7 Favorite John Wooden Quotes

John Wooden was born in Indiana in 1910. As a kid, he loved basketball. He was a star player in high school, an All-American at Purdue University, and he won the College Basketball Player of the Year Award in 1932. He led his teams to championships at both levels.

Wooden became the head coach at UCLA in 1948—and there he became a coaching legend. His Bruins won 10 NCAA national championships between 1964 and 1975. He won several coaching awards. But, his focus was on helping his players become men of character, not just great athletes. He authored numerous books, and his “Pyramid of Success” is famous.

Here are seven of my favorite quotes from this legendary coach and extraordinary teacher of success.

“Just try to be the best you can be; never cease trying to be the best you can be. That's in your power.”

I believe Coach Wooden meant that you should make your best effort to produce your best result. The focus is dual: strive for excellence in what you do and also in who you can be. The goal of becoming a better person is a noble purpose.

Continue to learn, develop, and grow. Have a goal to learn something new every day. Regularly work to build your skills and enhance your abilities so that you can improve the quality of your work.

More importantly, make a conscious effort to grow as a person continuously. Jim Rohn said, “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”

So, strive to be the best you can be. And, remember that whatever you do—including your personal development—the effort you give in doing it is entirely up to you.

> You can listen to the author narrate this article here.

“Today is the only day. Yesterday is gone.”

Every 24 hours at midnight, the calendar flips to a new day. That’s true for everyone in every time zone.

The previous day is history and unchangeable. You can’t go back to do or finish something; and, you can’t undo anything you did yesterday.

None of us can return to the past or relive it. However, we can learn from our past. Every experience adds to our knowledge, and we should use what we learned yesterday to do better and avoid mistakes today.

So, all of your yesterdays are complete. You can’t change yesterday, but today is the day to begin anew, accept new challenges, learn new lessons, and produce new things. Make today a great day.

“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who'll argue with you.”

One of the worst mistakes a leader can make is to surround themselves with people who will always agree with them. This is what autocratic leaders do. They want people they can control and those who will serve only as a means to carry out their directives. Questions, suggestions, and debate are not allowed. 

A narcissist, of course, is most gratified when encircled by such people. They need constant praise and admiration, so they will not tolerate those who question or challenge them, even when it’s in their best interest.

Wise leaders understand that debate usually reveals the best alternatives, which can lead to the best decisions. Leaders must empower their team members to contribute varying and opposing views to avoid groupthink.

One thing that will make you a better leader is to accept input from your team even when it differs from your idea. The best solutions are usually the result of collective efforts. Don’t be so egotistical that you forfeit the value your team can provide.

Coach Wooden also said, “You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.”

“Never lie, never cheat, never steal.”

If you conform to these directions, then you can pursue any vocation you want—except for politics.

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.”

Some team members are narcissists, too. Because they seek only praise and admiration, they cannot accept any criticism, including evaluations and directions that will improve their performance. Such people view any feedback that is less than 100% positive as a personal attack. And, they usually resent it.

Leaders must learn to coach in ways that alleviate such resentment. Try to understand your team member’s temperament and communicate in a manner that they will not regard as a personal condemnation.

Some leaders say that they treat everyone the same regardless, so their team members can like it or not. That approach will undoubtedly cause resentment in some. Treating everyone the same concerning fairness and the avoidance of partiality is good; being inflexible in your approach to communication is not.

Make every effort to help your team members understand that your coaching is about helping them, that’s in their best interest. Explain that you want them to succeed and that your feedback is offered to help them achieve success.

“We can have no progress without change, whether it be basketball or anything else.”

Change is inevitable. Just look in the mirror. See?

Change is particularly unsettling for those whose motto is, “This is the way we've always done it!” Some people find change to be so disconcerting that they resist adoption of changes that are in their best interest. But, as Coach Wooden said, change is integral to progress.

Consider this example. I began listening to recorded music by putting a polyvinyl disc on a phonograph aka record player. Next, I inserted a cassette tape in my stereo, or I’d put it in my Walkman to go “mobile.” And, yes, I had 8-track tapes, too. Later, I could slip a compact disc into my CD player. Now, I merely tell Alexa to play Pandora. That’s progress through many changes in technology.

“Openness to experience” is one of the Big Five personality traits. People with this trait are more accepting of change because they are intellectually curious and prefer variety. For other people, accepting change is difficult.

Life is full of changes, whether you embrace them or not. To grow and progress personally and professionally, you will have to accept and adopt changes. You do want progress, right? Or, do you still play those 8-tracks?

“Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day.”

This quote is a master-class in how to realize a satisfying and prosperous life in one simple paragraph. I don’t need to elaborate.

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Resources

• Listen to author narrate this article here.
• Get a PDF of this article here. Use the content for discussion with your colleagues in a team meeting or in class with your students.
• Learn more about John Wooden here.
• These quotes and more are found at www.brainyquote.com.
• You may also enjoy 7 Favorite Quotes from Stephen Covey and Napoleon Hill.

Gary J. Lanham is an analyst in the Learning Group at OneMain Financial and an experienced manager, trainer, and presenter. He received his MBA from Winthrop University where he volunteers as a mentor in the Mentoring Business Minds program in the College of Business Administration. Gary helps people develop effective personal work styles by focusing on organization, prioritization, workflow, and time management. Follow Gary on LinkedIn or Twitter @GaryJLanham. Contact him at lanhamgj@live.com.

Learn more about Winthrop University at www.winthrop.edu. Follow on Twitter @winthropu.

Keywords: #career #goals #personaldevelopment #success #quotes

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