Issue #106
by Wayne Ellis, Sports America

A 73-Year Old Secret to March Madness Championships
(And How Wooden’s Wisdom Can Work for
You in Everyday Life)

John Wooden – the name itself conveys competitive greatness:  10 NCAA men’s basketball crowns, 7 straight titles, 88 consecutive wins, four perfect seasons and a winner’s legacy that will last forever.

Thus, it might surprise you to know that the NCAA’s greatest basketball coach never once implored his UCLA teams to “win” or even talked about winning with those under his supervision.  In fact, “winning” was never the top priority for Wooden.  He believed,  

 “… there is a standard that ranks above winning, namely, success as I define it. I would never allow the scoreboard to be the judge of whether I had achieved success.”

As you’re about to learn, Wooden’s definition of success has nothing to do with games won or lost. But once you understand it, as well as the foundation for achieving it, you’ll have a significant advantage over the competition – and not just in basketball, but in everyday life as well. 

The 73 Year Old Secret to His Success

Last week, I had the chance to speak with Steve Jamison, the pre-eminent author and authority of John Wooden’s leadership philsophy. They are collaborated on a wide range of projects for over a decade including best-selling books such as Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections (Contemporary),  Wooden on Leadership (McGraw-Hill), and their newest best-selling publication, The Essential Wooden (McGraw-Hill).     

According to Jamison, Coach Wooden first recorded his new and radical definition of success in 1934 as a guide for his English students at Dayton High School in Kentucky.  The word “win” did not appear anywhere in this definition: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

In the classroom setting, this definition is relatively easy to understand and accept. However, Coach Wooden also wanted it to apply to his basketball teams.  Getting basketball players to buy into it was a different story.

So Coach had to define the path to success in a way that made sense to English student, athletes, and anyone else who cared to utilize it. It took fourteen years and went through many revisions until he arrived at his final version of what he called the Pyramid of Success.  

During those fourteen years Coach Wooden refined his pyramid until he had chosen and placed in specific position the fifteen personal qualities you see above. 

However, two blocks, “Industriousness” and “Enthusiasm” were chosen immediately and remained in place from the beginning.  They are the cornerstones of the Pyramid’s foundation. 

The Cornerstones of John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success

If you were to think of synonyms for “Industriousness” and “Enthusiasm” you might come up with “hard working” and “passion.” 

Certainly, if you turn on ESPN or any other sports show you’re sure to hear a coach or player talk about work ethic, hard work and/or passion for the game. 

But if you think those are the same meanings as Coach Wooden’s, you’d be wrong. The difference lies in the precise meaning of “Industriousness” and “Enthusiasm” as used by Coach Wooden.

Industriousness Isn’t Supposed to be a Grind

As the legendary Coach writes in Wooden on Leadership,

“I called this cornerstone “Industriousness” for a reason – namely, the word work has been diluted in meaning, leached of substance… Industriousness is meant to remind us there is no trick, no easy way, no alternative, to old-fashioned work.”

Merely punching the clock doesn’t isn’t enough to achieve success in the Wooden world.  When it reaches that point, when it becomes a grind, it will prevent a player, a coach, and a whole team from achieving their best. 

To ensure the pursuit of success doesn’t become a grind, “Industriousness” has to be complemented by “Enthusiasm.”

Enthusiasm Is Definitely Not Passion

Enthusiasm for Wooden

“… comes from the Greek word entheos which means ‘the god within.’ Indeed, your Enthusiasm has an almost divine quality in its impact on others.  Your energy and spirit stimulate the energy and spirit of team members.”

Today when coaches are asked what they look for in a player, they reply, “a passion for the game,” and assume everyone knows what they mean. 

Again, this doesn’t fit into Coach Wooden’s line of thinking because it implies a short-termed, emotional component.  Coach Wooden thought in the “long-term,” according to Jamison 

Even though basketball is minute to minute game and Wooden was a minute to minute teacher, he preferred the controlled intensity of Enthusiasm over the short-lived emotion of passion (and its potential for losing control) in his players, and in himself.

Jamison explained it is the difference between an acetylene torch cutting through steel and a lit match thrown on gasoline.  One is under control, focused, and achieves a desired result.  The other is explosive, out of control, and usually destructive.

Conclusion

Like many coaches John Wooden began his career exhorting his team to win. However, once he had re-defined Success, he realized that when he emphasized winning the scoreboard contest he was preventing his players from achieving success as he defined it. He needed to reconcile success in terms of athletic achievement.

14 years later, he his Pyramid of Success did just that. And through its twin cornerstones of Industriousness and Enthusiasm he’d identified the two attributes that lie at the heart of success in basketball, and in life.

Seventy-three years later, the definition still holds true as does Wooden’s record for wins.  If you’d like to learn more about Coach Wooden and his Pyramid of Success you can pick up a copy of his latest book called:  The Essential Wooden.  

Or visit Coach Wooden’s award-winning website at: http://www.coachjohnwooden.com/

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