We sometimes forget that humans are multi-dimensional, that we can excel in more than one category and those categories can be unrelated. For example a supreme basketball champion can also be an insightful intellectual.

Meet Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Life ain’t easy when you are much taller than normal. Your genetics have significantly  ordained  your fate. If you’re over seven feet tall, you are destined to be on a basketball court, not in the library. If the authorities dis-allow the dunk, you invent and master the skyhook. Regardless of the rules made to limit you, you continue to excel.

You are the son of a cop, anti-social behavior is not tolerated in his house. You convert to Islam as a young adult and actively pursue developing your mind even as your physical talents tower over your contemporaries. You strive to be well-rounded physically, intellectually and emotionally. None of your contemporaries are quite like you.

 Your professional career has a short window. No one expects sports greatness from you after you reach forty, nevertheless, you conclude a twenty year NBA career as the all-time scoring leader with 38,387 points. Moreover,  off the court, you keep developing as a successful author and researcher.

People ask you questions–some of them quite dumb–but your responses, like your game, are often stellar. You are far more than simply a freak of nature.

You are a beautiful soul and the world is a much better place as the result of you being in it.