To win the NCAA title once is a spectacular achievement; to win it 11 times, it is out of this world; to win it 7 consecutive times, no words can really describe it. Coach John Wooden led the UCLA men’s basketball team to those unbelievable achievements. It is one of those records that will stand for life.
A lot was written about Coach Wooden and many have tried to copy what he did, but despite sharing all his secrets, no coach has come close to achieving such a high level of success.
Below, I am sharing some of his views about success, achievement and competition:
- Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
- Learn from the past, don’t live in the past.
- I have never gone into a game thinking we were going to lose. That’s also why I never assume we were going to win.
- Goals should be difficult to achieve because those achieved with little effort are seldom appreciated
- My thoughts were directed toward preparation, our journey, not the result of the effort.
- Coach Lambert taught me that mistakes come from doing, but so does success.
- Losing and winning: You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again.
- Competitiveness must be focused exclusively on the process of what you are doing rather than the result of that effort.
- There cannot be progress without change, even though not all change is progress.
- Persistence is stronger than failure
Wishing all the basketball teams the greatest success while competing to do their best.