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Lesson #1: Work Hard and Plan for Your Dreams

Article Overview: When Johnson was a young boy, he would frequently visit his father at the General Motors plant where he worked. “I would sit in the chair behind the desk and dream I was the CEO,” he says. But it was Johnson’s father who told him that he had to do more than just dream about what he wanted; he had to work hard for it.

Lesson #1: Work Hard and Plan for Your Dreams

When Johnson was a young boy, he would frequently visit his father at the General Motors plant where he worked. “I would sit in the chair behind the desk and dream I was the CEO,” he says. But it was Johnson’s father who told him that he had to do more than just dream about what he wanted; he had to work hard for it.

Johnson caught the business bug early on in life, but put it aside until he finished his basketball career. Still, it was with that same work ethic his father had taught him that Johnson approached his life on the court.

“[My father] didn’t care if I scored 40 points for my high school team Friday night,” recalls Johnson. “I had to be up at 6 o’clock Saturday to help him work.”
In fact, looking back on his professional basketball career, Johnson claims it was one thing and one thing alone that took him to the top: “My work ethic, for sure,” he says. “See, I prepared for games; I prepare for business…It comes naturally because I’m a workaholic.”

What does preparing for business mean to Johnson? It meant being involved, being as hands-on as possible, and making sure he was aware of everything that was going on. “You don’t build what I have if you’re not a hands-on businessman,” he says. “I have to have some knowledge and I have to know my figures. I don't need Ken or anyone else to talk for me because when I go out to talk to - I go in and I make my own deals because I can do that.”

In order to be hands-on with his businesses, Johnson had to be prepared. “I've always studied business. Even when I was a ball player, I'd read business journals and the business sections of newspapers,” he says. “Or I'd study what people like, as well as my own [preferences] - why do I like this restaurant; what makes it the highest-grossing restaurant? And then I talked to entrepreneurs who were already doing very well. That's why it came naturally. I'm a natural talker, and I love to ask a lot of questions - because I'm nosy.”

Being nosy – being prepared – is what enabled Johnson to achieve such success. In his spare time, he studied potential ventures and spent time working in various jobs to get a better sense of the business, even where it meant working in concession stands or sweeping the floors of his movie theatres.

“I've been playing basketball since I was 7 or 8 years old. I can still just get out there and play, like I did this morning,” says Johnson. “But business - you have to get into the numbers, research and asking people what their needs and wants are, picking the right locations. There's a lot that goes into business. It's not just, ‘OK, I want to be a businessman. Boom - go with something,’ and hope they come in. It doesn't work like that.”

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Article Tags: basketball career, business journals, business sections, businessman, ceo, desk, friday night, games, general motors, high school team, lesson 1, motors plant, newspapers, professional basketball, work ethic, workaholic



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