Industriousness- John R. Wooden Pyramid of Success

 John R. Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—seven in a row—as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. He holds records to this day that are far from being touched. He is known for his short, but powerful inspirational messages to his players, and his pyramid to success. 

Over the next 14 days we will be featuring each block of the pyramid starting with the foundation: Industriousness. 

"Industriousness? In plain language, I mean that you have to work- and work hard.
There is no substitute for work. None. Worthwhile things come only from real work.

Tiger Woods? Payton Manning? As important as their physical abilities is the way they work so hard to correct and improve their skills. They are legendary for their hard work, their Industriousness. And so is anyone else you might care to mention who has achieved personal success and competitive greatness- Michael Jordan, Jack Nicklaus the list goes on.

Business person, clergy, doctor, lawyer, plumber, artist, writer, coach, or athlete, all share a fundamental trait if they achieve competitive greatness. They work very hard. It is essential and only you really know if you're doing it - giving it everything you've got. 

Grantland Rice understood this when he wrote "How To Be A Champion"

You wonder how they do it,
You look to see the knack,
You watch the foot in action,
Or the shoulder or the back.
But when you spot the answer
Where the higher glamorous lurk,
You'll find in moving higher
Up the laurel -covered spire,
That most of it is practice,
And the rest of it is work.

So I chose work- Industriousness - as the first cornerstone in the foundation of the Pyramid of Success. I called it Industriousness to make very clear it involves more than merely showing up and going through the motions. Many people who tell you they worked all day weren't really working very hard at all, certainly not to the fullest extent of their abilities.

You can work without being Industrious, but you can not be industrious without work."


-John R. Wooden

Earn Purple and John R. Wooden have the same foundation to the Pyramid of Success. Hard Work will take you anywhere your heart desires.

See you tomorrow, for the second foundation block to John R. Wooden's Pyramid Of Success.

Jordan, would like to say a special thank you to Kolby Burch, for first introducing him to John R. Wooden and the Pyramid Of Success!