John Wooden.

“Coach of the Century” – ESPN

Winner of 10 NCAA basketball championships in 12 years. (7 of which were in a row)

For those of you who don’t watch college basketball, allow me to tell you how difficult it is to win a championship. In a nutshell, a select number of teams are chosen around the nation to be invited into the college basketball tournament known as March Madness. March because it takes place in March and Madness, because, well it’s MADNESS.

You must win every single game in the tournament to get the championship. Every single game. You don’t have seasons, get ranked and then play one team for the championships like college football. You don’t have the best of 7 series like the World Series or the NBA championships. No. One loss in the tournament and you’re out for the year. That’s all it takes. One loss. The winner of the NCAA basketball championship is the only team that has won every single game in the tournament. Every single game in the tournament. There can only be one true winner. Now, imagine doing that 10 times in 12 years, 7 of which were IN A ROW.

Clearly, John Wooden knows a thing or two about success and it only makes sense to learn from him. Of the books he has written and the interviews he has done, one of the main things he seemed to emphasize was this.

“Focus on effort, not on winning. Effort is internal and is completely within your control. Winning is a by-product of effort.” – John Wooden

How great is that!

To add to that, I also remember an answer he gave when asked what he missed most about his coaching years after he retired. I don’t remember the whole answer he gave, but I distinctly remember being caught off guard with the first word that came out of his mouth. You know what it was?

Practice.

Practice.

Something to think about during the weekend, because it’s certainly something I’ll be doing.

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