Surprising as it might seem， basketball wasn’t in my plans. One day， my mom cut a rim off an old water barrel and then held it up for me to throw an old rubber ball through. By junior high， I started playing basketball on a team. I loved to compete. There was a positive high I got by going out and playing against other people and working hard to win. For me， it paid off. I just let my success in basketball take its course but I always put the effort in every day. No matter what I’ve done， some people wait for my down fall， saying， “Karl Malone can’t do it.” Instead of letting people like that get to me， they are actually my motivation and I continue to prove them wrong every single day. I try to do the best job I can in a positive way on and off the court. I realize that no matter what I’m dealing with， there’s somebody else out there who has it a little bit worse off. I’ve been there. And I know that without continued hard work， I could be there again.
I am grateful for the life I’ve enjoyed as a basketball star. But when I see these shirts that say “Basketball is life，” I think “Yeah， right！” It is not life. It can be exciting. But the important thing about basketball is that it gives me a way to do good things for others as I move through this journey called life.
Success is really about choosing right from wrong， making a positive contribution to the world around you and valuing the things that are really important—like family and friends.
While everyone else was looking to popular athletes， actors and musicians as positive role models， my mom was my inspiration， and she continues to be all these years later. She taught me that hard work never killed anybody. My mom is my hero. She， my family and friends bring me more joy than anything else in life does.
At the end of my life， I don’t want to be remembered as the kind of person who just sat on his rear end and said， “I’ve made it.” I don’t ever want to have to say that I didn’t give it everything that I’ve got. Sure there are days that I don’t feel like working hard... but I do it anyway， cause that’s who I am.