A leadership lesson from the death of OJ Simpson

I recall sitting in the newsroom behind a computer at KDFW-TV FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth when the verdict dropped, writing for the early shows that day.

I distinctly recall an audible gasp across the newsroom, all for different reasons of course. I remained quiet, but my jaw dropped. Not only was it gobsmacking, it was up to me to write what we called the H’s, or the headlines for the news shows that day.

In fact, the entire story unfolded while I was in graduate school at Texas Christian University. I was working and going to school full-time in both cases. This case was included in my masters theses.

This lightening rod story…this so-called “Trial of the Century” changed everything, and if you are wondering what all that entails, CNN is doing a great job of unraveling it all: from the birth of CourtTV, to the undeniable impact of celebrity on cases like it, to the realization that LAPD had a history of toxic cop culture, to the introduction to the Kardashian family.

If you want to talk about whether he did it or not, there are plenty of other posts that welcome that fodder all over again.

But my post, really isn’t about all that. It’s about legacy. It’s about how you can start out winning and wind up losing in the most epic way due to poor choices. It’s about caring enough about yourself and the people around you not to leave the earth with headlines (or in cases of non-celebs like ourselves–reputations) like these.

How will the headline of your life read when it’s time?

I challenge you to be intentional about the impact you have on people, and live out the legacy you want to leave so you can avoid a regretful soiled mark, instead one that points to positive fruits and purpose.

If only we could say RIP to The Juice for everything that happened before 1995, but alas…that is overshadowed.