Striving Towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Today is the birthday of the legendary Coach John Wooden, and I’m reflecting on the wisdom he shared.

Lessons from Coach Wooden

• Be real. Being honest and open about who you are is the base of good leadership. The only thing you truly have to give the world is yourself and what’s inside you.
• You are enough. It took time to realize that I already have what I need to reach my goals. Once I stopped feeling ashamed of who I am, I could focus on being my best self every day, instead of trying to copy someone else and ending up as a poor copy.
• You are your own billboard. Everyone is like a walking sign that tells the world who they are. Your words and actions are your live advertisement, so how you show up really matters.

Some of his wise sayings

• “Don’t measure yourself by what you accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”
• “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”
• “Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.”
• “Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life.”
• “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
• “Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”
• “You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”
• “Ability is a poor man’s wealth.”
• “Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them, and your foes won’t believe them.”
• “The time to make friends is before you need them.”
• “Never try to be better than someone else. Learn from others and try to be the best you can be. Success is the byproduct of that preparation.”

The power of keeping it simple

Great teaching is simple. The best teachers, like Coach Wooden, know how to make hard things easy. They take a big idea or skill, break it into small parts, and teach one part at a time. Then they slowly add the next piece, practice it again and again, and help their students master it without feeling overwhelmed.

Coach Wooden’s hard work and commitment to excellence gave us an amazing guide for building great leaders.