Magic Johnson says going to sleep early and waking up early to get his day started allows him to make money while others are sleeping.
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Magic was one of the first NBA players to sign a deal worth well over $1 million in the 1980s. Lakers owner Dr Jerry Buss gave him a 25-year contract worth $1 million every year.
However, after the NBA signed a new TV deal, that money looked like peanuts compared to other contracts. Magic retired having earned nearly $40 million – a good absolute number, but minuscule compared to today’s players.
From that point till today, Magic launched a slew of businesses to expand his net worth and bring it up. He invested in movie theaters, Starbucks franchises and in real estate.
As of 2023, the Lakers legend is worth well over $600 million – a sum nearly 15 times his gross career earnings. He obviously didn’t build this fortune overnight, and he definitely didn’t do it by kicking back and relaxing on his accolades.
Magic Johnson discloses a secret to his success in business
Magic Johnson was recently interviewed by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson for the All the Smoke podcast. The trio chopped it up and talked about many topics from the 5-time champion’s NBA successes.
Amidst all this, Barnes and Jackson were curious about Magic’s approach to business success. Johnson obliged and gave a summary explanation of how he goes about his day:
“My father always stressed to me (that) anything I was gonna achieve in life, I was gonna have to work for it. So I’m a working man. I love to work, I go to bed early. Like this is late for me. I did this for you guys ‘cuz I love you guys so much.”
“I’m out when it’s 8:30. I’m up at 4 o’clock every morning. I train for 2 hours. One hour with the weights and 1 hour of cardio. And then I’m in the office all day.”
“So what you wanna understand, when you wanna build a successful business, you wanna make money when people are sleeping. That’s what I do. I make money when people are sleeping. And that’s what we have to get into.”
“And so for me, ain’t nothing good happening for me after 8:30. It might be happening for everybody else out there, but not for me. I’m going to sleep so I can get ready for my next day.”
