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John Wooden

John Wooden

Coach and Teacher

John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the “Wizard of Westwood,” as head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period, including an unprecedented seven in a row. Within this period, his teams won a men’s basketball-record 88 consecutive games. Wooden’s streak of seven consecutive NCAA Championships is even more remarkable and impressive due to the fact that to this day no other coach or school has won the tournament more than two consecutive years. One of the most revered coaches in the history of sports, Wooden was beloved by his former players, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (originally Lew Alcindor) and Bill Walton. Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players, including his “Pyramid of Success”. These often were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball.

PhilosophersNotes on John Wooden's Books All PhilosophersNotes

Be Quick -- But Don't Hurry

Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime

by Andrew Hill, John Wooden

Be quick!! But don't hurry. John Wooden repeat that all.the.time to his players in every.single.practice. We need to live with intensity (!), fully showing up and playing at the edge of our abilities WHILE staying centered. Andy Hill walks us through how he learned how to do that playing under Wooden during their dynasty days.

Packs:

Leadership & Peak Performance

Mastery Modern Classic Sports Work

Wooden

A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

by John Wooden

John Wooden. He’s arguably the greatest coach EV-ER and this book is essentially one Big Idea after another. Wooden is all about the fundamentals and in this Note we’ll explore a few of my favorite Big Ideas on his old-school wisdom—from the fact that full effort = full success to the importance of becoming a realistic optimist.

Packs:

Habits & Masterpiece Days & Peak Performance

Best of Optimize Character Modern Classic Top 101 Volume II Work

+1s Inspired by John Wooden All +1s

How to Put on Your (Life-)Socks
#57

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Wisdom from the Greatest Coach Ever

John Wooden’s UCLA basketball teams won 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, including an 88-game winning streak. (Go Bruins!) ESPN says that Wooden was the greatest coach of the 20th century. That makes him, arguably, the greatest coach ever. Couple things to note here: First, quick question: You know h...

+1 inspired by Note: Wooden

Packs:

Habits & Leadership

Best of Optimize Fundamentals greatness Growth Inspiration Mindset overwhelmed persistence Sports Work

Thrown a Perfect Game Lately?
#500

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210,000 Games Over 140 Years = How Many Perfect Games?

In our last +1, we talked about the fact that batting .300 over the course of your Major League Baseball career gets you in the Hall of Fame. Today we’re going to continue the baseball metaphor. Pop quiz for baseball fans: You know how many perfect games have EVER been thrown?! (For those who may not k...

+1 inspired by Note: Wooden

Packs:

Confidence & Conquering Perfectionism

baby steps compound confidence conquering-perfectionism Growth Happiness Inspiration Work

Just Execute Your Game Plan
#548

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Wooden and Lombardi and You

A couple +1s ago, we talked about Vince Lombardi and John Wooden chasing perfection and catching excellence. Today I want to chat about something else they had in common. But, first, let’s step back for a moment and make sure we’re all on the same page. Sports fans know who Lombardi and Wooden are. A...

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Packs:

Confidence & Peak Performance

confidence Mastery Mental Toughness Peak Performance self-awareness technology Work

The Fundies
#884

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Eat + Move + Sleep + Breathe + Be Present + Prosper

It’s hard to believe we’re already in the home stretch of the Mastery phase of our Optimize Coach program. I have a stack of notes on my live lectures that’s a couple inches thick and I’m really excited to hit the studio this Fall to create a Mastery Series program that we’ll be launching in Ja...

+1 inspired by Note: Wooden

Packs:

Energy & Modern Hērō

big-three Coach Energy flourish Fundamentals modern-hero