I am thankful for many things and one of which is basketball. Basketball is many things to me but basketball hasn’t shaped my life. It hasn’t moved me from city to city, it didn’t change my childhood, I never played any organized sport beyond the age of 12. What basketball has given me is joy. Joy in playing with friends, family and random people that otherwise I would not have ever met or otherwise share a conversation. Basketball has also introduced me to great role models, true leaders, in which I find their teachings useful off the court just the same as on, if not more.
I grew up in a time of basketball where Michael Jordan was king, Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas were superstars and where Charles Barkley didn’t want to be a role model. I consider all of them to be wildly talented and gifted players, All-Stars in their own right. There is one person in the game who has had more of a profound affect than any other.
John Wooden was the head coach at UCLA from 1945-1978. Under his tenure, the Bruins achieved the unthinkable, winning a record 88 straight games and 7 consecutive National Championships (10 overall), accomplishments never to be seen again in our modern NCAA sports world.
John Wooden is NCAA’s winningest basketball coach. To label Wooden only as a basketball coach would be short sighted.
In 1948, Wooden developed a concrete set of ideals to help teach. Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” has been used everywhere from locker rooms to boardrooms. It’s many applications are in part because Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” is not just about the hardwood. It is about life and everything from individual preparation to working together as a team.
What made John Wooden so great to me was that according to him success was not determined by the final score of a game. In fact, Wooden didn’t fully agree with Webster’s definition of success (the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence). In 1934, while teaching high school english in Indiana, Wooden defined success in his own words, “Success is peace of mind obtained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.”
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Some of my favorite of Coach Wooden’s Maxims
“Happiness begins where selfishness ends.”
“Earn the right to be proud and confident.”
“I will get ready and then, perhaps, my chance will come.”
“If i am through learning, then I am through.”
“If you do not have the time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over?”
“A man who is afraid to risk failure, seldom has to face success.”
“It is what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
“There is nothing stronger than gentleness.”
“You handle things, you work with people.”
“As long as you try your best you are never a failure, that is, unless you blame others.”
“Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life.”
“If we magnified blessings the way we magnified disappointments we would all be much happier.”
“The best thing a father can do for their children is love their mother.”
“Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Character is what you really are, reputation is merely what you are perceived to be.”
“Love is the greatest of all words in our language.”
“Much can be accomplished by teamwork when no one is concerned about who gets credit.”
“Never be disagreeable just because you disagree.”
“Be more concerned what you can do for others than what others can do for you. You will be surprised at the results.”
“You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for another without thought of something in return.”
“Do not mistake activity for achievement.”
“Make each day your masterpiece.”
“Treat all people with dignity and respect.”
Tags: Basketball, John Wooden, NCAA, UCLA Bruins
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