KAPPAS IN SPORTS
Jarmond: Life is about relationships. The richer your relationships, the richer your life will be. I truly believe that. Fortunately, I understood the value of relationships and investing in and pour- ing into people. Especially people that were in my industry that were success- ful or more advanced in their careers. I did the conferences, but what I did that was extra was in my mind I said “be willing to do what others are not willing to do.” For me that was you go to the conference, you hear someone speak. Say there’s 50 people in the room, you know life is a numbers game. A lot of times you’ve got to be the last one. You’ve got to stay longer. It’s like getting shots up in the gym. Get there early, stay late, and those that do success tend to find them a little easier. But you go hear that speaker, the numbers game, out of the 50 there are going to be about 20 that are going to stay afterwards to talk to the speaker. Out of the 20, there are going to be 10 that say, “I’d love to follow up with you and just stay in touch and learn more.” Out of that 10 there’s only going to be actually only five that send an email. Maybe six. So six will send an initial email. Say that speaker writes all six of them back. It will probably only be two that send two or three emails over the next three or four months. But then there probably only be one that maintains that relationship, that checks on that speaker. That watches to see if something good happens to them or something they are involved with that drops them a note saying “hey congrats on that. I read about that in Forbes….” Out of that 50, there’s going to be one, maybe two that keep that relationship going. It’s on you to keep that going. That’s you being willing to do what oth- ers are not willing to do because they’re not going to do that. You’ve got to do the extra, and that’s something that I did in my career early on when I was a young blood coming up. I understood the value of that perseverance and doing those things to try and be that one or that two that stays connected with people. That has helped my career out tremendously.
other things I maybe wanted to do that were more fun or in the moment. I had to see the bigger picture. I had to see it through. I had to see what’s beyond. And for me you put energy into things you’re convicted about. I was really convicted and focused on basketball. I knew that was going to probably be he end of the road for me. I loved my team, I loved competing so that was going to get all of my energy. Being a student, I knew that was the decision that was going to affect the rest of my life, how I set myself up academically. How do I learn time and energy management? How do I learn focus? And when the lights are brightest, whether it’s a game or it’s a test, you’ve got to perform and do your best. I tell people that all the time, “when the lights are brightest, you must perform.” The Journal: It’s like the legendary UCLA coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success says “Be at your best when your best is needed.” Jarmond: Absolutely, when the lights are the brightest, you must perform. There’s no other way about it. If you want to be great. If you want to be elite. That is what greatness demands. Even if you don’t reach greatness, you want to try and do the best that you can to achieve that. The you can be satisfied with where you land. But as far as energy management and Kappa, that was something that I was convicted in because it came from a place that was important to me. And that was family. My dad was a Kappa. And like I said my grandfather who I didn’t get a chance to know was a Kappa. I love my dad. I loved everything that he was about, and I learned about Kappa through him. So it was something that was important to me. I wanted that brotherhood. I think connectivity is really important, espe- cially when you’re in undergrad trying to figure things out. You’re trying to figure yourself out. You need to be around people who love you and are about the right things. That was Kappa Alpha Psi for me.
The Journal: Would you say that your membership in Kappa Alpha Psi con- tributed to the success you’ve become today? Jarmond: Absolutely. In a lot of ways, it’s similar to being on a college team. Because again you have sacrifice. Noth- ing great can be achieved without sig- nificant sacrifice. There’re no short cuts. So, to do Kappa, and be involved and to serve, because it’s not just becoming a Kappa, it’s about service. That’s one of the main things about being a Kappa. And any time you are in service, you have to sacrifice. Sacrifice your energy, your time, and other things that are im- portant. But that’s what you have to do if you want to serve or you want to achieve the level of success that you’re chasing. I would say the things that you learn in Kappa; sacrifice, commitment, grit is a big one. You know seeing it through. Whether you’re pledging or you’re tired and you don’t want to do anything else and there’s another event that you’ve got to do, or mentoring a young blood. That happens a lot for me now and it’s energy. It takes a lot. But you’ve got to have a level of grit to see it through. I love to say see it through. That’s what being a Kappa is. So, I would say it helped me. It helped me a lot because it was sacrifice, it was grit, perseverance, see it through, service. You want to serve, you want to be great, you’ve got to sacrifice significantly. There’s no other way around it, and that’s some of the principals I think Kappa Alpha Psi stands for and is about. The Journal: When you consider your journey from a student to your first position in your field at Michigan State, what were some of the steps besides the educational things that you did to help get you there? Perhaps an intern- ship, or membership in a professional organization, or attending a conference, or meeting influential people. What were some of the things you did to set yourself apart?
THE JOURNAL ♦ WINTER 2020-SPRING 2021 | 49
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