Lebron
James is a young superstar in the National Basketball Association who
is loved by millions of fans all throughout the world. Before the age of
30 Lebron has been able to achieve what most athletes do not
accomplish in their whole career.
Lebron James began
receiving the spotlight as a junior in high school. Scouts and several
camera crews went to all of his games, and certainly he could have
attended any college of his choice.
Deciding to fore go
college, Lebron James was selected as the number one draft pick in the
NBA. To make the fairy tale story even better, the team that drafted him
was the local Cleveland Cavaliers that he had
grew up watching.
Before ever even
stepping onto the court as a professional, Lebron had already pocketed
millions of dollars through his many sponsors.
Starting his career
Lebron James broke many of rookie records and surpassed expectations as
only a teenager. What more could anyone ask for? The guy was everything!
Everybody loved him, and everybody seemed to
be rooting for him.
In 2010 Lebron was
faced with a decision: stay with the local team he grew up watching in
the Cleveland Cavaliers, or move to a different city and join another
team.
Lebron decided to
announce his decision in a unique way. The decision to announce his
plans to the world through an hour long television show was something
that nobody had ever done before.To everyone’s surprise,
Lebron choose to join the Miami Heat and play with superstars Dwayne
Wade and Chris Bosh.
The public quickly
attacked the celebrity. Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers
said the decision was selfish, and an act of cowardly betrayal. The
public didn't think it was fair for three superstar
athletes to all play on the same team.
Fans were not excited
that the announcement was made through a television show. It now
appeared this was all a stunt to get some extra cash. It appeared Lebron
James felt he was better than others. It’s safe
to say Lebron went from villain to hero in a matter of minutes.
Now being 2013, Lebron
James seems to have recovered and restored his image as a good guy. It
has taken some time, but certainly Lebron has done some good things to
help his public image.
Lebron James always
remained himself throughout the whole process. He has never varied from
he who was. It would have been really easy for someone in his shoes to
try to be somebody they aren't in hopes to get
some people to like them. This seems to be a common mistake for many
who are receiving negative attention.
The second principle
that should be mentioned is the ability to replace negativity with
positivity. Lebron James has simply just kept playing basketball. He has
let his game statistics speak for themselves. He
has now won a championship and silenced the critics.
No matter if you are
playing basketball or operating a billion dollar company it is important
to replace the negative attention with positive actions. Speak of the
good that you are trying to do in the world.
Speak of what you want to speak about, and the things that will help
restore your image. Don’t focus on the negative stuff, control what you
want to speak about, and then allow the attention to fade away.
