We hope you enjoy this re-post from December 30, 2014. Be blessed! The Today’s Quote From God Team

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. – Proverbs 22:29, King James Version (KJV)

According to Forbes.com:

Michael Jordan has been out of the NBA as a player since his retirement from the Washington Wizards in 2003. Yet by at least one measure, it is like the six-time champion never left.

Annual sales of Jordan products on eBay were $175 million over the past 12-months fueled by Nike’s Air Jordan line. LeBron James is the second best-selling athlete on the online auction site with $42 million worth of goods sold, followed by Kobe Bryant in third at $25.5 million, according to Terapeak, which is the leading analytics provider for eBay. NBA players outpace stars in other sports partly due to sales of their signature shoe lines.

How does MJ stake up in the world outside of sports? For comparison, the annual Apple iPad market is $198 million on eBay, while the markets for Apple MacBooks/laptops ($160 million) and Apple iPods ($66 million) are both smaller. “That a single person’s name drives sales at this level suggests a very strong brand,” says Terapeak consultant Aron Hsiao.

Upon reading the Forbes article The Business Of Michael Jordan Is Thriving On Ebay by Kurt Badenhausen, I was stunned – though not entirely surprised – by the magnitude of Michael Jordan’s continuing influence on the retail world. I can think of no other athlete that has impacted both the sporting world and the retail world for so long, which causes me to ask, “Why?” Why is Jordan still making such an impact, especially when he hasn’t played professional basketball for more than a decade? The answer is simple: excellence. According to How to Be Like Mike: 20 Life Lessons from Michael Jordan, Lesson # 11 is this:

Excellence Speaks for Itself

At their prime, the Bulls would sell out every stadium they played in – home or away.

But the thing bringing in big crowds wasn’t the marketing department. It was the superior performance that Jordan and his teammates were putting on display.

“Let your game be your promotional or marketing tool.” – Michael Jordan

When you consistently deliver an excellent product, people will find out. No marketing firm necessary.

The excellence with which Jordan played basketball wowed millions of people for many, many years, and the ripple effect of that “wow factor” continues to this day. It is excellence that has fueled the fire of the Jordan brand, and I suspect the fuel won’t run out any time soon.

If we are to have an impact for Christ, we need to understand that excellence will be the fire that fuels the glory of God. Every biblical hero – and every Christian hero that has lived since the Bible was completed – became a hero by obediently serving The Lord, no matter what. Faithful, daily obedience to The Lord’s commands is what makes a Christian excellent in every aspect of life, and when we are excellent in every aspect of life, we will bring tremendous glory to God’s name.

Will we fail from time to time? Sure. According to Lesson # 7, we should:

Know How to Respond to Failure 

“Failure makes me work even harder.” – Michael Jordan 

Jordan wasn’t always a winner. 

The first time he got to the NBA playoffs, his Bulls were knocked out in the first round. The next two years, they were swept by the Boston Celtics. After that, the Bulls were beat by the Detroit Pistons three years in a row. 

All Jordan knew was failure. But it only made him want to be better. He’s said, “Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

For the Christian, failing just means we need to ask God to forgive us our sins so that we can start anew being excellent for Him. Once we ask, with a repentant heart, for forgiveness, God will cleanse us from our unrighteousness, making us ready to carry out His will – excellently – once more.