JayMJ23
2 HN recommenders · recommended in 5 months, 2010–2016
0:31 · 7.5M views · Aug 25, 2006
A Nike commercial in which Michael Jordan lists the shots he missed and games he lost, saying that repeated failure is the reason he succeeds.
HN invokes it as the classic illustration of learning through repeated failure and iterating, often in startup threads.
7 comments from Hacker News
(Even more off-topic) You really reminded me of Jordan's "Failure" commercial, which everyone should see: this video
Reminds me of the Jordan commercial [1] where he mentions he lost more than 9000 shots in his career, lost almost 300 games and missed 26 game winning shots. Amazing commercial (like most Nike commercials). [1] this video
I failed Zden.com in 2002 (launched in 2000). Regrets turned into positive(?) lessons (I hope one day I can say that). * When you are doomed, you are doomed. Better to start over than try to fix. If there is good chance that the reason why you do not get traction is mono-dimensional (eg. just the UI or (exclusive) just performance...), it seems ok to go on & try to tweak it, but if you it is multidimensional (several reasons) (Technology, management, wrong market assumptions), then pull the plug ASAP. I did not have the guts to cut 3 fingers, so reality took my arm. * Even if others "co-founders", I was alone (CEO with masteroftheuniverse equity stake), I had just came back from a 99 boiling BayArea startup, there was a wrong "guru" effect: no real co-founder (especially hacker) to tell me "this is wrong, you are kidding yourself". Selfcomplacent, mono thinking: doomed. * Focus, focus, focus: you have to make hard choices so that you will NOT do X,Y,Z in order to become better at U. Not only experienced it for Zden, but another company I have worked (could have gone further quicker) for they did not have the balls (at least for 9years) to cut off either distractive product/features, or market sectors that are not going anywhere while another is booming etc. "Everything for everybody": doomed * Do not impose new behaviors on users/prospects (or just a super light one maybe) (worst is several at the same time). Users/prospects do not care about you & your service (by definition
The strategy behind both Nike's and Apple's branding is much further expounded on in a great film called Art & Copy. I highly recommend it. Nike's message is "just do it". It isn't about hanging out with athletes, it's appreciating aspiration and athleticism of all stripes [1]. Nike is a dominant enough clothing brand that they benefit from encouraging general athleticism. Their products are barely present in their branding, if at all. Apple's message is (and has been) to "think different" and "we're here to help you change the world for the better". Sure, it appeals to the rebellious youth in people, but it also appeals to scientists, artists, and philosophers in search of new paradigms to overturn the status quo. The "think different" commercial isn't about their computers. It's a public service announcement sponsored by Apple. 1. Even when Nike puts Michael Jordan in a commercial, it isn't about "hanging out with him", but about overcoming fear of failure, and "just doing it": this video PS: Just searched for "nike michael jordan commercial" for more, and found another brilliant piece: [LINK] (again, I'd argue this is about appreciating the beauty of athleticism more so than "hanging out with Jordan").
Geeky way of saying a million monkeys at a typewriter. This is Michael Jordan's philosophy: this video Ira Glass believes that some people start out producing work that isn't as good or match their good taste. It's after a lot of work, trial and error, and mistakes that the disparity between your good taste and your good work match up. Be patient, keep trying, be confidant. I should have joined a football team.