“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth
of nature.”
I was at a client on Friday and did not catch the entire Tiger
Woods press conference as it began at 11am while I was conducting a training
class.But we happened to take a break
at 11:10am and a few of my participants mentioned it was on in their break room
so I popped in to see it.I left after
10 seconds based on how disingenuous Tiger was coming across.It was reinforced later that day when I heard
the rebroadcast on the radio and later saw footage on all the news-stations.There are links everywhere but (Click Here) is you
want about 90 seconds from it.Many kids
and even adults want to grow up to be someone who is rich and famous (Elvis,
Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, fill in name here).Not me, I don’t want to be Tiger Woods and that is one of the reasons I
feel great about my life.
Woods’ press conference, like just about every press conference
was about public relations and money.In
order for Woods to get back to his lucrative job and keep or regain sponsors,
this performance was necessary… and it was a good “performance” that was so popular
trading on the New York Stock Exchange almost slowed to a halt during the time
Woods was in front of the microphone.No
matter what Tiger said or did Friday for billions to see, he was going to get
criticized; welcome to the public spotlight.If he did not read his script, I would have felt better about his words
even though I am still not sold on this whole “sex addiction” defense.
Another reason I feel great about my life is after I saw
footage of attorney Gloria Allred’s press conference with the whack job… um I
mean porn…o wait “adult film” star, Joslyn James.If you have not seen this, trust me, you need
to (Click Here)
and bookmark it any time you are having a bad day.This is only 90 seconds of the 9 minutes of bizarro
world as this fruitcake and her attorney are asking for an apology from the
married guy she was sleeping with.To
make it even more sceevy, she uses Woods’ wife and kids’ names.I know I was not alone Friday night (as I was
with about 13 buddies playing poker) who all said the same thing in some form -
“WHAT THE BLEEP?”
All the people I mention above have loads of money plus fame
and I will never come close to their celebrity or wealth status.And that is perfectly fine with me as I am richer,
happier and more content in my life than they could ever dream of becoming.I
teach people the “Socratic Method” which is probably the reason I like our opening
quote so much from the ancient Greek philosopher.
While I understand why you feel that Tiger was being disingenuous, I am not willing to go that far. I am positive that Tiger realized he effed up big. And not "big" in the sense of the number of women and the frequency -- though those metrics are justifiably in the "big" category alone -- but "big" in the sense that he literally let thousands of people down. Certainly he brought this on himself, but this type of thing happening to Tiger has a much bigger "worldly" impact than if it were to happen to you or me.
Not only is Tiger a master golfer, but he went along willingly while the business world and the non-profit world heaped platitude after platitude upon him. Entities like Nike, Accenture, and his own foundation not only praised him as a person BUT HELD HIM UP as an example of how WE ALL should conduct ourselves.
Once the fit hit the shan, he let down all of those people and all of the people that work hard for those entities. Not only did he owe his fans a sincere apology, but he CERTAINLY owed the business and non-profit communities a BIGGER apology because his antics severely undermined their own promotional efforts. Far from his concerns about his personal income, he HAD TO come out with that carefully scripted apology to just BEGIN to mend severely damaged relationships, inclusive of his business ones. He was a willing rider for "Tiger The Icon" when the times were good; he HAD to face the music when they were bad.
I think he was sincere about making amends at that level and not just lining his pockets.
Hello Rac Ja. Thanks for the thoughts as well as visiting. We agree that Tiger f'd up and also that his celebrity status has created a ton of good for others, especially those less fortunate. I hate to be cliche but to whom much is given, much is expected. I had 3 major points for this post but after re-reading, realize that readers may not see them as I do in my head. First, by reading a script, it comes across disingenuous. I hate when politicians, CEO's, anyone does it but that is me, I go with my gut about people. The hug with his mother seemed fake and staged, I'm sorry. 2nd point was to point out that fame and fortune does not guarantee happiness and there are thousands of examples of the rich and famous whose own life or their kids' lives are f'd up; look at kid stars as an adult or Paris Hilton. The 3rd was that despicable press conference by Allred and the porn bimbo which left any ethical lawyer feeling dirty. Finally, if Tiger was an elected official, I can see the need to have a press conference but he did not do anything illegal and is a sports star, not someone voted to lead. I answer to my wife, my God and close family and friends and to some extent my employer or clients and think that's all Tiger needs to. This was a PR move with many advising him. It is also another reason I teach my kids not to idolize professional athletes and stars. Scary but Charles Barley said it best - do not look to him or other pro athletes to be a role model. We should be inspiring our kids to look up to parents, siblings, teachers and coaches in their community who live their life with values, ethics and serving others. Thanks again, I do appreciate your perspective and please keep coming back and commenting.
