Maurice Clarett, a Personal Development Demo

The story of Maurice Clarett, former collegiate running back sensation, offers a vivid, though sad, demonstration of the role of choices in our personal development.

Maurice Clarett was the starting tailback as a freshman for the Ohio State University Buckeyes NCAA national championship football team of 2002. In story-book fashion, Clarett, who grew up in a tough neighborhood of Youngstown, Ohio, graduated from high school with a B+ average, finished early to begin his college career, and scored the winning touchdown in the National Championship game in front of millions of national TV viewers.

He seemed to have made excellent choices, a role model of personal development. But personal development is all about choices, and unfortunately, Maurice started making different choices.

Since his high point in 2002, Clarett was suspended by the NCAA, left college, failed in a headline-grabbing lawsuit against the NFL, broke some "minor" laws, failed to make an NFL team, broke some "major" laws, and along the way fathered a child with his girlfriend.

Clarett's personal development and deterioration clearly stem from the choices he has made. We often liken life experience to a story. Clarett clearly has written a personal rags to riches to rags story of his life. Perhaps future chapters will describe his rise again, but for now we're left with a sad chapter of a fallen hero and troubled young man, and a young father in jail.