John Wooden

The most quotable, inspirational coach I have ever heard of, and my personal role model, is former UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden.

Here's a list of his accomplishments:
-Won SEVEN national championships IN A ROW
- Named national coach of the year six times
- First person to be in the basketball Hall of Fame as BOTH a player and coach
- Won a total of ten national championships in a span of 12 years
...I could go on. You get the picture.

And yet, he once said that the one thing that made him different from most coaches is that he never talked about winning.

He emphasized character.
Integrity. Hard work.
Preparation. Attention to detail.
Always doing your best.
Selflessness. Teamwork.
Effort.

In a world where wins are celebrated and some people think that if you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough to win, Wooden went against the grain. And the byproduct of his life lessons and his coaching was a successful career. But winning wasn't his goal.

That is TOUGH for me to wrap my head around, especially as a coach whose success is measured by wins and losses.

Our society is so focused on the product. In teaching, it's test scores. In coaching, it's wins and losses. In your job, I'm sure it's some statistic or number or something. And I'm not saying those things are inherently negative.

But what about the journey? The process of learning? The struggles, overcoming obstacles, elation when new material is mastered? What about doing what's right and being honest? Why isn't that emphasized?

I try to follow Wooden's philosophy, but I slip into "winning" mode so often. I can't be perfect.
But I can keep learning, keep working, and keep changing, as a coach, teacher, wife, friend, and person.

Because, in the words of my favorite coach, "Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."

One last thing: watch this Ted Talk video. It's amazing. http://www.ted.com/talks/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success.html

Good stuff from a wise, godly man.