Thursday 11 January 2018

Dikembe Mutombo

Today I met Dikembe Mutombo. A privilege and someone who has made real difference.

In short, his story is NBA legend followed by full time philanthropist. It’s the latter not the former where he has had lasting impact. 10 years ago post retiring from basketball and whilst on a trip to his native Africa he felt compelled to help and decided to build a hospital in the Congo, his country of birth. He was told it would cost $30m and so he and his wife duly donated the vast majority.

It’s a remarkable story from someone who grew up in humble surroundings, his father earned less than $40 a month.  He was very keen to impress that it’s not how much money you make but the extent to which you help others which counts. It’s this contribution which will invariably ensure your happiness.

He realed off quote after quote:

- It’s in our hands to make the world a better place (straight out of the Mandela book)

- The real litmus test is how much you touch people other than your love ones

- Life is not where you come from, it is where you are going

- On his email signature he has the following quote which I love : I will continue to work hard as I do not accept excuses’.

They kept coming....

He told the story of how his first coach reached out to him in 1999 and said ‘hey African come here’, ‘do you want to play basketball?’.  ‘What about my medical studies?’ he replied. The coach went on to tell him that if he did exactly what he said he would be able to help more people than any doctor in history.

We asked him about why team sports are so important for business careers. He said that you don’t get success alone, it only comes through working with others.

He was asked whether his background gave him the platform to succeed in all the facets of his life.  He agreed, at 9 years of age he was asked to get up at 4.30 every morning to sell bread before school. He did that for 8 years to help feed his family.

Only three players have had their jerseys retired. He being one. He broke countless NBA defence records.

He is now a global ambassador for the NBA. An $8bn institution. They’ve recently built 10,000 courts in China alone.

He was asked about his kids, his 14 year old son is 6 foot 8 and has a size 18 shoe.  He takes them home to Africa every year to ensure that they stay grounded.

He was asked about how to start a charity? He said the main thing was to commit to it for life as opposed to lying to the world and letting it go after 3 years.

He only broke 22 noses in 18 years. Lebron James was his last victim.

* ran to work with Dan. 17k in 5s.










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