Monday, 14 September 2020 / Published in Inspiration, Motivation

‘Goode’ as Gold!

(Bob Goode featured in picture)

One evening, I was sitting down reading the New Pittsburgh Courier newspaper and flipped it over and saw the image of Robert W. Goode. I was stunned to see that a legend and mentor had passed. You see Bob and I go back to my days as a budding banker at Mellon Bank, NA (Now part of BNY Mellon). I was young, ambitious, and wet behind the ears. He was a veteran, successful Black executive at the bank and there were not many Black executives floating around the bank at the time. I would later learn that he was one of the Black banking executive pioneers. He was one of only 30 Black bank executives in the country in the mid 80’s. He was incredibly involved in the community and opened doors for many to be successful including myself. Given the humble person that Bob was, he never shared that with me or many of his other accolades.

What I remember most about Bob was his warm smile and that he never seemed to be in a hurry. I really appreciated how he always made time to take me to lunch and was very attentive, humble, and encouraging. I recall my wife telling me that she saw him at the hospital awhile back and he asked her about me and said that he liked the things that I was doing in the community. Hearing that makes me smile, but also miss a man who touched so many and had a positive impact on my life.

The funny thing is that I never thought to call him a mentor until after he passed, he was just ‘Bob Goode” to me. As I reflect, I realize that he was much more than that. He was a great man who accomplished many things during his life, but the greatest is his investment in people like me and the many others that he believed in, supported and encouraged to go for it no matter how challenging the goal may be.

As you progress in life, never be too busy to invest in others, especially the young people as they need it most. Do not focus on numbers but quality. As Mother Teresa would say, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”

If I had the chance I would say, ” Thank you Bob for investing and believing in me!” The true measure of greatness is not the investments that you make in the market, but the investments that you make in those around you. I consider myself blessed that I had the chance to experience greatness personified and that he took the time to guide me forward. Bob was truly ‘Goode’ as gold!

Make Today Great!

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Remember, Greatness Awaits You!