The several lessons Delante West teaches us by working in a furniture warehouse.

NBA star works in a furniture warehouse.

It isn't very complicated and, strictly speaking, it's none of my business or yours...what somebody else does for work after having received a salary totaling slight more than $14,000,000 in salary over the last 7 years.  But the recent news of Delante West is interesting--and seemingly magical in so many ways; however, he himself invites us to be aware of the news about this latest activities, for he apparently is a heavy-duty "tweeter" about his personal affairs.  So the story begs for our attention because it raises so many unexpected issues and teaches us some decent lessons about managing our own affairs.  First, a little background if you don't know who Delante West is...

Mr. West is a professional basketball player--presently affected by the NBA lock-out--and, thus, with no source of fresh money from his natural skills as an athlete.  His professional past as a basketball player is linked to the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers where he played from 2004 to 2006 and 2007 through 2009, respectively.  Between those two employers, he had a salary that spanned 7 years and amounted to $14M.  

All summer Mr. West has, among other activities tweeted that he applied to work at Home Depot and that he, as well, was thinking of selling knives.  But what most certainly complicated his focus on a new--albeit temporary--livelihood was his guilty plea to a charge of illegally carrying three loaded firearms in a guitar case while speeding down a Maryland freeway on a motorcycle at 2am in the summer of 2010.  [Indeed, any interest of his in playing basketball abroad in another country to make money was damped by a judge who would not consent to an international itinerary that would break the terms of his probation for that conviction.]

From making drives to driving the forklift.

So a few days ago, Mr. West tweeted to his more than 6,000 followers that he was applying for a position to work as a warehouse stock worker--which he got and is, in fact, now performing today.  Specifically, he works for the Regency Furniture store in Brandywine, MD and labors, it is reported, in the stockroom.  

I can only speculate as to why a millionaire--or, worse yet, a recent-but-no-longer-millionaire--would apply, of all places, for a position in a furniture store warehouse; my guess would be that absent a prosperous career in professional basketball, Mr. West might--along with some school or neighborhood friends--find applying to work in the warehouse of a furniture store a perfect logical, reasonable place to find employment.  

My reaction is simply that it seems odd that a guy who while on the road working for the NBA has flown first class and lived in five-star hotels is pushing a dolly around or driving a fork-lift.  Save for his special talent to play professional basketball, this kind of job just seems down-right unexpected for a sport celeb of sorts.  

When less is more.

The most interesting aspect of his getting the job stems from the application he had to complete, which he was thoughtful enough to show the rest us a copy. There it asks whether he's been convicted of a crime and, obfiously, Mr. West had to declare "yes."  What comes next is what is intriguing:  The following item requests that, if "yes," a full explanation is to be provided.  What was sort of magical was Mr. West's full account in one word:  a "misunderstanding."  

I think Delante West's present life is instructive in three ways:

[1] Honest work is good and should not be neglected.  If Mr. West is a millionaire, as one might reasonably expect, he exemplifies a healthy work ethic: His actions, in effect, say, Hey, why be idol when there's time to be put to good use!  Most people think that work is to be avoided if it can be--but not, apparently, Mr. West!

[2] No kind of work is beneath even a famous sports figure.  Per chance Mr. West is no longer a millionaire [as some of his tweets lead some people to surmise], he appears perfectly comfortable performing honest work for a day's pay, simply to pay the bills until more NBA money comes along.  He's obviously tasted the fine life during his NBA days--and may very well do so again--but not now.  In the meantime, he shows a resiliency that I find compelling and down-right admirable.  

[3] Less explanation is sometimes better than more.  Sometimes saying few words deals perfectly with touchy matters.  The brevity of this account for what might very well have made sense to only a few people--although apparently not the state troopers on a Maryland freeway at 2 in the morning--was handled with a succinctness that got the job done, that of applying for and getting the job he sought.  Some people talk past the point of adequacy--but not, apparently, Delante West!  I say good for him!
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