"They Only Care About Money"

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the AFC and NFC title games yesterday, especially the AFC game. The way the Chiefs won was as equally euphoric as the Bengals loss was crushing. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by these moments that I can’t sleep when lay my head on the pillow. Last night was no different. I had so many thoughts running through my head.

“They only care about money.” These are words that are often spoken about professional athletes…..and most other wealthy people. Perhaps it’s our culture’s way of demeaning someone who has something we don’t, but we love to put a superficial, materialistic label on people who have achieved financial success. Truth is, I think we have it backward. Instead of looking at them through the lens of only caring about money, perhaps we should consider their massive success (financial and otherwise) is because they actually care so much. After all, when we’re talking about the top of the top of the top echelon of achievers, the allure of money can’t propel one to get to that level. Money isn’t a motivator, but rather a product of the motivation put into action.

This was on full display immediately following the Chiefs/Bengals game. Players on both sides were sobbing. Some were sobbing from the devastation of defeat, while some were sobbing from utter joy. But we’re collectively going to label them as only caring about money?

We see contracts, cars, clothes, houses, and commercials, but rarely see the tens of thousands of hours of practice, studying, and repetition that got them here. We see their masterful achievements, but we don’t see the sacrifice behind closed doors. We see the fame, but we didn’t see everything they went through before they were household names.

Instead of demeaning successful people, maybe we should learn from them. Instead of criticizing them, maybe we should be inspired by them. Instead of telling ourselves they only care about money, maybe we should realize their financial success may be a result of how much they truly care about their craft.