Driven - Myron Rolle

“You’re not talking about somebody who is just driven. You’re talking about somebody who is truly special, the kind of person who becomes a president or a world leader … he’s different.”

I think this quote sums up what this article is all about. Myron Rolle is a student athlete that needs to be talked about. He is an athlete that is going about things the 'right way.' He is a guy that young kids need to be exposed to. If you read this article I am pretty sure you will be impressed. Its not often that you come across a potential NFL draft pick that is simultaneously trying to become a neurosurgeon. Then throw in the fact that he is a motivational speaker and works on multinational healthcare programs and you really do have someone who is special.

But where Holmes will eventually head back to Pittsburgh to resume his football career, Rolle is putting that part of his life on hold. He’s heading to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in September as he takes a year away from the game to chase the neurosurgeon gig. Even as Rolle keeps himself in shape these days, hoping to maintain his status as a first- or second-round pick in the 2010 NFL draft, he has made the medical gig a high priority as well. After a day of training, Rolle has spent afternoons shadowing orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brad Homan at nearby Celebration Hospital. He has gone on rounds and even observed Homan in the operating room.

“I didn’t set that up for Myron,” said Shaw, one of the best-known trainers with a client list featuring the likes of Deion Sanders and Michael Vick(notes). “He did that on his own because he wanted to. Most of the guys I have here, they want to go test drive a car at Richard Petty’s track or go fishing or get on the golf course when they’re done working out. Myron spends his afternoon thinking about what he’s going to do next with his life.

I think that Rolle possesses a quality that we can all learn from. He taking advantage of the time he has on this earth. Although he may be at the extreme end of the spectrum, we all look back at times and think that we could have made better use of the time we had during a given chapter of our lives. Not many people look back and wish they did less with their life. Its good to read a feel good story like this once in a while.