Bored Man Gets Paid

If you’re not a basketball fan, you probably aren’t all that familiar with Kawhi Leonard. Despite being one of the top players in the NBA and the owner of a slew of accomplishments such as championships, Finals MVPs, All-star selections, and awards, Leonard is not a household name. He has, however, been able to cash in, landing a 4-year, $176.3 million max contract with the LA Clippers in 2021.

One of biggest reasons for his success? His love for the grind.

After the Toronto Raptors (led by Leonard) toppled Golden State in the 2019 NBA finals, people started talking about Leonard. One of the things that was dredged up and quickly adopted by many was Leonard’s old motto: The board man gets paid.

Getting rebounds is neither fun nor sexy. It requires a player to be physical and take a beating, and in return, you get very little recognition. Nobody dreams of getting a hard-fought rebound in the dying seconds of a tied-up Game 7 and passing it to their teammate. However, Leonard recognized the importance of getting rebounds and was able to leverage that into a spot in NBA history. Getting rebounds helps keep the ball in your team’s hands, and out of your opponent’s. This in turn gives your team more opportunities to score, and as John Madden so famously said, “Usually the team that scores the most points wins the game.”

Wow! Very cool!!! Some basketball player likes getting rebounds. What in the hell does that have to do with me?

The mentality of the grind will help you in virtually everything you will do in life. Fitness, finances, your career, your relationships – you name it. The ability to focus on doing the boring, nitty-gritty things in life really well will bring you tremendous successes, and with enough time and effort, the bored man gets paid.