During the Holiday Season, I typically do a lot of thinking, a lot of introspection.  This year was no different. 

I love the magic of Christmas.  Always have, and I hope and expect that I always will.  The past few years have been especially special, as our son is now seven years old, and the anticipation for Santa, the Christmas movies, crazy amount of questions and, of course, that special morning when Santa arrives…..I just love it!

With this said, it’s a wonderful time to spend time with family, reflect on the past year and think about the future.  This year, I really have done a bit of deep thinking.  I’m 40 years old, and I would imagine that I’m probably past the halfway mark, and I feel like I have so much to do, to accomplish.  With this, I began to think about how how I can genuinely make a difference during my time on earth, and asked myself some of the other big questions.  Will people remember me when I’m gone?  Who and why?  Will I leave a legacy?  In my situation in life, how can I genuinely have a positive impact on others?

Big questions and big thoughts.  The challenge is, of course, to find some answers.  Better yet, the challenge to myself is to DO something, to take action to make a difference for others.  I want make my mark, make the world better because I lived, and leave a positive legacy.  I mentioned “my situation”, which is similar to many others.  I have very little disposable income.  While we are able to pay our bills (barely, many months), we just don’t have much left to contribute to causes.  In short, I would like, very much, to be able to make financial contributions to help the poor, homeless, abused, neglected, etc.  I have great compassion for those that are truly in need.  I want to do something, yet I often feel a little financially helpless.

When I refer to “my situation”, I would say that I’m middle-class, yet have somewhat of a platform through athletics to potentially make a positive difference for others.  After a good amount of years of coaching basketball, quite a few student-athletes have written, called, e-mailed and sent notes that have indicated that I’ve made a difference for them, in some way.  Yet I want to do more, and be even more impactful.

I think that I need to start looking at my own personal situation at home, first.  I think that I need to focus on my wife and son.  I need to be a better husband and a better father.  While having only one son, it is likely that he will be the one that carries on my memory. 

My mind now drifts to a book I read this summer, “The Power of Who”, by Bob Beaudine.  In short, the book discusses the power of each person’s inner circle of people, their “Who”.  I think that I can make a difference in people’s lives by enhancing my relationships with my “Who” group.  My wife, son, parents, my brothers, in-laws, niece and close friends.  Many of those people will carry my memory, and possibly an initiative or two, after I am gone.   

Now, back to my vehicle to make a difference: athletics.  One area where I’ve been quite fortunate is within collegiate athletics.  Because of athletics, I’ve seen a lot of this country and met many, many wonderful people.  Going forward, I need to continue to use the vehicle of athletics and my platform to be a force for good.  In my own head, I need to figure out how to do this in an effective manner, and ideally, how to make my reach and impact exponetial.  With the platform, I need to refine and be more specific about what message that I want to send.  

With the platform of athletics, I want to teach, to educate.  A couple of my most admired people were teachers: Jesus and Coach John Wooden.  I’m not trying to compare the two, but rather just mention that these are two people for which I have great admiration, and they are both profound teachers.  Heck, the Dali Lama is a teacher.  Ghandi is a teacher.  To a great extend, Mother Theresa was a teacher.  Many of the great people of the world were teachers.  Again, I am not trying to compare any of these people to each other, and certainly not to myself.  I am simply stating that there is tremendous value in teaching, in educating, and there have been many great, impactful, teachers that have left a legacy through education….through the lessons that they’ve taught others, directly and indirectly. 

As I move forward, I need to create a more refined message, and then teach and educate others about this message.  This message mush be strong and powerful enough to cause people to take action that they wouldn’t otherwise take.  The message needs to be able to move people in a positive direction, and make a difference in their lives.  Now, to really, genuinely make a major impact - and to give my life much deeper and more significant meaning - I must be able to make it exponential, to cause a ripple effect.  I want to be at the top of the pyramid, and want cause a positive, life-altering message to grow exponetially. 

Certainly, this is lofty.  To some extent, it’s a little “pie-in-the-sky”.  I get and  I know it.  Inventions, theories, messages, etc. started somewhere…..and I was fortunate to have great parents who loved me and told me that I could do anything. 

I know that I need to become much more detailed and refined.  I know that I need to grow my platform.  I also know that my time is limited.  At the moment, I’m not sure the exact direction that this leads me, but the mind is going……and I think that I’ll start by showing my family that I love them.