John Wooden, “My Personal Best. Life
Lessons from an All-American Journey.”
A good teacher or coach must not only understand others, but himself or herself as well.
There is a choice that you have to make, in everything you do. So keep in the mind that
in the end, the choice you make, makes you.
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
It starts with hard work and enthusiasm. There is no trick, no easy way to achieve
competitive greatness and success in basketball or life.
Don’t try to be better than somebody else, but never cease trying to be the best you can
be.
Try your hardest. Make the effort. Do your best.
Two Sets of Three
Never Lie. Never Cheat. Never Steal.
Don’t Whine. Don’t Complain. Don’t Make Excuses.
There’s a reason student comes first in the word student-athlete. Education comes before
sports.
No player is bigger or better than the team.
Have the courage to quit. Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing
alone.
Four things a man must learn to do
If he would make his life more true:
To think without confusion clearly,
To love his fellow man sincerely,
To act from honest motives purely,
To trust in God and Heaven securely.
Dad’s Seven Point Creed
1. Be true to yourself.
2. Help others.
3. Make each day your masterpiece.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance, and count and give thanks for your blessings every day.
I’m not what I ought to be,
Not what I want to be,
Not what I’m going to be,
But I am thankful that I’m better than I used to be.
For when the one Great Scorer
Comes to write against your name,
He writes not that you won or lost,
But how you played the game.
You lose, you feel bad – sometimes very, very bad. But a much worse feeling is knowing
you haven’t done everything you possibly could have done to prepare and compete.
No written word or spoke plea can teach our youth what they should be. Nor all the
books on all the shelves. It’s what the teachers are themselves.
Before you can become a good leader you must be a good follower.
Young people need good models, not critics.
There is nothing stronger than gentleness. – Abraham Lincoln
Patience is a most valuable asset for a leader.
Be more interested in finding the best way, not just in having it your way.
Stubbornness we deprecate,
Firmness we condone.
The former is my neighbor’s trait,
The latter is my own.
“The Little Chap Who Follows Me”
A careful man I want to be.
A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he’ll go the self-same way.
I cannot once escape his eyes.
Whatever he sees me do, he tries.
Like me he say he’s going to be,
The little chap who follows me.
The team that makes the most mistakes will probably win. – Piggy Lambert – Purdue
Be quick, but don’t hurry.
You’re just as good as anybody, but no better than anyone.
Success is not something that others can give you.
Don’t worry about being better than someone else, but never cease trying to be the best
you can be.
At God’s footstool to confess,
A poor soul knelt and bowed his head.
“I failed,” he cried. The Master said,
“Thou didst thy best, that is success.”
Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did
you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
The journey is greater than the inn.
Before casually discounting the potential of any individual or team, give them a chance to
succeed – give them your sincere belief and full support.
It’s what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.
The star of the team is the team.
Anger prevents proper thinking and makes you vulnerable.
The purpose of criticism and discipline is not to punish, embarrass, or ridicule, but to
correct and improve.
Little things done well is probably the greatest secret to success.
If you do enough small things right, big things can happen.
Teaching is explanation, demonstration, imitation, correction and then repetition,
repetition, repetition, and more repetition.
I wanted players to have fun without being funny.
Discipline yourself and others won’t have to.
Respect every opponent, but fear none.
The best way to improve your team is to improve yourself.
Do not mistake activity for achievement.
It is amazing how much we can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit.
Time spent getting even would be better spent getting ahead.
The strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack.
It takes ten hands to make a basket.
Three principles
1. Conditioning
2. Fundamentals
3. Team Spirit
One for all and all for one.
Character is at the center of what I consider necessary for an individual to be a team
player.
Whatever talent an individual possesses, character helps that person use his or her ability
to serve the team.
Scoring is the by-product of something much more important: Effort!
With every starter coming back,
Yes, Walt and Gail and Keith and Jack
And Fred and Freddie and some more
We could be champs in sixty-four.
Better than a trophy, blue ribbon, or gold medal – A kiss from his wife
A good parent, teacher, coach, or leader – and really they’re all the same – must
understand human nature.
I don’t care how tall you are; I care how tall you play.
A player is a success only when he does his best in service to the team.
Self-control and poise are fundamental to achieving success.
While no coach can win without talented athletes, not all coaches can win – even with
talent.
Practice is where champions are created.
You must earn the right to be proud and confident.
It is never simply a case of win or lose, because I do not demand victory. The
significance of the score is secondary to the importance of finding out how good you can
be.
Motivation must come from the belief that ultimate success lies in giving your personal
best.
Goals achieved with little effort are seldom worthwhile or long lasting.
The mark of a champion, I believe, is consistency of performance at your highest level
under pressure.
Talent is God-given – be humble
Fame is man-given – be thankful
Conceit is self-given – be careful
Each day of the journey is precious. We must strive to make it a masterpiece.