Lakers' LeBron James Talks Overcoming Fear of Disappointing People During NBA Career

Having been at the center of the sports world for most of his life, LeBron James had to learn that you aren't going to please all of the people all of the time.

On the latest episode of the Mind the Game podcast (starts at 25:00 mark), James explained that one of the most important lessons he learned early in his NBA career was "getting over" the idea of not wanting to let other people down.

"You don't know quite how to handle that emotion. It's like, oh s--t, if I miss this shot, I've let a lot of people down, or if I make a bad play, I let so many people down. I think once I got out of that, and it took years for me. Even my second time in the Finals—my first year with the Heat—I wanted to win so bad that I also had the fear of letting so many people down. ... And if it doesn't happen, I've let so many f--king people down, and the hours that I put into my craft, the commitment that I put into my craft, it wasn't even the thought, which it should have been. It was more like, oh s--t, if I go out and make a mistake, I let them down. If I go out and f--k up, I let him down, instead of just going out there like, 'who the f--k gives a f--k?' They don't care."

James didn't specify when the moment came that he stopped trying to make everyone happy. Based on the timeline he laid out, it may have come when he won his first championship with the Heat in the 2011-12 season.

That 2012 postseason saw James put together arguably his finest single-game performance, especially given the stakes. The Heat were trailing 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals going into Game 6 at TD Garden.

James put up 45 points and 15 rebounds in Miami's 98-79 win to keep hope alive. The Heat went on to win Game 7, then defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the Finals.

Speaking on the court after Miami's clinching win in Game 5, James memorably declared "it's about damn time" he won his first title.

Whenever the mindset changed for James, it seems to have paid off well for him. He's still going strong 22 seasons into his professional career and 23 years after his first appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was dubbed "The Chosen One."