21/07/2026
49 rebounds. Zero points. Five games.
Would you call Dennis Rodman a failure?
Most people think success in basketball is all about scoring points.
But Rodman understood something many of us miss.
Another analogy I use when talking about Life's Purpose...
Let me share this.
When I have group coaching sessions and inspirational speaking engagements,
I always want to position the topic about Purpose in general and anchor it to our LIFE'S PURPOSE.
Thus, I set an analogy so that we are all on the same page.
I ask questions like:
"For you, what is Purpose?"
"What is Success for you?"
Then I bring the context and concept to the general definition that I believe in.
According to Dr. Myles Munroe,
"The biggest failure in life is to succeed in the wrong assignment."
He added,
Purpose is the original intent of why you were born, and your role and reason why you are here.
Thus, Success is the fulfillment of the original intent of the creation.
In short, all of creation is meant to succeed.
Why?
Because no creator or inventor wants their creation to fail.
They want their creation to become successful by fulfilling its purpose.
Rodman knew his role. He knew his identity. He knew his purpose.
He wasn't called to be the leading scorer. He was called to become the best rebounder in the NBA.
Because he embraced his unique role,
he won 5 NBA Championships,
became one of the highest-paid players of his era, and built an influence that reached far beyond basketball.
That means real success isn't about becoming someone else.
It's about becoming who you were created to be.
Most of us spend our lives chasing success based on other people's definitions.
But the first step to real success is discovering who you truly are—and who you are not.
When your identity becomes clear, your gifting becomes clear.
When your gifting becomes clear, your purpose becomes clear.
And when your purpose becomes clear, you begin to influence lives, create impact, and leave a meaningful legacy.
You don't have to score the most points. You simply have to faithfully play the role you were created for.