Yes…he IS a real doctor (not the medical kind, but that’s cool, too). Shaquille O’Neal says he’s been talking to his kids about the value of education, and he’s sharing that message with anyone who will listen.
On a recent state interview with the members of the Earn Your Leisure podcast to discuss his principles regarding wealth and entrepreneurship.
Shaq: “My kids are older now…. They’re kind of upset with me. They’re not really upset but they don’t understand. I tell them all the time, ‘We ain’t rich. I’m rich.’”
A hard truth, to be sure. Yet O’Neal is using it to be sure his kids do their own work to earn their success, just like their father. O’Neal: “No, you got to have bachelor’s or masters and then if you want me to invest in one of your companies, you would have to present it to me and I’ll let you know. I’m not giving you nothing (sic).’ The girls, I’ll take care of the girls, but the boys, they’re not getting nothing.”
Shaquille O’Neal previously told the press that his kids needed to show him a few degrees before garnering his attention pertaining to the family’s business. “My motto is, ‘You have to get three degrees to touch some of my cheese,’” Shaq revealed. Great line!
Like a lot of his fellow NBA stars, Shaq made a ton of money in his playing days. The important lesson is that he’s been able to continue to grow his money with smart business and investment ventures in the years since his retirement from the game.
“You can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t have [an] education, you can’t make it grow,” Shaq said. “I didn’t want to be like 80 percent of the athletes who stop playing and have nothing. I don’t want to be part of that statistic. So I educated myself. I want that for my kids, too.”
Shaq reiterated his quest to promote education over everything during his recent interview with Earn Your Leisure. “I try to let them figure it out,” he said during his recent interview. “There’s one rule: education,” Shaq shared.
“I don’t care if you play basketball. I don’t care about none of that. Listen, I got six kids. I would like a doctor, somebody to own a hedge fund, a pharmacist, a lawyer, someone that owns multiple businesses, someone to take over my business. But I tell them I’m not going to hand it to you. You gotta earn it.”
The full interview is very powerful, with good advice for anyone wanting to make a great life for themselves. You can check it out here below.