Remembering Orlando Magic Co-Founder Pat Williams

The world lost a special leader, entrepreneur, and human being yesterday when the great Pat Williams passed away.

Pat was an incredible visionary who understood how to actualize his vision by winning over people.

I had the opportunity to go one-on-one with Pat on Thirty Minute Mentors a few years ago and he told me that one of his earliest mentors back in the 1960s taught him the importance of selling and being able to sell yourself. "The best leaders, Adam, over the years have been the best salespeople... You've got to sell yourself first before you sell anything else."

Pat sold enough important people on the idea of bringing an expansion team to Orlando that the Orlando Magic became a reality.

Even in his 80s, Pat was selling me on the idea that he was on the verge of bringing a Major League Baseball team to Orlando.

Pat built the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers championship team - the last Sixers team to win a title.

He brought many legendary players to Philadelphia and then to Orlando - Julius Erving, Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Shaquille O'Neal, the list goes on.

Pat lived his life with incredible passion and with a focus on making positive impact. He wrote many books on leadership, including one on what leaders can learn from America's founding fathers.

Pat was intent on using his voice and his wisdom to be as helpful as he could. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on.

RIP


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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