"If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it"
About this Quote
Jordan’s advice lands because it doesn’t pretend the grind is glamorous. He starts by normalizing friction: “there will be roadblocks.” Not might, not sometimes. That little certainty is the whole psychological trick. It reframes setbacks from a verdict on your talent into a basic feature of pursuing anything hard. The subtext is quiet but pointed: if you’re shocked by resistance, you’re not prepared to win.
Then he pivots from empathy to ownership. “I’ve had them; everybody has had them” is less group hug than competitive calibration. In Jordan’s world, obstacles are the entry fee, not an excuse. He’s flattening the hierarchy between the GOAT and the rest of us only to raise the standard: if even he got blocked, your struggle doesn’t make you special - your response does.
The line that does the real work is the series of verbs: “climb it, go through it, or work around it.” It’s practical, physical, almost architectural. Jordan isn’t selling vague positivity; he’s selling problem-solving aggression. The wall is real, the body is involved, and quitting is framed as a choice rather than an inevitability.
Context matters: this comes from an athlete whose mythology includes being cut from his high school varsity team, then weaponizing that slight into obsessive practice. It’s motivational, sure, but it’s also a worldview that privileges control, effort, and adaptation. The darker edge is implied: if you stop, it’s on you. For better or worse, that’s the Jordan brand - relentless accountability packaged as possibility.
Then he pivots from empathy to ownership. “I’ve had them; everybody has had them” is less group hug than competitive calibration. In Jordan’s world, obstacles are the entry fee, not an excuse. He’s flattening the hierarchy between the GOAT and the rest of us only to raise the standard: if even he got blocked, your struggle doesn’t make you special - your response does.
The line that does the real work is the series of verbs: “climb it, go through it, or work around it.” It’s practical, physical, almost architectural. Jordan isn’t selling vague positivity; he’s selling problem-solving aggression. The wall is real, the body is involved, and quitting is framed as a choice rather than an inevitability.
Context matters: this comes from an athlete whose mythology includes being cut from his high school varsity team, then weaponizing that slight into obsessive practice. It’s motivational, sure, but it’s also a worldview that privileges control, effort, and adaptation. The darker edge is implied: if you stop, it’s on you. For better or worse, that’s the Jordan brand - relentless accountability packaged as possibility.
Quote Details
| Topic | Overcoming Obstacles |
|---|
More Quotes by Michael
Add to List






