Baron Davis (two-time NBA All-Star who led the league in steals twice) says "Be comfortable being uncomfortable" and "Show up ready"
Picking up where they left off dancing on stage at an entrepreneurship conference, Baron tells Jama:
"I think that's what dance has taught me is just like sports, be comfortable being uncomfortable."
Baron Davis is a two-time NBA All-Star who led the league in steals twice and now invests in 26+ companies. He founded Business Inside the Game (BIG), a members-only platform connecting athletes, creators, and entrepreneurs through networking events and investment opportunities, and Sports, Lifestyle in Culture (SLIC), which empowers creators through original content and IP development.
The conversation tackles questions that matter to anyone trying to create change: How do you keep showing up when only four people arrive instead of 400? How do you build media that honors people's full humanity instead of tearing them down? How do you face the reality checks and push through anyway?
"I was just having fun. I was just kind of doing something that people wouldn't expect. I think it's overall just conquering the fear, like living outside your comfort zone, right?" Baron's philosophy about dance isn't just about movement. It's about taking action despite fear, doing the thing that makes people (and yourself) a little nervous, and learning faster by throwing yourself to the wolves.
"I was ready for 400 people but only four people showed up. If I'm ready like this every time, you never know when the 40 to the 400 are going to show up." This is the wisdom organizers and changemakers need. You don't wait for perfect conditions. You show up prepared, stay consistent, and welcome whatever comes as a chance to learn rather than failure.
Baron talks about the days that aren't the greatest days, the reality checks about whether you're actually good at something, whether you accomplished what you set out to do. The question isn't whether those moments happen. The question is: how do you overcome? How do you continue to push through? The answer is readiness. Present moment awareness. Always be learning.
"The 5% in the corner having a good time become the gravitational pull for the other 95%." Baron learned through basketball and business that change doesn't happen by convincing everyone. It happens when a core group is so aligned and energized that others naturally want to join.
His approach to leadership comes from his role as point guard: recognize everyone's gifts and create opportunities for them to shine. He applies that same skill now in identifying overlooked opportunities and underestimated founders.
Baron's critique of media culture goes deep. Too much of it focuses on "argumentative, debating, knocking people down" instead of honoring people's stories, their sacrifice, their full humanity. "Not all the people are doing the rightful thing to uphold the integrity of the game or the legends before them."
He's calling for something different. Media that celebrates the complete story. Where people come from, what they've sacrificed, who they are. "A lot of that makes up your story and your DNA." When you strip that away for hot takes and arguments, you lose what's beautiful. Quality and substance over noise.
"There is no failure, only incremental stages on the way to success"
"Here are the mistakes that I made...Here are the ways that I would definitely tell you to go the other way." The most valuable thing you can give someone isn't just your wins. It's the honest account of what didn't work, what you'd do differently, how you learned the hard way so they don't have to. This humility combined with action-oriented advice gives people concrete ways to move forward. Not theory. Not inspiration without instruction. Real roadmaps.
