Introduction Michael Jordan could have been a baseball player but chose basketball. With his help, Chicago Bulls won their first title which was later followed by a complete three-peat. Two years after his first retirement, Jordan returned to Chicago to help the team that had lost their leading positions. Michael won three more champion titles with Chicago Bulls and eventually departed the club. Jordan is the winner of many individual awards; his main achievement is the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, which he received five times. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was honored with this prize more times than Jordan. Michael’s athletic qualities can be proved not only by the trophies he won but also by the magnitude of advertising contracts, many of which were valid even after Jordan retired. In 2017, Forbes named Jordan as the highest-paid athlete in history. There were many obstacles in the way to his success. At the peak of his form, Jordan lost his father and left basketball. The life of Michael Jordan is a story of struggle followed by success. This paper will discuss the path of one of the best basketball players in history to glory. Childhood Years Michael was born into a large family – he is the fourth of the five children in the family, and his parents are James and Deloris Jordan. Before the birth of Michael, James served in the US Armed Forces (Lazenby, 2014). Michael was a disobedient child as he liked to do the opposite of what he was told. Jordan always accepted the challenges and often faced trouble because of such a character (The Associated Press, 2015). For instance, when he was four years old, Michael argued with his cousin. The latter offered Jordan a bet – he would pay a dollar if Michael chopped off his toe (Hasday, 2013). Jordan did not want to seem like a coward and accepted the proposal. Although Michael did not lose his body part, he could not avoid physical damage. In school years, another problem was discovered – Michael was not a hardworking child. Jordan did not want to work and eluded from household chores. One summer, Deloris got her son a job at a hotel, where he had to serve the rooms (James, 2017). The experience was negative – Michael was constantly late and decided never to look for a job again. Discipline problems led Jordan to a temporary expulsion from school (The Associated Press, 2015). Michael left the school without permission to visit a nearby store and was suspended from classes for several days (Lazenby, 2014). Michael became more responsible in high school, where he improved his discipline and academic performance. A Step Away from Death At the age of two, Michael nearly died from an electric shock. He touched the junction of two extension cords lying on wet grass. The strike was intense, and the child was thrown back a couple of meters (James, 2017). At the age of seven or eight, Michael almost drowned. Together with his close friend, they swam in the ocean (Hasday, 2013). When the children were far from the shore, a breaking wave emerged (Hasday, 2013). It covered his friend and dragged him to the bottom. Michael managed to survive, but his friend, unfortunately, died (Hasday, 2013). For this reason, Michael was always afraid of water (Hasday, 2013). Later,