Phil Jackson, all-time leader in championships as a NBA coach and NBA player, Olympic Gold medalist and NBA Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, shared with an SRJC audience of 600 how to discover the wellness and greatness inside themselves.

“If you live a happy life and try to do better for others, the people around you will endure a happier lifestyle and in return, what more could you ask for?” Jackson said.

Mullin and Jackson briefly touched on stories about their NBA careers but that was not the objective of the Sept. 16 speech. Instead, they discussed how to overcome challenges in life and the steps people can take to bring out the greatness hiding within.

Jackson talked about coaching Dennis Rodman; one of the NBA’s most boisterous and controversial players, saying that Rodman fed off of Jackson’s energy on the court. If a call did not go their way or the team was playing poorly, Jackson would calmly sit in his seat and allow the players to handle the situation or figure a new strategy out because if he started yelling and getting loud, Rodman would follow in stride and then would get ejected.

Jackson, also a student of Zen, talked about what it is like to meditate. He brought along his good friend and the founder of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, Jakusho Kwong-rosi. They spoke about how Zen has influenced their lives, what it truly means to meditate and how Jackson involved his players in the tradition.

When his team was in a stressful situation, Jackson would tell them to sit down for 30 seconds and imagine themselves in their happy place. It would bring the tension down and players could go out and perform better.

He shared Shaquille O’Neal’s happy place. “Shaq told me his happy place was when he was 3 years old and would sit on his grandma’s lap in her rocking chair. I told him there was no way he did that because he was the same size as an average adult at the age of 3,” Jackson said.

Mullin described what it was like to overcome alcoholism and how every day is still struggle. He wakes each day and prays to God to allow him to continue defeating his disease, he said, and takes it just a day at a time.

Mullin has to fight and be strong every single day to remain great and not give in to the temptations that surround him, he said.

He briefly talked about the 1992 Olympic basketball team, also known as the “Dream Team,” and what it was like to be part of such a successful group.

Even though that team is considered as the greatest team ever assembled, Mullin shared all of the hard work they endured to become successful and none of it came easy.