WIP
December 26, 2025
WIP
It is hard to believe someone like the late, great George Raveling would consider himself a work in progress. Setting a school record for rebounds at Villanova. Being a successful college basketball coach. Being an assistant coach on two Olympic basketball teams. Winning multiple awards. A 2013 hall of fame inductee for college basketball and 2015 inductee for the NBA hall of fame. To then transitioning to become NIKE’s Global Basketball Marketing Director - and the sole reason why Michael Jordan signed with NIKE instead of Adidas.
The story is so good! Jordan was coming out of college and was on the Olympic basketball team for the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles - where Raveling was an assistant coach. Jordan had already been in talks with Adidas and was close to signing, but Reveling wanted Jordan to take a meeting with NIKE. Over the Olympic games, Jordan and Raveling grew close almost like father-son. In fact, throughout his life many have leaned on Raveling in this way - not just coach, but mentor. This relationship between Jordan and Raveling resulted in Jordan getting a deal with NIKE no one ever had - changing NIKE, the way sneakers are made and worn, forever.
My belief is Raveling is the only man on earth to beat Jordan one-on-one. I say that due to Jordan taking the meeting at NIKE even though he was “an Adidas guy.” Jordan only did things one way. His.
Today isn’t about Jordan. Rather about Coach Raveling. At 88 he still considered himself a work-in-progress, even with all of his success. “I am still a work in progress. Each day is a sacred gift and an honor to continue exploring and reaching for out outer limits,” Raveling wrote in his book WHAT YOU’RE MADE FOR. He continues, “the light shines on our souls just once in life. There is always an untapped reservoir of burning purpose and potential within us waiting to be revealed and activated. The most valuable present we will receive is the gift of being alive. I realize that too often in our lives, we focus on the outer versions of who we are instead of the inner versions of who we are. Life is about unpacking the most difficult question of ‘who am I?’ and being at peace with the discoveries. To this day, I am still asking myself those there words: who am i?”
After reading and learning of the life Coach Raveling lived and understanding his philosophy of being a WIP - work-in-progress, how could I not see myself the same. It takes the pressures off because until the end I’ll have the choice to shape who I am, just like Raveling did. Which is why each year I do a series of challenges, to work on myself. To improve. To give myself a chance on getting better. To remind and humble myself - “I am a work-in-progress.” To shed all the assumptions and opinions and back it all with action. Because being alive is a gift - and I can’t waste it. There is so much within me to work on, to learn about and to give.
I hope you join me on these challenges, starting January 1, 2026 to work on the inner versions of who we are. To help answer the question, who am I?
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