‘s family had come a long way from lower to middle class by working their way up. Even though eventually they gained a lot due to a prodigy, the Jordan family had their fair share of struggles. Jordan’s brothers and sisters were once agriculturalists, trying to make a living by cultivating various crops and MJ once revealed an interesting instance related to it.
In a 1989 feature article, MJ revealed that his brothers and sisters used to crop tobacco when he was young. Naturally, Michael was also expected to hop into the family line of business and help his siblings in their endeavors. However, just after one day of trying to cultivate tobacco, the 6x NBA champion realized that was not his cup of tea.
Speaking about this experience, MJ said,
Though Jordan might not have been suited for tobacco cultivation, his mother made sure he took up jobs early in his life to help sustain his family. Jordan’s brothers and sisters were already taking up odd jobs then. His brothers drove buses while his sisters worked at McDonald’s and local departmental stores.
Seeing Michael not have a job of his own, his mother, Deloris Jordan, suggested he take up the job of a maintenance man in a hotel. However, that didn’t seem to suit MJ either. Recalling the experience,
MJ might have realized that his true calling had always been the game of basketball.
Had Jordan not been as dedicated and devoted to his playing career with the Bulls, perhaps we would have never experienced the greatness of winning two three-peats by arguably the greatest basketball player ever.
Michael Jordan realized that he was only meant ever to become the greatest player in basketball as early as when he was five years old. This was evident from his lack of interest and effort in other work that did not intrigue him. In a 1989 interview with David Letterman, the Bulls legend revealed how he had almost cut a part of his toe while chopping wood as a preschooler.
Jordan’s parents warned him not to mess with sharp objects like axes. However, despite their warning, Jordan decided to test things out by trying to chop little pieces of wood barefoot. Admitting his mistake to David Letterman, Jordan said,
After running to his parents following this mishap, Jordan was taken to a local neighborhood doctor who put kerosene on his toe and helped relieve his pain. If Jordan and his parents had not acted promptly, it could have cost the 6x champion his NBA career. Even when Jordan was an accomplished star, his father would often taunt him with this incident whenever he took a fall on the ground.
