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Column: The legacy of positive impact
In the wake of the passing of former NBA great Dikembe Mutombo, 58, on Monday from brain cancer, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a three-paragraph statement expressing his adoration for the Hall of Fame inductee.
Exactly one sentence mentioned Mutombo’s contributions ON the basketball court, which should serve as a lesson to each of us. What will be remembered upon your passing isn’t what most people would think. What will be recalled is the positive impact we have made on others.
As it relates to Mutombo, he accumulated wealth financially ($143,666,581 in 18 seasons), and there won’t be a single person mentioning that today.
No one will speak of his material possessions, of which, surely, Mutombo had a multitude.
What people will speak of is how he poured his heart and soul into charitable acts devoted to helping his native country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which included improving health care opportunities for the 109 million people in the country, as well as the Special Olympics. Mutombo’s legacy will be that of positive impact, not blocked shots.
As it relates to you, me, and everyone throughout Southeast Missouri, we can learn from Mutombo.
Like Mutombo, I too, am 58, and I have lost co-workers, fraternity brothers, high school classmates, and a high school teammate, which has caused me to morbidly ponder (truth be told, we probably all have): How many people will attend my funeral?
Many will attend Mutombo’s service, more from his OFF the court impact than ON it, and that is possibly the truest measurement of success each of us can aspire to achieve.
At your funeral, no one will be discussing your material possessions or your bank account. They’ll be talking about what, and how much, you meant to them.
I’ve been blessed with an incredible professional career and personal life that I won’t bore you with the details of, but suffice it to say, I’ve never been as grateful as I am at this stage of my life.
I have two part-time jobs, which is a godsend, in and of itself. I don’t envision ever working full-time again. In my positions at the YMCA of Southeast Missouri, as well as writing for Semoball, all I do every day is positively impact others.
I endure no stress or acrimony, as I create opportunities for people to be healthier and feel better about themselves at the YMCA, and journalistically, publicize the tremendous athletic exploits of young people throughout the Bootheel.
The latter has evolved into a fantastic final chapter in my fantasy-like career.
Again, not to tire you with my resume, but I have covered every level of sports ranging from interviewing LeBron James (he called me ‘Boss’) to lawnmower racing, and everything in between.
And it was glorious.
But what else is awesome, and I’m not being the least bit disingenuous, is writing stories on young people that will end up in scrapbooks and memory banks.
I covered Notre Dame football for a decade and easily wrote 250 articles related to former Fighting Irish quarterback Tommy Rees. He couldn’t pick me out of a police lineup.
But you know who does read my articles? The sports fans of Dexter, Bernie, Caruthersville, Hayti, and elsewhere.
A note to young journalists, if you want to feed your ego, write on Notre Dame football for a decade. If you want to make an impression, particularly a positive one, write about how great a season a local team, coach, and/or athlete is having.
“The challenge that I made to (the team) before the game,” third-year Dexter High School football coach Chad Jamerson said after leading his team to a win over Class 3 No. 10-ranked Southern Boone on Saturday, “I asked them if they knew that today was the last chance they ever got to play this game, how would they play?”
Jamerson may as well have been speaking to all of us.
We’re each on borrowed time. Go out and make a positive impression on someone else today, and in doing so, bring one more person to your funeral.
Tom Davis is a freelance sports reporter for Semoball.com