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Even when I went to the playground, I never picked the best players. I picked guys with less talent, but who were willing to work hard and had the desire to be great.

Magic Johnson

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Magic Johnson
Age: 65
Born: 1959
Born: August 14
Actor
Basketball Coach
Basketball Player
Businessperson
Entrepreneur
Film Producer
Financier
Hiv Activist
Motivational Speaker
Lansing
Michigan
Earvin Magic Johnson Jr.
Earvin Johnson
Jr.
Earvin Johnson
Earvin Johnson Jr.
Best
Guys
Hard
Talent
Great
Player
Even
Willing
Playground
Work
Went
Playgrounds
Never
Guy
Picked
Less
Perseverance
Desire
Players

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God blessed me with two unbelievable parents, and I am just like both of them. I have the smile and charisma of my mother and the big heart of my mom, because she wants to save the world and help the world, so I am just like her.
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Once Michael gets up there he says, 'Well, maybe I'll just hang up here in the air for a while, just sit back.' Then all of a sudden, he says, 'Well, maybe I'll 360. No I changed my mind. I'll go up on the other side.' He's just incredible.
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I'm at peace with myself. The main thing is not letting people dictate what I do or what I am.
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The looks, the stares, the giggles . . . I wanted to show everybody that I could do better and also that I could read.
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You either have to be great or you have to be bad to get a good pick.
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I am a businessman. This is what I do each and every day. I love it. I love coming to work. I never have a bad day.
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I'm from there. You know, when you grow up with these people and see them every day and then you look at the numbers... it was easy it was a no-brainer. And when Sony took a look, it was a no-brainer to them, too.
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It all started when I got injured early in my second season. This turned out to be as difficult emotionally as physically.
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If the community is happy, then they support your business and if your business is doing well, then you can give back even more to the community.
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A lot of black guys always ask me, 'Did Larry Bird really play that good?' I said, 'Larry Bird is so good it's frightening.'
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My diet is mostly chicken and fish. I make sure I get a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruit. I am a big fruit man, I am a vegetable man anyway. And I also get a lot of rest. That's the key I may be up early, but I'm in bed early too.
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I was around when my father finished the last payment of his house. I remember like it was yesterday. He had worked all those years to own that house and he cried. He was so excited and so happy and I want to see other people get that feeling, too.
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When I first found out I had HIV, I had to find somebody who was living with it, who could help me understand my journey and what I was going to have to deal with day-to-day. I found out that a person named Elizabeth Frazier was living with AIDS at the time, and so I called her up, and she took a meeting with me.
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Talent is never enough. With few exceptions the best players are the hardest workers.
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HIV changed my life, but it doesn't keep me from living.
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When you are honest and open with young people, they let you in.
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Even as a fierce competitor I try to smile.
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I was able to see what I wanted to do, I could see the opportunity, even when others could not, and I stay committed to doing it and doing it well, no matter what.
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For me, it always goes back to something I learned in basketball. There's winning and there's losing, and in life you have to know they both will happen. But what's never been acceptable to me is quitting.
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If you're a competitive person, that stays with you. You don't stop. You always look over your shoulder.
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