Michael Jordan taught me after our game of one-on-one: A loss is

Opening Scene – Narrated by Host

The evening light filtered softly through the window, casting a calm glow over the room. Jack sat at the desk, his hands resting lightly on the edge, but his mind was far from the work in front of him. The world outside seemed to pass by at its usual pace, but Jack was lost in a thought, one that had been swirling in his mind for a while. The idea of failure, of excuses, and of accountability.

Jeeny entered the room quietly, noticing Jack’s distant expression. She walked over, placing a warm cup of tea beside him. She didn’t say anything immediately but sat down across from him, her gaze soft but inquisitive.

Jeeny: “You seem deep in thought tonight. What’s on your mind?”

Jack blinked, his attention returning to the present moment as he picked up the cup of tea. He took a slow sip before setting it down, letting out a quiet sigh.

Jack: “I was thinking about something Don Yaeger wrote. He shared a lesson from Michael Jordan after a game of one-on-one. Jordan told him, ‘A loss is not a failure until you make an excuse. When excuses are no longer an option, you can focus your attention on the job you have to do, and not why it didn’t get done.’ It really hit me. How often do we let ourselves off the hook with excuses, especially when things don’t go as planned? It’s like the moment we make an excuse, we stop focusing on the solution.”

Jeeny sat back, her expression thoughtful as she considered his words. She wrapped her fingers around her cup, her thoughts aligning with his.

Jeeny: “That’s such a powerful way to look at failure. So often, we want to explain away our mistakes, to find reasons why things didn’t go the way we hoped. But when we make excuses, we’re not really owning the situation. We’re deflecting responsibility. And in doing that, we stop ourselves from truly learning, from figuring out what we need to do next.”

Jack: “Exactly. It’s like when things go wrong, the first instinct is to find something or someone to blame. But Jordan’s lesson is about taking full responsibility. No excuses. When you stop looking for reasons why it didn’t happen and just focus on the next step, you can actually make progress. It’s not about the loss, but about how you respond to it.”

Host: The conversation deepened, and Jack began to see the full weight of what Jordan was teaching. It wasn’t just about playing a game; it was about life itself. The moments when things didn’t go as planned, the moments of failure—these were opportunities to learn and grow, but only if you stopped making excuses. Excuses allowed you to hide from responsibility, from facing the hard truths that could move you forward.

Jeeny: “I think what Michael Jordan is saying is that excuses stop us from growing. When we make excuses, we’re denying ourselves the chance to face reality, to figure out what went wrong, and to correct it. Without excuses, we have no choice but to own our actions and learn from them. And that’s when real progress happens.”

Jack: “Yeah, and I think it’s about shifting the focus. Instead of asking why something didn’t get done, we should be asking, ‘What can I do now?’ The moment you stop justifying failure and start looking for the solution, everything changes. You’re no longer stuck in the past; you’re moving forward.”

Jeeny: “Exactly. It’s about responsibility, about not letting failure define you. Failure doesn’t mean you stop trying—it means you own it, learn from it, and move on with a clearer sense of purpose. And that’s when you really begin to grow.”

Host: Jack sat back, the weight of the conversation sinking in. He realized that excuses didn’t just protect him from failure—they kept him stuck in it. Every time he made an excuse, he was giving up the chance to learn, to improve, and to move forward. It wasn’t the failure itself that held him back—it was his response to it.

Jack: “I think I get it now. Excuses don’t protect us from failure—they just keep us from learning from it. When we stop making excuses, we open ourselves up to growth, to finding solutions, to taking responsibility. Only then can we move forward.”

Jeeny: “Exactly. It’s not about never failing—it’s about how we respond to failure. If we can learn to own it, to accept it as part of the process, we can use it to propel ourselves forward.”

Climax and Reconciliation

The room felt quieter now, filled with a quiet understanding. Jack and Jeeny both knew that the real challenge wasn’t in avoiding failure; it was in how to face it when it came. By embracing failure, owning it, and learning from it without making excuses, they could move beyond it—into something better, something more real.

Jack: “So, it’s not about avoiding mistakes or trying to explain them away. It’s about facing them head-on, learning from them, and moving on. When we stop making excuses, we stop being defined by our failures.”

Jeeny: “Exactly. And in doing so, we grow stronger, more capable, and more focused on what really matters. Excuses keep us stuck, but responsibility keeps us moving forward.”

Host: The room felt lighter now, as Jack and Jeeny reflected on the powerful lesson Michael Jordan shared. It wasn’t just about winning or losing—it was about owning the outcome, no matter what it was, and using that ownership to grow and improve. The path forward didn’t lie in avoiding failure, but in embracing it and learning how to rise above it.