Peyton Manning, Michael Jordan, and Serena Williams are three of the most successful athletes in sports history, and they all have the same secret to success. Michael Jordan earned a whopping $93,877,500 in his career, while Manning tacked on another $248,732,000, with Serena Williams making $94,520,000. Combined, they’ve made $437,129,500, showing the crazy success they’ve had. Jordan and Manning’s figures come from Spotrac while Serena Williams’ figure comes from Statista. These three legends appeared in a Gatorade ad to discuss where success comes from, and they had the same line of thinking.
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Peyton Manning is widely considered to be a top-three quarterback of all time in the NFL. He is also easily considered to be the greatest regular season quarterback in NFL history, winning 5 MVPs and producing the greatest season by a quarterback in history. Not to mention, he has two Super Bowls to his name as well. Michael Jordan is heavily considered the GOAT of the NBA with his six NBA titles, five MVPs, and a whole list of other accolades. Serena Williams is acknowledged to be the greatest women’s tennis player, winning 23 Grand Slam titles (most in the Open Era), has finished the year as the number one ranked player five times, and is the only player to achieve a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
Peyton Manning, Michael Jordan, and Serena Williams Reveal the Secret to Success is Failure
What defines success? How do you reach the highest of the highs? If you ask these three legends, they’ll tell you that the best way to the top is to fail first.
In this Gatorade ad, which also featured athletes like JJ Watt, Karl Anthony Towns, Eli Manning, and more, Manning, Jordan, and Williams offer up their moments of weakness to show what they overcame to get to where they finished.
Jordan often talks about how he was cut from his high school varsity team, taking it as a lesson to be better. Meanwhile, Manning’s rookie season was terrible. As a number one overall pick, he went 3-13 and threw 28 interceptions. Serena Williams lost a massive match at the US Open in 2015, leading many to call it the biggest upset in tennis.
Per For The Win, here’s how the dialogue in the ad went (the video isn’t available, unfortunately):
Michael Jordan: You want to know the secret to victory? Fail to make the varsity team.
J.J. Watt: Start your career as walk-on.
Peyton Manning: Go 3-13 your rookie season.
Eli Manning: Lead the league in interceptions.
Karl-Anthony Towns: Take a perfect team and blow a perfect season.
Kyle Schwarber: Spend 108 years as a lovable loser.
Serena Williams: Be on the wrong side of the biggest upset in your sport.
Michael Jordan: You really want to know the secret to victory?
Matt Ryan: Defeat.
It’s a chilling message, but it’s very cool to see how all the athletes align in their thinking.
Manning, Jordan, and Williams are on to bigger things post-retirement
After scaling the mountain, overcoming adversity, and making it to the top, these three legends are enjoying retirement, each in their own way.
Jordan became a business tycoon, becoming the NBA’s first billionaire after a series of smart investments and ownership projects like the Charlotte Hornets.
Peyton Manning has stayed close to the NFL. He leads one of the most hilarious and unique broadcasting segments on ESPN with his brother in the Manningcast.
Serena Williams has found more time for herself and her family. She has a five-year-old daughter whose soccer games she’s finally been able to attend.
