Kansas City Chiefs, Defensive End Jared Allen posed an interesting question recently.

Imagine if someone walked up to you and said, “I’m going to give you more money than you ever dreamed of, absolute freedom in how you spend it, and oodles of time in which to do it.”

Life-long fantasy or a nightmare waiting to happen? It depends. Allen stated that’s what happened when he was drafted. It was an incredible opportunity, however, an individual’s ability to cope with such tremendous freedom can mean the difference between soaring high, or “crashing and burning” so to speak.

If you’ve followed sports for any length of time, you’re aware this is not an uncommon situation. If you take the following into consideration:

• Youth with access to new and unlimited financial resources
• Operating from unstable fiscal preparation
• Unrestrained totally, many for the first time
• Lacking in family values
• Lacking in family support
• No sense of personal accountability
• Surrounded with “fake” people and concern as long as there’s money

There you have it, a future recipe for disaster. Many elderly people used to say, “If you lay down with dogs you’ll get up with fleas.” I prefer to think of it the way some motivational speakers say it. “Who you run with says who you are.”

In any endeavor, it’s important to surround yourself with people who really have your best interest at heart. Who was there before the fame and fortune?

Everyone stumbles, that’s just life. Having people there to help direct and guide you on the process of getting up again, well, that’s just priceless.