"A person must be interested in finding the best way, not in having their own way"." - John Wooden

Sometimes people have to give up some things in order to gain others. It is important to recognize the different options, but it it even more significant to choose the right one. We cannot always accommodate everyone and we also cannot always choose the way only we want to go. We have to think of others sometimes and figure out which way would be the most beneficial to everyone. This video below shares John Wooden's thoughts on what exactly a beautiful game consists of.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/woo0int-1m

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it." - John Wooden

I definitely agree with this statement. When you participate in a sport, you learn a lot about attitude and teamwork. Individuals will experience winning, losing, working with others, handling themselves when others push them to their limits and many more skills. How does one react after losing? Do they end up showing poor sportsmanship and blaming others for the loss or do they accept the fact that the other team was more prepared? When a team wins, do individuals brag about the score and insult their opponents or do they celebrate their success while being respectful? Athletes have some standards to maintain a courteous, but powerful character. In this video below, John Wooden discusses the importance of treating others with respect and doing the small actions that make a huge difference as a whole:

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/woo0int-4

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

Having control and balance in life is important. Others around you determine what kind of a person you are based on how you handle situations. For example, do you have patience? Are you considerate and respectful to others? Do you sometimes like to accommodate others before pleasing yourself? If the answer is no to all of these questions, then maybe there should be a moment where you take the time to evaluate these questions. These are only a few characteristics that people will recognize once they meet someone new and these responses are how they will determine their future relationship with that individual. Here is a video of John Wooden explaining the importance of character in an individual:

 

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/woo0int-5

"No matter how fine a person is at anything, he can always improve. No one ever reaches maximum potential." -John Wooden

There is always room for improvement. Although there are awards such as receiving MVP or winning the National Championships, but that does not mean that you did absolutely nothing wrong throughout the journey of obtaining this reward. People make mistakes. If an individual makes a correct decision one day, then it is possible for them to choose a wrong one tomorrow. For example, if a basketball player shoots 80% from the free throw line, there is still a whole 20% for improvement. Individuals have a variety of ways to make improvements. Some developments can involve on how an individual performs, how one responds, how one writes, cooks, cleans, and many more. Modifications come in a wide range of progress enhancements, but it is how hard the individual works toward succeeding that goal. Here is a response from John Wooden to a question in an interview asked by the American Academy of Achievement:

If you could say one thing to America's young people today, what would you say?

John Wooden: If they would buy it, what would be most helpful is what Dad said, "Don't compare. Don't try to be better than someone else. But whatever you're doing, try to be the best you can be. Take advantage of every day. Make each day your masterpiece." That would be one of the things that I could say. There are other things that are extremely important. They must have faith. They must believe. They must not complain. Individually, don't compare, just try to make the most of what you have under the conditions that exist for you and try to improve those conditions. No one can do more than that. 

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/woo0int-5

"We don't control what the other team does to prepare. We can only control what we do to prepare." -John Wooden

Of course, this quote relates to basketball games; however, you can use this quote for other situations in life. We are not all mind readers and we all are not psychic. It is hard to know how others will react in certain situations or the amount of information that other individuals know. For example, friends will come and go out of our lives, but we do not know when that will happen, who will stay, who will go. All we know is we have to live our lives the way we feel we should and want to live and then the rest will form around you. We have the power to know what we want in life, others cannot make decisions for you because you are the only one that knows yourself. Life does include many barriers, but we have the power to use the resources we have at hand and find the routes that will lead us to victory.

http://carnageandculture.blogspot.com/2010/06/john-woodens-legend-eclipses-his.html
In this photo, John Wooden decides to take a timeout based on the current circumstances of the game. Coaches are given a certain amount of timeouts per game and it is important to use them wisely. Similar to the quote, for coaches, it is tough to know what the opponents have planned or when the will move into a different defense because people can change their minds at any second. John Wooden had to pause and adjust his current positions and modify his plans with a new approach. 

"Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind." -John Wooden

There are many times when you have to be brave, energetic, stable and aggressive, but sometimes there are obstacles that may get in your way; however, you have to be able to stay in control. You should not let anyone or anything get in your way of succeeding or doing what you want to do. You have the power to be who you want to be and you should not be afraid of the limits involved. If you have a particular vision, then you should go for it. Growing up, John Wooden acquired his personality with help from his dad who was motivational as well. His dad constantly provided encouragement to help his son maintain a positive attitude. John Wooden was an incredible man who influenced a large number of individuals to live their life to their fullest potential.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/woo0int-1
Here is a video of John Wooden discussing an example of a time when his dad gave him some life advice.

"A good banker isn't careless with pennies; a good leader isn't sloppy about details." -John Wooden

I love this simile because it really allows us to understand how important the small things can be. Just like an FBI agent is not clumsy while collecting evidence samples, people should not ignore the specifications. Life is hard and we are not always given the answer so in order to find those solutions, we need to have patience to retrieve them. John Wooden was a coach that earned NCAA National Championships 12 years in a row and had a record of 88 sequential wins. I believe that from these results, John Wooden had to pay attention to a lot of details in order to succeed in these achievements. He had to focus on correct positions, difference plays as well his opponents plays, time, stats, his players strengths and weaknesses, and so much more.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/woo0int-2

This image represents John Wooden "Pyramid of Success." This model started forming from his simple inspirational quotes that he would share with others, especially his players. It includes tiny sections of different traits that an individual should possess in order to accomplish life.