In the third part of 1851’s interview series with Bo Jackson, the legendary athlete and entrepreneur discusses his motivation to compete in sports.

This is the third 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 fourth part of our series coming this Tuesday, October 9.

Bo Jackson is known the world over for his achievements on the football field and baseball diamond, but post-retirement from professional sports, Jackson has been building a business empire.

In the last part of 1851’s 10-part, exclusive interview series with Jackson, he shared what motivates him not just as a businessman but as a person. That motivation goes all the way back to his childhood when Jackson shared that he used to sit on the steps of his back porch watching planes take off and land from a nearby municipal airport, dreaming of one day having a life like the men and women he envisioned were on those same planes.

“In my mind, as a kid, I thought that those people who flew those planes were rich people - were like the Bill Gates, the Jeff Bezos and so forth and so on,” Jackson told 1851. “As a kid, that was where I wanted to get to. I wanted to get to where I could have a life like those people.”

Jackson had aspirations of either going into the military to learn to fly planes or to go to college - but college was not something his mother would be able to afford. However, sports provided the avenue for Jackson to make attending college possible.

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