Keeping It Real for October 10, 2009

• By TONY BROWN
• Advocate Opinion page staff
• Published: Oct 10, 2009 - Page: 9B

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“A man is only as faithful as his options”
– Comedian Chris Rock

We often gravitate to the words of successful people because by reason of their success we believe they have something valuable to say. Their words, we believe, have a wisdom forged from the fires of the experiences that helped them get to the top.

Words matter. They can create life-changing moments for better or worse. But what is just as important to consider as the words are the people speaking and how they got where they are. That speaks to character.

Tony Dungy is a man acquainted with success. He is the first African-American head football coach to win the Super Bowl, having guided the Indianapolis Colts to the title in 2006, and he is known for his convictions and high personal standards rooted in his Christian faith.

In his book “Uncommon: Finding your path to significance,” Dungy presents an offering of what it takes to be successful — the right way.

The book’s title is derived from a quote by Cal Stoll, Dungy’s college football coach at the University of Minnesota, who often told his team, “Success is uncommon, therefore not to be enjoyed by the common man. I’m looking for uncommon people.”

Dungy’s book is divided into seven sections and aims to help men find a path of significance with chapters covering subjects such as “Humility and Stewardship,” “Courage,” “How to Treat a Woman” and “Respect Authority.”

Dungy says that as a coach he often talked to his team about keys, those things that are fundamental to making the right decisions for success. He presents the first key, “Character,” as foundational to everything else.

If at any time there has been a need to discuss character, it is today.

“What you do is not as important as how you do it,” Dungy says. “Those are the words that keep coming back to me when I am tempted to choose what is expedient over what is right.”

Anyone who has ever taken a math class knows that at some point in the course you will hear the words, “Show your work.” This is to help the instructor determine if you’re grasping the concepts being taught.

It’s not enough to just have an answer; the student must be able to show how he or she arrived at the answer. Do you know what you’re doing, or did you cut corners by copying someone else’s homework, or did you cheat on the test? The journey is just as important as the destination.

We live in a results-oriented society. We honor people who are productive, and rightfully so. Often, though, we are so impressed by great results that we don’t look at how they were achieved until it is too late.