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BG's Murder (Click portfolio tab to read each story)
In The Audacity to Lead, the story of BG is one of the book’s most emotionally charged and formative moments—and it reveals a powerful connection between Michael Johnson’s past and his purpose as an adult leader.
BG was a neighborhood drug dealer on the West Side of Chicago who, unexpectedly, became a moral pivot point in Johnson’s youth. When a 13-year-old Michael approached him asking to sell drugs to earn money, BG refused. Instead of exploiting the boy, he told him bluntly to “stay in school” and “do better.” That rejection, though humiliating at the time, planted the first seed of self-worth and discipline in Johnson’s mind.
Later, BG reappears in one of the book’s most tragic scenes. After giving Michael a ride in his white Mustang, dropping him off at the Boys & Girls Club, BG is murdered in a drive-by shooting moments after Michael steps out of the car. The gunfire splatters blood across the white leather seats—an image that Johnson never forgets. He realizes that, had he stayed in the car another minute, he likely would have died too.
That near-death experience becomes a turning point in the author’s life and philosophy. BG’s murder forces him to see that survival is not luck—it’s a calling. It is the event that cements his lifelong belief that “your pain carries purpose” and that being spared from death means being called to serve. From that moment, Johnson interprets every future opportunity—whether leading nonprofits, raising millions for kids, or mentoring others—as part of his obligation to transform tragedy into impact.
In a broader sense, BG symbolizes the duality of the environment Johnson came from: danger mixed with unexpected grace, street figures who could still show wisdom, and moments of violence that became catalysts for growth. The author uses BG’s story to illustrate one of his book’s core leadership lessons—“The Urgency of Now”—arguing that purpose cannot wait for perfect conditions and that even in chaos, leaders must choose life, action, and service.
In short, BG’s murder is not just a traumatic memory; it is the defining event that connects Michael Johnson’s survival to his mission as a servant-leader.
