COMPETITIVE GREATNESS -JOHN R. WOODEN'S PYRAMID OF SUCCESS #15

COMPETITIVE GREATNESS 

Today is the final block in John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success!

"For more than half a century I have defined Competitive Greatness as follows: "A real love for the hard battle, knowing it offers the opportunity to be at your best when your best is required."

The great competitors that I have played for, coached, and admired all shared a joy derived from the struggle itself- the journey, the contest. They have done so because only in that supreme effort is there an opportunity to summon your best, a personal greatness that cannot be diminished, dismissed, or derided because of a final score or bottom line. 

In my view, there is nothing tiresome or trite in the old adage, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." I have tried hard to meet that criterion and teach it to others throughout my life. At the exact moment when the going gets tough, the thrill of competition gets going for a leader who has acquired Competitive Greatness. 

I believe this is one of the crucial concepts that you can convey to those under your supervision when you're in a position of leadership; namely, a true love for the hard battle and the test it provides against a worthy opponent.

The hard struggle is to be welcomed, never feared. In fact, when you define success this way, the only thing to fear is your own unwillingness to make the full 100 percent effort to prepare and perform at the highest level of your ability.

If you are a leader, you must teach your team to love the struggle because only in hard competition will you, and they, find Competitive Greatness. 

I took nearly fifteen years to chose and define the blocks of my Pyramid of Success because I recognized that ultimately they would be used to help me and those under my supervision achieve Competitive Greatness.

Of course, my sincere hope is that you derive the same benefit I did from the values found in the Pyramid of Success. In a real way, it has been my own personal roadmap to pursuing and, at times, achieving Competitive Greatness."

-John R. Wooden

This ends the John R. Wooden Pyramid of Success! We hope it has helped you as much as it has helped us. Come back and review it as often as you would like, or even print it out.

Leave comments below with what you would like to see next :)

With Love,
Whitney

CONFIDENCE - JOHN R WOODEN'S PYRAMID OF SUCCESS #14

CONFIDENCE

Block #14 of John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success

"There is perhaps no stronger steel than well-founded self belief: the knowledge that your preparation is complete, that you have done all things possible to ready yourself and your organization for the competition, whatever form it comes in. This is Confidence. 

Confidence cannot be grafted on artificially. Real abiding Confidence, like Poise, is earned only by tenaciously pursuing and attaining those assets that allow you to reach your own level of competency- the potential you have within. For me those personal assets are contained in, and provided by, the blocks of the Pyramid of Success that I have described previously. 

Confidence must be monitored so that it does not spoil or rot and turn into arrogance. Arrogance, or elitism, is the feeling of superiority that fosters the assumption that past success will be repeated without the same hard effort that brought it about in the first place. Thus, I have never gone into a game assuming victory. All opponents have been respected, none feared. I taught those under my supervision to do the same. This reflects Confidence, not arrogance. Arrogance will bring you down by your own hands. We see it happen all around us in all areas of life all the time.

Success requires Poise and Confidence. Both are attained through proper preparation. Acquiring the personal characteristics and values of the Pyramid. I believe, constitutes proper preparation. 

When you have made the effort to prepare to the fullest extent of your ability-and do not underestimate the great challenge of proper and complete preparation-you will reap the crowning block of the Pyramid of Success; namely, Competitive Greatness."

John R. Wooden

Tomorrow is the final block of the Pyramid of Success!

With Love, 

Whitney

POISE -John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success #13

POISE

POISE block #13 of John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success. 

"I define Poise as being true to oneself, not getting rattled, thrown off, or unbalanced regardless of the circumstance or situation. This may sound easy, but in challenging times Poise can be a most elusive quality. Leaders lacking Poise panic under pressure. So does everyone else.

Poise means holding fast to your principles and acting in accordance with them regardless of how bad or good the situation may be. Poise means avoiding pose or pretense, comparing yourself to others, or acting like someone you're not. Poise means having a brave heart in all circumstances.

You'll know you possess Poise when you achieve what Rudyard Kipling described in his poem written a hundred years ago:

"If you can meet Triumph and Disaster

And treat those imposters just the same..."

That's Poise: not being thrown off stride in how you behave or what you believe because of outside events. 

How do you acquire Poise? In fact, you don't. Poise acquires you. It is part of the harvest you reap near the top of my Pyramid of Success. In effect, Poise is a powerful gift you give yourself when you acquire the blocks of the Pyramid-those in the preceding three tiers.

And, where you find Poise you will find its valuable companion which I placed next to it near the top of the Pyramid; namely, Confidence."

-John R. Wooden

TEAM SPIRIT- John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success #12

TEAM SPIRIT

Block # 12 in John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success.

"The final block on the third tier- the center tier of my Pyramid- is Team Spirit. Initially, I defined Team Spirit as  "A willingness to sacrifice personal interest or glory for the welfare of all," but there was something in the definition that bothered me, something not quite right. What wasn't quite right was the word "willingness."

When you stop and think about it- as I did many years ago- there is a profound difference between mere willingness and eagerness. A prisoner on a chain gang may be willing to break rocks to avoid punishment. But how eager is he? I wanted to work with individuals who were eager to do what was best for the group -our team- even at the expense of their own personal statistics or gain. Thus, in my definition I changed "willingness" to "eagerness".  And it's stayed that way for fifty years.

Of course, we all want to do well and receive individual praise. That's fine if the praise comes because your 'individual' effort was something that contributed to the improvement or strength of the group, the team, whatever your team is: sports, business, family, or community. Praise that comes because of your contribution to the group is the kind of praise I prize. And so should you.

Team Spirit means you are willing to sacrifice personal considerations for the welfare of all. That defines a team player. And, for me, I was constantly looking for that player who would make the team great rather than just a "great player." The difference in the two is usually Team Spirit. "

-John R. Wooden 

SKILL- John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success #11

SKILL

Today is block #11 of the John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success. 

Sorry I am a day late, I was feeling under the weather yesterday.

"At the very center of the Pyramid of Success is Skill. You have to know what you're doing and be able to do it quickly and properly. 

I had players at UCLA who were great shooters. Unfortunately they couldn't get off any shots so they didn't help us. I had players who could get off plenty of shots but couldn't shoot a lick. You need both: the ability to do it quickly and properly. Skill means being able to execute all of your job, not just part of it. 

It's true whether you're an athlete or an attorney,  a surgeon or a sales rep, or anything else. You'd better be able to execute properly and quickly. That's Skill. As much as I value experience, and I value it greatly, I'd rather have a lot of skill and less experience than a lot of experience and very little Skill. 

The range of Skills necessary for leadership, of course, differs from job to job and organization to organization. Those skills required to manage a small business differ from those needed to lead a Fortune 500 company, just as skills needed for coaching basketball differ from those necessary for coaching baseball. But regardless of the specific skills required in a profession, you must master all of them. 

Mastery of skills requires learning and it is my opinion that great leaders are lifelong learners. They also take measures to create an organization that fosters and inspires learning throughout. The most effective leaders are those who realize it's what you learn after you know it all that counts most.  

 Skill is located in the exact center of my Pyramid because it is at the heart of performance at a level of competitive greatness."

-John R. Wooden

Thank you for following the blog, we deeply hope it is helping you! Please leave your comments below. 

With Love, 

Whitney    

 

 

CONDITION - John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success #10

CONDITION

Today is block #10 in John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success CONDITION. 

"YOU must be conditioned for whatever you're doing if you're going to do it right - to the best of your ability. There are different types of Condition for different professions. A deep- sea diver has different conditioning requirements from a salesperson. A surgeon has different physical conditioning requirements from a food server. 

You must also have mental and moral Condition. In fact, you can't attain proper physical condition  unless it preceded by mental and moral Condition. How does one attain moral condition? Long lists of rules are the usual prescription, but I've stressed a common sense for decades: Practice moderation and balance in all that you do. This advice, easy to remember, is also very effective. 

Some observers believed my players were simply in better physical Condition than competitors. They may have been, but they also had good mental and emotional strength. 

You must identify your conditioning requirements and then attain them. Without proper conditioning in all areas, you will fall short of your potential. 

Of course, all of this comes down to decisions we make individually about how we live our lives. To help remind those under my supervision that ultimately they - not their coach - were responsible for attaining and maintaining their Condition, I posted this little maxim on our bulletin board:

There is a choice you have to make, in everything."

-John r. Wooden

Thank you for following The Earn Purple Blog! Tomorrow is block #11.

With Love, 

Whitney

INTENTNESS-John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success #9

INTENTNESS

Today is block #9 of John R. Wooden's Pyramid of Success!

Intentness is something we are BIG on at Earn Purple.

"The fourth block in the second tier of the Pyramid of Success is Intentness. It is as important as any single block in the entire Pyramid.

I coud say Intentness means determination; I could say it means persistence; I could say it means tenacity or perseverance. 

I will say it is the ability to resist temptation and stay the course, to concentrate on your objective with determination and resolve. Impatience is wanting to much too soon. Intentness doesn't involve wanting something. It involves doing something often for a very long time. 

The road to real achievement is usually bumpy and long, but you do not give up. You may have setbacks. You may have to start over. You may have to change your method. You may have to go around, or over, or under. You may have to back up and get another start. But you do not quit. You stay the course. To do that, you must have Intentness. 

Here's a little example of what I mean. In 1948, I began coaching basketball at UCLA. Each hour of practice we worked very hard. Each day we worked very hard. Each week we worked very hard. Each season we worked very hard. However, a national championship was won in the fifteenth year. Another in the sixteenth. And eight more in the following years. 

Be Persistent. Be Determined. Be tenacious. Be completely determined to reach your goal. That's Intentness. If you stay intent and your ability warrants it, you will eventually reach the top of the mountain. "

-John R. Wooden

We do this every single day. Each day is not easy, and we work our butt's off. But it's all worth it. When you have a purpose and you are passionate about your goals and dreams, life helps you.  You find energy you never knew you had, you find creativity you never could have dreamed of; you find that when you are on the verge of quitting, some breakthrough happens. Don't ever ever give up on your goals and dreams. Yes, they come with extreme hard work and sacrifice, but its all worth it! We believe in you.

With Love, 

Whitney