He got cut from his high school team.

Not benched. Cut.

Michael Jordan—arguably the greatest athlete of all time—was told he wasn’t good enough.

That moment? It changed everything.

He went home. Locked himself in his room. Cried.

Then got up the next morning and went straight to work.

Every day that season, he trained like the coach was watching. Every drill, every rep, every shot—done with a purpose.

That cut wasn’t failure.

It was ignition. 🔥

Why the Best Run Toward the Fire

MJ’s entire career was built on one belief: If you want to be great, you better be ready to fail.

He missed over 9,000 shots.

Lost nearly 300 games.

Had 26 game-winners in his hands—and didn’t hit.

And still?

He’s the GOAT.

Because failure wasn’t a threat. It was fuel.

“I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

He never avoided failure.

He used it.

The “Last Dance” Mentality

By the time the Bulls were chasing title after title, MJ wasn’t afraid of pressure—he was built by it.

If he lost a game, he came back sharper.

If someone talked trash, he took it personally 😤.

If the moment got too big, he made it his.

Game 6, 1998 NBA Finals. Final possession.

No fear. No hesitation.

Just a guy who’d failed a thousand times before—and trained his mind to trust the work when it mattered most.

Our Challenge to You: Use Failure As Fuel

You don’t become elite by running from failure.

You become elite by hunting it down, facing it head-on, and owning the gaps it exposes.

Here’s how to start this week:
✅ Write down the last time you failed. Be honest.
✅ Find the gap. What was missing—mental? Physical? Emotional?
✅ Attack it. Daily. No letting up.

Failure isn’t the end.

It’s your launchpad. 🚀

Stay resilient,

Matt “Failure is Fuel” Caldaroni

CEO, Molliteum