At the end of your life, what have you given? Years ago, I heard Bob Cousy interviewed. The reporter asked, on the heels of a ginormous Michael Jordan contract, whether Cousy had been born thirty-five years too soon. Cousy had won an NCAA Championship, eight titles with the Celtics, and was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Cousy was Maravich before Maravich.
Paraphrasing Cousy:
"I enjoyed a wonderful career at Holy Cross and enjoyed my time there. I was fortunate to have played on some great teams with the Celtics. After that, I was lucky to have coached at Boston College and in professional basketball with the Cincinnati Royals. I've had a wonderful broadcasting career with the Celtics and really enjoy working for the Celtics in the community. My health has been very good and I have a wonderful family. I am truly blessed."
Cousy had achieved many goals that most basketball players could only dream about. But when asked about money, he responded with extreme gratitude about his many blessings, not his achievements nor grousing about what had not come to pass.
Later in life, he sold his memorabilia to help his family. "Bob Cousy, the Boston Celtics great, kept his memorabilia in a somewhat haphazard state in the cellar of the house he has lived in for 50 years in Worcester, Mass. He did not see his collection much except to take people downstairs to visit it. But his daughters, both schoolteachers, needed money, one to pay off a mortgage and another to help with her children’s college tuition."
Each day, we should strive to give back something.
