J. Cole is one of the bestselling recording artists in the world. He is also a decent basketball player.
A few years ago, he played for the Scarborough Shooting Stars. (This would’ve been fun to talk to Faiz about. Hamza and I grew up in Scarborough!)
He recently played a game with the Chinese Basketball Association, which has been home to some former NBA players as well. He was on the floor for several minutes, and didn’t get to score any buckets. There are many ways to tell this story. Here are two:
J. Cole’s performance was lackluster and, relatively, shrugworthy. There is a fair amount of roasting going on. Or…
J. Cole was incredibly fortunate and skilled to have a chance to play in a top tier league at the age of 41. With a few more games, he’d have improved. That’s how he reflects on it.
Every day, you choose to tell yourself a story along one of these lines: are you going to go with other people’s harsh opinions of you? Or will you give yourself a chance to improve, and smell the flowers around you?
The first leads to ease, the second leads to excellence. It’s always much more challenging to choose to believe in the face of adversity.
To me, J. Cole’s story is just as impactful as his music.