right.
Speaker 2 (01:07:46):
Here, two kings. And you know what.
Speaker 5 (01:07:54):
It hasn't been about them. It's been about.
Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
You and.
Speaker 3 (01:08:01):
M h.
Speaker 2 (01:08:04):
All right, So let's start off with the If somebody
gonna be a millionaire in the.
Speaker 5 (01:08:10):
Next three years, clap two times.
Speaker 2 (01:08:16):
All right, doc, if you're gonna be a more time.
Speaker 5 (01:08:22):
Millionaire in the next three years, clap. Okay, okay. I'm
about to draw this one. I'm about to draw this one.
I'm about to draw this one.
Speaker 8 (01:08:40):
Billionaires let me here.
Speaker 2 (01:08:41):
But all right now, just do me a favor.
Speaker 5 (01:08:52):
I don't care who next to you, because it's gonna
take a village to do this. I wanna grab people
hand right quick. Let's go right next to you. Bow
your heads because God gonna put that favor on you
and it's gonna happen. Oh Heaven and Father, we say
thank you, thank you, and thank you. Why are we
saying thank you because you woke us up this morning.
(01:09:15):
Thank you for these two incredible men who have decided
to bless not only themselves in their own families, but
all of us in this auditorium.
Speaker 2 (01:09:29):
You are using them so.
Speaker 5 (01:09:31):
That they can bless others and they can be successful
right along with all of these incredible people.
Speaker 2 (01:09:39):
Now, I know that you have the power and.
Speaker 5 (01:09:43):
The tools to make everybody in this room successful. And
if they follow you and keep you on their hearts,
they will definitely be successful. So touch everybody, Bless everybody
as they leave this incredible auditorium and this incredible convention,
(01:10:04):
that they can be multi millionaires, millionaires and billionaires. In
Jesus name, we pray, Amen, God bless you.
Speaker 10 (01:10:14):
An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child
in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador
accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with
filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just
some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President
Donald J.
Speaker 11 (01:10:34):
Trump's leadership. I'm Christy Noman, the United States Secretary of
Homeland Security under President Trump. Attempted illegal border crossings are
at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over one hundred
thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you are here illegally,
your next you will be fine nearly one thousand dollars
a day, imprisoned, and deported.
Speaker 10 (01:10:57):
You will never return.
Speaker 11 (01:10:58):
But if you register, use ding our CBP home app,
and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally.
Speaker 10 (01:11:04):
Do what's right, leave now.
Speaker 11 (01:11:07):
Under President Trump America's laws, border and families will be protected.
Speaker 2 (01:11:12):
Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security,
This episode is brought to you by P and C Bank.
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by P and C Bank. A lot of people think
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Speaker 2 (01:27):
Erners. What's up?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
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Speaker 3 (02:44):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
Oh yeah yeah oh yeah, very very very well. Yeah
oh yeah, ah.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
The time has arived. We did it again. That's a fact.
We did it again.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
Man.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
More importantly, we did it again. We all of us. Man,
this is amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Hold on, let me just take two seconds just to
really look.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Right out here right now.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Y'all look absolutely incredible and bronoplults for yourselves. So being
here this weekend, I told you we had history to make.
Y'all heard the messages. Y'all came through in droves. We
made history. This is the biggest investments of all time.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Y'all. Clap it up. Did we over deliver? We not
even done yet.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
It's not done yet, man, So we're not gonna take
too much of your time. We got one of the
greatest inspirations, one of the greatest entrepreneurs, one of the
greatest athletes, one of the greatest businessmen, one of the
world greatest.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Just keeps flowing.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
But first, be first, before we bring out the great
Irvin Magic Johnson. We gotta make a motion picture out
of this. Of course, you know we have an intro,
but we gotta really state to state. We gotta set
the stage. So let's let's do it. Let's do it,
please av team. Let's let's get it going.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Man has a smile that lights up a television screen
from here.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
The bangor made on my Irvin Magic Johnson.
Speaker 6 (04:25):
Back then, I was dreaming that I was playing the
NBA and that that would be a businessman.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So we got a reach back and give back. So
those are less fortunate. Can we do that, my Irvin
Magic Johnson. I'm in the prizing.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I keep the ghetto like the hood before an a
gentry five.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
So when I can't die, Nat gottamental just what I thought.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
I've got a twelve guys. When I first started, nobody
thought about urban America. Didn't think they could make money,
but now they know they do.
Speaker 6 (05:03):
I know there worth the number one group of people
going to the movies at that time, but we didn't
have no theater.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
We built six and zeros across the country's top ten
highest grossal theaters of the nation.
Speaker 7 (05:12):
In nineteen nine, game Mate Johnson became the first person
to reach a franchise agreement with the Clock each ot and.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Went from building three to a building one hundred and
twenty five.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
The Multi Bowl was already negotiated, aid a record price
for the Dodge over two billion dollars.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
Our TV deal just came out at eight hild and
they say, oh, they're the smartest guys.
Speaker 6 (05:30):
We want to bring that doctor pride back to our fans,
to our players, to the Los Angeles to me.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
I've got time to myself.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
I want to You're a billionaire here building there. I'm
going with him.
Speaker 6 (05:43):
I have over delivered to my customer base for thirty years.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
He got the magic. And when I was at this
level and I could deal with you. But I'm not
at that level no more.
Speaker 6 (05:57):
See I went here, then I went here, Now I'm here,
So the deals got to be here.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yeah, buddy, get on your feet.
Speaker 8 (06:09):
Make some noise.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
That was Isaac Johnson.
Speaker 8 (06:12):
Let's go time.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Oh how does this feel? You played in front of
twenty thousand people? How does this feel to see this
for financial literacy?
Speaker 2 (06:50):
The hell you speak?
Speaker 5 (06:51):
This is amazing what both of you brothers have built.
Because we need education and we need to learn how
to work with each other because once we get the
financial literacy, the.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Education of money.
Speaker 5 (07:06):
We already got the work ethic, we already got the knowledge.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And everybody out here is hungry. But you too are
the key here.
Speaker 5 (07:13):
Let's give it up for both of them, because we
wouldn't be here without that. And let me just say,
God is so good and all the time.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
All right, let's go. Then emailed it. He didn't. That
wasn't plan. You know, that was not we didn't prob that. Look,
I promise you that wasn't no disrespect. But he'd been
to a few cookouts.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
All right, everybody, take your seats. Take your seats, please,
please please, Oh man, they said, call for the ice off.
This ain't nothing but God, brother, it's nothing but indible.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
It's incredible. Yes, yes, wow.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
And it can only happen in Atlanta too. You gotta
do it in tl It only happened in atl.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Only in Atlanta, only in Atlanta. All right, all right,
ladies and gentlemen. So yeah, let's try to clear the
ours if we can.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
So magic. I want to start right off.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
You're one of the most successful entrepreneurs, our coach, are
one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. But
everybody has mistakes and failures, right, So my first question is,
what's one financial mistake you made in business that you
learned from or might have been painful.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Well, along my journey and along all of our journeys,
we're all going to make a mistake, and we might
make two mistakes, right. But my first mistake was when
I was actually nineteen years old.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I had just won the.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
National championship and I beat that dude named Bird.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I don't know, I heard of them, And.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
So all the shoe companies came to recruit me to
sign with them. And this is why this conference is
so important, because conference offered me the most money.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
And so when you black and you broke, you take.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
The most money, right, And so I decided to go
at Converse.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
But Phil Knight came in.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
And he said, I can't offer you the same amount
of money as Converse, but I can give you something
called stock. And I passed on the stock, not knowing
anything about stock at nineteen years old. You know how
much money forty six years later that stock would be
(09:43):
worth today? A billion five ooh, So I wish I
was this herban fact when I was nineteen years old.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
But let me just say to all of us, make
sure we.
Speaker 5 (09:57):
Educate ourselves about with you about stock.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
You know, we want to own and so I.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Didn't know anything about it, but God put me in
a position to make up for it, right I'm doing Okay?
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Well, I mean, let me just follow up all that,
because that story is a crazy story. When did you realize,
oh man, I might have messed up a little bit? Like,
did somebody educate you, like, yo, this this is equity,
this is stocks, Like, at what point in your journey
did you realize?
Speaker 5 (10:27):
Okay, I realized I messed up when Michael Jordans came
out with Air Jordan.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
That's when I knows.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
I could have owned some of that, right, So I
messed up big time. And but you know that that's
what happens you're not educated, and so now I educate
myself about everything. And that was a huge mistake on
my part. But also my family didn't know money. See
(10:59):
a lot of times you're going to be the first
generation of wealth and knowing money in your family, and
so it's important that you're successful so that your siblings
or people in your family or friends can follow your lead.
And that happened to me now that I'm successful, others
(11:20):
in my family are successful as well.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
He trail blaze.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Everybody knows, like we grew up in the eighties, obviously
watched your Hall of Fame career, and everybody just knew
that magic smile.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
He's the nicest guy in the world.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
And then you hear people who've played with you and
they said, he's the most competitive person I've ever met
in life. So I wonder, how did you transition or
did you have to transition when going into the business field.
Were you just as competitive it's not even more?
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Oh, I'm competitive right now. I don't want to lose
at anything. And you take that same competitive drive that
you had on the basketball court and you put it
in business. Listen, I go to bed at eight o'clock,
I'm up at four o'clock. I work out for two hours,
and then I'm in the office all day. I'm driven.
(12:11):
I'm driven, and I'm driven. I don't need nobody to
pat me on the back or anything. I'm self motivated.
So that plays in my favor. Right, and so everything
that I learned as a basketball player I've taken into business.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I'm a disciplined man, right, I do all the.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Research because I had to research my opponents back in
the day.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Now I research.
Speaker 5 (12:38):
Companies and businesses, and so I'm also when you think
about I'm a perfectionist. I like to do everything the
right way. And that's the key for all of us
out here. The way you're gonna grow your brand and
keep your brand. You gotta be particular about what you
let come in right and what you put out there
(13:02):
on social media and all that because that goes.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
To your brand earners. What's up?
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Look, this episode is brought to you by Square Banking.
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Speaker 2 (14:35):
Block Inc. Is not a bank.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Banking services provided by Square Financial Services Inc. And Cutting
Bank members. FDIC loans are subject to credit approval. So
I'm very very particular about.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
The companies I get involved in as well as what
I send out on social media, because I don't want
nothing to hurt my brand or dilute my brand.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
It's interesting if I just asked follow up when you
were playing, it was obvious the competition was there. Was
this guy in Chicago, and there was this guy in Boston.
In business, how do you look at it? Are you
looking at companies, are you looking at other entrepreneurs or
maybe some of your contemporaries who used to play sports
as not competitors, but hey, they sent a benchmark we
(15:19):
got to go hire.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
Now, I think when we get to this level, you
cheer for Michael Jordan and his business. You cheer for
Robert Smith, you cheer for any brother who or sister
who is doing very very well. See, I'm not no hater.
I cheer for them, and then I also try to
learn from them. If they got something that will helped
me be successful, I'm gonna steal it, take it and
(15:42):
grab it right and put it into my business. So
what we need to do is, really, I saw Bob
Johnson change the landscape, right, and so when I saw
Bob do bet, that really inspired me to really say,
I want to be like Bob Johns. But at the
same time I said it, I also want to go
(16:03):
past Bob Johnson.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Right in my own mind, I was saying that, right, And.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
So I always look at success of black people and say, wow,
that's wonderful and also how did they get there?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
What road did they take?
Speaker 5 (16:21):
And if I can learn from them, whether that from
their success or their mistakes, I'm going to get up
under them to try to do just that.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Crap it up for that for sure. Ain't no hater.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
So I mean, you've told the story about Starbucks. But
my whole thing is how do you go from opening
one business to having several hundred different type of businesses
scaling without losing quality.
Speaker 5 (16:51):
What the hardest thing to do is a scale of business, right,
because you may have enough money to start that first business, right,
But the hardest thing is, now am I in a
financial situation where I can build the second one? So
what I did was Starbucks. I let the first one
(17:11):
build the second one. I didn't take any money from
the profits we made. Then I let the second one
build the third one, and fourth one, and on and
on and on. I didn't take no money out until
we build fifty stores.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
And so why is that important?
Speaker 5 (17:27):
Because it was important to scale the business.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
But also put myself in a position where I could.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
Sell those stores back to Starbucks and Howard Schultz. We
built one hundred and twenty five Starbucks, and now I
was able to sell all of them back. That was
my excess strategy. And make sure you always have an
extra strategy. You might not decide to sell, but at
least you got the strategy in place, so if you
(17:56):
do decide to sell.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
You're ready to do just that. That's important right to me.
It speaks about being mentally prepared. Right, so I know,
as your before you.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
Go into that next one, let be given this, I
go for it. And then also two, don't sell too early.
I'm gonna say that one more time. Don't sell too
early because a lot of time they gonna come with
this check and know you might be in a position
(18:29):
and they know you won't take You're gonna take that check,
and then they turn around say you sell it for
five or ten million, But then three or four years
later that guy sells it for two hundred million. So
make sure you understand that sometimes you can still hold
on to the business and help it grow so that
(18:51):
you can sell it for the two hundred million instead
of somebody else. So make sure you understand that timing
is everything.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
So I had to stand up and tell him that
because so many of our brothers and sisters sold their
business too early. Absolutely, And I'm gonna give you an
example of that. I know Ryan is here, young brother
stand on a Ryan.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
So this young brother we had, he was in Stanford
NBA program, but we recruited him to join our company.
But he negotiated the w NBA Sparks deal that we
had and thank you for that too, that we entrusted
(19:37):
this deal in this young brother's hand. Now we've owned
this the Sparks for a few years. We haven't made
a dime, right, It's been a tough going for the
w NBA. Except now, hold on. There was a time
(19:59):
when we said, shall we sell this? And we kept
saying no, let's hold on to it. Now a group
out of Boston just bought the Connecticut Sun for three
hundred and twenty five million.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Oh thank god. We didn't sell too.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
Early, right, right, right, because now we only paid ten
million dollars for the franchise. So when you think about
that return we're gonna have, it's amazing.
Speaker 9 (20:31):
So don't sell too early. Okay, I just wanted to
point that out, Troy. I can just follow up real
quick because it's right on path. I'll just follow up
real quick because my next question is right on the
path of what you said. My next question was going
to be why did you liquidate? So you you just
explained that that you that you liquidated just Starbucks.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Can you walk us.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Through why you liquidated, the deal of liquidation, and what
you did with the money after you liquidated.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
That's a great question. Should should I? Should I stay?
Should we stay? I'm gonna just let's sit here. I'm
gonna I'm gonna just do it like this. I'm never
gonna change. So listen.
Speaker 5 (21:23):
So when we built that hundred, we had a deal
to build one hundred and twenty five Starbucks, and we
did that in five six years. We were making so
much money that Howard came in and said, well, first
of all, let me take you back. They said it
could never happen. Starbucks wouldn't last in the black community.
(21:46):
H We proved them wrong, right, proved them wrong. We
had to make some changes to make sure that Starbucks
was successful in our community.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
So we don't eat scone, So we.
Speaker 5 (22:06):
Had to take the scones out of my Starbucks. Sweet
potato pie peace Cobb Loska.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
To me, kay.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
So when you walked into my Starbucks, the field was different.
The desserts were different, and definitely the music was different.
So I customized it.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh this is important. Now get with me right here.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
I customize it to my customer.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Oh, very very important.
Speaker 5 (22:49):
I never made it about me where black folks fell is.
You make it sometimes about you and your likes, Oh,
not about what the customer like. So remember, always make
your business about the customer, and then you will get
(23:13):
the returns that you're looking for.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
So I knew it was time. Howard Shows came to me.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
And said, listen, we don't have to wait these next
four years. We're making a lot of money. The multi
balls already in the contract. So I start timing times
that revenue. Who shoot, I'm good, VICKI. That's my financial person, VICKI.
(23:41):
I go to Vicky for finance. I said, oh, I'm good.
So I said, yeah, it's time for me to sell.
And sure enough I sold Starbucks. And who would have
ever thought that the Dodgers would be for sale? So
I used the money that came back to me from
this our books sell and put it into the Dodger deal.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
No stop, stop, stop, stop stop. Why did I do that?
Speaker 5 (24:09):
First of all, there was no people of color being
owner in Major League baseball. That's one reason. The second
reason is I'm buying the Dodgers. The Dodgers got the
biggest brand it's in baseball, them and the Yankees, those
were the two biggest brands. So I knew it was
(24:32):
gonna be a home run. And now I'm gonna give
you the numbers. When we bought it two point two
billion twelve years ago, the highest anybody had ever paid
for a North America sports team. Forbes just came out
with the list with value that seven point five billion.
(24:53):
So again, understand what you're buying when you buy something, right,
that brand is so important. I knew we would hear
the home run, and sure enough we were able to
do that.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
I'm not sure should should we? I know, I know
going back, I don't all right, I'm gonna go back.
I'm gonna leap.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
I just can't sit down when I'm trying to go
with my people.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
I just thought you was gonna go behind the back path. Yeah, yeah,
I was ready. I'm in pocket. I was weighing. I
had my hands ready for the past. Since man ain't
not no, I know, I know, so, I mean, I'm
just a little slower now at sixty six years old.
We saw the jump shot too on the on the Yeah,
we'll get to that.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Well, you talked about a lot there, but one of
the things that was missing and gets you missing we
kind of talked about the backstage is Yes, ownership is
important from a financial side, also from a representation side.
Talk about the importance of that, because in order to
see something right, in order to be something, we have
to see at first. So talk about the representation. Because
(25:51):
there was a generation where we watched it, we don't
know how.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
They did it. You're doing it a lot different.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
We've watched you play, We've watched you make these business moves.
We've watched you put stores in locations that people wouldn't.
We've watched you become successful. You've left clues for us.
Talk about the representation park, Well, i'm gonna talk about you. Well,
we got to remember something. It's not just about the money.
(26:19):
It's about having a seat at the table.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
Oh wait a minute, I didn't hear. Nobody wasn't.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
What is our biggest challenge is that we don't.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Have a seat at the table.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
So when you become successful, you're able to now have
a seat at that table, and then you can help
the city change. They include you on decisions that happen
in the city or in different areas of the city
that you live in.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
So it's like the power and so that's what it's
all about.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Yes we can it's a lot of people can make money,
but we need to be represented. That's what you two
brothers are doing right now, giving all of us a chance.
You're representing the culture of these young people.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
They see you and they see what you built.
Speaker 5 (27:25):
This is amazing and this is just what we needed,
right and so now hold on one second, you're driving
twenty thousand people. The mayor got to come see you.
What wait a minute, two black men driving twenty thousand
here in the city. Oh, I got to have a
(27:48):
meeting with them too. And then it just continues on. So, yes,
we want to be successful, but also we want to
have a seat at the table to be able to hope,
be change agents on what's happening in our community, but
also what's happening in the city too as well.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
So that's what it's all about.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
So you've invested in everything for movie theaters, Starbucks, the Dodgers.
What is your fourth Obviously you have a great vision.
What is your foresight to know something is going to
be profitable ten years, twenty years, a good investment to
put your money in.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Well, I think, first of all, I was ready to town.
First of all, you.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
Got to research the industry or the sector. So when
you research the sector or the industry that you're investing in,
you can see if it's been growing.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Right, So we'll go back probably five or.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
Ten years to see if that sector that I'm going
to invest in has been growing. And if I see growth,
then I said, Okay, look like it's gonna be a good.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Investment for me.
Speaker 5 (29:09):
But then we have an investment team of people try
to break out down the investment, making sure it is
the right move for us to make both financially and
align it with our brand. Right because anything that you
bring in you gotta align it with your brand. So
it's very important. So right now we have contracts select
(29:31):
so Magic Charles Johnson is doing a wonderful job.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Child's where are you?
Speaker 5 (29:37):
Yes, yeah, Chiles, Brother Robbie is with them down us
here yep. So when we think about we have more
house contract Federal Reserve, we have contracts at the airport,
we do delta, the headquarters on and on and on.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
We knew that industry was.
Speaker 5 (29:54):
Gonna grow because people gotta eat right, and so we
understand that and has been grown. We're over a billion
dollars in revenue now with this small company.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
That's just shot. You said a billion dollars of revenue
and two people clap Can we clap it up? That's
not an everyday thing.
Speaker 5 (30:12):
No. Well, the reason that's important is that we started
from the ground on up, and so we wanted the
same thing that happen for all of you.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Right.
Speaker 5 (30:27):
Take, take your ideal, your strategy, start your company and
build it right and so and scale it. And we
were talking about how to scale. But scaling is so
hard because you got to have the financial resources and
then you got to have the right team in place.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
If anything, I can tell you this is.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
So important and it's gonna hurt a lot of feelings
in this in this audience.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Please do not hire your family.
Speaker 5 (31:00):
Oh oh oh oh unless they have the expertise. Whoa
whoa whoa woa, unless they have the expertise. One has
made more black businesses fail in America. Uh oh, because
you hired your family member and they didn't have the
(31:22):
expertise or they thought they could show up instead of
nine o'clock. They showed up at twelve o'clock. I paid
mine to stay away. Here you go to check or
be on the way. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidd.
I'm just kid. I'm just kidding. Make sure, though, if
you're gonna be in a family business, make sure he
spell out roles and once everybody know their role, make
(31:46):
sure that they over deliver in that role. So so important.
I'm gonna stay I learned my lesson.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
I wasn't gonna give me a game. I was waining.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
But you brought up a billion dollars in revenue, and
so that that word stuck in my head.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
We have a common theme here at Investment US.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Every year we've been able to bring a billionaire to
the stage.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I love that thing. I love that fae. I love
that fame. Now the billionaires that we brought looked like us.
That's what There you go, there you go.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Twenty twenty five list comes out Hervy Magic Johnson a billionaire.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Well, oh yeah, stand only your feet for.
Speaker 8 (32:40):
That, right.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
I wonder.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
The kid that's walking on the campus in east Landson, Michigan.
Your white to the man who's standing here today? Was
that on the vision board? And what was that moment
like when it? I mean for us in our minds,
we already thought you were there, But now that it's
been reported, what was this moment like for you?
Speaker 5 (33:08):
Well, when I first started to know, it wasn't on
the vision board. It was just being successful. See, my
whole business thesis was to be successful for other people
of color could come behind me.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Okay, now remember this.
Speaker 5 (33:27):
See when I went to ten nine, ten banks, they
all turned me down. They wanted the picture, they wanted
the autograph, but they didn't want to loan me the money.
Then I went up to Calpurr's this pension fund to
get money because I was gonna start my real estate fund,
(33:48):
and they turned me down three straight years.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
Same thing. See, this hasn't been easy.
Speaker 5 (33:54):
A lot of you think that, oh he magic Johnson,
so it was easy. No, that actually worked against me.
But I love the challenge. See, I'm not gonna run away.
I knew my business thesis was strong. I knew my people.
I knew what they wanted and what they like, So
all I had to do was deliver it and then
(34:17):
over deliver it to them.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Once I started my business, and so as I.
Speaker 5 (34:22):
Became successful, first the Starbucks, the theaters, Magic Johnson theaters,
and then I said, hey, I got to really get
into a bigger business. So I needed somebody else's money
to do that, to grow and have sustainability. So once
the finally the bank said yes, I took that one
(34:45):
hundred million dollars and turned it into what it is today.
But stop, stop, stop, stop stop. Anything I've done is
not just for me. It's so that you can come
behind me. Because now they said, oh that black man
was successful, we'll take a chance on another one.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Because if I.
Speaker 5 (35:06):
Fail, then they ain't not gonna take a chance on
another one.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
So that's what it's about.
Speaker 5 (35:12):
So when you build your business, you don't even other
stand and it's not just about you. You're giving another
young person, young lady, young man, a chance and an
opportunity to say wow, if she made it or if
he made it. I think I got a chance too.
(35:33):
So what I always have my theme is I turned
the impossible into possible. That's what it's all about, right,
That's what it's all about. So I'm still on the
basketball court. I just don't have the little hot pants
on no more. I'm wearing suits. But I just want
(35:56):
to win and be successful man, and nobody's gonna outwork me.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
Nobody.
Speaker 5 (36:03):
I'm a smart guy because I'm smart because I put
smart people around me, and then I pay them.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
To do their job. That part. Always remember that.
Speaker 5 (36:15):
Hire smart people, pay them to do their job, and
they'll help you become successful.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Clap it up for that.
Speaker 3 (36:26):
So some other deals that people may not know you
were involved in that didn't necessarily go your way, but
great learning experiences.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
I'm sure twenty four hour fitness is it plan?
Speaker 3 (36:40):
No, twenty four hour Fitness TGI Friday, Yi Friday, Can
you tell them about that experience?
Speaker 5 (36:45):
Yeah, because some has failed, right, every business is not
going to be successful. We had the number one TGI
Fridays in the West in Los Angeles, and we were
able to really do a fantastic job of over delivering
to the community.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
Then I built the second.
Speaker 5 (37:05):
One here in Atlanta, and Atlanta supported me like crazy,
but we were not ready for the volume of customers
that came through our door, and we made a lot
of mistakes and we had to close that Friday because
it was on us, not on the people of Atlanta,
(37:27):
and I learned a valuable lesson that we got to
make sure we hire the best and talented people and
they can drive unbelievable customer service. And we did not
deliver that to the people of Atlanta. But the next businesses,
you learn from that one and make sure the next.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
Businesses that you do a better job.
Speaker 5 (37:49):
And we've been better because of those mistakes we made
back then, so every.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Business has not hit the home run.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
And then also too, a lot of businesses I own
hit singles and doubles, and that's okay. If you get
enough singles and doubles, you're gonna make a lot of
money anyway. So I think for me, it's learn from
your lessons, learn lessons from your failure, excuse me, and
then make sure that it doesn't happen again.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Amen. Amen, I'm just making sure. I'm just making sure
I'm taking so well. You thought it was coming out, yeh, yeah, yeah,
yea yeh. I'm just making sure.
Speaker 1 (38:33):
So I want to talk about legacy a little bit
because backstage I showed you some of my emails.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
That's right, Yeah, it's a true story.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
I got this email and it said Alicia Johnson, and
I said, who's that I don't I never ordered from there,
and my wife said, don't worry about that.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
And then the next.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Week it said Alicia Johnson again, and I said, what
is that? She said, oh, he's just these sunglasses I got.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
I don't worry about that.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
And then for the next six months, every three days
I get another email from Alicia Johnson. So I said,
I gotta figure this out. Who's this Alicia Johnson? Come
to find out it's a close attachment to you.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
It's your daughter.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
So I want to talk about legacy and watching your
kids walking their journeys of entrepreneurship obviously Dre and the
EJ doing their things and their respective industries. What's that like,
watching your kids carve their own path and creating Because
I didn't know it was your daughter, it was the
product that sold.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
What's that like for you? Well, it's a great moment.
Speaker 5 (39:33):
We all want our kids to be more successful than ourselves,
you know, and so for me to be able to
watch my kids be happy, first of all, and also
to look at their dad or their mom and say, hey,
(39:54):
I want to be like them.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Right. So, my daughter she went to Ft and she.
Speaker 5 (40:01):
Love sunglasses, She loved the dress, so she said to
me one day after she graduated, said Dad, I want
to start my eyewear line and I want you to
get me the seed money. And I said, okay, where's
a business plan? She said what, I'm your daughter. I said,
(40:27):
m M, you got to have a business plan. So
she went crying to Cookie, Dad don't love me, you know,
And so Cookie said, is that what he said? She
said no, Well what did he say? He said, I
have to have a business plan, so well, go right one.
(40:47):
So she came back two days later with a half
good business plan and I said no. She stormed out
the room again, and I said, you need two things,
you know, the p and ls. Where's the money section
(41:08):
the real business? And so she finally put that in
and I said, okay. So she's been very successful selling
them online. She built a great business for herself. I mean,
I'm you know, I cry every time I think about
it because again she took my trade on working hard.
(41:31):
Nobody's going to outwork her. And then this is what
really touched me about a year ago. We're riding and
she says to me, Dad, thank you for taking me
through getting a business plan. Six of my girlfriends started
their companies at the same time. I started mind and
(41:52):
they all failed, and I said, that's my job as
your father. You hated that I took you through that exercise,
but it has helped you in the long run. So
make sure that you have a solid business plan, everybody,
that's so important, and then adhere to that.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Right.
Speaker 5 (42:11):
You can always make adjustments, but adhere to your business plan.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
And then my son Ej. I love him.
Speaker 5 (42:17):
He's fabulous, you know, EJ gonna be EJ. And he's
in entertainment doing a wonderful job. And then my son
Andre works for me. Now it's it's kind of cool
to go into office and see my son side by
side and doing his thing with me. And so it's
been it's been a joy to watch our three kids.
(42:38):
And now we have two grandchildren. So it's a blessing, man,
a real blessing, real blessing.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
So I got to talk about mentorship.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
You are a rookie, the Lakers, sensational player, and I
believe you kind of isolated.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
It was a level of isolation.
Speaker 3 (42:59):
In the locker room because you made friends with the
owner of the team, doctor Jerry Buss.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
So you would have to bring this up. Go ahead.
Speaker 3 (43:11):
So yeah, walk us through not only that relationship, but
he taught you and what made you, at that young
age have the foresight to go against the peer pressure
of the older veterans and put yourself in that position.
Speaker 2 (43:26):
That's a great question. Look, I was curious, man.
Speaker 5 (43:28):
I knew I wanted to be a businessman, but I
had to get up under somebody who was already doing
it and so he could give me knowledge. So it
happened to be the owner of the Lakers, doctor Jerry Buss, and.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
I told him my dream.
Speaker 5 (43:43):
After I was done winning championships with him, I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
Own businesses. And now you heard.
Speaker 5 (43:51):
What I said first, right, you didn't miss what I
said first, right after I'm done winning what? Okay, after
I'm done doing what? See, I had to be serious
with that basketball first, and once I did what I
(44:11):
was able to do on that court in the summertime,
I would then go and spend a lot of time
with him for he can teach me. But I knew
that it wouldn't have worked out if I wasn't successful
on the basketball court. So I handled that business, got
up under him. So three years in, next thing, I know,
(44:35):
I'm coming into the locker room and the guy said, Irvin,
we got to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
I said, okay, what's going on. I thought we were gonna.
Speaker 5 (44:44):
Talk about Larry Bird and the Celtics or something, how
we're gonna defend him or something. They said, no, you
can't be hanging around the owner.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
No more.
Speaker 5 (44:55):
It's an unwritten rule that players can't hang out with
the owner. All the guys now they head like, yeah,
So I took my time because I'm never gonna react first,
I said, what can I say? I said, Okay, you
guys are millionaires. Here a billionaire. I'm hanging out with
a billionaire because oh stop stop shop, because he's.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
The only guy that can help me go where I
want to go. You see.
Speaker 5 (45:27):
See, sometimes we forget about that and then don't let
your friend. See don't let them say you can't go.
See a lot of time our friend just because they
(45:48):
want to stay where they are, They.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
Want us to stay there too.
Speaker 5 (46:01):
If I would have listened to them, I wouldn't be
on this stage today.
Speaker 2 (46:05):
See. So I stayed with that man.
Speaker 5 (46:09):
He taught me so much and that's why I'm successful.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
What did I do?
Speaker 5 (46:15):
I took the knowledge that he gave me and brought
it to the black community right and started building my business.
So gain knowledge, as much knowledge as you can, be
as smart as you can, study as much as you can,
and always whether it's on your phone. I know a
lot of time we don't read the newspaper. I grew
(46:37):
up in the newspaper era, so I still read the newspaper.
You guys, get everything on your phone. Make sure you
just keep up with what's going on, the trends, what's happening,
whether it's that with AI. Now, black folks, we gotta
study AI, so we have to do that, right, So
just keep up on what's going on out here.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
It's very important. So again, no, I won't gonna let.
Speaker 5 (47:03):
Them all they should be concerned about when I come
down shaking and bacon and I throw that. No, look,
they better be worried about delivering that basket.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
That's it.
Speaker 5 (47:18):
What I do on that court, that's their concern. What
I do off that court wasn't they concern. Okay, I'm
gonna handle my business on that court.
Speaker 1 (47:29):
You handle your business in the boardroom as well. And selfishly,
I talked to you backstage about it. One of the
things I'm most proud of is that there now owner
of the Washington Commanders.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
Yes, sir, childhood team of mind.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
But having black ownership in the NFL is probably one
of the hardest things to do. Ye talk about that
moment and partnering with Joe Harrison. What was that like
being a part of our ownership group pitching to the
NFL to say we need to change this franchise. Feel
like you've done a great job. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (48:02):
Man.
Speaker 5 (48:02):
Well, first of all, you know, I got every team
almost in terms of in every sport, I got a
team almost right, and so the NFL was the last one.
And I never thought it's gonna happen because I didn't
see us. We see ourselves on the field and we
(48:23):
take care of our business as players on that football field.
We also we seen it in the coaching ranks and
now sometimes even in the executive roles, but we hadn't
seen it in the ownership role. And so once that
happened for me, I was so blessed, not just for me,
but now what they've done in Atlanta, and we should
(48:46):
clap for that because you got.
Speaker 2 (48:47):
Black ownership here with the Falcons.
Speaker 5 (48:50):
You know, now Denver black ownership, so now we're starting
to see us being those roles as owners. Why that's
important not only for myself, also for the players, right,
they feel better about it as well. So it's been
great for Cookie and Eye to be involved with the
(49:11):
commanders and two in two years, we've turned it around.
We're heading in a positive direction. The fans are back
and always about that quarterback boy. We got a brother
that can, he's a bad boy and Jay Daniels and
so we're excited about him and.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
And to do it in d C Man Chocolate City,
the DMV.
Speaker 5 (49:36):
Brother Man, it's a it's a beautiful thing. So again
I can't stop working though. Let me tell you guys something. See,
when you get there, it's hard to get there, but
it's even high harder to stay there. M So when
(50:01):
you get there, you just starting.
Speaker 2 (50:06):
I know they waiting on me to make a mistake.
I already know that.
Speaker 5 (50:16):
So that's why I'm so careful about what I do,
what I put out there on social media, how I
am as a husband or father, now a grandfather.
Speaker 2 (50:32):
So it's so important.
Speaker 5 (50:36):
Because your business, that sussess can go just like that,
just as fast as you got it.
Speaker 2 (50:42):
It can go just that fast.
Speaker 5 (50:45):
So make sure that you're making all the right decisions
in the right moves, which is very important.
Speaker 2 (50:53):
And so I always think back.
Speaker 5 (50:58):
When I when we got the commanders man and cooking
our we were on the plane, I said, baby, I
remember when we had the peanut butter but no jelly.
Speaker 2 (51:13):
I remember when.
Speaker 5 (51:14):
We had the kool aid but no no sugar.
Speaker 2 (51:19):
See, I went.
Speaker 5 (51:19):
Back to how I grew up and and I just
sat there on the plane thanking God for putting me
in this position. But stop, stop, stop. But also I
know what to do with it. Oh oh oh oh see.
You gotta know what to do with it when you
get blessed, and make sure you bless others. That's why
(51:44):
I've been blessed, because I blessed others, and that's that's
what's important. So yeah, I'm feeling good, and it's a
great thing to be in the NFL. We gotta keep keep,
Hopefully more minorities will keep being in an ownership role.
And I think what you're doing here today, there's some
(52:08):
future owners. You're gonna have a lot of billionaires out here,
because that's what it's all about, multi multi millionaires. Now,
put yourself there every time I did something. I put
(52:31):
myself there and then I went after it. All right,
write this in your phone right quick? See long now
the days of five ten years, that's over with. Now
everything you should go after should be three years. Okay
(52:57):
in terms of hey, I want to start that business
or I want to coomplisice.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
This, give yourself three years.
Speaker 5 (53:04):
I want you to then go home, talk to your partner, wife, husband, whoever,
and say, honey, give me three years. I went to
Cookie and said, I need three years to be on
the road. I got to build my business, but it's
our business. Can you handle the kids for three years
(53:28):
without me being there a lot? She said, honey, go
do your thing, and look what happened. You see because
if you get longer than three years, that means you
you haven't put one hundred and fifty percent into building
this business. But you gotta have sign off with your
(53:52):
partner because they have to understand that, hey, date night,
what it used to be might not be there. So
when she or he buys into that, now you good.
So that's very very important. Three I do everything in
three years. I told my wife, I'm gonna have a
(54:13):
plane in three years. Let me do all save up
the money. Let me understand the plane industry. What happened
three years? I got the plane boom. You know, you
just keep going so all the things I want to
do three years. I can't wait to see what happens
(54:34):
to this in three years. Ah, I can't hear you.
Come on now, they are already billionaires. You know why
because they're blessing you with knowledge. See, God gonna bless them,
(54:57):
both of them. Oh, they they on their way because
they blessing you with so much knowledge, so much access.
Speaker 2 (55:12):
What a black what the black people need? Access? Man? Man,
I gotta come back.
Speaker 5 (55:22):
You don't even have to pay me when I come
back next time, you don't even have to pay me.
Speaker 2 (55:25):
I'm coming back older two holder two.
Speaker 5 (55:41):
Stop, stay up, stop, stop, stay up now. Thank thank you,
love your back to love your back for real. I
want you to know something and hear this. We were
both taught, all three of us, was talking about this
the last year generation, a couple generations back, all those
(56:02):
successful black men and women took the knowledge to the
grave with them. That hurt our community.
Speaker 2 (56:12):
See.
Speaker 5 (56:13):
I'm standing here in front of you because I want
you to be successful and always remember it's enough room
for everybody. We forget that, we forget that. Look what happened.
Let me now sit down, Look what happened. Now. I
(56:36):
gotta give you this look Junior Bridgeman before he passed away,
basketball player, billionaire Lebron Michael Jordan. You see, it just
keeps going. It's enough room for everybody.
Speaker 2 (56:57):
And when Michael and I see each other, we patty
each other on the back. Man, can you believe it?
Can I beat him?
Speaker 5 (57:06):
Now? He got that one on one thing. See, I'm
always gonna be honest with myself.
Speaker 2 (57:14):
The only thing I beat.
Speaker 5 (57:15):
Michael in is them no little passes and leadership.
Speaker 2 (57:26):
Oh talking about it.
Speaker 5 (57:29):
It ain't no question, just like it ain't no question
what he.
Speaker 2 (57:32):
Gonna do to me, dunks and all that.
Speaker 5 (57:36):
But you know that's what makes him a bad boy
and the best that's ever done it.
Speaker 2 (57:41):
Don't don't get it twisted. I love Lebron, but mm
hmm no, no, no, no, yeah, we got that documented,
that documented. Okay, I shot you heard that. Hold up?
You know Lebron's I love my boy. I love him.
But when Michael.
Speaker 7 (57:59):
Jordan took go on with that Tarlil, hold up, hold up,
hold up, listen, because a lot of you wasn't born then,
nineteen ninety one against my Lakers right hand, we thought
we had him.
Speaker 5 (58:16):
He looked as we went down, he switched it to
the left. Here Tom went left, spunning against the glass
and good. There's nobody alive that's been able to do
just that. That boy is too bad, I'm telling you
(58:37):
right now. But Lebron is a bad boy too. He's
a bad boy, but he's not Michael. Appreciate that magic.
Speaker 2 (58:47):
Look at it.
Speaker 8 (58:53):
Look at that face right there.
Speaker 2 (58:57):
Oh my staying on that. I always wanted that.
Speaker 3 (59:00):
I ask you this question as a basketball fan, that
Barcelona experience. I mean, we watched documentaries and all that.
What was it like being with the greatest players of
all time, greatest team of all time? What's the story
that maybe nobody knows?
Speaker 2 (59:14):
Like, what's that?
Speaker 3 (59:14):
What's a great memory from you on that dream team? Okay, well,
let let me first put it in perspective. First. See,
see I learned.
Speaker 5 (59:27):
I'm a visual learner, and also I learned what I
read and so on and on.
Speaker 2 (59:32):
So we go to Spain. I'm jumping ahead and reason
for that.
Speaker 5 (59:38):
So we go to Spain and they're having this big
reception and we're on this yacht. The air conditioning go
out in the yacht, so they had us all go
off the yacht and go back on the bus. Another
yacht pulls up, so we all get on the second yacht.
So we're talking to the guy and I'm talking to
(01:00:02):
the guy, excuse me, and I said, man, that's crazy.
A second yacht came up. Well, who's yacht that broke down?
Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
He said?
Speaker 5 (01:00:12):
The guy said, it's my yacht. I said, well, who
yacht is this one? He said, this one is mine too.
I said that let me know wealth, wealthy rich. It
is a whole different thing. And I said, wow, I
(01:00:35):
want to be like him. I tell him this story.
Mickey Erison, or the owner of the Miami heat He
changed my life because that let me know that I
had a long way to go. And I thank him
for talking to me that whole time. So we're Monico
(01:00:56):
and Prince Raynier to us in the Big Castle and
we're up there. So we're in Texas. All the guys
were over here talking. Prince Rayner and Commissioner Stern was
over there. So I get up and I go over.
(01:01:19):
I got to meet this dude who run all the
money co. See that's who I am. Man, Hey, brother,
y'all cool. But this dude here, so I go introduce myself.
He said, Oh, Magice, I know who you are. I said,
how do you run all of this?
Speaker 2 (01:01:37):
You know? Drop some knowledge on me? Man. I stood
over there for about thirty.
Speaker 5 (01:01:41):
Minutes talking to him about Monico.
Speaker 2 (01:01:44):
And on and on and on. You know what he did?
Speaker 5 (01:01:48):
He called his son and daughter over and introduced me
to them. Said, as long as Magic is here, you
hang out with Magic. So they took me to the
nightclubs and on and on and on.
Speaker 2 (01:01:59):
But guess what now his son the same one I
was hanging out with.
Speaker 5 (01:02:04):
It's the Prince of Monico, now right, I said. See,
that's why I'm glad. I ran over there and Matt
the man. But why am I saying this? Sometimes you
gotta step out that group that you in.
Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh.
Speaker 5 (01:02:27):
You keep hanging around the same people, you only gonna
get the same results. Oh, get out of your comfort
zone when you go to that function and it's somebody.
Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
Over there, go on over there.
Speaker 5 (01:02:43):
Hey, I'm so and so just want to say I
admire you, or how did you get to where you
are it takes two or three minutes, but sometime we are.
Speaker 2 (01:02:55):
No, I don't want to bother them or I'm not
like that.
Speaker 5 (01:03:00):
I'm gonna go over there and get me that knowledge
that I'm looking for, and it has.
Speaker 2 (01:03:05):
Paid off for me. So you that elevator speech is real.
Speaker 5 (01:03:14):
So when you got those three minutes riding up that elevator,
take advantage of that.
Speaker 2 (01:03:19):
So the Dream Team was the greatest.
Speaker 5 (01:03:22):
Basketball I've ever been involved in. And to be the
point guard on that team and represent the NBA and
our country, and but just to be able to hang
out with Michael and play with him. Finally, Larry Bird
and Charles Barkley, the Slimmer was the Slimmers, Child Barklay,
(01:03:44):
Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullen, Clyde Drexer,
and I mean it was just amazing. We just job,
you know, we just it's the greatest team ever assembled.
And so I'm excited to say I was on that team.
Speaker 2 (01:04:03):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (01:04:04):
But before we go, you talked about the yachts, you
talked about your image on social media.
Speaker 2 (01:04:11):
We saw you on the treadmill.
Speaker 1 (01:04:14):
I mean, we saw you on the tread mill. We
saw you with the basketball court on the yacht. It
talks about earning your leisure, which is obviously our name
and our brand, but being able to vacation and find
balance and find peace with your family. Talk about the
importance of that and all this man, because it's chaos,
but you find tell them.
Speaker 5 (01:04:35):
Well, I can't do this without that. You know, I
love dating my wife. So when I go on those
six weeks, we're able to date.
Speaker 2 (01:04:45):
And there's like two veried people here. They clubs like
that section right there.
Speaker 5 (01:04:50):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:04:53):
And so it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 5 (01:04:55):
And because you know, when I'm grinding, I'm grinding, so
I'm working, So this gives me a chance to be
with my family. And then last but not least, when
I was traveling is important, right, so you can.
Speaker 2 (01:05:10):
See the world.
Speaker 5 (01:05:11):
And I love traveling, Cookie and I just love it.
And so I remember when Denzel see Denzel introduced yachting
to me, and I seen that I was able to
open it up for a lot of other blacks to
now go. And Cookie and I have been yachting now
for thirty two years. So it's a blessing to to
(01:05:34):
do it. But at the same time. This is what
I want you to take from that. When I was
in Montico in nineteen ninety two, we just talked about this.
I saw the yachts down there, and I told myself,
one day, I'm gonna be on one of them.
Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
See it didn't happen right away because I didn't have
enough money. But what did I do? In three years?
Speaker 5 (01:06:08):
I say I'm gonna be on that yacht. And what happened?
In three years? I was on that yacht. See what
you say, you've been yachting for three years, or you
will be yachting in three, four or three years. See
that's that's that's it. We just listen. We want to
open it up for our people to know that traveling
(01:06:29):
is wonderful.
Speaker 2 (01:06:30):
It's not about the yacht. Whatever you can do.
Speaker 5 (01:06:33):
I just saw Luda, Chris and Kevin Hurt out there.
That's great, let's keep doing it. But the main thing
is understand that you can do it one day if
that's what you want to do. Now, everybody stand up.
No phone in your hand. I don't want nothing in
your hand. First of all, let's give God some glory
(01:06:54):
because we're here right. I can't hear you come on now, now,
(01:07:16):
I've given you some nuggets. These two gentlemen, for the
last three days, but also for the last years, have
been giving you unbelievable nuggets on your business.
Speaker 2 (01:07:28):
How to take yourself to the next level. I can't
hear you. Come on.
Speaker 5 (01:07:42):
God has placed two vessels in your life right.
Speaker 2 (01:07:46):
Here, two kings. And you know what.
Speaker 5 (01:07:54):
It hasn't been about them. It's been about.
Speaker 2 (01:07:56):
You and.
Speaker 3 (01:08:01):
M h.
Speaker 2 (01:08:04):
All right, So let's start off with the If somebody
gonna be a millionaire in the.
Speaker 5 (01:08:10):
Next three years, clap two times.
Speaker 2 (01:08:16):
All right, doc, if you're gonna be a more time.
Speaker 5 (01:08:22):
Millionaire in the next three years, clap. Okay, okay. I'm
about to draw this one. I'm about to draw this one.
I'm about to draw this one.
Speaker 8 (01:08:40):
Billionaires let me here.
Speaker 2 (01:08:41):
But all right now, just do me a favor.
Speaker 5 (01:08:52):
I don't care who next to you, because it's gonna
take a village to do this. I wanna grab people
hand right quick. Let's go right next to you. Bow
your heads because God gonna put that favor on you
and it's gonna happen. Oh Heaven and Father, we say
thank you, thank you, and thank you. Why are we
saying thank you because you woke us up this morning.
(01:09:15):
Thank you for these two incredible men who have decided
to bless not only themselves in their own families, but
all of us in this auditorium.
Speaker 2 (01:09:29):
You are using them so.
Speaker 5 (01:09:31):
That they can bless others and they can be successful
right along with all of these incredible people.
Speaker 2 (01:09:39):
Now, I know that you have the power and.
Speaker 5 (01:09:43):
The tools to make everybody in this room successful. And
if they follow you and keep you on their hearts,
they will definitely be successful. So touch everybody, Bless everybody
as they leave this incredible auditorium and this incredible convention,
(01:10:04):
that they can be multi millionaires, millionaires and billionaires. In
Jesus name, we pray, Amen, God bless you.
Speaker 10 (01:10:14):
An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child
in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador
accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with
filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just
some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President
Donald J.
Speaker 11 (01:10:34):
Trump's leadership. I'm Christy Noman, the United States Secretary of
Homeland Security under President Trump. Attempted illegal border crossings are
at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over one hundred
thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you are here illegally,
your next you will be fine nearly one thousand dollars
a day, imprisoned, and deported.
Speaker 10 (01:10:57):
You will never return.
Speaker 11 (01:10:58):
But if you register, use ding our CBP home app,
and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally.
Speaker 10 (01:11:04):
Do what's right, leave now.
Speaker 11 (01:11:07):
Under President Trump America's laws, border and families will be protected.
Speaker 2 (01:11:12):
Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security,
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