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From College Bench to NBA: The First Step in Rewriting Your Story.

Writer's picture: Jack McveighJack Mcveigh

Sore stomach. Shaky hands. Worrying about my last mistake. Scared of the future.

These emotions dominated my college basketball career, affecting every aspect of my game. I hesitated on open shots, second-guessed my decisions, and played with a timidness that made me unrecognizable on the court. My fear of making mistakes paralyzed me, leading to forced turnovers and missed opportunities. Instead of trusting my instincts, I played to avoid failure rather than to succeed.

Pre-game, my legs shook. On the bench, I stressed about not being good enough. In the game, I didn't play like myself. After the game, I had diarrhoea. I hated game days. My confidence was destroyed. My performance suffered. My schooling and social life took a hit. Eventually, I dropped out of college—a lack of confidence ended my basketball career.

Seven years later, I play for the Houston Rockets. I just finished competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. I won NBL Finals MVP while hitting one of the biggest game-winners in NBL history. My story proves that anyone can turn their career around—from self-doubt to self-belief, from scared and timid to confident.

I am not the first player or person to make such a drastic transformation.

People change their personality every day, and in return, change their personal reality. When I returned home from college, I felt embarrassed and ashamed. But that humiliation became the fuel for deep self-reflection. My failures forced me to grow.

Over the last seven years, I have immersed myself in reaching mental mastery. I studied past players, ancient philosophies, spirituality, and modern psychology.

There is so much I know now that I wish I had known when I was in high school and college.

My passion is to pass on that knowledge.

This upcoming article series will cover the mental tools, belief changes, and internal work that helped me transform from a scared college kid into an NBA player.

A year-to-year retelling of the most important lesson I learned each year.


Finding ways to find joy in the journey

The Walls Were Collapsing

No matter how hard I tried, I kept facing the same problems.

Bouncing from team to team. Every coach hated me. My teammates did not want me to be great.

Arghh.This was my life.

I blamed the world for everything—a college dropout. I barely slept—no one to talk to.I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror.

But interestingly, college wasn’t the first time I had left a program broken.

In Year 11 (junior year) of high school, I moved to a basketball academy in Canberra, Australia—the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport). I spent three years training, living, and going to school there. Growing up, attending AIS was a personal dream of mine. But over time, it became my personal prison. My basketball stopped improving. I dreaded going to school. I craved the warmth of home.

This was my first experience of feeling broken. So, I blamed the environment I was in.

But my high school and college careers ended the same way. A pattern was forming.

And the only constant in both equations was me.

I was blind to it. I was prepared to repeat my mistakes endlessly—until I learned the lesson that refused to be ignored.

Fate, however, had other plans.

They say a mentor appears when the student is ready. But maybe I just got lucky.

One random night, while playing video games and scrolling Instagram, I stumbled across a quote that changed my life:


"Until you make the subconscious conscious, it will rule your life, and you will call it fate." —Carl Jung

Not knowingly, I had found my first mentor. A Swiss psychologist who lived from 1875 to 1961. His work fascinated me:

  • The subconscious mind

  • Psychotherapy

  • The shadow self

  • Synchronicities

(We will dive deeper into these concepts later.)

Jung explored the vast depths of the human mind, but one key theme shook me to my core: The power of the subconscious mind.


Your conscious mind is what you're aware of right now—your thoughts, decisions, and rational thinking. It's like the tip of an iceberg—the small part above the water you can see and control.

The subconscious mind, however, is everything beneath the surface—memories, instincts, fears, emotions, and patterns you might not even realize exist. It influences your habits, dreams, and beliefs without your awareness.


The subconscious mind produces 60,000 thoughts daily, while you consciously think around 6,000.

These 60,000 thoughts control almost every aspect of your life.

At first, this was sobering.

I was not proud of what I had created. I felt ashamed of who I was. A failure.

Could it be that my subconscious mind controls my life and not some mysterious force out to get me?

In embracing this idea about my subconscious mind, I reclaimed my power.

If I could dedicate time to learning how the subconscious mind works, I could stop these patterns from repeating.

This gave me a sense of control over where I was going.


Lesson One: The Power of Accountability

For six years straight, I felt like I was drowning, unaware that I was the one holding myself underwater.

The universe wasn’t drowning me.

My mental models and the beliefs I held about myself had done that.

Carl Jung's theories showed me that I am responsible for my life.

I am in more control than I realise. It just requires knowledge to make a change.

Many other schools of thought demonstrate the power we have within us.


Existentialism explores the idea that you have a radical freedom that makes you responsible for shaping your life.

Stoicism states that although you are not in control of external events, you are always in control of how you respond and perceive the world.

Cognitive-behavioural psychology argues that thoughts create reality, and you can change and shape your world by changing your thoughts.

Buddhism teaches that suffering comes from attachment and that learning to let go leads to clarity and peace.

Adlerian Psychology proves that while past events influence you, they do not define you, and you always have the power to create the future you choose.

Every self-help book you read, every religion you study, and every modern psychologist will say the same thing.

Taking accountability is life-changing.


Jack McVeigh at Nebraska celebrating with the team after making the shot.

I have lived two lives:

  • One taking no accountability

  • One owning the responsibility of being a human

The results are night and day.

This mindset will make anyone unstoppable, though it doesn’t mean challenges disappear. I still face doubts, setbacks, and moments of struggle. Growth is continuous, and every new level brings new obstacles. However, the difference now is that I have the tools to navigate them and keep moving forward.

You are in control.

But the real question is:

Are you willing to take accountability?


Actionable Steps to Get Started

  1. Self-Reflection: Start by journaling your thoughts, emotions, and daily actions. Identify patterns that may be holding you back.

  2. Challenge Negative Beliefs: When you catch yourself thinking negatively, ask: "Is this belief true? How can I reframe it?"

  3. Learn From Setbacks: Instead of blaming external factors, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this experience?"

  4. Take Small Actions Daily: Improvement doesn't happen overnight. Commit to consistent, small changes that align with your goals.

  5. Seek Knowledge & Mentorship: Read, study, and surround yourself with people who push you to grow.


Final Thoughts

Your mindset shapes your life. My entire reality shifted when I took control of my thoughts and actions. I went from self-doubt to self-belief, from failure to success.

You have the same power to change your life.


Taking accountability put me on the right path heading into my Rookie season with The Adelaide 36ers in the NBL, but I still had much to learn.

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