Bo Jackson: The 1851 Exclusive Interview Part 2

This is the second in a 10-part exclusive interview series with Bo Jackson, where the entrepreneur and legendary star athlete shares stories of his childhood, what motivates him in his business career, the nature of today’s younger generation, how he balances work, family and his spare time, his philosophy on achieving success and much more. Stay tuned for the third part of our series coming this Friday, October 5.

To most, Bo Jackson is known as a two-sport professional athlete who had the unique ability to successfully balance NFL and MLB seasons. However, Jackson’s motivation to be the best started far before the football field and baseball diamond — since childhood, he’s been driven to outperform those around him in everything that he does.

As a part of 1851’s 10-part, exclusive interview series with Jackson, we asked where that internal drive and motivation comes from.

Jackson said, “My biggest fear in life is failure. And everybody’s biggest fear should be that from the standpoint from that the only way the world is going to continue to rotate is somebody has to be successful at something. And I want to be a part of that group.”

When asked where that drive comes from, Jackson added, “That just comes from growing up and seeing people doing things that I wasn’t able to do. Seeing people achieve things that I wasn’t able to achieve as a kid. Having that fear of failing and then having to go back home, I never wanted that. Because as a kid, I was labeled to be that kid labeled to end up either in the cemetery or a prison by the time I was 21-years-old. I use that a little as fuel for my fire to be successful, and it’s just something that’s always stuck with me.”

To watch the full clip, check out the video above. You can also find the first part of 1851’s exclusive interview series here.