Most of the time, when you mention the name Ted Williams, people think of the former left fielder for the Boston Red Sox who will always be considered one of the greatest to ever play the game of baseball. But for right now, while that Ted Williams remains frozen in Florida, another Ted Williams will stand for a second chance at fulfilling your destiny.
When I woke up yesterday morning, the Today Show was discussing a You Tube video that was getting some major attention. Ted Williams, a homeless man living in Columbus, OH, had a gift. Armed with a sign advertising his “golden voice”, Ted took to the streets of Columbus looking to trade the chance to hear him talk for donations to help him live. Today, the morning news broadcast brought the man into their studio, sat him on the couch, and allowed him and his story to enter the homes of their viewers.
The one time radio personality had spent the last 10 years on the streets, fighting a drug addiction that had spiraled out of control. He went from a good place to rock bottom and has been everywhere in between. Within the last two years, William’s has discovered a renewed sense of faith in god and himself that has helped him get sober. Of course as a society we are automatically skeptical that someone can change as much as he is claiming to have or that all this new found fame and attention won’t send him back to finding comfort in his addictions but you can’t help but want to root for him to succeed. If we've learned anything from all those Rocky movies, it's that everybody cheers for the underdog.
As I watched the interview, I found myself tearing up but not over his story. Sure, the tale was one of courage through despair and strength when conquering demons but the thing that stood out to me was the genuine attitude that he displayed throughout the segment. Sitting there with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, this 52 year old man was like a kid on Christmas morning. Not only was he polite, respectful, and well spoken, but he was overwhelmed with the excitement that this has brought to his life as well as thankful and appreciative. He owned up to his mistakes and accepted that he was directly to blame for his current situation. At one point, when they mentioned a job offer from the Cleveland Cavilers basketball team, Ted’s eyes lit up and a smile of pure joy came across his face. It was that smile that simply said everything he had been through had led him here to this. It was the protrait of a man whose dreams were coming true.
At one point or another, we all want second chances or do overs in life. For me personally, part my commitment to making things happen in a year is to try to make up for the past couple years that I wasted because I was consumed with something toxic to my life. Even though I’ve stressed over and over that you can’t change the past and you just have to do better moving forward, that’s not what I took from watching this interview.
Ted Williams has a golden voice. It is the kind of voice you expect to hear coming over the airwaves of your favorite radio station but even beyond his incredible gift, he has a love and passion to take his talent and share it with the world. We should all find our passions in life. In the book, Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke writes about finding something that you get up every day and want to do so much so that your life would not be complete if you are not doing that specific thing. He says, “Find the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would die if you were forbidden to write.” While Rilke focuses on writing as a true life purpose, this theory can be applied to anything are you passionate about. Find what it is that you love. Find something that feel good about doing. Find the thing that you were meant to do and do it with all your heart.
“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can’t do it. You want something? Go get it. Period.” - The Pursuit of Happiness (Will Smith as Christopher Gardner)
If you haven't seen the news story on this man, check it out. Ted Williams On Today
Big I felt exactly the same seeing his interview!
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