I had the honor and privilege of having lunch with Legendary UCLA College Basketball Coach John Wooden (aka, “The Wizard of Westwood”) in his Southern California home before he passed away.
Coach Wooden is arguably the greatest coach ever to coach in any sport, not just college basketball. What he achieved is truly amazing:
· 10 NCAA Basketball Championships
· 7 NCAA Basketball Championships in 7 Consecutive Years
· 21 Victories in the Final Four
· 38 straight victories in NCAA tournaments in 10 years
· Most consecutive victories in 3 years totaling 88 wins
· And more!
He was the college coach to basketball legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, as well as hundreds of others. He coached his athletes on what he called the Pyramid of Success. The pyramid is a collection of attributes that, not only an excellent team player must have to achieve success, but an individual must also have for personal success. These attributes include loyalty, friendship, enthusiasm, industriousness, initiative and several more.
Spending time with Coach Wooden in his home was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Not only did I learn much about the game of basketball, I learned even more about the game of life.
Coach Wooden taught me a philosophy that literally changed my life and has become a foundational principle for everything I do personally, professionally and financially. Here it is:
“It’s what you learn after you think you know it all that counts!”
WOW! I meet so many people who say things like…“I’ve been doing this for 20 years so I don’t need to continue learning”…or, “I’m already successful so I don’t need to continue learning”…or, (fill-in the blank).
Top achievers not only make continuous learning a lifelong habit, they also understand that: You don’t go to school once in your life, you should be in school every day of your life!
Coach Wooden is a legend in the athletic world, not just for all of his basketball successes, but also for his profound wisdom and life lessons!
Make a commitment to continue learning and investing in yourself on a consistent daily, weekly, monthly basis! Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit!”
I couldn’t agree more!