Payment Industry Insider

If you are a Celtics fan, Boston that is, then you perhaps feel a little lighter of heart lately. They won the NBA championship a few of weeks ago! They are back - in their rightful place, at the top!! Not since the days of Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, et al has there been such a sense of “all is right with the world.”

I don’t think the Celtics being on top (although that is very good thing), other than being a momentary diversion, is going to have anything to do with “all is right with the world”, or a bringing of any solutions for the challenges we face today.

Although I do kind of remember it as such in that era – in the basketball world and in the world at large. Why is that do you suppose?

Probably because of the sense of prudent fiscal responsibility that most folks carried on their business with. They didn’t take undue risks, beyond their capacity. And, they didn’t have easy and ready credit to tempt them.

Their integrity lined up with their values, something we hear so easily slide off the tongue of so many today, only to find out that the words aren’t worth the spit it took to say them.

So what does that have to do with finance and credit unions and banks? I think we can take a few lessons from the past, in particular from some of those basketball greats.

They worked hard; they worked hard a lot - over an extended period of time. It took a lot of discipline, looking to the future, the long term, even when there were temptations to take shortcuts. They pulled together, as a team; they helped each other out. And look what it did for them – they won championships! The Celtics became the most storied basketball team in history.

Credit unions have similar character traits to lend to society, and boy do consumers need a dose of some of that today. And they need some hope, too. Credit unions, don’t grow weary in doing good! Look what it did for the Celtics.