Even more comical though is the fact I frequently meet Texans who also speak about former Dallas Cowboys with that same reverence – but in real life.
And – most of those stories involve run-ins with Roger Staubach – the former quarterback who starred for the cowboys during their extremely successful 1970s run.
Before I share a “Staubach Story” (that I promise you will love), I want to highlight some of Staubach’s stunning achievements.
An Amazing Human Being
Staubach started for the Naval Academy in the early 1960s – where he earned the Heisman Trophy (the top collegiate award) and led the NCAA in passing.
He also captained the baseball team at the academy.
After graduating from the Naval Academy, he served in the Navy for four years before entering the NFL, and he volunteered to go to Vietnam during the height of the war.
In the NFL, he frequently led the league in passing, made numerous Pro-Bowls, took the Cowboys to four Super Bowls, and won two Super Bowls.
While still in the NFL, he started a commercial real estate firm that he built into a multi-billion dollar empire after his NFL career ended.
He sold the firm and is now worth over $600 million.
In addition, he and his wife have been married for almost 60 years now – with five children and 17 grandchildren.
In short, the man’s achievements are truly amazing and he remains one the most celebrated and famous men in Texas.
A Great Staubach Story
Anyway, here is the most recent “Staubach run-in story” that I had to share.
A friend of mine, a very successful national sales manager and lifelong Texan, was sitting in first class on a flight out of Dallas.
As he walked up to his seat, he was shocked to see that his seatmate was Staubach himself.
My friend told me that he was determined not to slide into “fanboy” mode, but he did anyway – and Staubach took it all in stride and happily relived all of the “glory days” in conversation (for what must have been the 1,000th time).
My friend also asked Staubach why he was not flying on his private jet, and Staubach said that his employees needed the jet for business so he let them have it, and volunteered to fly commercial because his flight was less important.
After the conversation waned, my friend told me he was starting to feel very self-conscious about his comments and the fact he did turn into a blustering fanboy, despite his best efforts not to.
But, Staubach kept the conversation going nonetheless.
When the plane landed, my friend was one of the last to disembark because his bag was in the back of the plane.
And, as he was getting off the plane, he was again shocked to see Mr. Staubach… waiting for him.
Mr. Staubach, with more wealth than any of us will ever have, with more friends, family members and fans than any of us will ever have, with more demands for his time than any of us will ever have, waited for the entire plane to disembark so he could shake my friend’s hand and tell him how much he enjoyed the conversation. My friend, who was still feeling embarrassed about his fanboy antics, about fell out of his shoes.
I might add that I could share several more similar stories about Mr. Staubach that others have shared, but I will stop with just this one to make my point.
And – My Point Is This
I thought of the above story when we had a run-in with a very irrational, angry and arrogant agent a few weeks ago.
I also think about that story when I see people pursuing every self-help angle imaginable in order to augment their success.
Those people (and all of us) would be wise to remember that the single biggest avenue to success is probably to simply remember to make the effort to be nice. 😊
It certainly seems to have worked for Mr. Staubach.
Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(855) 855-4491 | DRE# 1197176, NMLS# 310167
Image courtesy of Sports Illustrated
