VOLUME CI

THE UPHILL CLIMB IS SLOW, BUT THE DOWNHILL ROAD IS FAST

This famous quote of Coach Wooden's was a central idea in his approach to conditioning. The following is the content from a handout Coach Wooden gave his players at their preseason meeting regarding conditioning:

Training Suggestions
1. At least 8 regular hours of sleep each night.
2. In bed by 10:30 the night prior to a game.
3. In bed as soon as possible after a game, when we are playing the following night.
4. Eat balanced meals, at regular hours, with a minimum of eating between meals.
5. Drink plenty of water, milk, and fruit juices.
6. Relax for a while after eating.
7. Take care of your health – mental, moral, and physical.
8. Practice moderation with good judgment in all ways.

Training Demands
1. No use of alcoholic beverages of any kind.
2. No smoking.
3. No use of profanity.
4. Be a gentleman in all ways at all times.
5. Be on time whenever time is involved.

General
1. Make it your personal objective to be in better condition than any opponent you will meet.
2. Condition is attained and maintained by what you do both on and off the floor. Be at peace with yourself in regard to your mental, moral, and spiritual as well as your physical condition.
3. Force yourself when you are tired. It is the hard work you do after you are “all in” that improves your condition.
4. The ability to properly execute the fundamentals is closely related to your physical condition and emotional balance.
5. Maintain your self-respect and you will be proud and confident of your condition.

Coach’s suggestions pertained to what his players did between practices and included suggestions for mental and moral conditioning.

In his book Wooden on Leadership with Steve Jamison, Coach explained it this way:

Following a grueling basketball practice aimed, in part, at building up the players’ physical strength, I would advise them of the following: “All we’ve worked so hard to accomplish on the court today can be torn down quickly, in a matter of minutes, if you make the wrong choices between now and our next practice.”

To help them understand what I meant—that accountability was their responsibility—I occasionally posted the following reminder on our bulletin board or recited it to individuals about whom I had special concerns:

There is a choice you have to make, in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make makes you. —Anon.

As Coach often said: you cannot attain proper physical condition unless it’s preceded by mental and moral condition.

The idea: the uphill climb is slow, but the downhill road is fast is not unique to conditioning. As the old adage states: It takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it.

Or as coach liked to say: Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to stay there.

VOLUME CII

GREAT MINDS DISCUSS IDEAS, AVERAGE MINDS DISCUSS EVENTS, SHALLOW MINDS DISCUSS PEOPLE

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's, from Eleanor Roosevelt. is a real key to understanding how John Wooden became John Wooden.

The single greatest influence on John Wooden's character and what he taught was his father, Joshua. This influence had two components: his father's example and discussions his father had with him.

Shallow minds discuss people. These discussions never occurred in the Wooden household because his father would never say an unkind word about anybody. In his book A Game Plan for Life with Don Yeager, Coach described it this way:

My father refused to speak an unkind word against anyone. I know—I tried to get him to do it. My older brother Maurice especially liked the game. He would start a conversation and then ask my father for his reaction or response, but my father knew that we were trying to lure him into a slipup, so he would just laugh and refuse to take the bait.

Great minds discuss ideas. Joshua Wooden had a great mind and consistently discussed great ideas with his four sons. In the book John Wooden by Pat Williams, Coach recounted some of those experiences:

We had no electricity, plumbing, or conveniences and for entertainment, Dad read books to us in the evening by the light of the coal-oil lamp. Sometimes we’d hear Lord Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven,’ or even William Shakespeare. Before we were sent off to bed, he’d always include a verse or two from the Good Book.

In addition to the Seven-Point Creed (discussed in Wooden’s Wisdom Issue’s 3-8) here are just a few other ideas Joshua Wooden discussed with his sons:

Remember this; you’re as good as anybody. But never forget, you’re no better than anybody, either. Don’t look down on anybody.

Never try to be better than someone else, but always be learning from others. Never cease trying to be the best you can be. One is under your control, the other isn’t.

You'll never know a thing that you didn't learn from someone else.

Don’t whine, don’t complain, and don’t make excuses. Just do the best you can. Nobody can do more than that.

Great leaders give credit to others and accept the blame themselves.

As Coach often said: I’m just a man who was provided with great leadership as a youngster by a remarkable father.

The next time you are in a conversation, it may be beneficial to be mindful of what is being discussed - people, events, or ideas.

VOLUME CIII

THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO FOR THOSE YOU LOVE IS TO DO THE THINGS THEY COULD AND SHOULD DO FOR THEMSELVES

This famous quote of Abraham Lincoln’s was a favorite of Coach Wooden's and one he used frequently.

In his book A Game Plan for Life with Don Yaeger, Coach provided the following commentary on Lincoln and this key idea:

One of the first things that stood out to me about Lincoln’s life was the way he handled adversity.

His mother died while he was still very young. He didn’t have consistent access to schooling, so he taught himself. He was defeated in his first attempt at public office. He filed for bankruptcy. He was unlucky in love. He lost three times in his bid for the U.S. Senate.

But he persevered. Because he had not been spared the harsh realities of life—the heartaches and the disappointments—he could deal with the larger trials that awaited him down the road.

Lincoln himself once said, “The worst things you can do for those you love are the things they could and should do for themselves.”

He fiercely believed in self-sufficiency, and in the maturity and character that struggles and hardships can bring.

This lesson is so important for teachers and parents. It is only natural for us to want to shield our students and our children from anything that might possibly cause them to hurt or to suffer or even to be uncomfortable.

But some degree of pain is necessary for a person to become suited for the responsibilities that lay ahead.

We, as parents, I think, deprive our children (the ones we love the most and want to help the most) of the development of initiative by making decisions for them too long in certain areas.

Give them the opportunity to fail. Let them learn from it so they won't make that same mistake over again when you are not there, telling them what or what not to do.

Bob Vigars, a mentee of Coach’s who teaches special-needs students within the Thames Valley District School Board in Canada, describes how he applies this idea with his students in the book A Game Plan for Life:

Often, my students come to my class discouraged because they have been told they aren’t smart enough to learn in a regular classroom.

I always remind them that it’s not that we can’t learn; it’s that we learn differently. And here I turn to the one quote from Coach Wooden that I probably rely on more than anything else: “Nothing will work unless you do.”

It is essential to my teaching that my students have a sense of ownership and responsibility in their own education.

Sometimes my students will get wrapped around a particularly challenging lesson and want me to just fill in the answer rather than walking them through the steps of solving it.

“I can’t pick up your pencil,” I tell them. “If I do that you’re not learning anything. Doing the work makes the difference between learning and not learning.”

VOLUME CIV

DISCIPLINE YOURSELF AND OTHERS WON'T NEED TO

This famous quote of Coach Wooden's is often used by coaches, teachers, and supervisors with the people they coach, teach and supervise.

It is a very challenging instruction when we give it to ourselves.

The challenge of self-discipline for a person in a position of authority can be difficult because sometimes when a leader lacks self-discipline there is no one watching. Rather than a reprimand from someone else; a lack of self-discipline by a leader results in something less than the best possible result.

Often, only the leader is aware of this.

In his book The Essential Wooden with Steve Jamison, Coach listed what he thought were three of his assets and three of his liabilities:

Three of My Assets

1. I am meticulous.

2. I am organized and very good at time management.

3. I do not feel pressure, because my dad taught me not to measure myself in comparison to others, but rather on the quality of my efforts to improve.

Three of My Liabilities

1. I've had to work hard at being patient.

2. I've had to work hard on self-control of my emotions.

3. I've had to work hard on seeing shades of gray rather than only black and white.

At the core of Coach Wooden's assets and liabilities, the determining character trait was self-discipline.

Coach Wooden's great self-discipline was demonstrated by his organization and preparation, which never wavered in over 40 years of coaching.

In 1975, his final year at UCLA, he was still spending two hours planning the details of a two-hour practice; even though his basic practice structure had been the same for 27 years.

Eddie Powell, his longtime assistant, described it this way:

Coach Wooden left nothing to chance. He had his three-by-five cards, detailing every minute of our practices, even back at South Bend Central, then Indiana State, then UCLA. It was very organized, extremely thorough. He didn't want to leave it up to luck. He wanted to take luck out of it through preparation.

Coach summed it up as follows:

I welcome good luck just as anyone does, but I worked extremely hard to avoid being in a situation in which luck was necessary to produce a favorable outcome, or where the luck of an adversary could defeat us.

To me, luck can be important. Much more important, of course, is designed.

Self-discipline is required for consistent preparation; then we get lucky.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

VOLUME CV

FAILURE TO PREPARE IS PREPARING TO FAIL

"Failure to prepare is preparing to fail," was one of John Wooden’s favorite maxims. He employed it for his teams as well as in his personal life.

In order to keep balance in his life between his job and his family, Coach Wooden was an expert in time management. This required very careful planning.

We have discussed Coach Wooden's routine of spending two hours daily to plan his two-hour practice, which ran with minute to minute precision.

Some key points to remember are that these practices always started on time and ended on time. The length of time for a particular drill was never extended during a practice because it wasn't going well.

Another key habit that Coach executed was documenting in writing, with feedback from the staff, exactly what had gone well and not so well immediately after practice, and subsequently reviewing those notes to improve future practices.

Coach preceded his daily practice planning by constructing a plan for the year, and a plan for every week of the season.

In the book, You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned by Swen Nater and Ron Gallimore, Coach Wooden’s plan for the year (which changed each season) is described this way:

Sometime during the off-season, usually late summer when Coach knew what the talent would be that particular year, he wrote his yearly plan for teaching.

It was not a chronological plan; it simply contained a number of notes and bullet points about the team and what it needed to learn that season. In a real sense, it was the general curriculum for the year.

In the 1971-72 sseason, coach had a relatively new team with the Walton gang. Some of his key players were going to be sophomores who Coach had never coached directly before. Some of his yearly plan that season included such entries as:

• Significant time given to fundamentals

• Determine if the full-court press or the half-court defense will be the primary defense

• Develop an outstanding fast-break by working Walton and the guards together on the outlet pass, getting the ball out of the back court quickly and safely.

• Find out how to use Bibby’s shooting ability to maximum advantage

His general weekly plan took into account that games were usually played on Friday and Saturday, so his outline for a Monday practice was different than it was for a Thursday practice. The following is a general example:

Mondays-

• Complimentary remarks and constructive criticism to those who played

• Individual work for those needing improvement in certain areas

• More warm-up since players had one day off

• Shooting

• Introduce new options not used the previous weekend

• Extra scrimmage for those who did not see much playing time

Thursdays-

• Fundamentals

• Shooting (game shots)

• Review and stress important points of full-court defense

• Brush up on important defense points relative to upcoming games

• Review set and out of bounds plays

• Lots of free-throw shooting

His planning was extraordinary……so were his results.

VOLUME CVI

IT IS WHAT YOU LEARN AFTER YOU KNOW IT ALL THAT COUNTS

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts was a favorite saying of Coach Wooden’s, U.S. President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) and baseball coach Earl Weaver (1930-2013), who used it for the title of his biography.

A key character trait needed to be a lifelong learner is humility.

Humility is also a critical character trait of a great leader. It is humility that leads to being open-minded, which in turn results in having great listening skills.

Coach Wooden was a great listener, in part because he knew every time he listened with an open mind he would learn something.

With regard to learning and leadership, Coach put it this way:

A leader who is through learning is through. And so is the team such a leader leads.

Great leadership requires a strong will, humility and an open mind; a diverse but powerful combination.

Coach Wooden learned by listening, asking others for input and advice, being a voracious reader, constantly documenting his successes and failures and reevaluating his processes to see what he could improve; all done with humility and an open mind.

It wasn't until his 15th year at UCLA (1961-62) that Coach Wooden had a team that got to the Final Four of the national championship.

After that season, Coach revamped some basic procedures. In his book Wooden on Leadership with Steve Jamison, Coach describes it this way:

Starting in 1962–1963, my new policy was to go primarily with seven main players—virtually, seven starters—in both practice and games. My previous goal of doling out playing time in a democratic manner was discarded. I changed a fundamental policy for how I did things.

An extensive review of my notebook also revealed that when UCLA qualified for the NCAA postseason tournament, I intensified our already grueling practices, working players even harder—so hard, in fact, that by tournament time they were physically and mentally spent. Once I saw evidence of this fact in my notes, I became very prudent in conserving players’ energy prior to the playoffs.

Additionally, my notes showed that in preparation for the NCAA tournament, I added new plays and piled on more information. Instead of staying with what had worked during the regular season—a clear and uncomplicated strategy—I unintentionally made things complicated. I resolved that in the future, I would keep it simple going into postseason play, just as I did during the regular season.

These changes came about from my personal observations and reflections following the revelation of the 1962 season, the fateful year that almost produced a surprise national championship for UCLA.

The changes I have described came about because I had stopped giving myself an excuse for accepting the status quo, for staying at the same level.

Coach Wooden never thought he knew it all, so he never stopped learning.

VOLUME CVII

BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR OTHERS THAN WHAT OTHERS CAN DO FOR YOU.  YOU'LL BE SURPRISED AT THE RESULTS

This favorite maxim of Coach Wooden's provides a clear description of what an individual's attitude should be in order to be a great teammate.

Team spirit is reflected in everyday activities, not just talk.

In his book Levitation’s View, former UCLA All-American Willie Naulls described a road trip his team took with Coach Wooden in 1953 that demonstrated team spirit in its truest sense:

The Christmas holiday season of my sophomore year found me, at the age of 19, boarding an airplane at the Los Angeles airport, destination Lexington, Kentucky.

Our team was a traveling group of about 12 players; Coach Wooden; one assistant; our trainer Ducky Drake and one manager.

Our mission, as I found out later, was not only to play in the University of Kentucky Invitational Holiday Basketball Tournament, but also to integrate Lexington and its hotel, movie theater, and basketball pavilion.

It should be noted that Coach Wooden had brought his 1951 team with two African-American players to play at the University of Kentucky as well.

This was significant since Kentucky’s league, the Southeastern Conference, would not have its first black scholarship athlete until 1966; Perry Wallace of Vanderbilt. Mr. Wallace is currently a professor of law at the Washington College of Law.

Willie continued his account as follows:

From the airport in Lexington, we were bussed together to the hotel downtown where we would be staying. What's the big deal? Well, Johnnie Moore (another player covered with black skin) and I sat at the front of the bus in Lexington, Kentucky and in front of all our teammates.

Coach and Ducky sat in the front seats on the other side of the bus. John and I hadn’t planned it that way, but the front seat simply had more legroom and we boarded the bus first. A first in the front row of a public or private bus occupied by African-Americans and Anglo-Americans in Lexington, Kentucky.

We all stayed together in the Lexington Hotel, a first in that town. Management would not let the spirit of integration sleep in their rooms, so we were relegated to the basement's boiler room on little cots.

I watched my teammates as they made jokes about the accommodations, but never complained. The humiliation was born by each of us - black and white together. We took turns showering and ate together in a special banquet room. A first in Lexington, Kentucky.

We went to their movie theater and sat together-a first in that little college town. Coach was there beside us.

We played as an integrated team in their basketball arena. Coach was there to guide us.

This story demonstrates great teammates who were more concerned with what they could do for each other than what they could do for themselves.

VOLUME CVIII

BE MOST INTERESTED IN FINDING THE BEST WAY, NOT IN HAVING YOUR OWN WAY

This favorite saying of Coach Wooden's describes a way of thinking Coach believed a person would need if they wished to gain the cooperation of others in any endeavor.

In his book with Steve Jamison, Wooden on Leadership, Coach put it this way:

As a leader you must be sincerely committed to what’s right rather than who’s right.

It is often difficult for a strong-willed leader to incorporate cooperation, because listening to others, evaluating—embracing—their opinions and creativity, may seem to suggest uncertainty and doubt about your own judgment and convictions.

An effective leader understands that it is a sign of strength to welcome honest differences and new ways of thinking, from those on your team as well as from others.

Progress is difficult when you won’t listen. Cooperation is impossible if we refuse to consider the merits of contrary opinions.

I recently came across an article by former North Carolina Coach Dean Smith, a Hall of Fame coach and person, which provided a great example of a coach who was most interested in finding the best way, not in having his own way.

The topic was the invention of the run and jump defense in 1952. The run and jump defense is a basketball strategy whose elements are now utilized by basketball coaches all over the world at all levels.

Coach Smith described it this way:

The “Run and Jump” is a rotating man to man defense.

It all began, as far as I am concerned, back in the 1952-53 season at the University of Kansas. We were in true pressure defense, as outlined by Dr. Phog Allen, our head coach, and assistant, Dick Harp.

One of our players during those years was an extremely competitive athlete by the name of Al Kelley.

It was in practice that I remember Al guarding a defensive man one pass away from the ball. A guard began dribbling in his direction Al left his man completely to take the ball away from the dribbler about ten feet away.

Of course, the man guarding the dribbler automatically reacted by picking up Al’s man, although he was probably upset with Al for not doing what he was supposed to do.

However, Dick Harp, the assistant coach, actually congratulated Al for making things happen, even though he fouled the ball handler when he surprised him.

It became part of our basic man to man pressure. This is how the “Run and Jump” came into being, as far as I can remember.

Sixty one years later, a key strategy invented by a player and supported by a coach who was more interested in the best way rather than his own way, still influences basketball around the world.

What key ideas from your team members have you implemented to improve performance?

VOLUME CIX

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE TIME TO DO IT RIGHT, WHEN WILL YOU HAVE THE TIME TO DO IT OVER?

As I sat down to begin writing this issue of Wooden’s Wisdom, I decided I would get myself a nice cold glass of pomegranate juice.

Having removed the bottle from the refrigerator I gave it a few good shakes. Since I did not put the cap on properly when I last used it; I was able to spray pomegranate juice on my shirt and the kitchen floor.

As I spent five minutes cleaning the kitchen floor, while thinking about my future dry-cleaning bill to remove the pomegranate stain from my shirt, I reflected that If you do not have the time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? might be Coach Wooden’s most useful self coaching quote when beginning a task.

Every time I neglect doing a detail correctly the first time, sooner or later it creates more work for me and others involved in the task.

I am not unique in this regard. In my experience of working with companies all over America I consistently encounter frustrated administrative personnel who do unnecessary work because salespeople and managers don't get the details right the first time.

Last year at the Wooden Cup awards in Atlanta, honoree Jack Nicklaus told the audience that If you do not have the time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over was his favorite John Wooden quote.

He continued by sharing that this quote is one that his wife Barbara has posted on the refrigerator at home. I laughed as it also is the quote my wife uses on me the most frequently.

Mr. Nicklaus emphasized the importance of this idea in the design and execution of building golf courses, and in his personal routine as a golf professional as only almost perfect practice leads to peak performance.

Alabama Football Coach Nick Saban said it was his experience washing cars at his father's gas station that developed his do it right the first time habits. If a car was not washed and waxed perfectly the first time, his father would make him do it all over; starting from scratch.

Magic Johnson credits his father in the same manner, as he demanded young Earvin execute perfection in their trash pickup business. It was either do it right the first time or go back out in the snow and freezing temperatures and do it again.

Coach Wooden credited his father Joshua for his do it right the first time habits. Joshua insisted that young John complete every chore on the farm properly and completely before moving on to other activities.

I am going to get another glass of pomegranate juice. It shouldn’t take as long or be as expensive. I put the cap back on properly this time.

VOLUME CX

THINGS TURN OUT BEST FOR THOSE WHO MAKE THE BEST OF THE WAY THINGS TURN OUT

This famous quote of Coach Wooden's is reflected in the lives of countless people with amazing rags to riches stories. Here are just a few examples:

Howard Schultz grew up in the Brooklyn projects before discovering, and now leading, Starbucks.

Leonardo Del Vecchio was an orphaned factory worker whose eyeglasses empire today makes Ray-Bans and Oakleys.

Ingvar Kamprad was born in a small village in Sweden and created a mail-order business that became IKEA.

J.K. Rowling lived on welfare before creating the Harry Potter franchise.

Before Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart, he milked cows and sold magazines in Oklahoma.

Oprah Winfrey spent the first six years of her life living with her grandmother, wearing dresses made out of potato sacks. After being molested by two members of her family and a family friend, she ran away from home at age 13. At 14, her newborn child died shortly after he was born. She went back to live with her mother, but it wasn't until her mother sent her to live with her father that she turned her life around.

She got a full scholarship to college, won a beauty pageant — where she was discovered by a radio station — and the rest is history.

Certainly, financial wealth is not always the only indicator of happiness or success.

The happiest man I ever knew was John Wooden. His amazing marriage to his wife Nellie was a primary source of that happiness. In his book A Game Plan For Life with Don Yeager, coach described it this way:

My Nellie was the one and only woman I ever loved, ever kissed, ever hoped to share a life with. And even though she passed away in 1985 after fifty-three years of marriage, my love for her remains as strong as it ever was. I still keep her pajamas laid out on her side of the bed, and I’ve written a letter to her every single month on the date of her passing. She was my strength and encouragement, my comfort, and my support—she taught me so much about love.

In his book My Personal Best with Steve Jamison, Coach describes his situation two days before he was supposed to be married:

At 6 P.M. on August 6, 1932—two days before Nell and I were supposed to get married—I had exactly two dollars to my name, The Martinsville Trust Company—where I had put my entire life's savings, exactly $909.05—went bust. When the bank went broke, so did I.

Coach and Nell made the best of the way things had turned out. A local businessman lent them $200 and rather than delay or make excuses, they went to Indianapolis the next day and were married.

A marriage that certainly turned out the best for them.

VOLUME CXI

IF I AM THROUGH LEARNING, I AM THROUGH

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden reflected his dedication to being a lifelong learner. Coach was ninety-eight when UCLA assistant professor of psychology Alan Castel, interviewed him about aging.

"When asked about the keys to successful aging, Coach was quick to respond: stay busy, stay active, enjoy every day like it is your masterpiece, have some variety and try to learn something new every day," Castel said.

Coach read hundreds of books about Abraham Lincoln. In his book A Game Plan for Life with Don Yeager, Coach described how he got started:

I really came to know Lincoln for myself while I was in college. A librarian at Purdue named Blanche Miller noticed that I kept checking out books on the president. She started to make suggestions to me about new books on Lincoln, or older ones I might not have come across.

It was so exciting for me to delve into the complex mind and philosophy of a political figure such as Lincoln because it was so separate from my athletic life and schoolwork.

His journey of learning from Lincoln that started when he was in college, continued his whole life. At the age of ninety-nine, Coach was still reading new Lincoln books. He was not through.

It is the relentless pursuit of knowledge and keeping an open mind on a topic you may already be considered an expert in, that makes a truly great learner.

Coach never stopped learning about Lincoln; he took the same approach to basketball.

In his book How to Be Like Coach Wooden: Life Lessons from Basketball's Greatest Leader, Pat Williams recounted what it was like for Denny Crum being John Wooden’s assistant coach:

When Denny Crum arrived at UCLA as an assistant coach in 1968, the Bruins were defending national champions. In fact, they had won three of the previous four NCAA tournaments.

Because of that, Crum says that when he first came to UCLA, he wasn't sure that any suggestions he made would be accepted or seriously considered.

But the new coach quickly discovered that John Wooden was not the least bit close-minded or arrogant: "He was very open to suggestion and change. I think that's what impressed me about him more than anything else - and I think it was unusual, given the success he had already had to that point."

Crum remembers that "I'd say, `I think if we tried this it might work a little bit better,' and he'd say, `Well, show it to me.' Then I'd diagram it on the blackboard and we'd talk about it."

Coach didn't agree to anything right away. He wanted time to think about it and see if he really thought it would work. But neither did he reject anything just because it wasn't his idea.

Whatever the topic; Coach Wooden was never through learning and as a result in the game of life, he was never through.

VOLUME CXII

BE SLOW TO CRITICIZE AND QUICK TO COMMEND

This bit of advice from Coach Wooden is reflective of his own coaching style.

In 1975, two professors of psychology, Roland Tharp and Ronald Gallimore, attended fifteen of Coach Wooden’s practices at UCLA and over 30 hours recorded and classified 2,326 acts of teaching by Coach Wooden.

Out of the 2,326 classified acts, 6.9% were verbal compliments or encouragements and 6.6% were verbal statements of displeasure. 6.6% of the acts were encodable.

The rest of the teaching acts were instructional.

Part of Coach Wooden’s magic as a teacher was that his players were not distracted by undue criticism or undeserved compliments from his communication.

As a result, they were able to focus on the instruction he was giving. Coach viewed his instructional method as a positive approach.

Mr. Gallimore stated that once practice started, Coach became less the friendly grandfather and more the Marine Sargeant. It should be noted that this intensity was delivered with self-control and never any profanity.

Ron Gallimore and Sven Nater wrote a fantastic book, You Haven't Taught Until They Learned, which details Coach Wooden’s teaching process.

In his book Wooden on Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach comments very specifically on what he believed were the critical points regarding criticism:

When difficulties arose and strong action—or words—were called for, I made it a policy to criticize in private, not in front of others. The rebuke was done without rancor. I was stern, but I did not get personal—no insults, no berating, no anger, no emotion.

When the discussion or action was over, it was all over. We moved on to other businesses without lingering anger or animosity. I never wanted to embarrass or humiliate.

The purpose of criticism or discipline is to correct, enhance, educate, modify behavior, or bring about positive change.

It takes great skill to do so without incurring ill feelings, animosity, anger, or even hatred.

A leader who lacks the skills necessary in this area will often see his or her attempt to offer constructive criticism reduced to destructive criticism.

You will have damaged your own team by making one or more of its members less effective.

In providing criticism, you must not open wounds that are slow to heal. An individual subjected to personal insults, especially in front of others, can be needlessly impaired.

I also attempted to combine a compliment with criticism when possible. Most people don’t like criticism, even when it’s for their own good.

An acknowledgment—praise—offered as part of the criticism reduces their resistance; for example: “I like your aggressiveness on defense. Can I see some of that when you drive to the basket?”

A statement like this is a method of honestly offering a pat on the back while pointing out a problem and how to correct it. The results were usually productive.

Hope this was helpful.

VOLUME CXIII

FAIRNESS IS GIVING ALL PEOPLE THE TREATMENT THEY EARN AND DESERVE. IT DOESN'T MEAN TREATING EVERYONE ALIKE

This statement of Coach Wooden was a cornerstone of his leadership style. The idea was made clear in Coach’s annual preseason letter to the team. The following is an excerpt from Coach Wooden's letter to the team on August 1, 1972:

You may feel, at times, that I have double standards as I certainly will not treat you all the same. However, I will attempt to give each player the treatment that he earns and deserves according to my judgment, and in keeping with what I consider to be in the best interest of the team. I know I will not be right in all of my decisions, but I will attempt to be both right and fair.

In his book Wooden on Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach explains how he came to adapt this leadership style:

At one point in my career, I told players I would treat them all the same way. This is what I told my own two children. I thought treating everyone the same was being fair and impartial.

Gradually I began to suspect that it was neither fair nor impartial. In fact, it was just the opposite. That’s when I began announcing that team members wouldn’t be treated the same or alike; rather, each one would receive the treatment they earned and deserved.

This practice may sound discriminatory or suggest partiality, but it is neither. A player who is working hard and productively for the group shouldn’t receive the same treatment as someone who is offering less. In his later years of coaching, Coach Wooden had only three rules and many suggestions. The penalty for violating a team policy was not defined in advance. This gave Coach the ability to be firm and flexible and handle each situation on an individual basis. In his book The Essential Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach describes how his leadership style evolved: When I started out, I ruled from the head, saw everything in black and white. A rule was a rule (and I had plenty); break it and suffer the consequences. As my leadership skills evolved - improved - I recognized that alternatives and options were necessary and that I needed to factor in the ramifications of my disciplinary actions. Good judgment was crucial; a sense of fairness, always important; balance essential, of course. All this was hard to do, perhaps impossible, while I was locked into long lists of rules and regulations with automatic penalties applied to each and every one. I certainly didn't become wishy-washy, but I became adept at using discipline in a manner that was productive, that was applied appropriately, and that didn't cause damage. Logic and feelings - the head and the heart. Getting it right, achieving the proper balance is one of the most challenging areas of leadership. Wilfred Peterson, in his essay The Art of Leadership, put it this way: The leader uses his heart as well as his head. After he has considered the facts with his head, he lets his heart take a look too. Hope this was helpful.

VOLUME CXIV

LEARN TO DISAGREE WITHOUT BEING DISAGREEABLE

This quote, often used by Coach Wooden, was a key idea he utilized in his personal and professional life.

On a personal level, Coach felt disagreeing agreeably was an important part of his successful marriage. In his book A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court, with Steve Jamison, Coach described it this way:

Nellie Riley caught my eye the first time I ever saw her back at Martinsville High School in Indiana. It was on a warm star-filled night at the carnival during the summer of my freshman year. I think we probably fell in love right away and didn't even know it.

Folks think Nellie and I had a perfect marriage, but it was because we worked at it. There are rough patches in any marriage.

Very early we understood that there would be times when we disagreed, but there would never be times when we had to be disagreeable.

We kept to that rule for over half a century. Nellie and I had a great love for one another, but we understood that even love takes some work.

On a professional level, Coach disagreed agreeably when disciplining his players. He was strict but never made it personal, but rather focused on the behavior. The players didn't always agree, but Coach didn't feel the conversation had to be disagreeable or antagonistic.

In his book My Personal Best, with Steve Jamison, Coach described his disciplinary method:

I was comfortable being a disciplinarian but did not want to be an ogre. Therefore, when discipline was required, I tried to dole it out in a manner that was firm but fair, with no emotionalism or anger attached.

Anger prevents proper thinking and makes you vulnerable.

It never got personal, because the purpose of criticism or discipline is not to punish, embarrass, or ridicule, but to correct and improve. It is very difficult to antagonize and teach at the same time.

Benjamin Franklin summarized his thoughts on the subject as follows:

One secret of successful conversation is learning to disagree without being disagreeable. It isn’t what, but how you speak that makes all the difference. Ben Franklin used to remark diplomatically, “On this point, I agree. But on the other, if you don’t mind, may I take exception?”

VOLUME CXV

NOTHING WILL WORK UNLESS YOU DOThis quote often used by Coach Wooden was originated by Dr. Maya Angelou, an American author and poet regarded as a global Renaissance woman.

Dr Angelou was born in 1928 and endured the brutality of racism in Stamps, Arkansas growing up.

She has published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning more than fifty years.

She has received dozens of awards and over thirty honorary doctoral degrees.

Angelou's list of occupations includes prostitute, pimp, night-club dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, author, journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the days of decolonization, and actor, writer, director, producer of plays, movies, and public television programs.

Since 1982, she has taught at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she holds the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. She was active in the Civil Rights movement and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

She made no excuses, sought no entitlements, just refused to take no for an answer, and kept working.

John Wooden coached high school basketball for 11 years and never won a state championship. He coached 29 years before he won his first national championship.

In 1859, Samuel Smiles published a famous book titled Self Help (it could have been called Nothing will work unless you do).

Mr. Smiles documented the lives of famous people (most now forgotten) who demonstrated that accomplishment is not the result of luck, but rather self-initiated work. Here are a few examples:

Sir William Herschel (1738–1822), who while working as an oboist in a traveling orchestra, became curious about astronomy. He built his own reflecting telescope, discovered Uranus and other celestial bodies, and became astronomer to the King of England.

Bernard Palissy (c.1510–89), a poor potter who threw his own furniture and fence palings into a furnace in order to create his famous enamelware, such tenacity eventually being rewarded by the position as a potter to the French throne.

Granville Sharp (1735–1813), a clerk who in his spare time began the anti-slavery movement in England, eventually getting the law changed to ensure that any slave setting foot in the country would be freed.

Michelangelo would not have painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling if he had not been willing to lie on his back on boards for months on end.

It took the painter Titian seven years to produce his Last Supper for Charles V.

The stories are endless, but they all have the same formula.

Thomas Edison put it this way: The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.

In writing this issue I decided that if there are goals I have not achieved yet it is because I haven’t worked hard enough or long enough at them.

I better get busy because: Nothing will work unless I do.

VOLUME CXVI

THE ABILITY TO SEE THE GOOD IN OTHERS AND THE BAD IN OURSELVES IS PERFECT VISION

These words of wisdom from Coach Wooden reflect two key elements of his approach to life and leadership:

In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, Coach recounts a story he often told about seeing the good in others:

There's an old story about a fellow who went to a small town in Indiana with the thought of possibly moving his family there.

"What kind of people live around here?" he asked the attendant at the local filling station. "Well," the attendant replied as he checked the oil, "what kind of people live back where you're from?"

The visitor took a swallow of his cherry soda and replied, "They're ornery, mean and dishonest!"

The attendant looked up and answered, "Mister, you'll find them about like that around here, too."

A few weeks later, another gentleman stopped by the gas station on a muggy July afternoon with the same question.

"Excuse me," he said as he mopped off his brow. "I'm thinking of moving to your town with my family. What kind of people live around these parts?"

Again the attendant asked, "Well, what kind of people live back where you're from?"

The stranger thought for a moment and replied, "I find them to be kind, decent and honest folks."

The gas station attendant looked up and said, "Mister, you'll find them about like that around here, too."

It's so true. You often find what you're looking for.

As Mr. Wilfred Peterson states in his essay, The Art of Leadership:

The leader has faith in people. He believes in, trusts, and thus draws out the best in them.

Coach Wooden often quoted Abraham Lincoln’s words on this topic:

It is better to trust and occasionally be disappointed than to mistrust and be miserable all the time.

Coach had very strong feelings about the importance of seeing the bad in ourselves:

You can make mistakes, but you aren't a failure until you start blaming others for those mistakes.

When you blame others, you are trying to excuse yourself. When you make excuses you can't properly evaluate yourself.

Without proper self - evaluation, failure is inevitable.

Coach always emphasized that not blaming others included not blaming fate for our mishaps. He often quoted George Moriarty’s poem The Road Ahead or The Road behind:

And so the fates are seldom wrong,

No matter how they twist and wind;

It's you and I who can make our fates,

We open up or close the gates

On the ROAD AHEAD or the ROAD BEHIND

I think Coach would have approved of this excerpt from the Michael Jackson song Man In The Mirror

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror

I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways

And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place

Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change

VOLUME CXVII

THERE IS NO PILLOW AS SOFT AS A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

This French proverb was a favorite of Coach Wooden's because it relates to a character trait he thought was essential: integrity.

In his book Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks for a Better Life, with Jay Carty, Coach put it this way:

Integrity in its simplest form is the purity of intention. It's keeping a clear conscience.

The importance and benefits of a clear conscience have been described in many ways. Here are a few of my favorites:

A person cannot be comfortable without their own approval. - Mark Twain

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world. - George Bernard Shaw

You can out-distance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you. - Rwandan Proverb

When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion. - Abraham Lincoln

Conscience has been defined as an aptitude, faculty, intuition, or judgment that assists in distinguishing right from wrong.

In his book, The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach responds to the most fundamental question related to conscience:

What is right? That's the real question.

A robber may believe it is right to rob; a politician may believe it is right to accept favors for influence; a man may believe the end justifies the means; all tyrants believe they are right. What is right? This question is one you must ask and answer.

To what should you be true?

These questions go to the heart of who you are as a person, to your character and integrity, to how you treat people. What is right? What is your answer?

Let me pass along Dad's rule for behaving in an ethical manner -doing what is right. It is simple, to the point, and free of hyperbole.

For me, it has been the touchstone I return to whenever I seek to answer any question involving integrity, ethics, or character.

Here is Dad's simple guide for knowing what is right: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

George Bernard Shaw tells a great story that is a helpful guide on how to stay on the right path:

A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me, there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.

When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied: the one I feed the most.

VOLUME CXVIII

ALL CHANGE MAY NOT BE PROGRESS, BUT ALL PROGRESS IS THE RESULT OF CHANGE

These timeless words of wisdom from Coach Wooden continue to become more and more important as technology improves our communication, and the opportunities for change continue to increase.

The word progress is almost always welcomed. The word change sometimes creates resistance.

Robert Kennedy put it this way: Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.

Benjamin Franklin clearly described the necessity for change: When you're finished changing, you're finished.

Albert Einstein took the idea a step further with his definition of insanity: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

In his book, Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court, with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden put the idea in proper perspective:

You must never stand still. You're either moving upward a little bit or you're going the other way.

You can't expect to go upward too quickly, but you can sure go down very quickly. The slide down happens in a hurry. Progress comes slowly but steadily if you are patient and prepare diligently.

Youth is a time of impatience. Young people can't understand why the problems of society can't be solved right now.

They haven't lived long enough to fully understand human nature, and lack the patience that eventually brings an understanding of the relatively slow nature of change.

On the other hand, older people often become set in their ways, fear change, and accept problems that should be addressed and resolved.

The young must remember that all good and worthwhile things take time (and that is exactly as it should be).

Their elders must remember that although not all change is progress, all progress is the result of change (and to resist or fear change is often to get in the way of progress).

The practice of reminding any group that All change may not be progress, but all progress is the result of change when introducing a new program has a positive effect.

The idea communicates clearly that while there is no guarantee this new program will work, there is a possibility of improvement.

On the other hand, if we don't try something new there is no possibility of improvement.

This understanding creates an environment where people rally and take the approach: Let's give it our best shot and see if we can make something positive happen.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said: There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.

VOLUME CXIX

BIG THINGS ARE ACCOMPLISHED ONLY THROUGH THE PERFECTION OF MINOR DETAILS

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden defines what Coach thought was the key to peak performance. Pat Williams wrote a book called Coach Wooden's Greatest Secret: The Power of a Lot of Little Things Done Well.

In the book Wooden on Leadership, former Louisville Head Coach and John Wooden Assistant Coach and player Denny Crum, described his mentor this way:

Coach Wooden’s teaching was effective because he was so well organized with his details. Everything was written out on 3 × 5 cards and in notebooks: What was happening from 3:07 to 3:11; what we’d do from 3:11 to 3:17; who was doing what and when.

Nothing was left to chance, every minute was accounted for—every single minute. And he was extremely disciplined in keeping to the schedule. He taught details.

That attention to detail was in everything he did—the way he planned practice, ran practice, and evaluated practice and games. It applied to details of travel, equipment, and food. Absolutely everything that could affect performance was taken care of.

Here are just a few examples of Coach Wooden's practice details:

1. Two hours every day (10 AM to 12 noon) to meet with his assistants and plan that day’s two-hour practice. No interruptions to the meeting were allowed, except for family emergencies.

2. Student managers were provided with 3 x 5 cards of the practice plan to ensure that the proper number of basketballs were staged at each basket during practice.

3. Complete statistics were kept of practice scrimmages and the results, both daily and cumulative, were posted on the bulletin board that day before players turned in their equipment.

4. Before showering, the coaching staff recapped their notes about a practice that day, with Coach Wooden writing down the results on his 3 x 5 card.

5. Before going home, Coach Wooden transferred his notes from his 3 x 5 card to his practice binder notebook.

6. The three previous years’ practice notebooks were referred to in planning that day’s practice.

Putting together some key Coach Wooden ideas would provide the following advice:

Worthwhile results come from hard work and careful planning. Remember that failure to prepare is preparing to fail. When you are doing your work, take special care to not mistake activity for achievement. If you feel a little rushed, be quick but don’t hurry. If you are tempted to take a shortcut, ask yourself if you don't have the time to do right when will you have time to do it over?

VOLUME CXX

FORGET THE FAVORS YOU HAVE GIVEN - REMEMBER THOSE RECEIVED

This famous Chinese proverb was a favorite quote of Coach Wooden's. It reminded him of two valuable lessons he had learned from his Father's Seven Point Creed: Help others and Give thanks for your blessings each day.

The approximately 50 books written by or about Coach Wooden are filled with stories about his kindness.

There are unending tales of him always making time for everybody, having a listed phone number so he could be available for those that wanted to contact him, the countless charity events he appeared at for no fee and signing countless autographs until the last fan was happy. The books all have one common thread.

John Wooden never said: I'll be happy to do that; but remember, you owe me one.

Coach never reminded anyone about favors he had done in the past.

He helped others eagerly and with no strings attached.

Coach often commented that Mother Theresa was the person who lived in his lifetime for whom he had the most respect and admiration.

Coach studied her life carefully, and was inspired by her life of giving.

In his book with Don Yeager, A Game Plan for Life, Coach described it this way:

The first quote from Mother Teresa that really stayed with me was “Unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile.”

The more I thought about this statement, the more its simple truth became apparent: Each of us has a responsibility to lead our life with a focus beyond ourselves.

We cannot all start orphanages or establish clinics, of course, but every one of us can serve others, whether by meeting their physical needs or their emotional ones.

An insulated life that never reaches out is something of a waste—life should be a complex network of relationships and encounters that all serve to grow an individual and others.

She reminded us of our own ability to care and the impact of even the most simple act. “If you can’t feed a hundred people,” she often remarked, “then feed just one.”

One of Coach’s favorite quotes is: You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone without thought of repayment.

Pick a friend and start your own One-A-Day club. You promise each other that you will do one kind deed a day for someone without thought of repayment.

Check up on each other as often as possible to compare notes and keep each other on track.

As Coach liked to say: One must assemble a life one day, and one deed, at a time.

VOLUME CXXI

REVENGE IS THE WEAK PLEASURE OF A LITTLE AND NARROW MIND

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden’s is attributed to Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, known in English as Juvenal, a Roman poet active in the late1st and early 2nd century AD, and author of the Satires.

Juvenal had an additional thought on the same subject:

Revenge is sweet, sweeter than life itself - so say fools.

There are many great thoughts on this topic. Here are a few:

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon…..

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. - St Francis of Assisi

To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it. - Confucius

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

In his book There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, Wayne Dyer shared the following:

There is a story concerning the Buddha, who is in the company of a fellow traveler who tests this great teacher with derogatory, insulting, disparaging and bitter responses to anything the Buddha says.

Every day, for three days, when the Buddha spoke, the traveler responded by calling him a fool, and ridiculing the Buddha in some arrogant fashion.

Finally, at the end of the third day, the traveler could stand it no more.

He asked, “How is it that you are able to be so loving and kind when all I’ve done for the past three days is dishonor and offend you? Each time I am disobliging to you, you respond in a loving manner. How is this possible?”

The Buddha responded with a question of his own for the traveler.

“If someone offers you a gift, and you do not accept that gift, to whom does the gift belong?”

Coach liked to refer to Mother Teresa and her key idea that forgiveness will set you free.

In his book A Game Plan for Life, with Don Yeager, Coach commented on this topic:

Holding on to old grudges and nursing wounds we refuse to allow to heal, can keep us locked in the same place.

More than once in my life, I found myself wanting to point a finger at my critics and give them a piece of my mind, such as when annoyed fans from other schools would send hateful mail, or when sportswriters would take jabs at UCLA's program - but what would that accomplish?

Nothing. It would only give them more reason to dislike me.

If you hold a grudge or ill feelings against someone, decide how long you will continue with these feelings. Understand that the amount of time you choose is the amount of time you are allowing yourself to be held back.

As Coach liked to say: Time spent getting even would be better spent trying to get ahead.

VOLUME CXXII

PHYSICAL STRENGTH IS MEASURED BY WHAT ONE CAN CARRY - SPIRITUAL STRENGTH BY WHAT ONE CAN BEAR

This famous quote was a favorite of Coach Wooden's. It reflects what he learned from his father: the importance of spiritual strength.

The sixth item in the seven-point creed Coach received from his Dad was to Build a shelter against a rainy day.

Coach did not believe his father was advising him to build a material shelter, but rather a spiritual shelter by living a life with good values and a core goal of helping others.

Coach believed that spiritual strength was built on a strong belief system.

In his book A Game Plan for Life, with Don Yeager, Coach commented on how he handled discussing religion with his players:

I would never initiate the conversation, but if they approached me for advice - and many did - I would tell them, “Have something to believe in; have a reason to believe in it, but stay open-minded.”

Coach’s sensitivity to respecting the faith of others was, in part, inspired by Mother Teresa. Coach described it this way:

Mother Teresa presented a tremendous example of how she lived her own beliefs. But there is another, very different way than she offered me important life lessons: by respecting the beliefs of others.

Mother Teresa opened the Home for the Dying in Calcutta as a place where the poor of any religion could come to live their final days in dignity and pass into the next life in comfort.

They were offered medical care and the final rituals of their own faith. Roman Catholics would receive Last Rites; Hindus would be given water from their sacred river, the Ganges; and Muslims would be read to from the Koran.

She found that the individuals who came to her in this difficult period in their life needed to be treated where they were, both physically and spiritually; it was her job not to steer their beliefs but simply to offer them peace.

This philosophy was so beautiful to me, and I could empathize deeply with it, on a much less dire level, of course.

As long as my players were practicing faith or seeking one, I was content.

It was not my place to direct my players to take one route or another with their faith. A coerced faith is not a genuine one.

A mentor must always guide, never push. It was my job to listen to them, offer my perspective, and encourage them to pursue the ideals they believed to be true.

By being a man of Faith himself and encouraging his players to have a strong belief system; Coach became a basketball coach who not only developed players with physical strength but spiritual strength as well.

VOLUME CXXIII

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HARD WORK AND CAREFUL PLANNING

This quote from Coach Wooden represents the cornerstone of his approach to coaching and life.

In his book The Essential Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach listed three of his assets and three of his liabilities:

Three of my Assets

1. I am meticulous.

2. I am organized and very good at time management.

3. I do not feel pressure, because my dad taught me not to measure myself in comparison to others but rather on the quality of my efforts to improve.

Three of my liabilities

1. I've had to work hard at being patient.

2. I've had to work hard on self-control of my emotions.

3. I've had to work hard on seeing shades of gray rather than only black and white.

Coach recognized he had to balance his attention to detail, hard work, and careful planning with patience.

In his book with Steve Jamison, Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court, Coach describes his planning process for practice:

I would spend almost as much time planning practice as conducting it. Everything was listed on three-by-five cards down to the very last detail.

Everything was planned out each day. In fact, in my later years at UCLA, I would spend two hours every morning with my assistants, organizing that day's practice session (even though the practice itself might be less than two hours long).

I kept a record of every practice session in a loose-leaf notebook for future reference. I kept notes with the specifics of every minute of every hour of every practice we ever had at UCLA.

When I planned a day's practice, I looked back to see what we'd done on a corresponding day the previous year and the year before that.

By doing that, I could track the practice routines of every single player for every single practice session he participated in while I was coaching him.

Coach recognized that while he had great attention to detail and careful planning as part of his DNA, he needed to make things simple for his players and not stifle their initiative.

In his book Wooden on Leadership, Coach discussed a change he made in his approach to NCAA tournament play after the 1962 season, that he felt was important to his later success:

My notes showed that in preparation for the NCAA tournament, I added new plays and piled on more information. Instead of staying with what had worked during the regular season—a clear and uncomplicated strategy—I unintentionally made things complicated.

I resolved that in the future I would keep it simple going into postseason play, just as I did during the regular season.

The change was effective. As Coach liked to say:

It all began with attention to, and perfection of, details. Details. Details. Develop a love for details. They usually accompany success.

VOLUME CXXIV

YOU CAN NOT LIVE A PERFECT DAY WITHOUT DOING SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE WITHOUT A THOUGHT OF REPAYMENT

This famous quote of Coach Wooden's represented his daily approach to life. He eagerly approached each day with the goal of trying to help as many people as he could.

There are numerous stories about Coach which recount how he would sit and talk basketball and life with anybody who solicited his input.

Denny Crum, a former assistant coach, described Coach this way:

He often talked about the importance of doing something nice for someone every day. It didn't have to be anything material. It could be just a kind word, a smile, or a pat on the back. It was a way of life for him.

Here are a few short verses Coach Wooden found inspirational on the subject of giving:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain. - Emily Dickinson

Have you had a kindness shown?
Pass it on;
‘Twas not giv’n for thee alone,
Pass it on;
Let it travel down the years,
Let it wipe another’s tears;
Till in Heaven the deed appears-
Pass it on. - Henry Burton

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where......
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There is a destiny that makes us brothers: None goes his way alone; All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own. - Edwin Markham

In his book A Game Plan for Life, with Don Yeager, Coach describes the influence Mother Teresa had on him:

We all share the same goal - we want to offer a word of kindness and a hand of love to people who have no means to repay us.

This is the most central lesson I can take from Mother Teresa’s life of service: you should never expect a reward in return. The gift is rewarding enough for the giver.

I remember, in fact, making a resolution after reading another story about Mother Teresa’s work that I would strive to do one kind thing each day for someone who could never return the favor.

If we agree with Mother Teresa that a life not lived for others is not worthwhile, then a day lacking just one simple deed for others is certainly not a complete day.

May all your days be complete.

VOLUME CXXV

YOU DESTROY AN ENEMY WHEN YOU MAKE A FRIEND OF HIM

This key idea that Coach Wooden mentioned often was inspired by Abraham Lincoln. In his book A Game Plan for Life, with Don Yeager, Coach Wooden describes President Lincoln's impact on him:

At the end of the Civil War President Lincoln was questioned on his reparations and reconstruction policy for the South, which many Northern lawmakers saw as far too generous.

When they protested that he was supposed to destroy his enemies rather than to befriend them, Lincoln famously answered, “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?”

Lincoln’s example of reaching out to former enemies through acts of compassion made me radically reconsider the way I reacted toward those opposed to me.

The famous closing remarks of his second inaugural address still move me, as he urged Americans:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all… let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan…”

With malice toward none - what a noble goal for us all to hold in our lives! The country was in the midst of an internal conflict that tore apart families and tore the very fabric of our nation apart at the seams; yet Lincoln's concern was that no one should carry resentment, grudges, or ill will toward his neighbors for any disagreement.

Mahatma Gandhi was a person Coach Wooden studied and had great admiration for.

General Jan Christiaan Smuts (1870 –1950) was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader, and philosopher. He was a supporter of racial segregation and white minority rule.

He was Gandhi’s fiercest opponent in South Africa.

It was only in 1914 that Gandhi was able to negotiate a lasting compromise, the Smuts-Gandhi agreement.

The relationship between Smuts and Gandhi ended in an act of supreme generosity.

Gandhi presented Smuts with a pair of sandals (which he had learned to make at Tolstoy Farm), which Smuts was to use late into his life.

Gandhi described it this way:

It is the acid test of non-violence that in a non-violent conflict there is no rancor left behind and, in the end, the enemies are converted into friends.

That was my experience in South Africa with General Smuts. He started by being my bitterest opponent and critic. Today he is my warmest friend....”

It is not non-violence if we merely love those that love us.

It is non-violence only when we love those that hate us. I know how difficult it is to follow this grand law of love.

But are not all great and good things difficult to do? Love of the hater is the most difficult of all.

But by the grace of God, even this most difficult thing becomes easy to accomplish if we want to do it.

VOLUME CXXVI

YOU MUST LISTEN TO OTHERS IF YOU WANT OTHERS TO LISTEN TO YOU

You must listen to others if you want others to listen to you. This favorite idea of Coach Wooden's reflects the way that he chose to interact with other people.

Coach Wooden was an extraordinary listener; in part, I believe, because he knew each time he listened he would learn something.

On a personal level, I am not a good listener, as I am usually thinking about what I'm going to say next while the other person is still talking.

One afternoon I was sitting in Coach’s den with Coach, my wife, and my mother-in-law, Nan Wooden (Coach’s daughter); I had made my mind up that I was going to be a great listener that day.

After about half an hour Nan asked me: “Honey are you feeling okay? You’re awful quiet today.” I proudly replied, “Yes, Guardian, I’m just working on my listening skills.”

Coach laughed and motioned me to come over to his desk next to him. He leaned over and whispered this rhyme:

A wise old owl sat in an Oak.
The more he heard the less he spoke.
The less he spoke the more he heard
Now wasn't he a wise old bird?

Coach believed effective leadership starts with effective listening. In Wooden on Leadership, he put it this way:

In my opinion, being an effective leader - one who can build a winning organization - requires being an effective listener.

The most productive leaders are usually those who are consistently willing to listen and learn. Perhaps it stems from their understanding that success is more often attained by asking “how?” Then by saying “no”.

Coach also believed the key to maintaining success was continuing to listen after you become successful. Coach summed it up this way:

It is very easy to get comfortable in a position of leadership, to believe that you’ve got all the answers, especially when you begin to enjoy some success.

People start telling you that you’re the smartest one around. That’s one of the reasons it’s extremely difficult to stay at the top—because once you get there, it is so easy to stop listening and learning.

Coach liked to say: when you’re through learning you’re through. And when you’re through listening you’re through learning.

VOLUME CXXVII

KNOWLEDGE + PREPARATION + ATTENTION TO DETAIL = SKILL

Preparation and attention to detail that is not preceded by knowledge results in activity without achievement, not skill.

As Coach liked to say: If you’re a great teacher and don’t have any knowledge, what are you going to teach?

Knowledge is based on personal experience, research, what we learned from others, and most importantly, proof (optimally through statistical data).

Quantifying whether a teacher in any endeavor is truly knowledgeable in a particular field or simply acting on their opinion (self concluded thought or untested information they received from somebody else), is a challenging but important distinction to make.

I would classify Ronald Gallimore and Roland Tharp (two UCLA psychologists) as knowledgeable of Coach Wooden’s teaching techniques used during the 1975 season.

They attended 15 practices where they recorded and codified 2,326 Wooden teaching acts during thirty hours of practice into ten discreet categories. (Psychology Today January 1976 and The Sports Psychologist 2004).

They were a little surprised by some of the data. Here is an excerpt from the study:

In direct contrast to the techniques advocated by many behavior modifiers, praise is a minor feature of Wooden’s teaching methods.

Total positive reinforcements, verbals, and nonverbals constitute 6.9% of total acts. But scolds add up to 14.6% (total of scolds 6.8% and scolds/reinstruction 8%).Wooden scolds twice as much as he rewards.

Before drawing a conclusion from this, I would recommend you read the entire study. A little bit of knowledge is dangerous.

I regard Paul Hoover (http://www.proshotsystem.com) as knowledgeable on shooting techniques.

Paul and his staff analyzed 10,000+ video clips of professional and college players (men and women) shooting and broke down the common components all great shooters have in their shots.

Their study encompassed almost every NBA player.

Like Thorpe and Gallimore, Hoover's results were surprising.

None of the great shooters square their shoulders to the basket. They all have their feet turned (to varying degrees) and have their shooting shoulder turned toward the basket.

None of the great shooters go straight up and down. All the great shooters have their feet move forward slightly and their shoulders slightly back creating a sway at the release point.

On three-point shots, all the great shooters bring the ball down (dip) before they bring it up; creating rhythm and hand speed.

Like Thorpe and Gallimore, Hoover's conclusions are based on data, not opinion.

Coach Wooden established his practice routine for free throws after thorough research, questionnaires to the top free-throw shooters and coaches, and complete statistical analysis.

He acquired knowledge before embarking on instruction.

When you are presented with information and wish to know if it is knowledge, ask the presenter the five magic words.

How do you know that?

VOLUME CXXVIII

ADVERSITY IS THE STATE IN WHICH MAN MOST EASILY BECOMES ACQUAINTED WITH HIMSELF, BEING ESPECIALLY FREE OF ADMIRERS THEN

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's has been attributed to Samuel Johnson, a famous English author of the 18th century. The wonderful phrase: being especially free of admirers then, is a great reminder of the importance of keeping things in proper perspective.

In his book Practical Modern Basketball, Coach Wooden talks about a coach as a philosopher:

Webster tells us that, among other things, a philosopher is a person who meets all events, whether favorable or unfavorable, with calmness and composure.

Psychiatrists tell us that two of the possible symptoms of insanity are delusions of grandeur and delusions of persecution.

Since all coaches are subject to delusions of grandeur when their teams on occasion may accomplish what did not seem possible, and subject to delusions of persecution when every close call and every break seemed to go against them, they must be philosophically inclined to accept such events with calmness and composure and continue to make decisions in the clear light of common sense.

The coach must recognize that he will, at times, receive both unjustifiable criticism and undeserved praise, and he must not be unduly affected by either.

A key character trait in dealing with adversity in a positive way is maintaining our mental balance. We must be able to do this on our own because as Mr. Johnson so aptly pointed out, adversity will often leave us especially free of admirers.

The philosophical approach Coach Wooden describes makes mental balance a habit.

Coach put it this way when encouraging his players to have a balanced approach to competition:

I hope that your actions or conduct following the game will not indicate victory or defeat.

Heads should always be high when you have done your best regardless of the score, and there's no reason for being overly jubilant at victory or unduly depressed by defeat.

Coach continued by describing the impact he believed this approach had:

I am rather thoroughly convinced that those who have the self satisfaction of knowing they have done their best will also be on the most desirable end of the score as much, and perhaps more, than their natural ability might indicate.

Coach had a very consistent message that encourages us to welcome adversity, not fear it, because it is through adversity that we get stronger.

We all face adversity alone from time to time. The opportunity to improve is always there and we are in the best position to take advantage of it when we have mental balance of our own accord: being especially free of admirers then.

VOLUME CXXIX

TRY TO HELP OTHERS EVERY DAY AND DON'T BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHO HELPS YOU

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's reflects the attitude he used to approach every day of his life.

Perhaps the surprise result of giving without expectation Coach Wooden was suggesting is best reflected in the following story.

Motivational author Tony Robbins did a series of power talks in which he interviewed many famous people.

When he interviewed Coach Wooden he asked: Coach I have met and interviewed many famous and rich people but some of them do not seem to be very happy. What advice would you give them?

Coach replied: They should find somebody they can help.

The fundamental truth that there is great joy in giving without expectation is aptly reflected by two other quotes Coach liked to refer to:

There is a wonderful, mystical law of nature that the three things man craves the most in life - happiness, freedom, and peace of mind - are always attained by giving them to someone else. (Peyton Conway)

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely help another without helping himself. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

As a practical matter, these key ideas in today's network driven, social environment are even more important.

I Googled character traits of a great networker and reviewed the results on four different websites from which I got the following four results:

1. Be generous… and have a giving spirit. Don’t think ‘what’s in it for me’ but rather ‘what’s in it for you?’

2. Give good referrals without expectation.

3. Have a sincere desire to help others

4. Always be prepared to help others regardless of who they are.

Gwen Cooper adopted an abandoned, three week old eyeless kitten whom she named Homer, although she already had two cats.

She was surprised when Homer chased off an armed intruder who had broken into her apartment, while she was fumbling with the phone trying to call 911.

Ms. Cooper was even more surprised when her book Homer’s Odyssey became a New York Times bestseller in 2009 and changed her life in other ways.

The joys and surprises of giving without expectation extend beyond people.

They are, as Peyton Conway stated: a wonderful, mystical law of nature.

VOLUME CXXX

DON'T COUNT THE DAYS, MAKE THE DAY COUNT

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's was also a favorite and popularized by Muhammad Ali. The message is clear: don’t worry about all the “what if” things that might happen. Concentrate on what you're doing right now.

For Coach Wooden, the focus was on the practice at hand, not the possible outcome of an upcoming game. For Ali, the focus was on the grueling training session today, not the possible outcome of an upcoming bout.

When Coach was in high school, his father gave him this humorous essay he had come across on the subject of worry:

There are really only two things to worry about: whether you are a success or whether you are a failure. If you are a success, there is no cause for worry, and if you are a failure -

There are only two things to worry about: whether you have your health or whether you do not have your health. If you are healthy, a healthy person certainly should not worry, and if you do not have your health -

There are only two things to worry about: whether you regain your health and get well or whether you fail to regain your health and pass on. If you regain your health, there is no cause for worry, and if you fail to regain your health and pass on -

There are only two things to worry about: whether you will go to the place where we all hope to go or whether you go to that other place. If you go to the place where we all hope to go, you should not have worried, and if you go to that other place -

You are going to be with all your friends and the people here.

So why worry?

Coach enjoyed sharing this essay. As he put it : Even though it's tounge in cheek, when things seem to be piling up against you, it's worth a glance.

In his book with Steve Jamison, The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership, Coach commented on the difference between worry and concern:

"Worry" is fretting about the future. "Concern" is figuring out future solutions. When you are "concerned," you're going to analyze and determine where and how to improve.

If you are "worried," you're just fretting that things won't turn out right regardless of what you do - wringing your hands and imagining bad things.

"Concern" leads to results; "worry" results in losing a good night's sleep. I lost very little sleep fretting; I didn't mind losing sleep figuring out solutions.

Pleasant dreams……..here’s hoping we can: stay in the solutions department and make the day count.

VOLUME CXXXI

I WILL GET READY AND THEN, PERHAPS, MY CHANCE WILL COME

This favorite idea of Coach Wooden's was one that he learned from Abraham Lincoln, who said: I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.

In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court, with Steve Jamison, Coach talked about using this idea:

I used to say to an individual player who was unhappy because he wanted more playing time, "Young man, tell yourself, 'I will be prepared and then, perhaps, my chance will come, because if it does come and I'm not ready, another chance may not come my way very soon again."'

The time to prepare isn't after you have been given the opportunity. It's long before that opportunity arises. Once the opportunity arrives, it's too late to prepare.

In his book The Essential Wooden, Coach described a player who benefited from this approach:

Doug McIntosh, a nonstarter in 1964, heeded my advice to his advantage, and more importantly, to our team's advantage.

When opportunity knocked 10 minutes into the 1964 national championship game against Duke University, he was prepared for his chance to show competitive greatness.

UCLA's starting center, Fred Slaughter, got off to a slow start, and I signaled down the bench for Doug, who played the rest of the game and was an important reason UCLA won its first national championship in basketball.

Even though logic would have suggested that Doug McIntosh would have little impact in the championship game - probably not even play in it - he prepared as though he knew he would be called on, that his chance would come.

When the opportunity came knocking, Doug McIntosh was ready.

Doug described what he learned from the experience:

He taught mental readiness: "Be ready and your chance may come. If you are not ready, it may not come again."

Thus, he made me see there are no small opportunities. Every opportunity is big. If you only play for two minutes, make it the best two minutes possible. That’s your opportunity, whether in basketball or in life. Be ready; make the most of it. It may not come again.

In Wooden on Leadership, Coach summed it up this way:

Remind those under your leadership that patience is required, and if they continue to improve, their chance will come, often when least expected.

VOLUME CXXXII

YOUNG PEOPLE NEED GOOD MODELS MORE THAN THEY NEED CRITICS

This key idea of Coach Wooden’s was a cornerstone of his approach to coaching and teaching. In his book Wisdom of Wooden, Coach explained the idea:

“As the coach—probably so the boy. Young people need good models more than they need critics.”

In the 1940s I wrote this reminder to myself of the responsibilities I assumed as a coach, English teacher and mentor at South Bend Central High School in Indiana.

My teachers made me a better person. After my father, my teachers had the most profound impact on my life. I relished the opportunity to do for others what they had done for me.

No written word or spoken plea

Can teach our youth what they should be.

Nor all the books on all the shelves.

It’s what the teachers are themselves.

Coach recognized it was the example of his role models: his father, his grade school coach Earl Warriner, his high school coach Glenn Curtis and his college coach Piggy Lambert, that shaped his philosophy.

Coach described the example of Earl Warriner:

Earl Warriner became a lifelong friend, but before that, he was the principal and my very first basketball coach at Centerton Grade school. “There are some things more important than winning a game,” he cautioned me as I was sent to the bench. “No single player is more important than the team.” I learned my lesson and taught that lesson to my own teams in later years: The star of the team is the team.

In a Game Plan for Life, Coach described the example of Glenn Curtis:

I learned from Coach Curtis that the coach should try to keep players from being emotional in basketball. If emotions such as anger, frustration or overblown pride get in the way of control, the game is in trouble. He set the example by seeming to be completely unrattled by the noise around him. Coach Curtis rarely, if ever, seemed to lose his composure.

Maintaining emotional balance became an essential trait for Coach Wooden.

In The Wisdom of Wooden, Coach described the example of Piggy Lambert:

My college coach, "Piggy" Lambert, was superb in working with those under his supervision. He had an acute understanding of human nature and was the primary model for my own approach to coaching (although it took many years to fully incorporate his skills).

Coach Lambert was a tough disciplinarian. He could be stern, but he never stooped to let it get personal, he never embarrassed or humiliated those he coached. Tough, but fair. Those were his watchwords. I tried to make them mine.

As a youth, Coach was lucky to have good models that shaped his thinking.

We all in some way have the opportunity to provide a good model to our youth each day.

VOLUME CXXXIII

PRIDE IS A BETTER MOTIVATOR THAN FEAR

In his book Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach expanded on this idea:

Pride is a better motivator than fear. I never wanted to teach through fear, punishment, or intimidation.

Fear may work in the short term to get people to do something, but over the long run, I believe personal pride is a much greater motivator. It produces far better results that last for a much longer time.

Remember, pride comes when you give respect.

A leader must be able to maintain discipline and also maintain respect, and do so while instilling pride, not fear.

In his book Leadership Gameplan, Coach discussed how to do both:

Dictator-style leaders rule by fear and force, humiliation and intimidation. These are the same “leadership” tools used by a prison guard.

You achieve better results with talented people when you treat them like human beings.

I was often critical of players, but I tried hard to avoid personal attacks, embarrassment, or demeaning comments, which would make them less likely to take my criticism to heart.

Doug McIntosh, a former player and a member of the 1964 and 1966 national championship teams, described Coach this way:

He was strict, but there was no sense of fear of him among players. We knew there was nothing personal in his criticism or comments.

What he did was always for the common good and welfare of the team. We all knew that and wanted the same. He taught that discipline is the mark of a good team.

Coach believed that: The most powerful motivator is a compliment from someone you respect. It creates pride.

In his book Wooden on Leadership, Coach expanded on the idea:

Positive words become meaningless when offered habitually and excessively. I avoided the phrase, “that's great” instead I would say “good, very good, getting better” I kept in mind that how I conveyed information was often as important as the information itself. My tone was measured and my demeanor controlled.

In the book Leadership Gameplan, former player Bill Walton described Coach Wooden’s style:

Coach Wooden expected you to be really good. Being really good was normal. He didn’t think we needed to be complimented for doing what was normal.

However, as players, we knew we were rising to a greater level when we’d see a wink, a nod, and a little smile on his face.

Then he would blow his whistle and say, “Now do it again, faster.”

VOLUME CXXXIV

SUCCESS IS NEVER FINAL, FAILURE IS NEVER FATAL, IT'S COURAGE THAT COUNTS

This famous quote, most often attributed to Winston Churchill, was used by Coach Wooden as the epigraph to introduce Chapter 17 of his book They Call Me Coach. In that chapter, Coach discusses his years of coaching at UCLA before his teams had won a national championship.

It has been frequently mentioned that Coach Wooden’s teams won 10 national championships in his last 12 years of coaching.

It is important to remember that he coached 29 years before he won the first one.

The earliest recorded evidence of this quote was in 1938 in an advertisement for Budweiser beer, which was printed in multiple newspapers. This very famous often used quote was probably constructed by a copywriter for an advertising series of the Anheuser-Busch brewing company.

The following is the original text of the ad:

Men with the spirit of youth pioneered our America…, men, with vision and sturdy confidence. They found contentment in the thrill of action, knowing that success was never final and failure never fatal. It was courage that counted. Isn’t opportunity in America today greater than it was in the days of our grateful forefathers? Good! A newspaper ad is written in 1938 still provides a great perspective today! It has been said that courage, like love, must be nourished with hope. The following is a story Coach Wooden gave me which combines courage, love, and hope with an amazing result: A few years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win; all, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, and tumbled over a couple of times and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back, and then they all turned around and went back -- every one of them. One girl with Down’s syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.” Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. Courage and love nourished by hope is an amazing combination.

VOLUME CXXXV

THE MAN WHO IS NOT AFRAID OF FAILURE SELDOM HAS TO FACE IT

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden’s was a reflection of the way he lived, coached and the way his teams played: fearless.

Success is the opposite of failure. Coach Wooden’s lack of fear of failure started with how he defined success: Success is peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you're capable.

For Coach, you were only a failure if you did not make the effort to do the best of which you're capable. As Coach liked to say, the only real failure is to not act when action is needed.

Coach did not believe success or failure was based on the final score. He summed it up this way:

If you truly do your best, and only you will really know, then you are successful, and the actual score is immaterial, whether it was favorable or unfavorable. However, when you fail to do your best, you have failed even though the score might've been to your liking. I want to be able to feel, and want my players sincerely to feel, that doing the best that you're capable of doing is victory in itself, and less than that is defeat.

To keep his players fearless, Coach never mentioned winning. He summed up his logic this way:

I don’t think you could find any player to tell you that I mentioned winning. I wanted winning to be the by-product of the preparation and failure to prepare is preparing to fail. I always wanted them to have that satisfaction within themselves, that peace of mind within themselves, that they made the effort to execute near their own particular level of competency, not trying to be better than someone else, but be the best that they could be.

With three different groups of players over an eight year period, Coach Wooden’s teams won 38 consecutive single elimination NCAA tournament games.

They were focused on their effort, not fearful of the final score.

It has been said, fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all. At the beginning of a contest the final score is unknown. By redirecting his player's focus to their effort (a self controllable and known quantity), not the final score, he minimized the fear of failure factor.

The pregame talk Coach gave before a National Championship Game was the same as any other game:

I've done my job, now it's time for you to do yours. I don't want to know by the expression on your face after the game which team scored more points. Now let's go.

And Go they did. Fearless!

VOLUME CXXXVI

THE SMALLEST GOOD DEED IS BETTER THAN THE BEST INTENTION

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden was a cornerstone of the way he approached life and leadership.

Coach described the person he admired most, his father Joshua Wooden, this way: He was consistent in word and deed, a model of the strength and confidence that comes with character.

At the core of Coach Wooden’s leadership model was honesty. It could be said that when intention = deed, a firm foundation of honesty is established.

In his book Practical Modern Basketball, Coach described the critical importance of intention = deed (honesty) as follows:

A coach must be sincere and honest in every phase of his/her work. He/she might lack something in knowledge and technique and still get along, but his/her fate is a failure if he/she is lacking in honesty and sincerity. Reliability. Your team members must know that they can depend upon you and so must all of your co-workers.

Coach’s commitment to total honesty (his intention = deed) changed the pre-season speech he gave his team. Steve Jamison, in one of many excellent books he did with Coach Wooden, Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, described the change:

In the early days of his teaching, Coach Wooden started each season by trying to express his intention to be impartial with the following statement: “I will like you all the same.” And then he would add, “And, I will treat you all the same.” This turned out to be false.

There were some players on the squad that Coach Wooden did not like as well as others and it troubled him because he felt strongly that a leader should be “friends” with those under his supervision.

Furthermore, he recognized that he did not treat a hardworking player the same as one who was less so. Treating everyone the same, he soon realized, was unfair.

During this period he read a statement by Amos Alonzo Stagg, Chicago’s legendary football coach, that helped him reformulate his perspective on the relationship between a leader and the team. Coach Stagg said, “I loved all my players the same; I just didn’t like them all the same.”

By the time Coach Wooden arrived at UCLA, his message to the players at the beginning of each season was as follows: “I will not like you all the same, but I will love you all the same. Furthermore, I will try very hard not to let my feelings interfere with my judgment of your performance. You will receive the treatment you earn and deserve.”

Coach Wooden’s pre-season intent matched his deeds. A rock-solid foundation was built.

VOLUME CXXXVII

VALID SELF-ANALYSIS MEANS IMPROVEMENT

Coach Wooden felt that valid self-analysis was crucial for improvement.

Lao-tze, a Chinese philosopher (600 B.C.), described the value of self-analysis:

He who gains a victory over other men is strong, but he who gains a victory over himself is all-powerful.

He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.

Taking quiet time is needed for self-analysis.

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, described the importance of quiet time:

All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.

In today's busy world it can be difficult to find quiet time. A good suggestion is to grab quiet time while driving by simply turning the radio off. Any type of quiet time is better than none.

In his book My Personal Best, Coach Wooden gives an example of how he used self-analysis to improve his approach to discipline with his athletic teams:

A good teacher or coach must not only understand others but himself or herself as well.

One of my single biggest mistakes and regrets as a coach happened at South Bend Central because I was still figuring this out.

I had an absolute rule forbidding the use of tobacco. Any player who broke it was automatically cut from our team with no second chance, no excuses.

One of our best players broke the rule. This young man was on his way to an athletic scholarship and a good college education when I caught him smoking. In my mind, a rule was a rule—I dismissed him without remorse or a second thought.

The effect on the youngster was traumatic, and it soon became apparent. He dropped out of South Bend Central without graduating, and never got the college education and a chance for a better future he deserved.

A reprimand or a suspension would have accomplished what I wanted, but in those days I lacked the maturity and experience—wisdom—to do that.

Coach did self-analysis and concluded that instead of having numerous set rules with defined penalties, he should have a few rules and several suggestions without defining what the penalty for a violation would be, so he could deal with each situation on an individual basis.

With valid self-analysis Coach improved.

B.C. Forbes (1880 –1954), who founded Forbes Magazine, scheduled his self- analysis with this resolution:

I Resolve:

To sit down, all by myself, and take a personal stock-taking once a month.

To be no more charitable in viewing my own faults than I am in viewing the faults of others.

To face the facts candidly and courageously.

To address me carefully, prayerfully, to remedy defects.

I think that’s a great resolution for improvement!

VOLUME CXXXVIII

DISCIPLINE IS NECESSARY FOR GOOD LEADERSHIP

Coach Wooden felt strongly that discipline was essential for any group whether it was a business, family, or sports team to be successful.,

In his book. Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach summarized his perspective:

Leaders have to discipline. Those who dispense discipline must remember that its purpose is to help, to improve, to correct, to prevent, not to punish, humiliate, or retaliate.

You are not likely to get productive results if you antagonize. Punishment antagonizes.

Self-control is essential for discipline and mastery of emotions, for the discipline of self and discipline of those under your supervision.

Former player Kenny Washington described Coach’s style of discipline: He would never degrade, abuse, or humiliate individuals, even though he had the power to do it. He gave respect, even when discipline was doled out.

Former player and assistant Coach Gary Cunningham described Coach Wooden’s disciplinary style as not emotional, just very intense.

Former player Keith Erickson described it as: Not with any anger, just very stern.

Discipline becomes less effective when you speak with anger and/or question the character or intent of the person you are disciplining.

The boss who yells at the tardy employee “You’re late again…you are irresponsible and obviously don’t care about this job.” has attacked that person’s character (you are irresponsible) and intent (you don’t care about this job). The boss has antagonized the employee and limited the effectiveness of the follow-up discipline.

The boss calmly advises the tardy employee “I’m sure you are not doing this on purpose, but you were late again today. The position we have to offer at our company requires that you are on time for work. How can we fix this?” keeps the focus on the behavior/action and moves the employee into the solutions department.

When star player Bill Walton told Coach that he did not have the right to tell him how long he could wear his hair, Coach Wooden did not respond with an angry diatribe about Bill being disrespectful or selfish. He simply told him:

Bill, you’re right, I don’t have the right to tell you when to cut your hair but I do have the right to decide who plays on this team, and we’re going to miss you.

Coach did not question Bill’s intent or character. He calmly and directly dealt with the behavior and consequence. Bill quickly got a haircut and returned to the team, his pride intact; ready to play.

Coach summed it up this way: When discipline was required, I tried to dole it out in a manner that was firm but fair, with no emotionalism or anger attached. Anger prevents proper thinking and makes you vulnerable.

VOLUME CXXXIX

IT IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COMPENSATIONS OF THIS LIFE THAT NO MAN CAN SINCERELY HELP ANOTHER WITHOUT HELPING HIMSELF

This quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson was a favorite of Coach Wooden's and a guiding principle of his life and daily activities. With the same idea in mind, Emerson also said: Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.

When Coach talked about the second point in his Father’s seven-point creed: Help Others, he explained the idea this way:

Help others, and I dare say that everyone in here today if you just stop and think, your greatest joy comes when you have done something for someone else for no greater joy than something that has been said or done has been meaningful to another, especially when it was done with no thought of something in return.

Motivational speaker and author Anthony Robbins interviewed Coach Wooden and asked: Coach I have interviewed several wealthy people who are not all that happy. What advice would you give them?

Coach’s response was simple: They should find somebody to help.

Nineteenth Century evangelist Henry Drummond summed the idea up beautifully:

Half the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness. They think it consists in having and getting, and in being served by others. On the contrary, it consists in giving and in serving others.

In his book Wooden, Coach commented on what he believed was the primary cause of unhappiness:

It is my observation that the primary cause of unhappiness for most people is simply wanting too much: expecting too much materially, chasing the dollar, and overemphasizing material things. When they don't arrive, unhappiness does.

For over thirty years after his retirement, Coach was very well compensated for speaking appearances and writing. He never moved from his two-bedroom condo, never wanted or got a new car, or sought other material things.

It has been well documented how he gave of his time and wisdom to all who asked while seeking nothing in return.

I always felt like Coach got up every morning and said to himself let me see how many people I can help today.

I have never known a happier person.

Do not run after happiness, but seek to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you. - James Freeman Clarke

VOLUME CXL

ABILITY MAY GET YOU TO THE TOP, BUT IT TAKES CHARACTER TO KEEP YOU THERE

This popular quote from Coach Wooden summarized the key component of his continuous success, personally and professionally.

Coach commented on this idea in an OC Metro interview with Steve Churm in 2005:

Some people change when they acquire power, authority, and material possessions. A person with character won't change. Character is what you really are inside. Some people have great individual abilities, whether it's physical or mental. They may reach great financial success. But if they don't have character, they won't stay there very long. They'll go down fast and you'll find the road down is much faster than the road up.

Coach felt that complacency was the key character flaw that led to a lack of continued success. Coach summed up his perspective in his book Wooden on Leadership:

The infection of success is often fatal. Most people work harder on the way to the top than when they arrive. If you’re fortunate enough to get there, do not be swayed. Allow success to turn your head and you’ll be looking failure right in the face.

You can’t make up for poor effort today by working harder tomorrow. We kid ourselves: “I’ll buckle down to business tomorrow and work twice as hard.” No. If you can work “twice as hard” tomorrow, it means you’ve been holding something back, not giving 100 percent today. I want 100 percent today and tomorrow.

Continuous success has two areas where complacency cannot exist: work effort and a desire to improve. Improvement only happens when you continue to learn. The humble leader listens, learns, and is eager to learn more. As Coach often said:

When you’re through learning, you’re through. Learning is a leader’s lifetime pursuit. You must never reach the point of self-delusion that suggests you know it all. Remind yourself, “It’s what I learn after I know it all that counts.”

When Coach was asked how he prevented his teams from becoming complacent once they started winning multiple championships, his response was short and to the point:

I tried to teach today is the only day in which you have control and what happened yesterday will not have any control over what happens today, except by learning from it. You’ll never know a thing you didn’t learn from someone in the past, yes, you learn from the past but it’s not going to affect what you do today – tomorrow will be affected by what you do today. Today is the only day that amounts to anything and I tried to use that philosophy with my players to try to just become a little better each day.

VOLUME CXLI

BE MORE CONCERNED WITH LOVING THAN BEING LOVED, GIVING THAN RECEIVING, BEING A FRIEND THAN HAVING A FRIEND

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden represents the basic approach he took toward life on a daily basis.

In the Pat Williams book Coach Wooden, Frank Arnold, former assistant coach, and a lifelong friend tells a story that demonstrates how Coach kept this attitude strong his whole life:

In the spring of 2010, when Coach was ninety-nine and a half years old, the twelve-year-old son of a friend of mine had a school assignment. He had to interview somebody of note. So I helped set up a meeting so the boy could interview Coach.

They met at VIP’S Coffee Shop, and Coach was in his wheelchair. The boy was scared to death! They were eating breakfast, and the boy had his tape recorder. He was all ready to go and had his questions ready. Then Coach said, ‘Now, son, come over here and sit with me.’ The boy sidled over a little closer. Coach reached out from his wheelchair and said, ‘You’re not close enough. You need to get closer.’ Then he proceeded to do the interview with the young man.

As this went on, the restaurant began to fill with people, and they all wanted Coach to sign autographs. And he did. After a while, I could see that he was getting too tired to sign his name anymore. So I had to intercede and get Coach out of there because he would not have stopped. One more thing— the boy got an A + on his paper.

This story shows we are never too old to stop giving of ourselves. The following story from Dan Millman in Chicken Soup for the Soul is about a young man who didn’t think he was too young to start:

“Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.”

“The doctor explained the situation to her little brother and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, ‘yes, I’ll do it if it will save Liza’.”

“As the transfusion progressed, he lay in a bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.”

“He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, ‘Will I start to die right away?’ “

“Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood.”

This young man’s love and courage are truly inspirational.

VOLUME CXLII

EARN THE RIGHT TO BE PROUD AND CONFIDENT

Coach Wooden's teams won 10 national championships in his last 12 years of coaching. This was accomplished with essentially five different groups of players

A key element in Coach Wooden's consistency was to convince each team that the legacy they were following would have no bearing on them winning their own championship.

Once a group won their first championship, Coach had to remind them that the previous championship had nothing to do with the possibility of the next one.

Coach was adamant that each player and each team understood they had to earn the right to be proud and confident.

Before each season, Coach sent the members of the team a letter. The following is an excerpt from the preseason letter sent to Kareem Abdul Jabaar and his teammates after they had won two consecutive national championships, and prior to them winning their third in the 1968-69 season:

The past cannot change what is to come. The work that you do each and every day is the only true way to improve and prepare yourself for what is to come. You cannot change the past, and you can only influence the future by what you do today.

The following is an excerpt from the preseason letter sent to Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe and their teammates after they had won their first national championship, and prior to them winning their second in the 1970-71 season:

It has been almost four months since our basketball season came to a close. It was a very successful season but it is now history and we must look toward the future. The past cannot change what is to come. It is what you do today that counts and I sincerely hope that you are looking forward to an outstanding 1970–71 season and are eager, not just willing, to make the necessary personal sacrifices to reach that goal.

The following is an excerpt from the preseason letter sent to Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, and their teammates after they had won their first championship and prior to them winning their second in the 1972-73 season:

I must caution you that you cannot live in the past. The 1971–72 season is now history, and we must look toward the future. The past cannot change what is to come. The work that you do each and every day is the only true way to improve and prepare yourself for what is to come. You cannot change the past, but you can influence the future by what you do today.

The theme was simple and consistent. Confidence is a result of hard work and preparation. It is not a gift or a birthright.

As Coach liked to say: You must earn the right to be proud and confident.

VOLUME CXLIII

I AM NOT WHAT I WANT TO BE, NOT WHAT I OUGHT TO BE, AND NOT WHAT I AM GOING TO BE, BUT I AM THANKFUL I AM NOT WHAT I USED TO BE

When Coach Wooden was asked if he thought he had lived up to the Seven Point Creed his father had given him; Coach would often reply: I would like to be able to tell you that I lived up to Dad's creed, but I am more like the fellow who said: I am not what I want to be, not what I ought to be, and not what I am going to be, but I am thankful I am not what I used to be.

I’ve tried and I think that’s all Dad would have expected and that’s all I expect from young people under my supervision, my children, my grandchildren, and all my 13 great-grandchildren, all I ask is try.

This level-headed approach to self-evaluation has three parts to it: 1. Humility (I am not what I want to be, not what I ought to be) 2. Commitment to improvement (not what I am going to be) 3. The attitude of gratitude (I am thankful I am not what I used to be).

This is the same level-headed approach Coach Wooden used to help his teams avoid peaks and valleys.

Coach Wooden summed it up this way:

I believe that for every artificial peak you create, you also create valleys. When you get too high for anything, emotion takes over and consistency of performance is lost and you will be unduly affected when adversity comes.

I emphasized constant improvement and steady performance.

I have often said: "The mark of a true champion is to always perform near your own level of competency." We were able to do that by never being satisfied with the past and always planning for what was to come.

I believe that failure to prepare is preparing to fail. The constant focus on the future is one reason we continued staying near the top once we got there.

When this simple approach is applied to everyday life as an individual or as a team, you can count on one thing: The best is yet to come!

VOLUME CXLIV

IF WE MAGNIFIED BLESSINGS AS MUCH AS WE MAGNIFY DISAPPOINTMENTS, WE WOULD ALL BE MUCH HAPPIER

This famous quote from Abraham Lincoln is one that Coach Wooden often referred to when discussing the seventh point in the Seven Point Creed his father gave him: Give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.

In his book Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach summed it up this way:

So often, we fail to acknowledge what we have because we're so concerned about what we want. We fail to give real thanks for the many blessings for which we did nothing: our life itself, the flowers, the trees, our family and friends. This moment.

All of our blessings we take for granted so much of the time.

A wise person once observed, "How much more pleasant this world would be if we magnified our blessings the way we magnify our disappointments."

And, of course, with that we must also pray for guidance. One of my players at UCLA once told me he was embarrassed to have anyone know that he prayed. There's no shame in praying for guidance. It's a sign of strength.

One way of improving an attitude of gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal. If you Google gratitude journal you will find many suggestions on how to go about this.

Simply put, it is the process of writing down, once a week, (or an interval you choose), things in your life you're for which you are grateful.

Robert Emmons, a professor at the University of California, Davis, arguably the world’s leading expert on the science of gratitude, shared these research-based tips for reaping the greatest psychological rewards from your gratitude journal.

Don’t just go through the motions. Research suggests that journaling is more effective if you first make the conscious decision to become happier and more grateful.

Go for depth over breadth. Elaborating in detail about a particular thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things.

Get personal. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful.

Try subtraction, not just addition. One effective way of stimulating gratitude is to reflect on what your life would be like without certain blessings, rather than just tallying up all those good things.

Savor surprises. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude.

Don’t overdo it. Writing occasionally, (once or twice per week), is more beneficial than daily journaling.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to share this with you.

VOLUME CXLV

IT IS THE LITTLE DETAILS THAT MAKE THINGS WORK

This favorite idea of Coach Wooden's is a theme that is consistent with successful performers whether it is in business, art, or sports. As Coach liked to say: Develop a love of details. They usually accompany success.

In his book Wooden on Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach described the importance of details:

I derived great satisfaction from identifying and perfecting those “trivial” and often troublesome details, because I knew, without doubt, that each one brought UCLA a bit closer to our goal: competitive greatness.

If you collect enough pennies you'll eventually be rich. Each relevant and perfect detail was another penny in our bank.

The key for a great coach, teacher, or leader is to be able to get the people he or she supervises to execute the details properly and consistently without the need for constant correction and without the team members feeling that they are being micromanaged.

Coach was able to accomplish this by teaching the fundamentals in small parts until they became big habits that were second nature to his teams.

Coach put it this way: The greatest holiday feast is eaten one bite at a time. Gulp it down all at once and you get indigestion. I discovered the same is true in teaching. To be effective, a leader must dispense information in bite-size, digestible amounts.

Coach provided his players with the proper fundamental structure but also gave them enough leeway to use their initiative to adapt to any situation.

Coach was a master of attention to detail, but not a control freak.

An important lesson Coach learned was that details are important, but they will not be properly executed if you have too many of them.

In 1962, two years before Coach Wooden won his first national championship, UCLA came up short, losing to Cincinnati in the Final Four. Coach felt it was his fault. In Wooden’s Complete Guide to Leadership, he described the changes he made:

In the past, when UCLA qualified for the NCAA postseason tournament, I had intensified our already grueling practices, working players even harder-so hard in fact, that by tournament time they were physically and mentally spent.

I added new plays and piled on more information. Instead of staying with what had worked during the regular season - a clear and uncomplicated strategy - I intentionally made things complicated.

I resolved that in the future I would keep it simple going into postseason play, just as I did during the regular season.

The change to maintain the details, but not have too many, worked out quite well.

As Coach once said: What I taught was as simple as one, two, three. But without being self-congratulatory, I believe I taught one, two, and three fairly well.

VOLUME CXLVI

THE HAPPIEST MOMENTS IN LIFE COME FROM MAKING SOMEONE ELSE HAPPY

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's reflects a key idea he was constantly trying to share. Many of the quotes he referred to were inspired by the simple idea: Help Others that he was taught by his father through example and his seven-point creed.

Here are some of Coach Wooden’s favorite quotes on this topic:

Real happiness begins where selfishness ends.

You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone without a thought of repayment.

Be more concerned with what you can do for others than what others can do for you. You’ll be surprised at the results.

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely help another without helping himself.

Be more concerned with loving than being loved, giving than receiving, being a friend than having a friend.

Once when Coach Wooden was asked how he would like to be remembered, he replied: As a person who was considerate of others.

The following is a list of synonyms for the word considerate:

attentive, thoughtful, mindful, obliging, accommodating, helpful, cooperative, patient, kind, unselfish, compassionate, sympathetic, caring, charitable, altruistic, generous, polite, sensitive, tactful

Coach acted toward others with all these qualities. The wisdom that he learned and tried to share with us was that being considerate was not a burden or obligation to him, but rather it made him very happy to do it.

On the numerous occasions when Coach Wooden sat and signed autographs for hours until the last person had been accommodated, he didn’t feel burdened. He was deriving happiness from making others happy.

The recognition of the fact that happy moments come from making someone else happy seems like common sense when we think about it in the context of making a child happy: whether it is a parent at a birthday party or a volunteer coaching a youth sports team.

When we are involved in adult relationships or in business attempting to acquire more material wealth, it can be puzzling to understand why although we are acquiring more material wealth we are not happy.

The solution is found in this very simple idea: The happiest moments in life come from making someone else happy.

If we can slow down in the middle of the rat race and take the time to make someone else happy, the smile in our hearts and on our faces will reappear.

VOLUME CXLVII

LEARN AS IF YOU WERE GOING TO LIVE FOREVER, LIVE AS IF YOU WERE TO DIE TOMORROW

This famous quote from Mahatma Gandhi was a favorite of Coach Wooden's and it reflected the way he approached life.

In his book Wooden on Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach explained the quote as follows:

Be voracious in your daily desire to acquire knowledge, information, and wisdom. Be joyful and appreciative of the blessing of this day you’ve been given.

Coach learned every day from listening, observing, experiencing, and reading.

I never heard Coach Wooden interrupt anybody while they were speaking. Many people have stated that when they spoke to Coach Wooden he made them feel like they were the most important person in the room.

This was a result of the fact that when you spoke to Coach Wooden he was really listening, not thinking about something else or what he was going to say next when you were through speaking.

Coach put it this way: Don’t just act like you’re listening. Really listen. Good leaders are good listeners.

Parts of his great listening habits were a result of Coach being polite. I believe the other part was that he recognized that every time he listened he learned something. He once recited the following verse to me:

A wise old owl sat on an Oak

The more he heard the less he spoke

The less he spoke the more he heard

Now wasn't he a wise old bird

Coach learned from his college coach, Ward Lambert, that a coach should be a student of psychology. The title of Chapter 11 in the book Practical Basketball, written by Ward Lambert in 1932, is The Coach a Student of Psychology. Coach read the book.

Having learned from reading, Coach continued learning from observation and experience on a daily basis. In Wooden on Leadership, he describes it this way:

A good teacher is a good student and a lifelong learner. No two people are the same. Each individual under your leadership is unique. There is no formula that applies to all when it comes to teaching and leading. All won’t follow; some need a push. Some you drive, others you lead. Recognizing the difference requires knowledge of human nature. That’s where being a good student helps you in your leadership.

Coach never got in a rut. Each day he was trying to learn better ways to motivate each member of the team. As Coach liked to say: When you start having all the right answers, you will stop asking all the right questions.

The second half of this quote: Live as if you were to die tomorrow is sometimes associated with having a bucket list.

Coach viewed it simply as: Be joyful and appreciative of the blessing of this day you’ve been given.

This is an easy solution and doesn’t require any travel.

VOLUME CXLVIII

CHARACTER IS TESTED WHEN A PERSON RECEIVES POWER

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's was one of many he used and applied from his favorite American, Abraham Lincoln. Coach Wooden began studying Abraham Lincoln in college because President Lincoln was a man that his father Joshua Wooden had often studied and quoted.

Coach wanted to learn more about how his own father had become such a great person, and he thought that by studying President Lincoln he would gain some additional insight into his dad.

Much of Coach Wooden's leadership style and favorite ideas were a result of his extensive research of President Lincoln (Coach felt he had read every significant book ever written about President Lincoln).

Three key elements of great character: humility, consideration for others, and integrity are sometimes severely tested when a person receives power.

These three character traits might be tested when we simply face adversity, but they are tested at a more intense level when we receive power because maintaining these qualities when we have power requires self-discipline.

It is much like the idea that true character is what you do when you know no one will know what you did.

The boss will usually be humble and courteous to his boss, but will he or she have that same humility and consideration for the people he or she supervises if it is not required?

Coach Wooden often commented that he admired President Lincoln because he never lost his common-man touch.

As has been well documented, Coach Wooden had the same humility and consideration for others whether he was dealing with the President of the United States or a custodian that he encountered during a road trip with his basketball team.

With power often comes additional material wealth and recognition, which is easy to become attached to. When a leader has to make a decision knowing that if he or she acts with integrity it may cost him or her much or all of his or her material wealth or recognition, it is a true test of character.

Coach believed that a leader’s most powerful tool is his or her example. A leader who has power but maintains humility, consideration of others, and integrity is likely to inspire the same qualities in the people he or she supervises.

The waterfall of character that a leader starts throughout an organization can be very positive or very destructive.

The positive waterfall requires a great character with great power; not an easy task, but a worthwhile one.

Joshua Wooden created this positive character waterfall for his son John. In one way or another, we will have that same opportunity for someone else as well.

VOLUME CXLIX

PEOPLE ARE USUALLY AS HAPPY AS THEY MAKE UP THEIR MIND TO BE

Coach Wooden frequently told two different stories to illustrate this idea.

The first story was about a friend of his, Bob, who was visiting him at UCLA from Indiana.

Upon arriving at Coach’s office on the UCLA campus, Bob shared what he thought was important information with Coach Wooden:

Johnny, these people in California aren't as friendly as they are back home, Bob lamented. Coming over here this morning I met a lot of people and not a single person spoke to me. That would have never happened back home.
Did you speak to any of them? Coach asked.
Well, no, Bob said,I didn't know them.

Coach would then remind us that in being friendly, someone has to take the first step.

In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, Coach recounted a story he often told that demonstrates: much of what we see depends on what we are seeking.

There's an old story about a fellow who went to a small town in Indiana with the thought of possibly moving his family there.

"What kind of people live around here?" he asked the attendant at the local filling station. "Well," the attendant replied as he checked the oil, "what kind of people live back where you're from?"

The visitor took a swallow of his cherry soda and replied, "They're ornery, mean, and dishonest!"

The attendant looked up and answered, "Mister, you'll find them about like that around here, too."

A few weeks later, another gentleman stopped by the gas station on a muggy July afternoon with the same question.

"Excuse me," he said as he mopped off his brow. "I'm thinking of moving to your town with my family. What kind of people live around these parts?"

Again the attendant asked, "Well, what kind of people live back where you're from?"

The stranger thought for a moment and replied, "I find them to be kind, decent, and honest folks."

The gas station attendant looked up and said, "Mister, you'll find them about like that around here, too."

It's so true. You often find what you're looking for.

As Coach liked to say: People are usually as happy as they make up their mind to be.

VOLUME CL

NOTHING CAN GIVE YOU GREATER JOY THAN DOING SOMETHING FOR ANOTHER

Coach almost always referred to this key idea every time he spoke in one way or another. Most often he would say There is no greater joy in life than to find out that something you did or said was helpful to someone else in some small way.

After Coach retired, he kept his phone number listed and continued to make time for anybody to visit him and discuss anything if they called and asked. He never refused to sign an autograph and responded personally to all his correspondence (including sending out hundreds of signed Pyramids each year).

He was highly sought after and well paid as a keynote speaker, but chose to remain in the modest condominium in Encino he had always lived in, although he could have afforded a much larger home.

Sometimes when people help others it is viewed as the giver making a sacrifice.

Enjoyment is thought of as something that is a result of acquiring something or having time (a vacation) for one’s self.

Some folks felt that Coach was so generous that he was being taken advantage of some of the time.

The Wisdom of Wooden was that he recognized that the most enjoyment he had in life was helping others. He was not interested in acquiring material things for himself except to the extent that he could use them to help his family.

When Coach helped others he did not feel he was making a sacrifice, but rather that he was doing something he really enjoyed.

Coach viewed making time for someone to discuss something in the same context that some folks view going out and playing a round of golf. It was really fun.

When the author Anthony Robbins asked Coach Wooden what advice he would give to wealthy successful people who were unhappy, Coach replied: They should go find some people to help.

When asked how he would like to remember, Coach replied: I’d like to be remembered as a normal person who was considerate of others.

Coach Wooden had a simple formula: If you really want to have fun or maybe if your spirits are down a little…go help somebody…you’ll feel great!

VOLUME CLI

BUILD A SHELTER AGAINST A RAINY DAY

This favorite idea of Coach Wooden’s was one that he almost always spoke about when giving a speech; usually in the context of discussing the sixth item of his Father’s seven-point creed: Build a shelter against a rainy day.

Coach put the principle in perspective this way:

Build a shelter against a rainy day – I don’t think Dad was thinking of an earthly shelter.

I think of Socrates when he was imprisoned and unjustly facing imminent death and yet he faced it with serenity. His jailers did not understand this and asked, why aren’t you preparing for death? Socrates replied: I’ve been preparing for death all my life with the life I’ve led.

Pat Williams, in his book John Wooden, gives this idea more clarity:

The way we build a shelter against a rainy day is not primarily by accumulating assets, but by becoming a certain kind of person. So the issue here is not one of accumulating material possessions, but one of accumulating values, virtues, character traits, faith in God, strong family relationships, and enduring friendships. These are the “possessions” that will help us survive the rainstorms and floods of life.

These are things that cannot be taken away.

The basic principle of looking at others’ material possessions and being able to admire them without feeling a need to acquire them is helpful in keeping us focused on those things that cannot be taken away.

When I first got married, my wife Christy and I had a one-bedroom apartment with no air conditioner in the sometimes rather warm San Fernando Valley.

I was an air conditioner away from being happy.

My landlord provided us with an air conditioner. A new challenge arose when my friend rented a condominium.

I was a condominium away from being happy.

We finally got the condo but my friend received a promotion and purchased a home.

I was home ownership away from being happy.

We finally made it big and purchased our first home in a nice city named La Crescenta.

Things were going well and then my son joined a basketball team in another city named La Canada. I was asked to coach the team.

The homes in La Canada were much nicer, larger, and a lot more expensive than the homes in La Crescenta.

At night when I would drop off my son's teammates at their beautiful homes, I would think: I wish I could buy a home like that for my family.

I was a zip code away from being happy.

One night when I was driving home from La Canada I thought about Coach Wooden and I realized that it was not a better zip code that would make me happy, but simply to stop and appreciate the fantastic family and friends I already have.

Those are great things that cannot be taken away.

VOLUME CLII

SATISFY YOUR EXPECTATIONS, NOT THOSE OF OTHERS
When Coach was asked what would you say would be one of the most important things your Father taught you? He replied:

Never try to be better than somebody else but never cease trying to be the best you can be. Also, always understand that you'll never know a thing that you don’t learn from someone else.

I can remember him saying, that’s under your control. The other isn’t and if you get too engrossed, involved, and concerned in regard to the things over which you have no control, it will have a negative effect on the things over which you have or should have control.

The expectations of others are not always under our control. Our expectations of ourselves are always under our control.

The basic idea: The goal is to satisfy not everyone else's expectations, but your own, raises a good question: If I don’t meet my boss’s expectations at work, I will lose my job; shouldn’t meeting his/her expectations be a goal?

Answer: If your goal is to be a great employee and meeting your boss’s expectations is a part of that goal, you certainly should be mindful of achieving those expectations. The approach of satisfying your own expectations, however, would not allow you to be satisfied with just meeting your boss’s expectations if achieving them did not include your best effort.

You may believe you are capable of more.

On the other hand, if your best effort did not result in meeting those expectations, you would not be devastated or depressed.

This story from Coach is a good illustration of this idea. In 1928, John Wooden was the captain of the Martinsville High School team (The Artesians) which lost the Indiana state championship to Muncie Central 13-12 on a last-second underhanded half-court shot by Muncie’s Charlie Secrist. In his book My Personal Best, Coach described the scene in the locker room after the game:

In our locker room afterward, the Artesians stunned and almost grieving, sat on the benches holding towels over their faces as they wept. Charlie Secrist's last-second shot had been crushing, and all of the players just quietly lowered their heads and cried. All but one. I couldn't cry. The loss hurt me deep inside, but I also knew I'd done the best I could do. Disappointed? Yes. Devastated or depressed? No. Dad taught us on the farm, "Don't worry about being better than somebody else, but never cease trying to be the best you can be." I had done that.

VOLUME CLIII

APPRECIATE THE THINGS YOU HAVE

In his book with Steve Jamison, Wooden on Leadership, Coach wrote about his perspective:

Americans, perhaps by nature, are the most competitive. In sports, business, and almost all areas of life, they not only ask Who's number one?, but they also want to be number one and constantly compare themselves against that standard: Am I the biggest? The best? The fastest?

However, for most of my life, I have believed these are the wrong questions to ask oneself. This comes mostly from what I was taught by my Dad back on the farm in Centerton, Indiana, population 49.

Although Dad suffered terrible setbacks and sorrows - deaths of two daughters, loss of his beloved farm, and financial hardships during the Great Depression - he never complained, criticized, or compared himself to others who were better off. Through it all, he made the best of what he had and was thankful for it.

Joshua Wooden cautioned his three sons that: Time spent comparing themselves to others was time wasted.

It is very easy to fall into the comparison trap: Comparing the current times to the old times; comparing somebody else's lucky breaks to your lucky breaks or comparing how much you’re being paid for a job compared to somebody else.

In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court, with Steve Jamison, Coach cautions against that type of thinking:

Don't compare yourself to somebody else, especially materially. If I'm worried about the other guy and what he's doing, about what he's making, about all the attention he's getting, I'm not going to be able to do what I'm capable of doing.

It's a guaranteed way to make yourself miserable. Envy, jealousy, and criticism can become cancerous. They hurt the person who feels them rather than the person they're directed toward.

Coach expanded on this idea in discussing athletic salaries:

Coaches are paid millions of dollars today and players make tens of millions of dollars. It started happening soon after I left UCLA, so I'm often asked if I'm envious. Folks say, "Coach Wooden, imagine what you could make today!" It doesn't concern me in the least. What concerns me is that over which I have some measure of control, and I can't control what others make or what employers pay them.

In responding to a question regarding the large salary an NBA player was making compared to what he earned, Coach put it in perspective:

He may know what it's like to earn a million dollars, but I know what it was like to be able to get a good meal for twenty-five cents. Neither of us should envy the other in this regard.

VOLUME CLIV

IT TAKES A LOT OF LITTLE THINGS TO MAKE ONE BIG THING

In 1935, John Wooden's College Coach at Purdue, Ward Lambert, wrote in his book Practical Basketball: Two of the greatest fundamental assets to the athlete in all branches of sport are being relaxed and having what is called balance.

When Coach Wooden’s teams took the court for a game he wanted them relaxed and balanced. For Coach that was a big thing.

The following are just a few excerpts from Coach Wooden's book Practical Modern Basketball, regarding some of the little things that he did in his pregame procedure to accomplish that one big thing. The reading is a bit tedious but I believe it is a great example of how many little things it takes to make one big thing.

Resting: After eating (completed four hours prior to the start of the game) I want our players to take a 10-minute walk and then get off their feet until it is time to leave for the game.

I prefer them to lie down in a darkened room to try to sleep and forget about the game. If they cannot sleep, I still want them in a darkened room, and they are not to read, study, watch television or do anything that will strain their eyes during this period. They may have a roommate, but I do not want them visiting with anyone else during this period.

Reporting time: The players are to report to the dressing room in time to get their necessary taping done and be dressed 40 minutes prior to game time, but not to be there before then. I would rather that they rest until the last moment.

I want them to dress quietly and go to our pregame meeting room and get off their feet as soon as they are dressed. During this period I like to have the lights low and we may have some soft music which will be turned off as soon as I come in to give them their pregame instructions.

They should take care of any lavatory needs before my group talk and there should be neither a hilarious nor morbid atmosphere. I want them businesslike and serious, but not stern, gruff, or sour.

Pregame talk: For 10 minutes before we take the floor, I review our overall game plan and answer any questions they may have. They are reminded that all I expect is for them to be able to answer themselves when the game is over.

This is definitely not a fight or a pep talk, but a constructive briefing for the game.

We will not leave the room until the floor is clear and will go out calmly and quietly, although quickly, without a lot of commotion and false chatter.

Coach Wooden’s teams ran on the court for a game relaxed and balanced but it took a lot of little things to make that one big thing happen.

VOLUME CLV

THE TRUE ATHLETE SHOULD HAVE CHARACTER, NOT BE A CHARACTER

This famous quote from Coach Wooden reflected the importance he placed on the character in the selection process of his team members.

When asked if he considered a character in the selection process of his teams, Coach responded:

Absolutely. Character is so important in everything. Character is what you really are. You're the only one that knows your character. You don't know my character. I know my character. You know my reputation. It could be different. Reputation is what you are perceived to be by others. Your character is what you really are.

Coach expanded on this in his book Wooden, with Steve Jamison:

I like to think the players I coached, however, came to UCLA and left as men of character. But in truth, if they didn't have it when they came, I couldn't give it to them. By then it was too late. That's a job for a mother and father.

Coach also felt all of us can influence the good character in a positive way. How? He loved to quote this adaptation of a verse from Rudyard Kipling:

No written word or spoken plea can teach our youth what they should be. Not all the books on all the shelves – it’s what the teachers are themselves.

Coach Wooden’s character was built by his parents, but greatly enhanced by the example of others. Here are a few examples Coach gave in his book a Game Plan for Life, with Don Yeager:

Mother Theresa truly lived her life for others and showed consideration to everyone she met, whether she agreed with them or not. Her example has taught me more patience and peace than I ever imagined possible.

She presented a tremendous example of how she lived her own beliefs. But there is another, very different way that she offered me important life lessons: by respecting the beliefs of others.

My high school coach, Glenn Curtis, will always have a place in my memory as an even-keeled, even-tempered, and even-minded man. The lessons he taught me were some of the most fundamental in my own professional and personal life. His was a life that taught by example, where coaching was teaching and where winning was incidental.

Coach summed up the great opportunity we all have to positively influence good character:

Everyone, regardless of their position or their job or their college degree, or profession, is a teacher in some form or another.

You can't be a teacher to everyone, but there always is someone you could reach with your life.

An example is the best teacher. It's the key. It is something we all can do.

VOLUME CLVI

THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER SUFFERED ADVERSITY NEVER EXPERIENCE THE TRUE MEANING OF SUCCESSCoach Wooden defined Success as: Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you're capable.

We should welcome adversity as a learning experience, that when met with effort, increases our capability.

Coach was concerned that if his team did not make enough mistakes during basketball practice (mistakes of commission and not mistakes that were being repeated over and over), there was not enough effort; no challenging of adversity, to increase capacityIn of his book The Pyramid of

Success, with Jay Carty, Coach described his perspective on adversity.

We cannot allow difficulties to discourage us. Roadblocks may cause us to alter our course a bit, but we cannot let them deter us from our destination. I have often said that we grow stronger through adversity.

We become stronger physically through a weight-lifting program. Our muscles work against heavy objects. That's adversity. We get stronger mentally through the progressive difficulty of education. We don't start with calculus; we start with arithmetic. After we learn the basics, we move on to algebra, then to geometry, and so on. We work our way up to calculus.

In the same way, we grow stronger spiritually through the tests of life. Losing my beloved wife, Nellie, was the hardest event in my life. For a couple of years, it slowed me down; but it didn't stop me. In the end, even her loss has made me stronger.

In every way - physically, morally, emotionally, and spiritually - we increase our strength when life is hard; therefore, we must not dread adversity, nor can we allow it to stop us from becoming the best we can be through the steadfast pursuit of our goals.

In fact, as we become stronger we can and should expand our goals. Extending our capabilities to their limits requires us to realistically reevaluate our potential.

It has been said: If the road is too easy, you may be going the wrong way.

In his eleventh season (1959), Coach Wooden had the poorest record of his UCLA career, winning 14 games and losing 12.

Four years later, in 1963, UCLA lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Wooden had been coaching at UCLA for 15 years and made it to the NCAA tournament five times while posting a tournament record of three wins and nine losses—the worst record of any of the coaches that participated in the tournament that year.

In 1964, Coach Wooden won his first national championship. He would go on to win an unprecedented 10 national championships in his last 12 years of coaching at UCLA and in 2009 was voted by Sporting News as the greatest coach in the history of American athletics.

To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility.― Thomas S. Monson

VOLUME CLVII

TIME SPENT GETTING EVEN WOULD BE BETTER SPENT TRYING TO GET AHEAD

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's was inspired by the example of his Father, Joshua.

Joshua Wooden lost his farm because he was sold faulty serum, which ultimately killed all of his hogs.

Joshua never blamed anybody, including the person that sold him the serum; he simply moved to Martinsville, got a job as a masseuse at the local hot springs, and moved his family forward.

Joshua and Coach were both inspired in this regard by Abraham Lincoln.

In his book A Game Plan for Life, with Don Yeager, Coach describes it:

Lincoln modeled how to move past disappointments without carrying grudges. The famous closing remarks of his second inaugural address still move me, as he urged Americans:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

With malice toward none - what a noble goal for us all to hold in our lives President Lincoln was standing as the commander in chief of an army locked in battle, but he did not draw strength from the clashes or confidence from the victories. Instead, he grieved over every loss; each fallen soldier pained him, no matter the color of his uniform.

Lincoln understood that the Confederate Army was defending its homeland and rights as they saw fit, and he mourned that the political situation had made battle necessary to resolve the conflict.

He did not savor victories by the Union troops, except in so far as each one might be a step toward ending the war.

That shows a capacity for compassion that is, perhaps, larger than most of us could muster; and yet, what an incredible lesson in forgiveness and reconciliation.

How many of us have conflicts with someone else, and how many of us pray for that person?

We have individuals with whom we are competitive, or whom we dislike or have a quarrel with, but very few of us have true enemies in the martial sense.

And yet, if Lincoln could pray fervently - and contemporary reports indicate he did - for the people who were opposing him, how much more can we do for someone we just find a little irritating?

VOLUME CLVIII

WHEN SUCCESS TURNS YOUR HEAD, YOU FACE FAILURE

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden’s was not about handling adversity, but rather about managing success. When Coach was asked: You won ten national championships, seven in a row. Once you started winning those championships, how did you maintain your commitment to excellence without getting complacent? He replied:

Today is the only day that matters; it's the only day you can do anything about it. Make each day your masterpiece.

The past will never change; anything that happened will never change. The future is yet to be; you’ve just got to concentrate on today and if you do that the future will take care of itself.

That doesn't mean you're going to win because maybe you're not good enough to win, but you'll come closer to realizing your own potential.

I love poetry and many of my players know that and many write me poems. One, Swen Nater, has written me over 100 poems. He has written a poem on almost every maxim I’ve used and all the Blocks of my Pyramid and one that he wrote was titled Today:

Coach, you're a hunter and a seeker,
Not for silver or for gold.
Not for treasure or for pleasure,
Or for anything that's sold.

You're a connoisseur of living,
As you move along life's way.
With no worries about tomorrow,
For you have found today.

You’ll never know a thing you didn’t learn from someone in the past, yes, you learn from the past but it’s not going to affect what you do today – tomorrow will be affected by what you do today. Do what you can today. Don’t put it off, do it today.

I tried to use that philosophy with my players, to try to just become a little better each day. That’s what I taught – today is the only day you can do anything about it – you can’t just say it, you’ve got to do it, you’ve got to repeat it – repetition is one of the laws of learning and must be used over and over.

One way Coach created this repetition of focusing on today with his players was by not allowing them to celebrate excessively when they won or become dejected when they lost. Here is how he described that process:

I never wanted excessive jubilation because we outscored somebody in a game, nor did I want excessive dejection if we were outscored. You’re not going to feel the same, that is true, but I want nothing excessive.

I want that peace within myself, knowing that you tried your best; then we will not have anything excessive either way.

You can't get that 100% of course, that’s perfection, but that's what you're trying for and that's what I'm looking for.

I wanted all of my players to try to be perfect. I know they can't be perfect. But I wanted them to try; we can all try.

VOLUME CLIX

YOU CAN NOT ANTAGONIZE AND INFLUENCE AT THE SAME TIME

Coach Wooden often referred to this favorite idea of his with regard to being effective when providing discipline. Effective discipline has two elements: it does not antagonize and it does influence.

Coach expanded on this idea in his book My Personal Best, with Steve Jamison:

I was comfortable being a disciplinarian but did not want to be an ogre. Therefore, when discipline was required, I tried to dole it out in a manner that was firm but fair, with no emotionalism or anger attached.

Anger prevents proper thinking and makes you vulnerable. It never got personal, because the purpose of criticism or discipline is not to punish, embarrass or ridicule, but to correct and improve.

It is very difficult to antagonize and teach at the same time. For this reason, I avoided criticizing a player or the team at the end of practice, because the effect lingers and is magnified.

The ability to influence when disciplining requires that you understand the personalities of the people you supervise. In Coach’s book, Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, with Steve Jamison, former Assistant Coach Gary Cunningham described Coach Wooden in that regard:

He was a strong disciplinarian, but he demanded discipline in a very controlled way. “Goodness gracious sake” was really angry for him. He was a master at analyzing personalities. Player A might just need an explanation. Player B might need some push. He knew what everybody needed to learn his lessons, and he supplied it.

In the same book, former player Keith Erickson gave an example of this:

UCLA’s Gail Goodrich and Walt Hazzard were the greatest combination of guards in the history of college basketball; the best twosome ever, in my opinion. But they were totally different guys.

With Gail, Coach would come up and sort of cajole him, put his arm around him and low-key it—offer a quiet suggestion, a little compliment. Then he’d give him a pat on the back and walk away. He knew that Gail wouldn’t react to sharp criticism; it would hurt his play.

Coach knew a stronger approach worked with Walt. There were no mincing words. He’d say very firmly, “Walt, if you do that again, you’re out of here.” And if Walt did it again, he’d hear Coach say, “O.K., that’s it. Take a shower.”

Discipline becomes less effective when you speak with anger and/or question the character or intent of the person you are disciplining.

Once we eliminate the possibility of antagonizing, the next challenge is how to influence.

VOLUME CLX

YOU MAY BE DECEIVED IF YOU TRUST TOO MUCH, BUT YOU WILL BE IN TORMENT IF YOU DO NOT TRUST ENOUGH

This quote from Dr. Frank Crane (a Presbyterian minister, speaker, and author [1861–1928) was a favorite of Coach Wooden’s and a core value he used to approach everyday life and build his leadership style.

In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and off the Court, with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden summarized his philosophy on trust:

It has been said that you will be hurt occasionally if you trust too much. This may be true, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough. Trusting is part of our higher nature. Doubting is a lower instinct. The latter is easy to do, the former more difficult - but so much more rewarding.

Coach Wooden’s favorite text on Leadership was an essay The Art of Leadership in the book The Art of Living, by Wilfred A. Peterson, in which Mr. Peterson wrote:

The Leader has faith in people. He believes in them, trusts them, and thus draws out the best in them.

Coach felt that a key element of effective leadership was creating trust. Coach expanded on this idea in his book The Essential Wooden, with Steve Jamison:

How does a leader create trust? Here's how: do the things you should do and that those under your leadership have a right to expect from you.

Show confidence in their ability to reach their potential. Help them overcome mistakes by getting to the core reason for errors or misjudgments without seeking to blame, condemn, or punish.

Show those under your supervision that you believe they can succeed. Be fair. Be trusting.

In short, be the kind of leader whose team you'd like to be a member of.

In the same book, Coach described the process of building a team with trust as a centerpiece:

Gather good people; teach them; train them. And then have courage enough to trust them to do what they're supposed to do.

Trust begets trust. Yours begets theirs. Be brave enough to trust, and it will be returned.

Eric Hoffer wrote: Someone who thinks the world is always cheating him is right. He is missing that wonderful feeling of trust in someone or something.

We must have relationships based on trust to be happy. If we trust others, we will be deceived on occasion, but without that trust, we have no chance at true happiness.

As Confucius said: It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.

VOLUME CLXI

CONSIDER THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS BEFORE YOUR OWN FEELINGS, AND THE FEELINGS OF OTHERS BEFORE YOUR OWN RIGHTS

This famous quote by Coach Wooden summarizes the way he believed we should all treat each other. Acting in this manner requires many great character traits.

One of Coach Wooden’s favorite authors was Wilferd Peterson, who in his book The Art of Living, described some of these qualities:

Courtesy: Courtesy is the wisdom to know that we should love before we think and think before we act.

Empathy: Through empathy, a person learns not to judge others in terms of his own personal interest, likes, and dislikes, but in terms of what life means to them.

Tolerance: Tolerance prevents prejudice and resentment. It may reject the argument, but it always respects the person.

Love: Love is the perfect antidote that floods the mind to wash away hatred, jealousy, resentment, anxiety, and fear.

In his book The Wisdom of Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach discussed how his belief that we should: Consider the rights of others before our own feelings, and the feelings of others before our own rights; impacted the way he approached the different religious beliefs of his players:

I am a Christian. Over our years together, Nellie and I found the greatest strength and hope in our faith. We shared it with our children and they with their children. But I also respect those whose faith is different from mine.

Thus, I was not particularly concerned with what religious beliefs my student-athletes held, although I did want them to believe in something because it can make them a better person. I told them, “Have faith, a religion, and know why you believe in it. Stand up for those beliefs, but respect the rights of others to believe in their own faith.”

What kind of a person has no creed, no faith, and no moral compass guiding them? What kind of person forces their faith on others?

At the core of all great religions, in one form or another, is the exhortation to love our fellow man. Whether you’re a Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or Muslim, it’s important to always keep that in mind. Too many forget this basic tenet of their faith.

VOLUME CLXII

GOALS ACHIEVED WITH LITTLE EFFORT ARE SELDOM WORTHWHILE OR LASTING

In July of 2009, Sporting News unveiled a list of sports’ 50 greatest coaches of all time, as selected by a panel of 118 Hall of Famers, championship coaches, and other experts.

John Wooden, who at UCLA won a record 10 Division I men’s basketball championships in 12 years, was a runaway winner. Coach Wooden received 57 first-place votes from the panel, which included seven World Series-winning managers, four Super Bowl champion coaches, and the winningest coaches in the NBA, NHL, and college basketball. Green Bay Packers great Vince Lombardi came in second place in SN’s rankings, receiving 20 first-place votes.

This was a great honor, but it is sometimes forgotten that John Wooden won his first National Championship in his 29th year of coaching.

The following are some steps in that journey:

1. When Coach Wooden became the head coach at UCLA in 1948, he was led to believe that his team would have a new arena by the end of his third season. The arena was not ready for the team until 1965, at the start of John Wooden's eighteenth season.

2. In 1950 UCLA made the NCAA Tournament but was eliminated in the first round.

3. In 1952 UCLA made the NCAA Tournament but was eliminated in the first round.

4. In 1956 UCLA made the NCAA Tournament but was eliminated in the first round.

5. In 1959 Coach Wooden had the poorest season of his UCLA career winning 14 games and losing 12.

6. In 1962 UCLA made it to the Final Four but lost in the Semi-Finals.

7. In 1963 Arizona State defeated UCLA 93-79 in the first game of the NCAA Tournament, and the final score made the game sound closer than it was. Arizona State was leading 62-31 at halftime.

That season was Coach Wooden’s 16th at UCLA; that appearance was his fifth NCAA tournament. In those tournament games, he had a painful record of only three wins and nine losses - the worst record of any of the coaches that participated in the tournament that year.

8. In 1964 Coach won the first of his ten National Championships

In his book Pyramid of Success, with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden summed it up this way:

Our society has been permeated by a mindset of immediate gratification. Simply put, people are impatient. They want too much too soon. They have lost sight of an overarching truth: In life, worthwhile accomplishments and acquisitions take time. Usually the better the reward, the more time it takes to acquire it!

VOLUME CLXIII

GOD GRANT ME THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN CHANGE, THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CAN NOT CHANGE, AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden’s is popularly referred to as the Serenity Prayer.

The Serenity Prayer is the common name for a prayer authored by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). It has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs. The best-known form is:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Coach Wooden had an eight-page document entitled:

The following quotations have been compiled by and are used by John Wooden, UCLA's Head Basketball Coach.

Miscellaneous Quotes to Think About

In this document Coach referenced the Serenity Prayer as follows:

Rabbi Niebuhr, "God grant me the courage to change the things I can change, the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Coach rearranged the quote putting grant me the courage to change things first and the serenity to accept the things I cannot change second as opposed to the original quote which puts serenity to accept first and courage to change things second.

The coach was a man of self-control and serenity but also a man of action first; never willing to just accept the status quo.

When Coach refused an invitation to the 1948 NAIA National Championship tournament because Clarence Walker, an African-American player, would have been prohibited from participating solely because of his race, he was acting with courage first and accepting the outcome with serenity second.

When I teach Coach Wooden’s philosophy to schools and businesses and I bring up Coach Wooden’s key idea of Don’t worry about things you can’t control, I am sometimes interrupted by a participant who will say Oh yeah, Coach Imp, I know we can only control what we can control.

I quickly remind the group we can’t stop there; Coach Wooden’s actual quote (from his father) is: The more concerned we become over the things we can’t control, the less we will do with the things we can control.

The emphasis is on taking effective action, not being passive. Self Control is the first block on the second tier of the Pyramid of Success, but it is followed by Alertness (Eager to learn and improve), Initiative (take action when action is needed, never afraid to fail), and Intentness (be determined and persistent).

The coach had serenity as his goal: Success is peace of mind but he said it could only be obtained through action: attained through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable.

Act with courage and have serenity in knowing you did your best.

There is no passiveness in Coach Wooden’s philosophy!

VOLUME CLXIV

HOW COACH WOODEN ACHIEVED SERENITY

Coach Wooden had a six-page, handwritten document entitled:

Miscellaneous Quotes To Consider

Collected or Originated by John Wooden

In this document, Coach referenced the Serenity Prayer as follows:

Remember the words of St. Francis of Assisi-

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Coach, in his own files, had referenced this important idea for himself in two different ways, in this case placing serenity first and courage second.

Obtaining serenity, inner peace, or inner confidence is easier to do when we are not fighting to maintain just a survival level of existence. What that survival level is for different people is a matter of individual, personal perspective.

In his book The Essential Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden discusses how he achieved that serenity while he was the Head Coach at UCLA:

I never had any fear of losing my job - being fired - at any point in my 40 years of coaching. This was true at Dayton High School in Kentucky, South Bend Central high school, Indiana State Teachers College, and The University of California Los Angeles.

There are a couple of good reasons for this. First, I felt confident, both as a coach and as an English teacher. If an administrator or the school board felt otherwise, I believed I could catch on someplace else.

Second, I never acquired a lifestyle that was difficult to pay for. Nor did I get my salary up so high that I might become “unhireable."

Therefore, in one of the most uncertain professions of all, coaching, I was certain of one thing; no athletic director or school board could hold fear of firing over my head. They knew I had absolutely no fear of being dismissed.

You might examine how you can achieve the same inner confidence about your job. When you do, it's a potent source of strength and serenity that ultimately makes you a much better leader. You are not vulnerable to inappropriate pressure.

If a young pro athlete or a rising executive receives a substantial pay raise and immediately buys a bigger house or better car, is it possible that they have unknowingly raised their personal survival level and placed new unneeded pressure on themselves that in the long run has a negative effect on their serenity and in turn their performance?

As Coach liked to say: Promise to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

VOLUME CLXV

REAL WEALTH COMES TO THOSE WHO LEARN THAT THEY ARE PAID BEST FOR THE THINGS THEY DO FOR NOTHING

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden reflects a theme that Coach emphasized over and over again: You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone without a thought of repayment.

The following are some other famous quotes that make the same point:

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle. - Benjamin Franklin

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. - Booker T. Washington

It is quite inspiring to note that Philanthropy (the active effort to promote human welfare) is at an all-time high as we begin 2015.

People in America are giving more of their time and money to help others than at any time in our history.

As of 1960, the estimate of Americans’ total giving for philanthropic purposes was approximately $11 billion (approximately $88 billion in today’s dollars). By 2005 that figure was $250 billion and by 2014 that figure was $335 billion. Since 2009 giving has increased by 22%.

Here are some modern philanthropic highlights:

In 1999, Microsoft executive Bill Gates and his wife Melinda contributed three gifts totaling $16 billion dollars to create America's largest foundation–the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated to teaming up with partners around the world to take on some tough challenges: extreme poverty and poor health in developing countries, and the failures of America’s education system. Their lifetime giving now totals $30.2 billion.

In 2006, Warren Buffett announces a gift of $43.5 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to a number of private foundations and charities. The largest disbursement is to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($31 billion), making it the largest single charitable gift in history.

Mr. Buffett has now committed that his entire Berkshire Hathaway holding, upwards of $58 billion, will be donated before or at the event of his death, with a further mandate that it will be put to use within ten years of the latter.

In 2012, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) takes the position that young entrepreneurs should give now, not wait.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, were the most generous American philanthropists in 2013, with a donation of 18 million shares of Facebook stock, valued at more than $970 million, to a Silicon Valley nonprofit.

All of us can make a positive contribution, as Mother Theresa said:

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

And as Aesop pointed out, remember:

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.-

VOLUME CLXVI

THE FUTURE MAYBE WHEN YOU WISH YOU HAD DONE WHAT YOU ARE NOT DOING NOW

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's is designed to cause us to think about how we are approaching our lives on a daily basis.

There have been many articles written where older people are interviewed, and talk about what regrets they have about the way they did things when they were younger.

This advice is passed along to younger people, with the hope that they will live a happier, more productive life now, rather than later.

As a result of my research, I compiled eight areas of life people most commonly had regrets about.

Then, using the Pyramid of Success, I put together some advice from Coach Wooden on these most common areas of regret. This issue will address the first area people have regrets about:

1. I regret all the time I wasted.

In the Industriousness Block of the Pyramid of Success, Coach says worthwhile results come from hard work and careful planning. In his book with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, Coach commented on how he valued time:

One of the very few rules I enforced from my first day of coaching until my last was as follows: “Be on time.” Players—even assistant coaches—who broke this rule faced serious consequences. Being late showed disrespect for time. I felt that one of the ways I could signal my own reverence for a time was to insist on punctuality. And, to be punctual.

If a player appeared to be taking it easy during practice, not giving it everything he had, I told him sternly, “Don’t think you can make up for it by working twice as hard tomorrow. If you have it within your power to work twice as hard, I want you to do it right now.” This was another way of telling them not to waste time; to make this practice a masterpiece.

I believe the effective organization of time—budgeting and managing time—was one of my assets as a coach. I understood how to use the time to its most productive ends. Gradually, I learned how to get the most out of a minute. In return, each minute gave back the most to our team. I was never the greatest X’s and O’s coach around. Never. But I was among the best when it came to respecting and utilizing time. I valued it, gave it respect, and tried to make each minute a masterpiece.

Make Each Day Your Masterpiece. You have nothing without time. Treat it with great respect.

VOLUME CLXVII

ADDITIONAL AREAS OF REGRET

There have been many articles written where older people are interviewed and talk about what regrets they have about the way they did things when they were younger.

This advice is passed along to younger people with the hope that they will live a happier, more productive life now, rather than later.

As a result of my research, I compiled eight areas of life people most commonly had regrets about.

Then, using the Pyramid of Success, I put together some advice from Coach Wooden on these most common areas of regret. Last week we discussed the first area of regret, wasting time, this week we will discuss the next four:

2. I regret not pursuing a career that I was passionate about sooner.

One of the cornerstones of Coach’s Pyramid of Success is Enthusiasm. Coach’s advice is simple: to attain peace of mind you must truly enjoy what you are doing.

The coach had some very direct advice on this topic: Complaining, whining, and making excuses just keep you out of the present. If your complaints are constant, serious, and genuine about your calling, then leave when practical. If you lack Enthusiasm for your job, get out or at least recognize that you will never perform at your highest level.

3. I wish I had spent more time with my family and friends.

A foundational quality of Coach’s Pyramid is Friendship. As Coach liked to say: Do not get so concerned with making a living that you forget to make a life.

4. I wish I had not worried so much about what other people thought about me.

Coach’s advice on this topic requires another Pyramid block: Self Control. Coach put it this way:

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Character is what you really are. Reputation is what people say you are. Character is more important.

Never try to be better than someone else. But always be learning from others. Never cease trying to be the best you can be. One is under your control, the other isn’t.

5. I wish I had learned earlier in life to let go of past mistakes and resentment.

Once again, Coach advises us on the need for Self Control:

A mistake is valuable if you do four things with it: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, and forget it.

The more concerned we become over the things we can’t control, the less we will do with the things we can control.

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.

VOLUME CLXVIII

FINAL LIST OF THINGS WE WISH WE HAD DONE BETTER

There have been many articles written where older people are interviewed and talk about what regrets they have about the way they did things when they were younger.

This advice is passed along to younger people with the hope that they will live a happier, more productive life now, rather than later.

As a result of my research, I compiled eight areas of life people most commonly had regrets about.

Then using the Pyramid of Success, I put together some advice from Coach Wooden on these most common areas of regret. Last week we discussed areas of regret #s 2, 3, 4, and 5. This week we will discuss the final three, #s 6, 7, and 8:

6. I regret not taking more chances because I was afraid of failing and did not want to deal with change.

One of the blocks of Coach’s Pyramid of Success is Initiative. Coach’s advice is simple: to attain peace of mind you must cultivate the ability to make decisions and think alone. Do not be afraid of failure, but learn from it.

The coach had three key ideas regarding taking action and not being afraid to make mistakes

The people who don’t make mistakes are the people who don't do anything.

Don’t permit fear of failure to prevent effort. We are all imperfect and will fail on occasion, but fear of failure is the greatest failure of all.

A person who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success. The only real failure is the failure to act when action is required.

In today’s constantly evolving technology, we must embrace change, not avoid it. As Coach liked to say:

All change may not be progress, but all progress is the result of the change.

7. I regret having given up on so many things at the first hurdle.

A key quality in Coach’s Pyramid is Intentness. As Coach liked to say: Set a realistic goal. Concentrate on its achievement by resisting all temptations and being determined and persistent.

When we are faced with a roadblock, the key is to try different ways around it. Albert Einstein defined insanity as follows: Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

The coach described the value of a never gives up attitude this way: Self-satisfaction will come from the knowledge that you left no stone unturned in an effort to accomplish everything possible under the circumstances.

8. I wish I had saved more money.

Coach lived very modestly because he recognized that more material things would not necessarily make him happier. He received his greatest joy from helping others.

A good rule is to keep your upgrade in lifestyle two steps behind your pay raises.

Consistent saving when you are young will help your peace of mind when you are older. Make it a priority!

VOLUME CLXIX

THE GREATEST CONQUEST OF MAN IS THE CONQUERING OF HIMSELF

Gautama Buddha (500 BC) expanded on this favorite idea of Coach Wooden’s as follows:

Greater in battle than the man who would conquer thousand-thousand men, is he who would conquer just one —himself. Better to conquer yourself than others.

When you've trained yourself, living in constant self-control, neither a deva nor gandhabba, nor a Mara banded with Brahmas, could turn that triumph back into defeat.

Sometimes when we are not getting the results we want; we may blame others instead of understanding that we are holding ourselves back.

This is a lesson Coach Wooden learned from his grade school coach and later passed on to his players.

In his book with Steve Jamison, My Personal Best, Coach Wooden described it this way:

Coach Warriner at Centerton Grade School taught me that arrogance, selfishness, and envy are unacceptable in a player. This was my introduction to the concept of team spirit - the absolute necessity for an individual to put the group’s welfare ahead of his or her interests (such as an interest in shooting all the time). Like Mr. Warriner, I used the power of the bench on fellows who were slow learners - just as he used it on me. I wanted everyone, starters and non-starters alike, to understand that “the star of the team is the team.”

As a sophomore in 1969, Sidney Wicks could've been a starting forward for virtually any school in the country. But he was not the starter at UCLA, because he was having difficulty with my concept of team play.

He was too concentrated on having the ball and shooting before he’d look for the pass. This is damaging because, among other reasons, teammates soon stop working to get open for a shot, as they know they won’t get the ball. It then becomes every man for himself, and the team is destroyed. Thus, Sidney wasn't a starter.

He would say to me, "C’mon coach, you know I'm better than either starting forward." I’d nod and reply, "I know it, you know it, and they know it. So it's a shame they're going to remain starters until you get the hang of playing as part of the team."

Sidney did get the hang of it by his junior year and became the best all-around forward in the country for the next two seasons, an All- American both years and a crucial part of two national championship teams in 1970 and 1971. The bench, in my opinion, helped make this possible.

Sidney Wicks was the second player taken in the 1971 NBA draft, the 1972 NBA Rookie of the Year, and a four-time NBA All-Star selection.

A non-starter at UCLA as a sophomore, Sidney then conquered himself and the rest is history.

VOLUME CLXX

THERE ARE NO HOPELESS SITUATIONS, THERE ARE ONLY PEOPLE WHO HAVE GROWN HOPELESS ABOUT THEM

This favorite idea of Coach Wooden's is attributed to Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987); the first American woman appointed to a major ambassadorial post abroad.

History provides us with numerous examples of seemingly hopeless situations that resulted in great triumphs.

Steve Jobs was fired from his own company; Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison; and Abraham Lincoln failed in business, had a nervous breakdown, and was defeated in eight elections.

Upon graduation from college in 1900, Albert Einstein could not obtain a teaching position anywhere. In 1902 he finally got a full-time job in a Swiss patent office. It was not until 1909 that he was able to land a full-time teaching position. In 1921, he received the Nobel Prize for research that he had done in 1905.

It took Howard Schultz a year to convince a small coffee bean shop in Seattle named Starbucks to hire him. He left the company in 1982 because they refused to move forward with his idea of serving coffee in their coffee bean stores. They did not want to get into the restaurant business. Frustrated, Schultz quit and started his own coffee-bar business, called Il Giornale. It was successful, and a year later Schultz bought Starbucks for $3.8 million.

I find the less publicized stories equally inspiring.

Bethany Hamilton was just 13 years old when her left arm got bitten off by a shark while surfing. After a month of medical operations, she returned to the sport, learning how to surf with one arm and a customized board, and hasn’t stopped since.

Dawn Loggins, a former school janitor and straight-A student at her high school in North Carolina, was homeless her senior year after being abandoned by her drug-abusing parents. Not one to let her situation limit her, she applied to and was offered a full scholarship from Harvard.

Kyle Maynard, born with a condition known as congenital amputation, is the first quadruple amputee to successfully ascend Mount Kilimanjaro without any prosthetics. He made this happen by taping pieces of a bicycle tire to the ends of his limbs to protect him as he scaled the mountain.

In 1925 Joshua Wooden lost his farm. He moved his family to the small Indiana town of Martinsville, where he was able to get a job as a masseuse at the Home Lawn Sanitarium, a local health spa.

The Seven Point Creed and Two Sets of Three that Joshua Wooden taught his son John became the foundation that the greatest coach in the history of American sports used to positively influence millions of people all over the world.

The secret to turning a seemingly hopeless situation into a triumph is simple. Joshua Wooden put it this way:

Don't whine, don't complain, and don't make excuses. Just do the best you can. Nobody can do more than that.

VOLUME CLXXI

WE CAN DO MORE GOOD BY BEING GOOD THAN IN ANY OTHER WAY

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden's on its surface may seem to present a difficult challenge: How can we on a daily basis live a life that represents being good and thus have a positive influence on others?

In his book A Game Plan for Life, with Don Yeager, Coach Wooden explains how easy it is to be good:

There are things I learned from watching my father that I purposely tried to copy into my own life. But other things I found were just kind of absorbed and became a part of my thinking and reactions without my really thinking about them.

I admired my father's refusal to speak badly about others, but I don't think I necessarily set out to make that a rule for myself. I imagine I considered that to be too lofty a goal. Yet, as time went on, I found it was a practice that had etched itself into my soul so that if I ever slipped up on that matter, I felt pain rather than satisfaction

In December 2008, the British Medical Journal published a study that confirmed what many of us have known for a long time: happiness actually spreads through social interactions and connections.

In other words, you are directly affected by the behavior of those around you, and your example can influence the attitude and behavior of others.

And I don't think the link has to be as direct as close friends and family, either. Think about all of the complex networks we engage in every day, from the people we see at the store to the customer service agent we talked with on the phone. A smile for the busy waitress, an encouraging word to the stressed-out mother with a screaming toddler, patience with the technical support person as he/she tries to answer your question - any of these can make a difference in that person's day.

And if the person behind you in line sees you act kindly toward the cashier, he or she will be more inclined to do the same. It was wonderful to see the phenomenon of contagious happiness confirmed by science, but I already knew it was true. I'd seen my father's influence and felt it myself.

So all of us have many opportunities every day to live up to Coach Wooden's idea that: We can do more good by being good than any other way.

Let's just leave the house every morning determined to see how many people we can cheer up!

VOLUME CLXXII

YOU CAN GIVE WITHOUT LOVING, BUT YOU CAN NOT LOVE WITHOUT GIVING

Coach Wooden’s message to the players at the beginning of each UCLA season was as follows:

“I will not like you all the same, but I will love you all the same. Furthermore, I will try very hard not to let my feelings interfere with my judgment of your performance. You will receive the treatment you earn and deserve.”

In his book Wooden on Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden expanded on the importance of a leader truly having love for those under his/her supervision:

A leader in sports, business, or any other field of endeavor should possess and provide the same qualities inherent in a good parent: character, consistency, dependability, accountability, knowledge, good judgment, selflessness, respect, courage, discipline, fairness, and structure.

And while all of these will make you a good leader, they will not make you a great leader. For that, one additional quality - perhaps the most important of all - is necessary. Although it may sound out of place in the rough-and-tumble context of sports or corporate competition, I believe you must have love in your heart for the people under your leadership.

Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. The individuals on our UCLA teams became true members of my extended family. It’s vital to let those you lead know you care.

Love is so important because it moves you to do the right things in all areas of life, including leadership. What is love? Let me offer the following definition:

Love is patient; love is kind. It is not jealous; it is not pompous; it is not inflated; it is not rude; it does not seek its own interest; it is not quick-tempered; it does not brood over injury; it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

These are qualities we can all use when we interact with others and, as a result, give them love.

VOLUME CLXXIII

YOU HAVE SUCCESS WITHIN, IT IS UP TO YOU TO BRING IT OUT

This favorite idea of Coach Wooden's always reminds me of my favorite Zig Ziglar quote: God don’t make any junk.

Coach Wooden, in his book Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, with Steve Jamison, commented on fundamental qualities that are required to bring out the success within ourselves:

1. Don’t measure yourself by what you’ve accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your abilities. Measure your success on the basis of how close you got to realizing your full potential.

2. You can’t make up for poor effort today by working harder tomorrow. If you can work “twice as hard” tomorrow, it means you’ve been holding something back, not giving 100 percent today.

3. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not doing anything. The doer makes mistakes. However, be sure your mistakes are not the result of poor preparation or sloppy execution.

4. You are not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes. Time spent complaining is time wasted. The moment you seek to set responsibility on the doorstep of another, you have deluded yourself. Self-delusion is self-destruction.

5. Do not be vulnerable to praise or criticism from outsiders. Your strength of consistency depends on how you let praise and criticism affect you. Some of it will be deserved and some of it will be undeserved. Either way, don’t get caught up in the opinions of others. When you are honest in your self-analysis, your opinion should count the most.

6. Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out. The ancient proverb says, “Crisis presents an opportunity.” It is the opportunity to dig deeper and rise higher; to get stronger and be smarter; to find a better way, a different path. Adversity offers the opportunity, but you must recognize it.

 It takes a lot of hard work and persistence to bring out the success within ourselves, but as Coach liked to say: Goals achieved with little effort are seldom worthwhile or long-lasting.

VOLUME CLXXIV

YOU MEET THE SAME PEOPLE ON THE WAY UP AS YOU MEET ON THE WAY DOWN

The origin of this favorite quote of Coach Wooden’s is attributed to playwright Wilson Mizner, who in 1932 gave the following advice to a young up-and-coming motion picture star: Be kind to everyone on the way up; you’ll meet the same people on the way down.

For Coach Wooden, this was sound advice for his players at UCLA, to keep things in proper perspective and not get big-headed.

For Coach Wooden, this statement reflected how he lived his life; not, however, to get some desired result, but rather just doing what he enjoyed: Treating all people with dignity and respect and helping others.

This story from Pat Williams' book How to Be Like Coach Wooden: Life Lessons from Basketball's Greatest Leader, is a good example of this approach to life.

Steve Jamison, a writer who has often worked with Coach, told me about a book signing at a Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach, California: "People started lining up at 7 AM for a 2  PM signing," he said. "The publisher had hired a driving service to escort us that day, and after the signing, we were driven to Coach's granddaughter's house for dinner.

As we were getting out of the car, Coach turned to the driver; a man named Jason, and asked, `You'll join us for dinner, won't you?' The man was startled but wound up sitting next to Coach at the table with a dumbfounded look on his face as if to ask, `Is this really happening?'

This is how John Wooden thinks: Everyone should be treated properly, with respect and dignity. You don't leave a driver out in the car while everyone else is inside eating. That lesson really hit me; if the greatest coach of the twentieth century acts this way with people at all levels, I can too."

In writing this issue of Wooden’s Wisdom I asked my wife Christy if she recalled the dinner, as it was at our home. She did recall it, as it was always great to have Coach visit. We both recalled the driver Jason joining us for dinner, but neither one of us at the time nor now thought that was unusual.

We agreed we would have been surprised if Coach had left the gentleman sitting in the car while we ate.

For Coach, treating all people with dignity and respect was common courtesy, not a special event.

VOLUME CLXXV

A PHILOSOPHER IS A PERSON WHO MEETS ALL EVENTS, WHETHER FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE, WITH CALMNESS AND COMPOSURE

Coach Wooden introduced his Coaching Philosophy in his book Practical Modern Basketball, by talking about the necessity for a successful coach to be a philosopher:

Webster tells us that, among other things, a philosopher is a person who meets all events, whether favorable or unfavorable, with calmness and composure.

In his book Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, with Steve Jamison, Coach expanded on how he applied this idea of being a philosopher to his approach toward his conduct during games:

Some observers described me as being detached, almost stoic, on the bench during games. This could hardly be further from the truth, but it was a compliment nevertheless.

Emotionalism—ups, and downs in moods, temperamental outbursts—is almost always counterproductive, at times ruinous. I came to understand that if my own behavior was filled with outbursts, peaks, and valleys of emotion and moods, I was sanctioning it for others.

As the leader, my own behavior set the bounds of acceptability. Subsequently, I became much more vigilant in controlling my feelings and behavior. My message to those I led was simple: “If you let your emotions take control, you have lost control. You are vulnerable.” For those under my supervision to learn the lesson, however, I had to control my own behavior and emotions.

Subsequently, I never second-guessed myself for decisions and actions that didn’t work out if they were made using my best judgment and all available information. It may have been a mistake, but it was not an error. It becomes an error, however, when the choice was made because emotions spilled over and diminished the quality of my decision-making.

Early in my career, errors were common; there were fewer as my emotional control became more disciplined. A leader defined by intensity is a stronger leader. A leader ruled by emotions is weak, and the team is vulnerable.

Living as a philosopher is a difficult challenge. But as Coach liked to say: Goals achieved with little effort are seldom worthwhile or lasting.

VOLUME CLXXVI

ALTHOUGH IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTROL HOW YOU REACT AND RESPOND

In his book Wooden on Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden talked about what he meant by this favorite phrase of his:

You may have noticed that when unexpected good fortune arrives at our doorstep, we often accept it without thought, not even a tip of the hat. In trying times, however, we are quick to conclude that the fates are working directly and unfairly against us—to find an excuse to let up, lose heart, and then quit.

George Moriarty described it like this: Sometimes I think the fates must grin as we denounce them and insist, The only reason we can’t win Is that the fates themselves have caused it. But it is not the fates that have “missed,” but rather the fortitude of a leader who says “woe is me” moments before giving up in the face of misfortune.

Do not let “woe is me” become your theme song. It is a tune sung only by weak leaders.

Shakespeare expressed it well. Shortly before Hamlet faces likely death in a fencing match arranged by the man who murdered his father, his friend Horatio tries to offer him an excuse to run, hide, or quit. Hamlet refuses. He has come to believe that all things happen for a reason and tells Horatio, “There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow.”  Hamlet saw divine guidance and care in all events—big and small—and was determined to face his destiny with courage and skill.

I believe the same. I was taught to make the best of whatever the fates—providence—brought forth into my life. This belief has been of great benefit to me, most particularly when it came to leading others. “Although you may not be able to control what fate brings your way, you can control how you react and respond to it. At least, you should be able to.”

Coach Wooden taught me that adversity is your asset. In Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, Coach gave three reminders on this topic:

1. All leaders and their organizations are visited by misfortune and bad luck. You will not be the exception to the rule.

2. Adversity makes us stronger, but only if we resist the temptation to blame fate for our troubles.

3. How often have you not recognized an opportunity because it wore the disguise of bad luck?

VOLUME CLXXVII

A PERSON WHO TRUSTS PEOPLE WILL MAKE FEWER MISTAKES THAN A PERSON WHO DISTRUSTS

In his book with Steve Jamison, The Essential Wooden, Coach Wooden discussed the critical nature of building trust:

When spring arrived each year in Indiana, the warming weather would slowly soften the ice covering a little pond near our farm. While the ice still looked safe and solid, strong enough to walk on, it was very dangerous.

Some called it “rotten ice.” Step on it here, and you were fine; step on it there, and it would give way – you'd fall through. The ice was undependable.

A leader who finds it difficult to abide by the Golden Rule is like that Indiana ice in springtime – undependable, untrustworthy. Without trust between a team and leader, there really is no team at all – just a collection of individuals who don't amount to much.

Do not betray your team, and the team will not betray you. It begins with my father's teaching of the Golden Rule - “Do onto others as you would have them do unto you.” Abide by his model and you will find yourself leading a team of individuals who are loyal to you and whose bonds to the organization and its mission are sturdy.

Loyalty is a two-way street. You must give it to receive it. Be fair, be just, and be honest, and you will be a leader who inspires loyalty and who has the trust of those under your supervision.

It is not possible for an organization to operate at consistently high levels in a competitive environment without loyalty to a leader who is, in turn, loyal to the team. Loyalty is not bought and sold. You earn it.

Trust is needed as well. When you give it, you get it. Like loyalty, it must be earned. It may take years to build trust but it can be lost in a minute. It is precious.

VOLUME CLXXVIII

A GOOD MEMORY IS ONE THAT CAN REMEMBER THE DAY'S BLESSINGS AND FORGET THE DAY'S TROUBLES

This Irish blessing was a favorite of Coach Wooden's. It supports and is a good reminder of the seventh item in Joshua Wooden's Seven Point Creed:

Pray for guidance, count, and give thanks for your blessings every day.

In his book The Wisdom of Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach expanded on the idea:

You’ll be much happier if you spend as much time thinking about your blessings as you do about your troubles. In this regard, it is helpful to forget the favors given and remember those received.

In his book Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach summed it up this way:

So often we fail to acknowledge what we have because we're so concerned about what we want. We fail to give real thanks for the many blessings for which we did nothing: our life itself, the flowers, the trees, our family, and our friends.

In his book with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success, Coach put the idea of blessings in perspective:

I can recount so many blessings in my life and I am thankful for them, but blessings don’t constitute success. If none of the good things had ever occurred, I would not be any less successful. The real determining factor is this: Did I make the effort to do my best? That is the only criterion, and I am the only one who knows (well, me and God). Am I a success? I have peace of mind.

With this perspective, Coach was able to appreciate the blessings he received, not expect them or depend on them. The day’s troubles were never anything for him to focus on.

Neither had anything to do with success for himself, as he defined it. The focus was on his best effort, not external forces he could not control.

VOLUME CLXXIX

DWELLING IN THE PAST PREVENTS DOING SOMETHING IN THE PRESENT

Coach Wooden’s quote that dwelling in the past prevents doing something in the present is usually applied to encourage people not to focus on past disappointments.

On another level, the Coach used this approach for himself to make sure that although he was already the most successful coach in college basketball, he did not dwell in the past (rest on his laurels) but rather did something in the present (aggressively continued to improve himself).

I had the opportunity to visit with Hall of Fame Coach Hubie Brown because I wanted to share with him that Coach once told me that the best basketball clinic on the fast break (a basketball clinic is usually an all-day event where five or six celebrity coaches make 2 to 3-hour presentations on a topic and other coaches attend to learn) he had ever seen was presented by Coach Brown.

Coach Brown recalled that his presentation that night started at 8:30 p.m. and Coach Wooden had sat in the front row for three hours making copious notes on everything that he was presenting, although Coach Wooden was not speaking himself until the next morning.

He further recalled that Coach Wooden had stopped him that night in the hallway of the Marriott to ask him further questions about transition defense.

Coach Brown and Coach Wooden enlisted three young coaches walking down the hallway, to make up their five-man demonstration team and continued their discussion until 12:30 AM.

Coach Brown said Coach Wooden gave his own presentation the next morning at 8:30 AM and hit a home run.

Coach Brown continued:

There was one thing that was different about John Wooden than most of us who spoke at Coaches’ Clinics.

Most celebrity Coaches arrived, made their presentation, and left.

John Wooden would attend the entire clinic, listen to all the presenters, sit in the front row, and take notes from the beginning to the end.

For Coach Wooden, there was no dwelling in the past, only doing in the present.

VOLUME CLXXX

A PERSON WHO HAS A WHY TO LIVE CAN BEAR ALMOST ANY HOW

This quote from the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was a favorite of Coach Wooden’s. The quote is usually referred to in the context of directing your life in pursuit of a noble cause.

A different perspective would be to apply this idea in the framework of the discipline. Any great company, family, or team must have discipline. Discipline can only be effective when it is delivered with self-control. This allows the person receiving the discipline to focus on why they are being disciplined.

When people understand the why of discipline they will be able to bear the how.

In his book with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success, Coach expanded on this idea:

When disciplining someone we supervise, if our emotions take over, chances are we’re going to antagonize that person. It’s difficult to get productive, positive results under these circumstances. We must remember why we discipline. We do it to help, to prevent, to correct, and to improve, but not to punish. It takes self-control to accomplish this goal.

Coach Wooden provided discipline but was flexible and innovative in his approach. He made sure his players understood the why so they would be able to bear the how.

In Coach Wooden's book with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, a former player, Bill Hicks (1960-62), gave an example:

One of our top players—maybe our best—got upset about something during practice one day and stormed off the court. This put Coach Wooden in an awkward position because he didn’t want to lose the guy. We didn’t exactly have a lot of talent to spare.

The coach solved the problem by telling the player who had blown up and walked off the court that he was suspended. However, he then informed the suspended player that our whole team would be allowed to vote on whether or not to let him return. This allowed everybody to save face. It also empowered the team, because it felt like we got in on the decision. Of course, we voted to let him back. The coach solved his problem, disciplined the player, and strengthened our team all at the same time.

Coach made sure everybody understood the why and the how worked out great!

VOLUME CLXXXI

IF YOU ARE GOING NOWHERE, YOU'LL GET THERE

This favorite idea of Coach Wooden reflects the idea that it is important that we have long-term goals and detailed short-term goals that are necessary to make our long-term goals possible.

Coach had a goal each season of winning the Pacific Eight Championship.

He also had all of his detailed short-term goals scheduled well before the first practice each season.

The following is an excerpt from Coach’s preseason letter to the team in 1970 (UCLA had won its sixth national championship in seven years), in which he communicates his goal for the upcoming season to his players:

It has been almost four months since our basketball season came to a close. It was a very successful season but it is now history, and we must look toward the future.

The past cannot change what is to come. It is what you do today that counts, and I sincerely hope that you are looking forward to an outstanding 1970–71 season, and are eager, not just willing, to make the necessary personal sacrifices to reach that goal. All worthwhile accomplishments require sacrifice and hard work.

Dave Meyers, former UCLA All-American and captain of the 1975 National Championship team, commented on how Coach communicated his goals to the team:

Coach Wooden didn’t talk about winning—ever. His message was to give the game the best you’ve got. “That’s the goal,” he would tell us. “Do that and you should be happy. If enough of you do it, our team will be a success.”

In his book with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, Coach comments on the unusual idea of not letting goals be a distraction:

If you want to extend a winning streak, forget about it. If you want to break a losing streak, forget about it. Forget about everything except concentrating on the very hard work and intelligent planning necessary for never-ending improvement.

Coach summed it up this way:

Define your dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Then file them away. Focus on running the race rather than winning it.

VOLUME CLXXXII

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE, BUT WHAT YOU THINK

In his book Wooden on Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden described how a change in his thinking had a profound effect on his future:

At the beginning of the 1961-62 season, I’d been coaching basketball at UCLA for 13 years in conditions I would describe as harsh.

Our practice facility, the Men’s Gym, was cramped and poorly ventilated. It was often jammed with student-athletes participating in other sporting activities during our basketball practices.

I was confronted with this situation immediately upon my arrival at UCLA, and soon concluded it was virtually impossible to achieve my teaching goals under such conditions.

It also had an impact on my assessment of the possibility of winning a national championship; specifically, in the back of my mind I just felt there was no chance that UCLA would ever be able to go all the way.

Much to the complete surprise of everyone, our unheralded 1961–1962 UCLA basketball team advanced all the way to the Final Four before we lost 72–70 to Cincinnati in the final seconds of the game.

Our near-victory was a revelation to me. Much to my surprise, UCLA had nearly won the 1962 NCAA basketball championship. Suddenly—shockingly—it became clear that our inadequate basketball facility, the Men’s Gym, did not mean we couldn’t win the national title.

If I had been using the Men’s Gym as a rationale for poor performance in past NCAA playoff appearances—I couldn’t use it anymore. A subconscious barrier had been removed; a light went on.

In 1964 and 1965, with the Men’s Gym as its practice facility, UCLA won its first two national championships.

This excerpt from one of Coach Wooden’s favorite poems Thinking, by Walter Wintle, sums the idea up:

If you think you'll lose, you've lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a person’s will
It's all in the state of mind.

VOLUME CLXXXIII

KINDNESS IN WORDS CREATES CONFIDENCE, KINDNESS IN THINKING CREATES PROFOUNDNESS, KINDNESS IN GIVING CREATES LOVE

Each part of this quote (a favorite of Coach Wooden’s) by the famous Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (571-531 BC), is valuable.

This issue focuses on why the idea of Kindness in words creates confidence was such an important part of Coach Wooden’s communication style.

Coach Wooden’s communication style was effective in helping his players develop confidence and pride in what they did. If kindness in words creates confidence it is also true that being demeaning, derogatory on a personal level, or condescending in words does not create confidence. The coach was never any of these three things.

In his book Coach Wooden’s Leadership Game Plan for Success, with Steve Jamison, Coach put it this way:

I was often critical of players, but I tried hard to avoid personal attacks, embarrassment, or demeaning comments, which would make them less likely to take my criticism to heart.

Doug McIntosh, a former player and a member of the 1964 and 1966 national championship teams, described Coach this way:

He was strict, but there was no sense of fear for his players. We knew there was nothing personal in his criticism or comments.

Profanity was not used by Coach because, besides the fact that it sets a poor example of self-control, it is certainly no confidence builder and its instructive value is at best questionable.

Coach’s words of kindness were impactful because they were sincere, not excessive.

In his book Wooden on Leadership, with Steve Jamison, Coach expanded on the idea:

Positive words become meaningless when offered habitually and excessively. I avoided the phrase, “That's great” instead I would say “Good, very good, getting better” I kept in mind that how I conveyed information was often as important as the information itself. My tone was measured and my demeanor controlled.

About 85% of Coach’s communication was simply instructive. His players were not distracted by undue criticism or undeserved compliments from his communication.

As a result, they were able to focus on the instruction he was giving and build confidence in themselves.

This formula works equally well on and off the court.

VOLUME CLXXXIV

THE IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE IS NOT WHAT BELONGS TO US, BUT WHAT WE BELONG TO

The central idea behind this favorite quote of Coach Wooden’s was that it is not material possessions (what belongs to us) that are important in life, but rather what our character is (what we belong to).

Coach expanded on the idea as follows:

Too many of us are concerned with building a reputation or obtaining material possessions. We should be more interested in building character within ourselves. Material possessions can't bring contentment, peace of mind, happiness, or true success.

In addition to Joshua Wooden’s two sets of three (Never Lie, Never Cheat, Never Steal, Don’t Whine, Don’t Complain, Don’t Make Excuses) the core of John Wooden’s character was built on the simple fact that: The most important word in our language is love.

For John Wooden, this translated to a life focused on what he could do to help others, not on building a reputation or obtaining material possessions.

Motivational speaker and author Anthony Robbins interviewed Coach Wooden and asked: Coach I have interviewed several wealthy people who are not all that happy. What advice would you give them?

Coach’s response was simple: They should find somebody to help.

In his book Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach commented on what he believed was the primary cause of unhappiness:

It is my observation that the primary cause of unhappiness for most people is simply wanting too much: expecting too much materially, chasing the dollar, and overemphasizing material things. When they don't arrive, unhappiness does.

American theologian and author James Freeman Clarke (1810 – 1888), paraphrased this fundamental idea beautifully:

Do not run after happiness, but seek to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you.

VOLUME CLXXXV

THE MORE CONCERNED WE BECOME OVER THE THINGS WE CAN'T CONTROL, THE LESS WE WILL DO WITH THE THINGS WE CAN CONTROL

When Coach was asked what would you say would be one of the most important things your Father taught you? He replied:

I think that possibly, never try to be better than somebody else. Always understand that you'll never know a thing that you don’t learn from someone else but never try to be better than somebody else, and never cease trying to be the best you can be. I can remember him saying that’s under your control. The other isn’t and if you get too engrossed, involved, and concerned in regard to the things that you have no control, it will have a negative effect on the things over which you have or should have control.

This philosophy controlled how Coach dealt with the past, as reflected in this key idea:

A mistake is valuable if you do four things with it: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.

For Coach Wooden, the past was not something to worry about, but rather learn from and move on.

This philosophy also controlled how Coach dealt with the present as reflected in this key idea:

Do not permit what you cannot do to interfere with what you can do.

Coach liked to say:

We change what we can, but if we get too concerned, involved, and engrossed in circumstances over which we have no control or can't change, those circumstances are going to have a negative impact on events and outcomes we can control.

This philosophy also controlled how Coach dealt with the future. In his book with Steve Jamison, The Essential Wooden: a Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership, Coach commented on the difference between worry and concern:

"Worry" is fretting about the future. "Concern" is figuring out future solutions. When you are "concerned," you're going to analyze and determine where and how to improve. If you are "worried," you're just fretting that things won't turn out right regardless of what you do-wringing your hands and imagining bad things.

"Concern" leads to results; "worry" results in losing a good night's sleep.

For the past, the present, and the future: Don’t worry about things you can’t control, act on those you can.

VOLUME CLXXXVI

A GREAT DEAL OF TALENT MAY BE LOST FOR THE WANT OF A LITTLE COURAGE

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden was originated by English Clergyman Sydney Smith (1771-1845).

This idea goes along perfectly with the Pyramid of Success, in which Coach Wooden identified 15 character traits or personal qualities a person would need to have to reach their potential.

The blocks are placed in a sequence that builds as each character trait is added. The first seven blocks on the Pyramid have to do with developing talent.

1. You must work hard, plan carefully and pay attention to detail (Industriousness).

2. You must enjoy what you are doing and be a positive influence on others (Enthusiasm).

3. You must be able to get along well with others (Friendship, Loyalty, and Cooperation).

4. You must have your emotions under control in order to perform at your peak capability (Self-Control).

5. You must be observing, open-minded, and eager to constantly improve (Alertness).

A person who has all these qualities in a particular area would certainly be considered talented.

The next two blocks on the Pyramid say that you must have the courage to act on that talent for it to be developed.

The two blocks are initiative and intentness. You must not be afraid to act when action is needed, and if it doesn't work out you must not give up. Initiative + Intentness = Courage.

Once you have the courage to test your talent, if you are properly conditioned, you will develop a skill. But without the courage to test your talent, it will be lost.

In his book Talent is Never Enough, John Maxwell wrote a commentary about Winston Churchill that demonstrated this idea:

Before he joined the Army, Winston Churchill had a desire to create a reputation for bravery, but he didn't know whether he had the talent for it. To make that discovery, he went to Cuba. His goal was to test his courage in a relatively controlled and somewhat safer environment than he thought he would face in India, it was what he called a "private rehearsal". He understood that a person doesn't know what he's really made of until tested. If we fear the test then we will never get a chance to develop the talent.

Churchill’s talent in leading Great Britain in WWII was developed because he had the courage to test it first.

Don't waste your talent. Use your courage to test it.

VOLUME CLXXXVII

DO NOT LET WHAT YOU CAN NOT DO INTERFERE WITH WHAT YOU CAN DO

In his book with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, Coach commented on this favorite quote of his:

Time is limited. Focus on that which you can improve, correct, or change. Ignore what you can’t control.

The byproduct of this approach for Coach Wooden was that because he only focused on those things that he could do, he was able to focus on them with an amazing amount of detail.

The following account regarding the proper way to put your socks on from his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court, is an excellent example:

At the first squad meeting each season, held two weeks before our first actual practice, I personally demonstrated how I wanted players to put on their socks each and every time: Carefully roll the socks down over the toes, ball of the foot, arch, and around the heel, then pull the sock up snug so there will be no wrinkles of any kind.

I would then have the players carefully check with their fingers for any folds or creases in the sock, starting at the toes and sliding the hand along the side of and under the foot, smoothing the sock out as the fingers passed over it. I paid special attention to the heel because that is where wrinkles are most likely. I would watch as the player smoothed the sock under and along the back of the heel. I wanted it done conscientiously, not quickly or casually.

I wanted absolutely no folds, wrinkles, or creases of any kind on the sock. Then we would proceed to the other foot and do the same. I would demonstrate for the players and then have the players demonstrate for me.

This may seem like a nuisance, trivial, but I had a very practical reason for being meticulous about this. Wrinkles, folds, and creases can cause blisters. Blisters interfere with performance during practice and games. Since there was a way to reduce blisters, something the player and I could control, it was our responsibility to do it.

If we focus on what we can do, we will have time for the details in those endeavors which are critical to success in anything.

VOLUME CLXXXVIII

HEAR NO ILL OF A FRIEND, NOR SPEAK ANY OF AN ENEMY

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden’s is from Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac. The idea was a key component in how Coach approached life, personally and professionally.

In the Pat Williams book How to Be Like Coach Wooden, Dutch Fehring, who played with Coach at Purdue and then went on to become line coach for the UCLA football team, put it this way: John Wooden always had empathy for other people. I have never heard him bad-mouth anyone. He always had respect for his teammates and his opponents.

In his book with Don Yaeger, A Game Plan for Life, Coach Wooden discussed his father’s influence:

My father refused to speak an unkind word against anyone. I know—I tried to get him to do it. My older brother Maurice especially liked the game. He would start a conversation and then ask my father for his reaction or response, but my father knew that we were trying to lure him into a slip-up, so he would just laugh and refuse to take the bait. It was amazing, but growing up under such a strong example of that; I found that it inherently became part of my own character.

This idea became a key idea professional for Coach in how he dealt with the media. Coach described it this way:

I would never publicly criticize a player for poor performance. Even in moments of extreme frustration, I would check myself because it just didn’t seem right—because it didn’t seem like something my father would have done. And I’m proud to say that to the best of my knowledge, I never did slip up in that regard.

Coach demanded the same behavior from his players. He wanted his players to concentrate on self-improvement and not waste time being critical of each other. One of Coach’s three rules for basketball practice was never to criticize a teammate. If a player wasted time doing this he was subject to being kicked out of practice.

Through the John Wooden Course, we are constantly trying to get businesses to embrace the idea that: We don’t complain to teammates about other teammates, things they can’t fix, or situations they can’t change.

Hear no ill of a friend, nor speak any of an enemy. This is simple advice that can yield a powerful positive result.

VOLUME CLXXXIX

HONORS ARE VERY FLEETING, JUST AS FAME IS - CHERISH FRIENDSHIP MORE

The contributions of John Wooden were recognized on May 2, 1983, when UCLA unveiled the $9.6 million John Wooden Recreation and Sports Center. The most honored player and coach in hoops history downplayed the event in characteristic style, saying, "Honors are fleeting, just as fame is. I cherish friendship more."

On June 26th, 1999 at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, I attended the 33rd annual Victor Awards, the longest-running sports awards show in the history of television, with Coach Wooden and his granddaughter (my wife) Christy. Coach was presented with a beautiful gold Oscar-like statue for being one of the living legends of sports of the twentieth century.

Upon sitting back down next to Christy, Coach handed her the beautiful statue and said Honey, I would like you to have this. It stands in our home to this day as a reminder of what is really important: friendship.

On August 8th, 2003 in a small auditorium at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, California, Coach Wooden’s friend Jim Harris, the Basketball Coach of the Ocean View Seahawks, presented Coach Wooden with a small but lovely statue of a Seahawk. The plaque on the statue read The Golden Seahawk Award. Coach Harris gave it to Coach in appreciation for the many years Coach Wooden had voluntarily come to speak at his basketball camp, three times each summer.

On the UCLA Campus in the Hall of Fame, there is a room called Coach Wooden’s Den. After Coach passed away, the UCLA Athletic Department took Coach Wooden’s Den from his condo and reassembled it onsite in the Hall of Fame.

The statue of the Seahawk is still where it was when Coach was alive, on a small table next to Coach Wooden’s favorite chair. It stands there to this day as a reminder of what is really important: friendship.

This short verse written by Coach Wooden sums up his feelings on friendship beautifully:

At times when I am feeling low,
I hear from a friend and then
My worries start to go away
And I am on the mend.

In spite of all that doctors know,
And their studies never end,
The best cure of all when spirits fall
Is a kind note from a friend

VOLUME CXC

IF YOU KEEP TOO BUSY LEARNING THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE, YOU MAY NEVER LEARN THE TRADE

In his book Wooden A Lifetime of Observations On and Off the Court, with Steve Jamison, Coach expanded on this important idea.

There are no shortcuts. If you're working on finding a shortcut, the easy way, you're not working hard enough on the fundamentals. You get away with it for a spell, but there is no substitute for the basics. And the first basic is good old-fashioned hard work.

There is an expression, I want to work smart, not hard. Coach Wooden would say I want to work smart and hard.

When Coach refers to not keeping too busy learning the tricks of the trade he is not in any way suggesting that we shouldn't constantly be trying to improve our production processes.

His success was based on two simple ideas, failure to prepare is preparing to fail, and don't mistake activity for achievement.

Coach Wooden's basketball practices were limited to two hours a day, a shorter time than many of his peers. His shorter practice time was not intended to be a trick or a shortcut to success. The amount of time was based on maximum efficiency and a consistent peak effort from all involved. There were no tricks, this was just smart and hard work.

Coach Wooden and his staff spent two hours every day planning in meticulous detail those two practices. In his 28th season at UCLA, he was still spending the same two hours every day planning a two-hour practice that was structurally very similar to the practices he had run in the past.

Coach was refining his trade with an eye on consistent improvement; no tricks, no shortcuts.

Coach felt if you took shortcuts you would not develop the skills you required to reach your potential in your chosen field.

If a sales process has five fundamental steps and you skip three of them because you feel you don't need them to get the sale that one time, you are not developing your ability to effectively deliver all five steps when you need them.

As Coach said: You get away with it for a spell, but there is no substitute for the basics.

VOLUME CXCI

IF YOU LOSE SELF-CONTROL, EVERYTHING WILL FAIL

Coach Wooden expanded on this key idea of his

Discipline yourself and others won’t need to. If you lose self-control everything will fail. You cannot function physically or mentally or in any other way unless your emotions are under control.

Self-control has two parts:

1. Self-discipline: practicing good habits without anybody needing to tell you to do things a certain way.

2. Maintaining emotional balance (not being under other’s control, but rather under your self-control): The actions of others or adverse situations do not make you lose control of your emotions.

Here are a few examples of self-discipline. Give yourself a score of 1 to 10 (10 being the best) to gauge your self-discipline.

I am very good at planning things carefully.

I usually don't take shortcuts. I am thorough and I do it right the first time.

I usually do one kind deed a day for somebody who cannot do anything for me.

I am reliable. My actions almost always reflect my promises.

I don't interrupt people while they are speaking.

I don't think about what I'm going to say next when the other person is talking.

I give people my complete attention when they speak to me. I do not continue looking at a computer screen, phone, or something else.

I usually take at least 15 to 20 minutes a day to rest my mind/reflect/meditate.

I regularly take time for physical activity or exercise.

Here are a few examples of emotional balance. Give yourself a score of 1 to 10 (10 being the best) to gauge your self-control.

I don't whine or complain.

I usually keep my emotional balance. I don't lose my self-control when I get angry. I keep good control of my tone of voice.

I don't worry about things I can't control

When others lose their self-control and are not nice to me I don't get upset. I am under self-control, not others’ control.

I don't hang on to bad feelings or disappointments for a long time.

When something bad happens, I move on quickly with a positive attitude.

When faced with a bad situation, I usually look for the advantage in the disadvantage; take it on with a positive attitude, and get in the solutions department.

Self-control is not easy, but it is very valuable.

VOLUME CXCII

KEEP COURTESY AND CONSIDERATION OF OTHERS FOREMOST IN YOUR MIND, AT HOME AND AWAY

This favorite quote of Coach Wooden’s was a reminder for his players to treat the fans they encountered on the road with the same courtesy and consideration they gave to their fans at home.

One of the definitions of consideration is thoughtfulness for other people.

The idea of consideration for others was the central theme of Coach Wooden’s life. Two of Coach’s life heroes were Abraham Lincoln and Mother Teresa. When asked why, Coach replied simply: Because of their consideration for others.

Coach was once asked: “When you look back on your life, how would you really like to be remembered?” He replied:

I would like to be remembered as a normal person who was considerate of others. That would be enough for me.

Coach did not view being considerate of others as a chore or a sacrifice. In his book with Steve Jamison, Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court, Coach expanded on this idea:

Being polite and courteous isn't paying a price any more than smiling or being happy is paying a price. You get more than you give when you are polite and courteous.

People like to help, to be polite, to be considerate. I believe it's basic human nature.

And it's a funny thing: when you start displaying courtesy, politeness, and consideration, people start displaying them right back.

We can apply this simple idea as a reminder to treat our families with the same cheerful attitude we often treat our coworkers with, even after a long day at work. Some folks create a structured transition between leaving work and arriving home to ensure that when they open the front door at home, they do it with a happy face.

Nell Wooden said that when her husband John came home from work she could never tell from his demeanor whether practice that day had been good or bad.

VOLUME CXCIII

MORE OFTEN THAN WE E'ER SUSPECT, THE LIVES OF OTHERS WE AFFECT

Every day with our actions and words we are knowingly or unknowingly influencing others.

Coach Wooden expanded on this idea:

Like it or not, we have the influence of many different kinds in many different places and should conduct ourselves in an appropriate manner. This verse is correct:

More often than we e'er suspect,
the lives of others we do affect.

People who don't want the responsibility that comes with being part of a community don't have that choice. They are role models whether they like it or not; they cannot simply announce that they intend to shirk their responsibility. They are role models, either good or bad.

In his book, Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach talked about the chance we all have to make a difference:

Perhaps you fret and think you can’t make a difference in the way things are. Wrong. You can make the biggest difference of all.

You can change yourself. And when you do that you become a very powerful and important force - namely, a good role model.

I believe you can do more good by being good than in any other way.

In a speech at Western Michigan, Coach recited one of his favorite poems, A Little Fellow Follows Me. The poem ends with:

I must remember as I go,
Thru summers' sun and winters' snow.
I am building for the years to be,
This little chap who follows me.

Coach then added his own insight:

And that’s just like all of you. You’re building somebody. There’s somebody watching you.

Be careful.

VOLUME CXCIV

NEVER TRY FOR A LAUGH AT ANOTHER'S EXPENSE - TRY TO LAUGH WITH OTHERS AND NEVER AT THEM

Laughter and humor are critical parts of being happy. We all should make the effort to achieve them the right way.

Self-deprecating humor relays a message of humility and encourages trust. It is a valuable asset for any leader. Wilfred Peterson wrote in his essay The Art of Leadership:

The Leader has a sense of humor. The Leader is not a stuffed shirt. The Leader has a humble spirit and can laugh at his or herself.

Whether it is a basketball team, the workplace, or a gathering of friends or family, putting down humor has a negative effect on the group. Motivational speaker Bob Burg expanded on the subject:

Are you about to make a joke at someone else’s expense? Here’s my suggestion: First, think about it for a moment….... NOW DON’T DO IT!

There is no upside (other than perhaps a fleeting moment of false superiority).

There is a huge downside, including - but not limited to - hurting another human being’s feelings; making yourself look bad; destroying trust with the target of the joke; losing trust (thus influence) with those who are witness to, or hear about, the insult; and being disliked without a principle-based reason for it.

If you MUST make a joke at someone’s expense, make sure it’s at your expense. And, remember, if you say something to someone that you meant to be harmlessly funny and then find yourself having to say, “I was only kidding” then it probably wasn’t funny in the first place.

The final three points from Coach Wooden’s essay Six Ways to Bring Out the Best in People were:

Seek individual opportunities to offer a genuine compliment.

Remember that sincerity, optimism, and enthusiasm are more welcome than sarcasm, pessimism, and laziness.

Laugh with others; never at them.

This is great advice and easy to follow.

VOLUME CXCV

NO HUMAN LIFE IS EVER REALLY FINISHED AS LONG AS THERE IS SOMEONE TO REMEMBER IT

In his book A Game Plan for Life, with Don Yeager, Coach Wooden describes the seven people who had the biggest influence on him. Included in this list are two famous historical figures, Mother Teresa and Abraham Lincoln. At the top of his list, however, was his father, Joshua, a masseuse at a hot springs spa in Martinsville, Indiana.

When I teach the John R. Wooden Course, I usually start with a discussion in which each individual describes a person in their life who has had the biggest influence on them, and what they learned from that person.

Often, the person they talk about is deceased. The deceased person they describe might be a grandmother, a grandfather, a parent, or a friend. Although that person is no longer present physically, their spirit and influence live on.

The next question we discuss is a bit more difficult. I ask the participants to describe a person they are having an influence on or mentoring, and what is that person learning from them.

These are two great questions to ask yourself.

Coach Wooden positively affected the lives of millions of people. Over the course of his lifetime, Coach sent out more than 75,000 Pyramids of Success, responding to requests he received personally.

His influence started with just one person: his father.

I believe all of us have the opportunity to have a significant, positive influence on at least one person in our lifetime.

It’s an opportunity we don’t want to miss out on.

VOLUME CXCVI

THE PERSON WHO USUALLY DOES WHAT HE PLEASES IS SELDOM PLEASED WITH WHAT HE DOES

Coach grew up on a farm in Indiana and he rose early every morning before going to school, to help milk the cows and do other chores required around the farm. When he arrived home from school, there were always more chores to do as well as completing his homework. His father always required that the work got done first.

Coach described it this way: You had to work hard. Dad felt there was time for play, but always after the chores and studies were done.

Coach described how he applied this lesson he learned from his father as follows:

There is no substitute for work. If you're looking for the easy way, the shortcut, the trick, you may get something done for a while but it will not be lasting and you will not be developing your ability.

Coach was usually pleased with what he did because he seldom just did what he pleased.

As Coach Wooden’s grandson-in-law, I received numerous requests to get items signed by Coach Wooden. I would arrive at his condo for a visit, a little embarrassed, with bags of basketballs, books, posters and a stack of Pyramids to be signed.

I would suggest we go relax in his den and visit and we could take care of the signature requests later. This suggestion was never accepted. Coach would take me directly to the dining room table and say let’s get these signatures taken care of first.

This idea has been applied as a basic fundamental of almost all

time-management strategies: When you have a list of tasks to do, choose the one that’s hardest and do that first.

Mark Twain wisely said, “If you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day.”

The key idea is that if you start the day out by doing the things you like least first, you’ll get them out of the way so you can enjoy your day more and be more productive and fulfilled.

VOLUME CXCVII

THERE IS A WONDERFUL, ALMOST MYSTICAL, LAW OF NATURE THAT SAYS THREE OF THE THINGS WE WANT MOST - HAPPINESS, FREEDOM AND PEACE OF MIND - ARE ALWAYS ATTAINED WHEN WE GIVE THEM TO OTHERS

Here are some key ideas regarding the three things we want most:

Happiness: Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves. - James M. Barrie

Freedom: For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. – Nelson Mandela

Peace of Mind: When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. - H. H. the Dalai Lama

In his book The Essential Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach expanded on the idea:

It has been my experience that doing good for others brings great inner peace, even joy, especially when done without the thought of getting something back in return. Expecting so much as a thank you diminishes the joy of giving and helping others. At least it does for me.

“A day lived without doing something good for others is a day not worth living.” Mother Teresa wrote those words - and I believe those words to be true.

In the book, A Game Plan for Life, former LSU Coach and John Wooden mentee Dale Brown shared the most important lesson he learned from Coach Wooden:

The greatest lesson I learned from Coach was to love what you were doing every day and to love people. Many times when the waiter was pouring water for us in a restaurant, Coach would say "thank you" while everyone else at the table just kept talking. Everyone felt his love for people - from those he didn't really know to his buddies.

Coach often told me that fame, fortune, and power are not success and that three of the things we want most - happiness, freedom, and peace of mind - are always attained when we give them to others.

VOLUME CXCVIII

THE BEST THING A FATHER CAN DO FOR HIS CHILDREN IS TO LOVE THEIR MOTHER

Coach Wooden felt that the qualities it took to be a great leader were the same qualities it took to be a great parent. Great parents don’t criticize each other in front of their children, great coaches don’t criticize each other in front of their players and great managers don’t criticize each other in front of their employees.

In the book Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, former UCLA Head Coach Gary Cunningham, who was John Wooden’s Assistant Coach from 1966 through 1975, described how Coach Wooden treated his Assistant Coaches in front of the players:

He had us address the team before games and made sure the assistant coaches talked to the players in the huddle during time-outs. He was very inclusive and gave us both authority and respect. When we fouled up, he never criticized us in front of the team, nor would he allow the players to challenge us.

This was the leadership style Coach learned from his Father. In his book with Don Yeager, A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, he described it this way:

My Father’s love was nowhere more apparent than in how he treated my mother. From watching the respect that they had for one another, I learned the true meaning of my father’s favorite quote from Abraham Lincoln: “The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” If children grow up in an atmosphere of respect and appreciation between their parents, they will conduct the relationships in their lives on similar terms. After all, our parents are almost universally the first adults with whom we have any long-term contact. Their behavior first indicates to us how people should act toward one another.

Having learned from his Father's example, Coach created a culture where players practiced and played in an atmosphere of respect and appreciation between members of the coaching staff. They in turn respected each other.

Yours in Coaching,

VOLUME CXCIX

YOU ARE HONORED FOR GIVING, NOT FOR RECEIVING

In Coach Wooden’s book with Steve Jamison, Coach Wooden's Leadership Game Plan for Success, Ray Regan recounted how his high school basketball coach handled a player who was not interested in giving:

We had a showboat on our team, a player who was always yelling for the ball, and then once he got it would keep it until he took a shot. Then he’d start yelling for the ball again.

One day, during a five-on-five scrimmage, Coach Wooden decided to teach the showboat a lesson about teamwork. Coach took the four of us aside and said to pass the basketball to our teammate the ball hog. Then we were told to run immediately to the middle of the court, all four of us, sit down and let the showboat play the other team all by himself.

It was Coach’s way of showing this guy that everybody helps everybody or nothing gets done.

On Coach Wooden’s basketball teams, the student managers who handled the equipment were recognized and respected for their contributions. Coach put it this way:

I never wanted the players to feel that the managers were servants. Managers are there helping; they are part of it like the players and coaches.

In his book My Personal Best, with Steve Jamison, Coach talked about his approach with the players:

There was no "first" team or "second" team. A team begins to deteriorate when the leader allows some of its members to be viewed as second and third-class citizens by others. There were starters and nonstarters, yes, but there were no class divisions associated with this.

Whether it’s a basketball team or a business, a good leader should recognize (honor) the contributions (giving) of everybody, not just the top producers.

As Benjamin Franklin said: A person wrapped up in themselves makes a very small bundle.

VOLUME CC

CONTENT MAKES POOR MEN RICH, DISCONTENT MAKES RICH MEN POOR

The Dalai Lama shared some great wisdom on this idea: Your level of unhappiness is the difference between what you think you need and what you have.

National Geographic Society Researcher Dan Buettner wrote about four locations where people have the longest life expectancy. They are scattered around the globe. All the locations had a regimen of good diet and exercise, where seniors are active and valued as members of their family and the community. Here are some of his comments regarding other things they had in common:

In Okinawa, Japan, you’ll find not only the highest life expectancy in the world but also the highest health expectancy. Okinawans have a sense of purpose, a positive outlook on life, and close social support groups called moai.

Sardinia, Italy has the world's highest documented percentage of people who have passed the century threshold. Sardinians walk a lot, but they also take time for leisure and maintain a positive attitude and sense of humor about life.

In Loma Linda, California, men live 7.3 years longer than other California men and women live 4.4 years longer than other California women. They nurture emotional and spiritual health, value their family relationships, and prize volunteering.

In Nicoya, Costa Rica a man at age 60 has about twice the chance of reaching age 90 that a man living in the U.S. does. The Nicoya have a plan de vida or sense of purpose in life which encourages a lifestyle that is physically active, with plenty of time outdoors as well as time spent on family and spirituality.

Coach felt that the secret to a long life was peace of mind (contentment). He once commented:

Material possessions can't bring contentment, peace of mind, happiness, or true success. Don't compare yourself to somebody else, especially materially.

 WOODEN WISDOM 101-200