Eminent 2021 – Introduction

Introducing: Phil Jackson

“The most we can hope for is to create the best possible conditions for success, then let go of the outcome. The ride is a lot more fun that way” – Phil Jackson in Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success.

 

I have been inspired by Phil Jackson and his Chicago Bulls since my speech on Michael Jordan in grade 5. Of course, I did not know specifically who his coach was at the time, but I am sure everybody is at least familiar with the name Michael Jordan. Well, this would not be the case if he did not have a coach like Phil Jackson. This is what intrigued me about him at first but after a little bit of research, I have found some of his leadership philosophies to be quite interesting as well. After all, the purpose of the research that we do is to not only strengthen our knowledge but our interest in the person as well. Phil Jackson is proving to be more and more qualified to be classified eminent the more I learn about him. Some common descriptions that people use for him include his mindset always being in the present. This means that he rarely wastes time thinking about the past or future, which makes a lot of sense to me for someone in his position. He is a straightforward, honest, and confident coach, and I feel that I can relate to those listed qualities in some way. Phil Jackson makes his priorities clear, which allows for effective team and individual goal-setting. Since we are talking about an NBA coach, these goals greatly differ from the goals of a TALONS learner. While his challenges come in the form of other teams, in my case, I am a part of the one team of students that come together to take on challenges. The process of doing so is still connected with Phil Jackson’s situation.

Who was the better coach: Bulls' Phil Jackson or Warriors' Steve Kerr? | RSN

Although he is most known for his work with the Chicago Bulls, Phil Jackson has impacted the NBA in so many more ways and still is today. In fact, I truly believe that his name will still be relevant for tens of years in the future; as long as the NBA maintains its popularity. The way that so many coaches and players build their routines based on his own philosophies; you cannot ignore your origins. However, this theory stays strong mainly because he is still alive. One’s memories simply cannot live on forever; it is only a matter of time until a new coach replaces his role of being the person that younger coaches look up to. Not to mention his absurd record of thirteen championship rings. You are going to have to wait a long time if you want to see someone surpass that number. We cannot discuss Phil Jackson’s eminence without mentioning the massive obstacles he had to get past along the way. Keep in mind that his prime era was the same time that several other franchises were in the midst of their big break. For example, the Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons are both teams that stood out as being significant obstacles in his way of championships. Phil Jackson is a great example of benefiting from challenges like this because his journey with the bulls would not have been as inspiring, and his players and mentees would not have gained as much. For those reasons, I believe that Phil Jackson deserves to be in the TALONS archives of eminent people, and I am eager to learn more about him throughout this project.

The next step of this project is interviewing someone that can give deeper information than Google. I already have a couple of people in my mind who would qualify for the position, so the first thing to do in preparation is to start jotting down some starter questions. I am going to aim for ten, because that is the amount that I had for my CLE interview, and that interview went well. I hope to use this opportunity to get some good and useful information from my interviewee.

 

Sources

Goodreads.com. Phil Jackson quotes. Retrieved from:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2853.Phil_Jackson

Basketballnetwork.net. Phil Jackson’s Unorthodox Approach of Running His Teams. Retrieved from:

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/phil-jacksons-unorthodox-approach-of-running-his-teams-was-one-of-the-main-reasons-for-their-success/

Espn.com. Phil Jackson on Jordan, one Infamous Finals Distraction and the End of a Dynasty. Retrieved from:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29177216/phil-jackson-jordan-one-infamous-finals-distraction-death-dynasty

Bleacherreport.com. Ranking the 10 Best NBA Teams of the 1990s. Retrieved from:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2899881-ranking-the-10-best-nba-teams-of-the-1990s

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14 thoughts on “Eminent 2021 – Introduction

  1. Hi AJ,
    I certainly have heard of the name Michael Jackson, but not Phil Jackson, what a great eminent person choice! From what you wrote, Phil Jackson’s philosophies and mindset sound interesting and beneficial to know about. Thanks for introducing me to Phil Jackson!

    Anita

      • Hi again AJ, I realized I did not offer you any constructive feedback in my previous comment, so sorry about that! My constructive feedback is that it would be nice if you could include a sentence or two about Phil Jackson’s history/childhood or how he became a coach or just listing one of the obstacles he overcame. Thanks!

        Anita

      • Hi again AJ, I realized I did not offer you any constructive feedback in my previous comment, so sorry about that! My constructive feedback is that it would be nice if you could include a sentence or two about Phil Jackson’s history/childhood or how he became a coach or just list one of the obstacles he overcame.

        Anita

      • Hi again AJ, I realized I did not offer you any constructive feedback in my previous comment, so sorry about that! My constructive feedback is that it would be nice if you could include a sentence or two about Phil Jackson’s history/childhood or how he became a coach or just list one of the obstacles he overcame. 🙂

        Anita

  2. Hi AJ,

    I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I especially like how your quote at the beginning really tied into your point about Phil Jackson’s mindset. From knowing you, I agree with how some of Jackon’s qualities are similar to yours. A piece of advice that I have for your future posts is that you should have a sign-off at the end, such as “Thank you for reading, AJ” or something similar. Thanks for teaching me about Phil Jackson, AJ!

    Dylan

  3. Something about the blog I liked was your take on how one’s memories can’t survive forever.
    Something fascinating about your personal connection is being straightforward, honest, and confident.
    Something to improve would be to include more ways you connect to your eminent person other than your qualities.

  4. Hi Adrian
    I liked how much information you gave and how you showed that you really understand who Phil Jackson is and why he deserves to be remembered. Your connections to him were great, and I agree that some of the qualities you mentioned are useful qualities to have. You could’ve talked a bit more about how Phil Jackson overcame the obstacles that you mentioned, but overall, it was a great introduction.

  5. I think you did a good job explaining Phil Jackson’s impact on basketball and coaching. I really like the second picture you used of him, and you overall were very effective in painting a broad picture of Jackson and his eminence. One thing I think would be a good inclusion is a description of what Jackson did in his coaching that made him stand out in that respect.

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