“Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.” — Wayne Dyer

Emmitt SmithJeanine and I love our accountant. We only see and talk to him once a year, even though he promises to call Jeanine to play tennis after the conclusion of every tax season. The artificial invite is probably just his form of pleasant chit chat. This year though, after I asked when they were going to make their tennis date, he laughed (because he knew I was making fun of him) and he said that he’s playing baseball these days.

His face lit up and I could tell he wanted to talk about it so I took the bait and probed. Remember, I’m in sales… I know a thing or two about accommodating chit chat. He had attended Fantasy Baseball Camp last year. I didn’t know anything about this but I soon gathered from our conversation that it’s adult camp for the over-forty crowd where they get to play ball with a bunch of retired professionals.

I asked what these guys do in retirement when they’re not hosting fantasies for aging jocks. He said that a lot of the players from the 70’s and 80’s didn’t make much money and so they continued to work after their ball careers ended.

I was hooked as it had the makings for a blog post so I asked what the majority of them have done. He said the Number 1 career choice of many included buying a car dealership. Who knew? He said the younger players (from the 90’s) all made good money, likely invested well, and therefore probably didn’t need to work. Makes sense.

That said retiring athletes were fresh on my mind when I came across the Emmitt Smith article in the recent issue of Fortune magazine. Typically, I would have skipped over a sports story. But I was interested in what Smith was doing as his “second” career. The article is called Build ‘Em, Cowboy. I’m embarrassed to say that without the title, I would not have known or been able to guess that Smith played for Dallas. I am clueless when it comes to most sports. I also learned in the article that he won Dancing with the Stars. I rarely watch television, so clueless there too… but I already mentioned that earlier this week.

Anyway, the article is about his post-career ambition which focuses on real estate development… a topic that I love. Roy S. Johnson writes, “If you run into Smith these days, don’t ask him to dance. His sights are now set on his true post-career ambition, one he has held for many years: becoming a real estate tycoon.”

“In rushing for an NFL-record 18,355 yards with Dallas and the Arizona Cardinals, Smith covered a lot of real estate. He also invested in the sector, and he has profited by buying and selling properties in and around Dallas and his hometown, Pensacola, Fla., since he was a rookie.”

“Last year Smith made his first move toward becoming a developer. He teamed with another Cowboy legend, Roger Staubach, the founder and CEO of Staubach Co., to form Smith/Cypress Partners LP, a real estate development enterprise specializing in transforming underutilized parcels in densely populated areas into commercially viable properties anchored by national retail giants.”

“Early in his own playing career, Smith approached the former Cowboy quarterback with an interest in learning more about real estate. Skeptical at first, Staubach told Smith to spend some time at his company’s offices during the spring and summer if he was sincere.”

“Smith did just that, spending the off-season at Staubach Co.’s headquarters in Dallas. Staubach founded the company almost 30 years ago to locate and negotiate office and retail space for clients.” Read on for the rest of the story.

There were a couple of things that I learned from this story. 1. Emmitt Smith is one of the rich players that made his money in the 90’s and probably doesn’t need to work in retirement. Yet, he wants to work. He is passionate about real estate and he wakes up everyday doing something that he loves. 2. He had mentors: Roger Staubach and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who made his own fortune in real estate. He learned from others. 3. The guy can dance and that’s cool.

Emmitt Smith is doing the real estate dance and he seems to have mastered the steps!