Jesus, Jocks, and the Jukebox

It seems we have another phenomena on our hands in the world of sports, and he goes by the name of, Jeremy Lin.

Why do we love Lin? Sure, he's very talented, but we've certainly seen his type of skill in the game before - just watch a Suns game and you'll see a 38-year-old Steve Nash doing what he's doing and then some.

As good as he is, we are in love with his skill - we're in love with his journey. Lin is an undrafted Harvard graduate who, because of the Ivy League's no athletic scholarship policy, didn't even play on a scholarship. And now he's led the New York Knicks to seven straight wins in his first seven games of his career, and he did so in spectacular fashion. Every team in the league passed up on this kid, and they did it multiple times.

The thing that really gets me about Lin is that he chose to go to Harvard in the first place. He seems to have so much natural talent, so you would think he'd try to go to one of the many NCAA schools with a reputable basketball program. But somewhere during his high school years he made a decision. And for whatever reason, Lin felt Harvard was the best-case scenario for him.

I don't really know what I think about the word, destiny. I don't know if everybody has a destiny, or maybe if just some people do. Maybe there's no such thing as destiny at all, but that's not really the point. Lin made a decision to go to Harvard, get an amazing education, and then let things play out from there. And in making that decision, Lin trusted in who he was, and judging by where he is now, he must really believe in himself.

In basketball terms, there's no way that was a popular decision, and it almost looks like he just gave up on his dream. But what I see here is a kid who did what he thought was right, and trusted that his hard work and purpose driven life would lead him to somewhere where he can make a difference.

What if he chose somewhere else? Would we still be talking about him? Would he still be where he is today?

My honest answer is yes. Because what I'm learning from Jeremy Lin is that success is not always about the decisions we make in life, but it's about the person making the decision.