🏆 The Wisdom of Wooden

The one coach that I always come back to for wisdom and insight is John Wooden, the legend and HOF coach from UCLA.

Author

Greg Berge
August 31, 2023

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Here's what's coming:

  • Wooden Wisdom 🏆

  • FDR GOLD 🥇

  • Peyton Manning on Observation 🏈

  • Read Time ~ 4 minutes.

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💭 ONE THOUGHT

🏆 The Wisdom of Wooden

The coach I always come back to for wisdom and insight is John Wooden, the legend and HOF coach from UCLA.

He is and always has been my coaching idol. Many would argue that he is the greatest coach of all time.

His book, Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, is my second bible. It has so much wisdom that can be applied to coaching, leadership, and life in general.

I give a copy of this book to my graduating senior players each year.

In his book, he discussed one of the life rules that he was given to him by his father.

John Wooden’s “Two Sets of Threes” are simple rules of life.

Wooden On HONESTY:

  1. Never Lie

  2. Never Cheat

  3. Never Steal

Wooden On ADVERSITY:

  1. Don’t Whine

  2. Don’t Complain

  3. Don’t Make Excuses

Pretty simple, right?

  • Imagine a Home where everyone followed these rules.

  • Imagine a School where everyone followed these rules.

  • Imagine a TEAM where everyone followed these rules.

  • Imagine a Community where everyone followed these rules.

  • Imagine a World where everyone followed these rules.

All we can control in this world is ourselves: our choices, our attitudes, and our efforts.

This is the process of self-leadership, which is the foundation of ALL leadership. If we cannot lead ourselves, we cannot begin to lead others.

And...we ALL have to be leaders whether we like it or not.

When we become parents and have kids, we must be leaders and have a skillset to lead our kids and families. Builidng these leadership skills in our kids and our teams is one of my great passions. This is why I created my leadership course and Team Leader Training Manual for coaches and teams, the Team Leader OS: The Ultimate Leadership Resource for Coaches.

John Wooden's wisdom is simple yet effective for everyone. Here is another great quote from John Wooden:

"Let me give so much time to the improvement of myself that I shall have no time to criticize others."

- John Wooden

Our world could really use this "Wooden Wisdom" right now! It is so easy to criticize others. Social Media allows people to be critical with no accountability.

I am a big believer that if you cannot say something to someone's face, then it should not be said.

I am also a believer that if you cannot say something nice, then do not say anything at all.

Social media and email allow people to be cowards and criticize people behind their screens without accountability.

As coaches, teachers, and school leaders, we all see this WAY TOO OFTEN.

If people could spend time worrying about "improving themselves " instead of "criticizing others," we would have a more civil world.

Finally, one more piece of Wooden Wisdom is found in a post I wrote a few months ago, The 7 Rules of Life by John Wooden:

Seven simple rules that would make us all happier and more successful.

The final piece of Wooden Wisdom comes in his definition of 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."

- John Wooden

Rather than try to summarize this wonderful quote, check out this great Ted Talk of John Wooden discussing his definition of success and much more.

Follow and share the great wisdom of Coach Wooden! I am confident our world would be much better if we all did.

In summary…

  1. Make today your masterpiece.

  2. Be true to yourself

  3. Magnify your blessings

  4. Improve yourself

  5. Make friendship a fine art

  6. Be grateful

  7. Follow Wooden’s two sets of threes

  8. Use Coach Wooden’s definition of success

Good Luck!

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📜 TWO QUOTES

"Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

- John Wooden

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt
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