I received a surprise message from Dion Harris.
If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he was the former Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan and then went on to be All-Big Ten and 2x MVP for the University of Michigan. He would go on to have a successful professional career overseas. He now trains and mentors youngsters in the Detroit area.
Anyway, back to the message…
“Hey Coach, I know you’re busy but did you happen to work at a Michigan Basketball Camp back in 1996? If so, I have to let you know that you really made me realize that I could play real basketball that week of camp. You gave me the ball and let me play point guard and make everyone better. I was 10. We ended up losing in the Championship but from that point on I said I was going to go to Michigan and I did.”
I let him know that I hadn’t coached him but I coached a kid named Albert Harris. I thought they might have been cousins. Sadly, I had lost touch with Albert over the years even though we had exchanged a couple of letters (this was back in the 90’s when people still sent letters). I had tried typing his name into google a few times but unfortunately, I didn’t know whatever had happened to him.
Come to find out Albert’s middle name was Dion and he started using that as he got older. I never knew that. All those years of being a Michigan fan and I never made the connection.
The point of the story is this…you never know what kind of effect your actions or words might have. In no way whatsoever am I responsible for Dion’s success. But I was responsible for being there for him and adding value to his life at one particular brief moment in time. That might have gotten him to the next moment when someone else inspired him, which got him to another moment and so on and so forth.
We don’t have to be the person thanked at an award ceremony. We don’t need credit. We just need to do our small part with everyone that we interact with. Our very own lives are made up of interactions and people that made us believe or inspired us in that moment. It was enough to bridge the gap until we could have another moment. Life is a series of baby steps.
You have a huge impact on someone’s life today through your words and actions. You might not even realize that impact until years later. Our legacy is not what we leave behind when we die. Our legacy is what we leave behind every time we interact with someone or every time we walk out of a room. How did we leave things? Did we make them better or worse?
Oftentimes, we will not be the person taking someone all the way to the finish line. But there is no reason we can’t be one of those people that encouraged, cheered, and inspired them to take one more step in the right direction.