I suppose this could be a professional basketball story, but it is really a life story. It is an inspiring, second chances story. It is also a work in progress, and maybe that is the point. We are all works in progress.
In an article appearing online for CNBC by writer Fred Imbert entitled, “Ex-NBA center Vin Baker now working at Starbucks: 
Report,” we read about a man who was once a giant (there’s no pun intended) on the basketball court who took a very hard fall. Vin Baker was an NBA all-star with the former NBA team Seattle Supersonics.
According to the piece:
“Baker battled alcoholism toward the end of his 13-year career, and a series of financial troubles led to him losing nearly $100 million in earnings.”
His addiction to alcoholism cost him his family, his fortune and his talent. I teach about choices and consequences to those in the business world and sports world. As every professional athlete well understands, there is often very little difference.
What is the fundamental difference between an alcoholic or drug abusing CEO making big money and an alcoholic or drug abusing professional athlete? In reality, very little. It is not just the drug of choice; it is often the entourage, the enablers and the poor decisions that compound themselves.
Said Vin Baker:
“When you learn lessons in life, no matter what level you’re at financially, the important part to realize is it could happen. I was an alcoholic, I lost a fortune. I had a great talent and lost it.”
Every bad choice leads to a bad consequence. I have worked privately with people in all walks of life who allowed themselves to be put into positions where they thought they were above getting touched by life. I have known men and women who thought they could never make a wrong decision. I have met many who thought laws or social expectations did not apply to them. Every time and in every case, life did catch-up; laws did apply and wrong decisions came back to haunt them.
I know. I was one of them.
Broke is broke
As anyone who has been there will attest, being broke in monetary terms often means being broken in spirit. Yes, I know very wealthy people who have said, “I have been bankrupt, but not broke.” I get that, but what they are truly saying is that had they sold a property or some other asset they could have satisfied their bankruptcy. They were legally bankrupt.
I am talking about those of us who have been knocked to the ground. I am talking about those of us who have lost everything except our belief in something bigger and more powerful than ourselves.
Unfortunately, this feeling of desperation is the place where poor ethics and poor choices often lead us. All of the entourage leaves us; the insincere, the hanger’s-on, and the opportunists go away when the money and fame disappear.
“I’m 43 and I have four kids,” said Baker. “I have to pick up the pieces. I’m a father. I’m a minister in my father’s church. I have to take the story and show that you can bounce back. If I use my notoriety in the right way, most people will appreciate that this guy is just trying to bounce back in his life.”
The man who made as much as $100 million humbled himself and got in touch with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz who was once part owner of the Seattle Supersonics. He asked Schultz for a chance at working as a Starbucks manager. I am not writing an advertisement for Starbucks here, but Schultz himself came from very humble beginnings and he believes in giving people second chances.
Vin Baker, former NBA player from Seattle, is now training to manage a Starbucks location across the country in North Kingston, Rhode Island. He has re-married, he is sober and he is rebuilding his life.
He will go through rough patches from time to time. Maybe he will think about what could have been or what he might have been. I will only say that when those feelings come over him, he might reflect that his best is yet to come.
He is living his life with purpose now; with strong ethics and good decisions. The people in his life will be real and he will be respected for where his journey is taking him. I would submit that anyone who can’t see that is headed for where he’s been.
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