During my ten years playing with and being captain of the Globetrotters and my recent travels as a speaker, I have now been to one hundred and two countries. My most recent trip was to Tanzania on vacation. Three down, and they keep coming. That young kid who set big goals that others saw as impossible has grown to achieve all of those goals and more. Though initially achieved, each goal can continue to be fulfilled repeatedly. I can still get paid for basketball in some way, still “play” with top players in the field, and still travel. Now, I accomplish this as the founder of the Daley Speaker’s Academy. I retired from the Globetrotters while there was still game left in me. I sometimes felt guilty for leaving when I didn’t have some lofty project to move to, but I wanted to take what I had learned in other directions. While still playing, I finished my college degree online while traveling worldwide. Despite naysayers saying I couldn’t play ball and complete my degree, I graduated with high distinction. I look for those little motivations to drive me to success. THE GAME DOESN’T HAVE TO END
I began motivational speaking while still playing basketball and expected to transition to it full-time after retirement. Unfortunately, I didn’t know the industry or how to run a successful speaking business then, so my first attempt failed. I had to work, so my first significant venture after the game was working at an entry-level corporate America job. Here I was, a 6’ 5” tall man sitting in a cubicle at thirty-eight years old. Yet, using my skills as a player led me to quick success and fast promotions within six months. I then went on to help a startup company reach a $2.2 billion valuation during my tenure there. Leadership, being a team player, getting up after a fall, and setting goals to achieve afforded me great success after the game. After receiving coaching and training, I began booking big gigs in motivational speaking with large corporations and universities. Other athletes noticed and asked how I transitioned after the game to create anew. Some are not ready to walk into a 9-5 job. Many athletes end up being coaches in their sports. That made me feel like a babysitter, caring for people’s kids who didn’t want to be in sports camp but had to go somewhere. I took a different route into real estate, authorship, and speaking. I saw the gap in support for
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