Magic Johnson: How to Design the Next Act of Your Life

put your passions and your talents to good youth. So when I was getting ready to leave office, I knew I had to look to the future and figure out what my next chapter was going to be. In two thousand one, I started the Clinton Foundation so that I could devote my time and energy the issues I cared about, where I thought I can make a difference, and where I could help a lot of people. Looking back over the last two decades now, these twenty years have been

some of the most rewarding of my life. So why am I telling you this? Because no one should ever assume that their best, most important, most productive days are behind them. We all have the ability to keep growing and changing, learning and giving. And today I'm joined by someone who's extraordinary life has proved that as well as anyone I've ever known. I met Magic Johnson when I ran for president and shortly after he'd been diagnosed with

HIV and retired from the NBA. Had followed his career from his time at Michigan State through his incredible run with the Lakers. But from the time I first met him, I've been more impressed by who he is as a

person than anything you've done on the basketball court. He's built an amazing career in business and taking special pride in shattering the myth that businesses can't thrive and underserved urban communities, and he started the Magic Johnson Foundation, first to raise awareness of HIV AIDS, then with an expanded mission to combat other challenges, including poverty and health disparities. When we first met, he told me he wanted to do as well as both an entrepreneur and an activist

as he had as an athlete. He studied it, he worked at it, just as he studied basketball games and practice for hours on end, and he had the discipline not to waste that emotional time and energy wishing he could do what he couldn't do anymore. So I'm honored to introduce and c double a champion or Wempid Gold Medal. Was five time NBA Champion, three time m v P, twelve time All Star, and founder of the Magic Johnson Foundation, Chairman and CEO of Maggie Johnson Enterprise. My now a

longtime friend, Maggie Johnson. Thanks for being here, Magic Well, thank you for having me, sir. You know I love you, and uh, you know, we've had such an incredible friendship since the first day we met. We went in Mexico together. I don't know if you remember this. Carlos him had his foundation event. He was giving scholarships to I believed ten thousand kids. That day in the evening time, he had a dinner at his house for all these people

who were giving them money for his foundation. And you came up and you were the speaker, and you gave one of the most incredible speeches. But also you were working the crowd at the same time. So I said,

I'm gonna steal some of that. I'm gonna take some of that from President Clinton and how you always when you had the meeting line, when everybody came up to meet you as the president or just meet you at that gala, you looked every single person in the eye and said hello to them and made them feel like they were special. And I took that from you. Again. You don't know that this little black boy from Lansing, Michigan, who idolized you and who watch your every move and

you made me better. Well, thank you. Let's do just a little bit of basketball and then talk about your life since then. To tell us a little bit about growing up, how you got into basketball, and how you decided you wanted to stay and play for Michigan State. Well, I grew up with six sisters and three brothers, so a big family. My father worked for General Motors for thirty years and one award for never being late and never missing a day in thirty years. Yeah, so you

see where I got my work ethic from. And so I'm just I'm built just like my father. I'm a worker. And so my mother worked for the school district in the school cafeteria. The one ain't they stressed was education. Um, they let me know early on. Yes, we were happy that you play basketball, but if you don't get good grades, you won't be playing at all. So that kept me

in the books. President Clinton, you'd be happy to know that all my sisters our teachers in the school system, and so they teach young people today in Lansing, Michigan. I'm really proud of all of them. And then I fell in love with the game watching basketball every Saturday, every Sunday with my father. He would sit on the floor, so I would say, sit right next to him, and I would watch college basketball on Saturday. And then on Sunday, they made sure that we went to church as a family.

And then every Sunday, no matter what was going on, I don't care how many games I had, we had to have dinner on Sunday as a family. Everybody had to be there. There's no excuses. That's why I'm a family guy today, you know. But I fell in love with the game just watching him with my father. And then every time I would watch an NBA game, and at that time, Bob Couzy uh, Bill Russell of the Celtics,

John Havitek of the Celtics, Oscar Robinson uh. Then of course when Kareem with lou All Sunder with the Milwaukee Bucks, I would go out and I would emulate what they were doing on TV. So I would practice all their moves. Uh. And I played basketball all the time, President Clinton. I mean, it wasn't a day that I didn't play basketball. I used to shovel the snow off the ground and I would play basketball. And my mom was like, she said, that boy just loved to play basketball. And it was.

This funny thing was in the summertime. My father also had a trash hauling service. Because so many mouths of feed, he had to take on a second job. And so every day in the summertime, Monday through Saturday, I would work on the truck with my father, picking up people's trash. But I would say this, President Clinton, this is the greatest moment of my life. What happened to me, and this thing changed my life. So during the school year, I would get on my father's truck on Saturdays only.

And so it was it must have been seven below zero, and my job was to get all the loose trash around the barrels and put it on the truck. It was so cold that morning that I got half to trash and I jumped into the cabin of the truck. And you appreciate this. By the time I closed the door, my father had opened the door and grabbed me and took me back to the ice wood where the trash was stuck in, and he said, Irvin, if you do this job halfway, you do everything in your life halfway.

You're practice basketball halfway, you will study half the time. I want you to go get the shovel and break up the ice and get that trash out of there and put it on the truck. And at that moment in time, I became a perfectionist and everything I was doing in my life, I had to do it right because my father taught me that lesson early on. That's why I am the man that I am today. I have my mother smile and her personality and want to help everybody. And I'm just like my father. I'm a worker.

I get a great joy out of out of working, and it's because of him. So that's my background really and growing up and landing. But the great thing President Clinton, I took every school I went to had never won a championship. So I started in elementary. I want everything go championship from the second grade all the way through the sixth grade, from the seventh grade middle school, I won every championship seven, eighth and ninth grade. Then when I got to high school, I got bussed across town.

So what happened was I was supposed to go to an all black school in my neighborhood, and they were powerhouse in the state of Michigan, and I wanted to be a part of that tradition. Busing had just came into Michigan, and I'm only a ten minute walk from my high school. I thought I was going to Well, now I'm taking a twenty minute bus ride across town. I got there. The first week or two there was

fighting every single day. So the third week, President Clinton, our principal principal troop, was waiting for the bus, and as the bus pulled up, he said, Irvan Johnson, come to my office. He says, um, there's been fighting intention in this high school for two weeks. I wanted to stop. So I assembled all the black students in the gym and Irvin, you're gonna talk to him. And he had a football player who was our best football player, who havn't be white, and he told him, you're gonna go

talk to the white students. President Clinton, I said, I just got here. I'm only fifteen years old. This juniors or seniors, why don't you get one of them to talk to the student. He said, no, they won't listen to them, but they'll listen to you. So President Clinton, just at that moment, I didn't know. I I became a leader outside of basketball, right. I I've always led on the basketball court, but in school or my peers, I never led them. So here I am speaking to

all the students ensure enough we stopped fighting. I told him we had to be here, so let's make the best of it. Let's get our education. And that was the best. Not only that moment was the best thing for me, but also the three years going to that high school because I learned to work with people who

didn't look like me. I learned to get along with people who didn't look like me, because that was going to be my world, right And so I'm so happy that I got bussed across town and that I was able to work with people who didn't look like me and go to school with people who didn't look like with me who became my friends too. And then I led that school to his first state basketball championship at the same time, So everything that's came together for me.

So those are that's how I grew up. Well, it's a good story. And I want people to listen to it, especially after we've just been through a few years when people act like our differences are all that matter, and the truth is that diverse groups make better decisions in every endeavor in life. Thank you for telling the story.

I also want to thank you for explaining where you fell in love with basketball, watching those games with your dad and then going out and trying to emulate what you saw, because I followed your career from the time you were in college and I could never figure out why in the living daylights I was looking at a guard who could shoot a skyhook. Now, I know you watched Kareem do it, didn't we may have unearthed a

very important part of basketball history. What we again. You know, he was the most dominant player at that time, so growing up, he was just a beautiful basketball player to watch. I mean, the sky hook, the footwork, the balance. Also too. People don't realize too, he's a smart man, too, super smart.

I mean, he's so intelligent and so um. I put it in my game and sure enough, I shot that skyhood a number of times in the n s A Tournament and then thank God that the Lakers came calling, and uh, I idolized Kareem, so now I'm getting a chance to play with him. Oh, we'll be right back

when you were on that Dream Team in ninety two. First, what was it like you were all those guys who were older than you were, and were you aware at the time the impact here we're all having across the world and making basketball maybe the world's favorite global sport. It's only sport. Really, Basketball is the only thing to seriously challenge soccer is the world sport for women and

men too. First of all, just felt honored to represent my country, to be selected to the Dream Team, the first time pro basketball players were allowed to play in the Olympics. UM. And then it was on my bucket list to always play with Michael Jordan's and Larry Bird and we had fought hard against each other for so many years, but now finally we're gonna get a chance

to play with each other. And so President Clinton, I'm used to coming down the middle for the Los Angeles Lakers, and I got James Worthy on my right, I got Byron Scott on my left, k rambas Is trailing, and then Kareem f Jule Jabbar will come down later on if we don't get a layup, a dunk or a jump shot. Here, come down and shoot the Scott hook. But now I have Michael Jordan's on my right. Oh man,

Larry Bird is on my left. Charles Barkley is trailing Scottie Pippen is trailing Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullen, Man, David Robinson, Patrick Ewen. I mean you're sitting there, John Stockton. One a team. It was so amazing. We committed to each other and this is what changed everything. First day of practice, Chuck Daly said, President Clinton, Michael Jordan, You're going to be the captain of the Dream Team. And Michael Jordan said, no, I don't deserve to be the captain of the Dream team.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird should be the captain of the Dream Team. So at that moment in time, that meant everybody had to leave their ego at the door, because Michael Jordan just said, hey, I'm good just being on this team, so everybody else gotta be good too. So it made our job, Larry and our job easier to lead the team because Michael Jordan's just said, hey, I'm just here, I'm gonna do my job, and everybody else should do their job so we can win the

gold medal. Well, we blew everybody out by over forty two points a game. It's the best basketball was ever involved in it in my life. And then last but not least, it was a scrimmage. It was a game that nobody saw. That was the greatest basketball that we all ever played in our entire lives. Chuck Daly said, Okay, this is what we're gonna do. I'm a divide the team East versus the West. So Michael Jordan's and Scottie Pippen with the Bulls. Charles Barkley played for Philadelphia, he's

over there. Larry Bird of course with the Celtics. Patrick Ewing was at starting center because he played for the Knicks. On our team, of course, we had all the West guys, so that man, David Robinson, Carl Malone, Chris Mullen, Clyde Drexler, and John stocktor So he said, all right, you guys gonna go head to head, and I want to see who's the best. President Clinton. Oh my goodness, I had never seen a group of men come together on both sides and play this game the way we played it.

It was just unbelievable. You got everything that you would love in the game of basketball. If you wanted great passes, you got great passes. You wanted to see jump shots, you got that. You want to see defense. Patrick Ewing and David Robinson was blocking shots left and right. I mean, it was just unbelievable basketball, and everybody took it to the next level. I've seen everybody play. All these men played before, but they didn't play like that. They played

to another level. If you can imagine Michael Jordan and Larry Bird going to another level. It was just unbelievable to witness and to be a part of. These are the two plays that really stood out to me. Patrick Uning had a breakaway down the middle. He came down and he thought he was gonna dunk it. David Robinson jumped straight up with two hands and blocked it, and we all went crazy because how could he just block this shot that this man was gonna tear the rim down? Right?

And I came down and I threw a no look pass to Karl Malone and he went down and almost tore the basket down. So it was a time out and I had to I like to mess with Michael Jordan's So I said, m j if you don't turn into air Jordan, we're gonna blow you guys out. President Clinton, what did I do that for? This guy came out the next five possession and he hit five straight three pointers and then he did one of the greatest moves

I've ever seen in my life. Now, he came down the right side and David Robinson jumped and he thought he had to block. Well, Michael Jordan just held the ball and waited till he went all the way down to the floor and looked at him as he was still in the air, and he turned and did a three sixty and dunked it. And it was like, that's the greatest shot I've ever seen in my life. Who hangs in the air that long? And that's what you got out of this game. Just unbelievable, play after play

after play. And finally Chuck Daily that when the clock ran out the score was tied, and Chuck Daty said, well, do you want to go into overtime? And we said yeah, But everybody felt we were playing so hard against each other somebody may get hurt, right, And so that ended in a tie. But let me tell you that was the greatest basketball I've ever seen and been a part of. And those memories last forever. And look at how many players from overseas we have planning in the NBA today

because of the Dream Team. What a what great story. So there you are, and then all of a sudden, it's over. When you gave up something you love so much and did so well, did you just instantaneously remake yourself or had you been preparing for this emotionally and psychologically a long time. Did you have a good plan. I was prepared for life after basketball because I had two dreams in my life. I've always wanted to play in the NBA and I also wanted to become a businessman.

I met two African American businessmen in Lansing, Michigan. I didn't know that African Americans could own businesses. But Joe Ferguson and Greg Eaton, two gentlemen who also supported you, a very good friend of mine, and they showed me that we could own businesses. And I asked them one day to become my mentors, asked them for a job. They gave me my first real job, and they're still great mentors and friends. Of mine even today. So I was preparing for life after basketball during the time I

was playing in the NBA. Dr Jerry Buster, owner of the Lakers, became my first mentor, and uh then I had guys Michael Ovis, Peter Gruber, all these guys became my mentors while I was still playing m and then when in when we made the announcement that I had HIV um, it devastated me. And I want to say to everybody out there, it took me a year to really to get over the fact that I wasn't playing the game that I loved, the game that brought so

much joy and happiness to my life. The first year, it took me time to understand what I had to deal with living first with HIV. When I got the diagnosis, I remember that HIV and as at that time, was a death sentence. I said, how can I be here a long time? The doctor told me three things. He said urban Number one, you gotta take your med's. Second, he said, you gotta be okay with your new status because it's all about an attitude in a mindset. Now,

he said, Third, you gotta work out. I said, now, are those are three things I have to do to be here a long time. He said, those are the three things I think you have to do. And so I tell you what really happened to me, President Clinton. I'm laying on a couch feeling sorry for myself. This is about eight nine months in now. I'm I'm angry, I'm upset. I'm not playing basketball. So I came into the house after working out and my wife said get out. And what she said, no, get out? So Cookie is

telling me to get out the house. I said, get out? What are you talking about? She said, when you come back, I want you to be the man that I married. You've never been a guy who felt sorry for himself. You always looked at life said hey, you've dealt with things that came your way, and you moved on. You know, you moved done with life. You you had dreams of becoming a businessman. Now it's time to go after those dreams. But you're sitting on this couch feeling sorry for yourself.

And that's not you. And that's what changed my life. So I got up and started working towards becoming a businessman. I stopped thinking about trying to come back to the NBA. And why I'm not playing and so on. I The first thing I did was President Bush at that time, asked me to join his Age Commission. I went to Boston one day. This was really hurt me. They had a brand new hospice, thirty beds. They only had one

person in that hospice. And I said, wait a minute, you got twenty nine beds open and we don't have people in there. They said, the certificate process is so outrageous that people can and get in. And that that President Clinton, I cried. I was so upset that we had this facility to take care of people who are living with HIV and a's and and and people who need it beds, who needed rooms and they're on the street,

and and so that just hurt me. And I was so happy when you became the president, and the funds that you committed also to you speaking up, and look at what happened. The results got better, the meds got better, we had more medicine. We had now people could get jobs, and some of the discrimination stopped against people who were living with hibn A. So a lot of things change with your leadership. And so I want to say thank you.

But my wife helped me to then jump start my business career, and then things just opened up for me and I did all the businesses and all the things I always wanted to do. I started the Magic Johnson Foundation. We raised millions and millions of dollars for people were living with HIV and AIDS. Also those who couldn't pay for their medicine. We were able to help them pay for their medicine. On and on and on, so especially in the black community, because it was running rapid through

the black and brown community. So I had to educate my people about this disease and what it was doing to our community. So again it was just uh that time I got into business, but also was committed. And then last but not least, I got to say something about Elizabeth Glazier who was dying of AIDS at that time, and you remember she allowed cookie and I had to go visit her, and she said, I want you to become the face of this disease because we need a face.

We don't have a face. And I committed to her when she was dying that I would do that. And sure enough, it'll be thirty years this November that I'm living with HIV. And so she changed my life. She changed my wife life. I'm so happy to steal be in a fight, and I'm so happy about the magic Johnson found Nation and also the Clinton Foundation and all the things you're doing. And people don't know all the things you're doing now, not just here in America but

around the world. President Clinton, your foundation has touched so many people. So thank you for what you've been doing. Um so, because that's important. Stay tuned for more of the conversation after this short break. Let's talk to us a little bit before we run out of time here. What's the first successful busin as you know, what was your first success? The first success, I would say it

was a radio station. That was my first thing. Um minorities were allowed at that time to buy TV stations, radio stations, uh at a cheaper price, and uh so I bought radio stations and then resold them. I changing from my AM to a FM, which the FM more expensive. So it worked out great for me, and I brought a bunch of basketball players in with me and they

all made money. They thought I was a here their hero then, right so, But I would say the biggest thing I ever done in the beginning though, to prove myself to have a track record of success. Was Starbucks taking Starbucks and you and I. People don't people don't realize how align you and I are and how friends were. This is really incredible. It's two people on this earth

who changed Harlem, and we're both on this zoom call today. First, when I put the Magic Johnson Theater and I in Harlem and I brought Starbucks to Harlem, that changed Harlem. Then this this president what's his name? President Clinton put his office right by my Starbucks. That changed Harlem. So both of us are responsible for what's going on today. Now. They have so many new restaurants. You see people eating outside in Harlem that never happened before. New development is

going up in Harlem, hotels, things of that nature. So we created a lot of job opportunities in Harlem, but all so places for people to go. That was my first big deal was building a hundred and twenty five Starbucks in forty different cities across the country. And Howard shows I owe him a lot because we came together and did some powerful and great things in the inner cities of America by bringing Starbucks to the urban communities.

Why did you buy w NBA team. I love women's basketball and even today, I watched college women's games all the time. And then when you think about uh, the w n b A and owning the l A Sparks, Um, I was going to the games already. And so when the team came up for sale, my partners and I who owned the Dodgers, together, we just said, hey, why don't we just buy the team because we all love uh the w n b A, we love uh women's sports. So so we decided to buy the team, and it

was it's been great owning the team. Candice Parker, who is one of the greatest players of all time to play in and college basketball and the w n b A. You know, we're led by her, and so President Clint I had. I've had some year when I think about the Lakers winning the championship and they dedicated the year to Kobe Bryant of course with him passing away, and they end up winning the championship, and then my Dodgers end up winning the World Series. So it's been some

year for me in terms of sports. And uh uh that's why I bought them, because I just wanted to keep the l A Sparks in Los Angeles and my wife and I enjoy and then one day we can pass on to our daughter, who also played high school basketball herself. Well, the one thing I want to do. I know we gotta wrap this up and you've got something else to do. But I don't think most people know just how much you have done since the COVID problem, you know, WACICS to save minority and women owned businesses.

I think the you know it turned out to be your opportunity because you saw it as an opportunity and an obligation to do something to advance racial justice and economic justice, as well as to lend a helping hand to small businesses who don't have the access to capital that you do. So just talk about what you did through your insurance company and to help businesses minority and women owned businesses after COVID, because uh, it's been a

big problem all across the country. Not a lot of bigger businesses did find and could access this government program, and sometime the people that needed to the most couldn't get it, and you stepped in into the breach. And I think it may be twenty years from now one of the most significant things you ever done in your life, and I want a record of it. So the first thing we were able to do was commit a couple

hundred million. The money went so fast because so many businesses needed help that then we put up another hundred million, brought the total to three million dollars, and we were able to save tens of thousands of businesses and also UH saved them from also firing or letting go of their employees as well. I'm so happy that I was in a position God blessed me to be in this

position to help. I've always been about trying to uplift the Black community and the Latino community anyway I can, and so UM, I just felt at that time it was a need and I could be a solution to those small black business owners and Latino business owners and women own businesses as well. So UH it's been a

blessing for them and a blessing for me too. At the same time, as we close, I want to say again how much you have meant to all three of us and our small family, a shining light and a constant reminder to never give up, keep your chin up, and keep going. But now all over America people are beginning to wonder where when is this ever gonna be over? And when it's over, will whatever be like it was? And if it's not gonna be like it was, is it gonna be good? How do you think about that? What?

What would you say to people about how to stay with the program right now so we don't have a lot more people die? And then how do you think about the future. I'm a positive guy. I've always been that, and I think that, uh, we'll be heading in the right direction as a country, and I think people need

to just hold on. Help is on the way. When you think about this pandemic and what's going on there, I think that, you know, we get our shots and do what we're supposed to do and wear our mask and stay safe and healthy, I think, and protect not only yourself but other people will be fine there. But I think the economy will turn around, and I think that uh, hopefully uh, in the next whether it's this year or in we'll be back to heading in the right direction and back strong again as a nation, and

I think the economy will be strong as well. So I'm looking forward to that and I hope to be a part of that solution as well, just like I work with you. Just like I work with President Obama, I want to make sure I work with President Biden as well and just make things better for our treet but also those who live in urban America. That's always been my focus and it will always be my focus. Well, we just heard a remarkable person. My life has been

breathed by his friendship and by the example. He said. We love you man, Thank you so much. I love you, and thank you for happening. Mission. I'll see you. Thank you. Why am I telling you? This is a production of our Heart Radio, the Clinton Foundation and at Will Media. Our executive producers are Craig Manascion and Will Malnady. Our production team includes Mitch Bluestein, Jamison cat Sufis, Tom Galton, Sarah Harrows, and Jake Young, with production support from Tyler

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