It is what it is: I’m a sports guy. Some people appreciate William Blake. Others Tkaikovsky. I have Sam Presti, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s general manager (written about here, here, here). His team, my team, is one win away from their first NBA championship. If I didn’t write about my team again, right now, it would feel sacrilegious. A jinx. And I’m not jinxing my team.
(By the time you read this, OKC will have either already hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy on Thursday night, or I’ll have already discarded five pounds of sweat, hair, and norepinephrine from pacing the neighborhood after losing. Before Game 7 on Sunday, a wellness check is advisable. I’ll have not taken off my Shai Gilgeous-Alexander jersey for four days.)
In the workshop on Tuesday, I dialed up The Bill Simmons Podcast. The current head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Doc Rivers, joined the show. Doc was the Celtics coach when they won the title in ’08, was once a helluva player himself, and was also the only redeemable character in FX’s Clipped. As I listened to their conversation about the Thunder and Pacers, Doc said something that made me drop my sandpaper:
“If Oklahoma City wins this one (the 2025 championship)… you’re going to have to deal with them. Nothing, once you win, can shake your confidence. The only way to knock them out is… you’re going to have to kill ’em.”
I have no idea if the Thunder will win Thursday night. I believe they will, but the Pacers are savvy, clutch, and seemingly made by bricks of resolve. Yet, if the Thunder do win, per Doc, what they’ll own is something beyond the realm of belief: it’s proof.
Isn’t that what we’re after too? What if we risk it all, duel with the unbeatable, and actually win the game of becoming who we are? How might unshakeable confidence impact the rest of our lives?
There’s only one way to find out.
To livin’ a life we love,
Ryan Fightmaster, MD
(P.S. I just released a new YouTube video, ”How to Change Careers in 5 Steps”. It’s an attempt to channel the past three years of experience into actionable advice. Have a watch and let me know if it was helpful.)
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