In addition to his outstanding performance on the court, Shaquille O’Neal has an impressive record off the court as well. Through his basketball career, he showed the world the passion he had for the game and achieved the heights of success in basketball. 

As well as that, his business empire has reached the value of millions. Coming from a small town to building an empire endorsing many brands, Shaq has undoubtedly achieved a lot over the years. He has said often that the mistakes he made and the lessons he learned are the reasons for his success. 

As he mentioned in an interview with Grant Cardone recently, he shared some of these experiences and stories. Shaq spoke of how his father played an important role in keeping him away from taking drugs and talked about how he continues to follow the rule. 

In addition, he talked about how he acted like a “God“ and learned a valuable lesson from his high school classmates. O’Neal further explained how his mother Lucille put him in line. 

In spite of retiring, he avoids alcohol consumption, as can be seen in some ‘NBA on TNT’ stories. Especially during the playoffs, when O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley spend a lot of time there. 

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During an interview with Danny Green, Charles Barkley shared how Shaq doesn’t drink but he enjoys the company they share. Having learned this lesson growing up, he still carries it with him today.

Shaquille O’Neal discusses how he carries the values he learned as a youngster

As Shaq mentioned during the interview, he shared how he thought he was bigger than other people because of an article about him from 1989.

As a result, he noticed he got sidelined everywhere he went and everyone started giving him space. As his friend pointed out: “You want to act like God we’re going to treat you like God.” His behavior improved as he learned humility. Additionally, he explained why he is so concerned about his actions.

In his stories, he described how he made sure his mother wasn’t hurt by his actions. “It would hurt my heart to have her sitting down watching TV and seeing me do something idiotic. Yes, you want to make mistakes and say crazy things, and when I do she calls me but I don’t want to make a major mistake.” 

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Clearly, these values influenced Shaquille O’Neal‘s behavior and the path he took in his career. 

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