What is Success? Listen to Coach John Wooden
When I was in college and law school, I hated UCLA's basketball team because they were wining the NCAA every year. I remember being at a college party in 1968 and everyone cheered when Houston upset UCLA in the Astrodome. Later that year UCLA routed Houston in the NCAA tournament.
As fate would have it, my first assignment in the Air Force after law school was at a base in Southern California. Each night, I watched John Wooden being interviewed by the media. Within a very short time, I came to realize why he was not only a great coach, but also a great leader and mentor for his players.
John Wooden’s character and principles always showed through whether his team won, or when it infrequently lost. Since I lived in Southern California, I have bought books about him and bought tapes of him speaking. I am always inspired by his approach to life and building a team. I have written about him and you can find some of what I have written on my website.
Lawyers and law firms can learn a great deal from "The Wizard of Westwood." Take a look at his website and his “Pyramid of Success.”
On his website home page you will find one of my favorite Coach Wooden quotes: "Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming."
He talks about the real joy in life and his definition of success in this short interview.
The reason that this quote was so important to me, and hopefully to you, was my realization that measuring my success based on what others achieved would either cause me to give up, thinking I could never achieve what some of them had achieved, or alternatively cause me to not reach as high as I might, thinking I had achieved more than some of them had achieved.
Work each day to serve your clients and to become the best lawyer for your clients you are capable of becoming. That will bring you the peace of mind and satisfaction Coach Wooden speaks about.
