When You Can’t Hide from the Limelight, You Use It
John Crossman, CCIM, CRX
President @ CrossMarc Services | Real Estate Investment
Charlie Ward never sought the spotlight—in fact, he did his best to avoid it. But it found him, so he learned to accept it and use it to share his Christian faith and help people.
Often referred to as a once-in-a-generation athlete, Charlie was a professional basketball player (New York Knicks for nine years, and brief stints with the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets). He played football in college, winning the Heisman Trophy, Davey O’Brien Award, and a college football national championship while he was the quarterback with the Florida State Seminoles.
Charlie and I were students at FSU together and it was a pleasure to reunite with him when he was a guest on The Crossman Conversation.
We had fun talking about sports and his impressive career. He shared some valuable insight into how chemistry and teamwork blend to achieve success. “Everyone has to play their role, to do whatever they’ve been asked to do, to help the team be successful,” he said. And sometimes the individuals must make a personal sacrifice to help the team achieve success.
Charlie has a servant leadership worldview that permeates everything he does. “I am grateful to have parents that were great servant leaders,” he said. “I had a great example of what it looked like. I just want to use my platform to serve others and share Christ, not only from a scripture standpoint but from a lifestyle standpoint.”
Through the Ward Family Foundation, Charlie and his wife Tonja put their commitment to servant leadership into action by supporting community programs and philanthropic causes specifically related to youth character development through sports and the arts based on Christian principles, plus disaster relief efforts. Charlie travels the country delivering his powerful Charlie’s Chalk Talk speeches to teams and organizations of all types.
“I want people to see who Jesus Christ is,” he said. “I’m on his team and he’s coaching me every day.”
To hear our conversation, go to:
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You’ll also want to listen to my conversation with Ron Miller, an FSU basketball standout who is now a pastor and human performance coach. Go here:
And to give equal time to the University of Florida, check out my conversation with Lawrence Hatch, a former Gator and NFL player who is now a banking executive.
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John Crossman is the founder of Crossman Career Builders, the host of The Crossman Conversation, and the author of Career Killers Career Builders. Check out Crossman Career Builders on YouTube. Connect with John on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.