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MORE CELEBRITY FINANCIAL STORIES |
Every reason to feel confident and secure Prior to being drafted into the NFL by the Dolphins two years ago Pat White was a senior at West Virginia with a spectacular list of accomplishments. He had been the starter in West Virginia for three years and held the NCAA record for rushing yardage by a quarterback. White was also the first starting quarterback to win four bowl games in NCAA history. He rightly would have had every reason to believe that he would get good job in the NFL. Sure enough, he was hired during the draft and in his first year served as the back up quarterback in nearly all the regular season games behind the starter Chad Henne. How White's injury taught us that tragedy can strike at any time Fast forward to the final game of the 2009 season. The Dolphins were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in a last ditch effort to save their chance at a playoff appearance. During the first half Chad Henne was repeatedly hit and hassled by the Steelers defense, specifically by his former roommate Lamar Woodley. An eye injury prevented Henne from coming back at the start of the 2nd half. Pat White was tapped to take over. Just like that Pat White was thrust into the spotlight during the Dolphins’ most critical regular season game. This was White’s chance to leverage all of his past successes and skills into the most meaningful victory of this career up to that point. Everyone moved a little closer to edges of their seats. On the 7th snap Pat White took in the third quarter he determined he was unable to complete the pass. With the Steelers defenders bearing down on him he tucked the ball away and ran toward the first down as he had done successfully so many times in college. At that moment, White’s incredible opportunity to shine was taken away from him in dramatic fashion. The Steelers’ defender Ike Taylor collided with White so hard that White was immediately knocked unconscious. For the next 8 minutes the stadium was hushed as doctors flocked together to determine the severity of Pat White's injury. While White laid motionless, many feared the worst. He was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a concussion after much worried speculation. After the initial concern for his health was calmed one could ask the question what would Pat White’s next career move be if he was unable to play football again? Fortunately, he is able to play again this year but his accident served as a reminder to all of us that everything can be going great, and yet it can all be immediately taken away. If we don’t have a back up plan it could mean economic disaster. Are you prepared for economically impactful problems? What will you do if you become injured and can’t go back to your job? What if you are unexpectedly laid off and are faced with paycheck drought? What if your car is destroyed, your child’s daycare closes, your neighborhood is flooded, or your identity is stolen? Everyone is going to be faced with challenges at some point in their lives. Those challenges will have an economic impact on individual’s standard of living. Accepting that fact now and taking precautionary measures will ensure that the quality of life you and your family have come to enjoy will not be permanently scarred.
Think about your own situation. Do you feel you are protected against economic troubles? A nodding acquaintance with statistics would suggest that’s probably not true. What potential threats do you see on the horizon that could hurt your quality of life? What steps can you take now to ensure you are adequately prepared to handle it? What happens if you or a family member loses a job, gets injured or sick, has property stolen or damaged, or is harmed by natural disaster? What did wise Ben Franklin say? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! For more celebrity profiles visit the Celebrity Financial Lessons Archive! Also, readers are always welcome to join me at LinkedIn! |
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 The ability that
former NBA star Kenny Anderson
had on the court didn’t translate into ability managing money,
unfortunately. According
to the story, Anderson, had earned approximately $63 million dollars
over his career, but in October of 2005 he was filing for bankruptcy.
Read
more here.
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 John Layfield was a WWE wrestler. He caught
my attention years ago when he had been on CNBC giving financial advice.
Layfield went through many years without making much money. He was paid
$3.00 for one match when starting out. Sometimes he made $10.00 or
$25.00 for a match. He shares many good insights about staying out of
debt and doing better for yourself even when you start out with very
little.
Read
more here.
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 Years
ago, before
Paula Deen became the
successful entrepreneur that she is
today, she was nearly destitute. When learning that she started her
cooking empire with only $200.00, it immediately leads people interested
in small business success stories to go find out more.
Read more here.
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 Bret
Michaels is the lead singer of the 80s rock band Poison. Standing in
the front row at the Poison concert, you notice that Bret Michaels has
the same characteristics of successful business people: hard work,
inclusiveness, and making customers feel appreciated. Even when he
points at you and yells to “have nothin’ but a good time….”, he is
demonstrating that he is not only a rock star but a savvy entrepreneur.
Read more here.
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