Philip Douglas “Phil” Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach and former player, currently serving as president of the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 until 1998, during which Chicago won six NBA championships. His next team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won five championships from 2000 until 2010. In total, Jackson has won 11 NBA titles as a coach, surpassing the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He also won two championships as a player with the Knicks in 1970 and 1973, and holds the NBA record for the most combined championships (13) as a player and a head coach. He also has the highest winning percentage of any NBA coach (.704).

The Outer Limits of Inner Truth would love to ask Phil Jackson these questions on our show

Are there other professional athletes (not in basketball) who’s leadership style that you’ve admired or who’s intensity of play that you’ve sought to have your players emulate in their own performances?

In your book “Eleven Rings” your opening quote in chapter one is from Jim Butcher that reads “Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar.” The Greek symbol for triangle is delta which means a door or gateway to a river. Was your triangle-style of play embedded with this deeper meaning or another deeper meaning?

The book “Tribal Leadership” discusses the five stages of trial development that you’ve sought to transform the teams that you’ve coached into. If you were to look at America now, what stage is it currently in and what would you advise for America to reach an advanced stage of development?

Do you think that if children aren’t taught the joy of wining and the pain of losing early in their lives that they will naturally lust for comfort and not properly develop their passions for achievement?

Of all the books that you’ve given your players over the years to read, what particular player had the biggest transformation on reading one of your book suggestions and why?

Lao Tzu once said “The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.” Of all the things that you did to attempt to expand your consciousness and awareness, what where the two that were the most profound and had the biggest impact?

In “Eleven Rings” you discuss how when you were eleven how you had a high fever and then suddenly you felt a surge of energy flowing through your body that cured it. You then mention how you sought to tap into this energy resource within you. Have you identified what that energy source is and have you ever pondered the idea that the energy could actually be a part of your being that exists in the non-physical plane parallel to this one?

When you decided to move away from your traditional biblical beliefs and become open to new theories, thoughts, and beliefs (such as Joel L. Goldsmith’s books), did you see a ripple effect occur throughout your life? Did you see the game of basketball differently and see a different means of wining and developing yourself as a player? Did you become more open to the type of people you were willing to associate with? Did you become more willing to take chances that you never would have done so before?

On Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramids, what do you think has been the toughest challenge to overcome on your path to self-actualization? What do you think is the most common roadblock that not only NBA Players but, most people have in attaining self-actualization?

As either a player or a coach, have you ever won game that actually brought you a considerable amount of psychological pain in the days after? Which game has cost you more nights sleep in your career?

In “Eleven Rings” you have described an energy which occurs before a pass is thrown, before a shot is taken, and before a team makes it charge down the court. You’ve discussed infusing teams you’ve coached with this energy. How quickly can you tell in not only basketball but, any sport if a team has the chemistry and will to be champions?

In observing both players & coaches, what do you see as the fine line between being hard on yourself as a means to extract consistent greatness compared to being to hard on yourself that a self-destructive pattern emerges when failure occurs?

For hundreds of years cultures across the globe have had arch-type initiations which mark the official transitions from boys to men, from girls to women, from apprentices to masters, from workers to warriors. In today’s modern era one could observe that traditional masculinity & femininity are under assault unlike any other time in history. What are some of your recommendations for some modern day arch-type initiations for boys & girls that will put them on the path to mature & responsible adulthood?