Kareem looks back on his younger self, wishing he knew what he knows now
We all experience that moment in our lives when we think, “woulda, shoulda, coulda.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shared his with Esquire.com, revealing some interesting things he wished he knew when he was 30.
Here are a few excerpts…
On cooking
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After I got divorced I missed home cooked meals and the only person I had to rely on was the guy in the mirror. Plus, I found it impressed women if you could cook a good meal. Once, very shortly after I started cooking for myself, I had a first date with a woman I really wanted to make a good impression on. Of course, I could have done the usual celebrity thing: fancy restaurant, signing autographs, wait-staff fawning. But I wanted this to be special, so I decided to cook for her, everything from soup to dessert. Some women get a little freaked seeing a 7’2” black man with a carving knife and butcher’s apron, but she appreciated the effort. Which was good because the soup was a little salty, the steak a little overcooked, and the flan a little watery…
On being handy
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Recently my washing machine broke and flooded my entire downstairs. I was forced to stand idly by waiting for a plumber to arrive while water rose around my ankles because I didn’t know how to shut off the water. That’s the kind of experience that makes you have your testosterone levels checked.
On money
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I chose my financial manager, who I later discovered had no financial training, because a number of other athletes I knew were using him. That’s typical athlete mentality in that we’re used to trusting each other as a team, so we extend that trust to those associated with teammates. Consequently, I neglected to investigate his background or what qualified him to be a financial manager. He placed us in some real estate investments that went belly up and I came close to losing some serious coin.
I’ll say this, there is nothing like a handy man. A man who can fix stuff is worth his weight in gold.
As for financial literacy, Kareem took a hit and learned a hard lesson, like many athletes do, but they aren’t alone. We can all stand to pay closer attention to our nickels and dimes. Broke isn’t cute on ANYBODY.
Read the FULL LIST of 20 things Karrem wished he known at age 30.
