Life Lessons from Coach John Wooden

Since the rest of the sports world is still honoring John Wooden, I guess I will too. Today, how about a bulleted list of some of his most famous quotes that I appreciate, and hopefully you'll find this somewhat relevant and applicable in your everyday life as well. You don't need to be a basketball player to appreciate John Wooden.

• Never mistake activity for achievement.
• It isn't what you do, but how you do it.
• If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
• Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
• Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.
• Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.
• Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
• The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.

I hope that some of these quotes make sense to you because I know that they have been important to me. Again, you don't need to be a basketball player to appreciate this advice, it is relevant on so many levels. For more John wooden quotes go to: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_wooden.html.
Photo by Ed Yourdon on Flickr

Coaching Legend John Wooden Passes On At 99

As I am sure most of you have heard, my coaching inspiration passed away. John Wooden died at the age of 99; a nice number that just barely eclipsed his UCLA teams' record streak of 88 consecutive victories. He had the most successful run of any NCAA coach winning ten out of twelve NCAA championships as well as seven in a row between 1963 and 1975. Not only that, but he was elected to the Basketball Hall Of Fame as both a player and a coach.

However, I personally think that his talents extended beyond the basketball court. Having read many of his books, I think that it is safe to say that he was able to communicate his philosophy with basketball as well as life as well as any other coach I have ever read. Some people write great basketball strategy books, and some people write great moral books, but it is rare that one author is able to do them all. I think that he was from a different era, but he was still able to communicate lessons as well as strategies that remain relevant in today's basketball game.

UCLA was a truly unique program when John Wooden was coach, and I think that this legacy will continue to live on despite the fact that its originator has passed on.
Photo from: http://ffbsccn.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/john_wooden_pyramid.jpg