by Craig Impelman | Jun 10, 2020 | Blog
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” –Mahatma Gandhi This was one of Coach Wooden’s favorite quotes, and it reflected the way he approached life. In his book Wooden on Leadership with Steve Jamison, Coach explained the first...
by Craig Impelman | May 27, 2020 | Blog
The seventh point in the Seven-Point Creed Coach Wooden’s father gave him said: Give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day. In his book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court with Steve Jamison, he summed it up this...
by Craig Impelman | May 20, 2020 | Blog
When Coach Wooden was asked if he thought he had lived up to the “Seven-Point Creed” his father had given him, he would often reply that he is more like the person who said: I am not what I ought to be, not what I want to be, not what I am going to be, but I am...
by Craig Impelman | May 13, 2020 | Blog
“Earn the right to be proud and confident.”–John Wooden Coach Wooden’s teams won 10 national championships in his last 12 years of coaching. This was accomplished with essentially five different groups of players. A key element in Coach Wooden’s consistency was to...
by Craig Impelman | May 6, 2020 | Blog
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” –John Wooden This popular quote from Coach Wooden summarized the key component of his continuous success. He commented on the idea in an interview in 2005: Some people change when they acquire...
by Craig Impelman | Apr 29, 2020 | Blog
You discipline those under your supervision to correct, to help, to improve—not to punish. Coach Wooden felt strongly that discipline was essential for any group, whether it was a business, family or sports team, to be successful. In his book Wooden with Steve...
by Craig Impelman | Apr 22, 2020 | Blog
There is value in self-analysis: self-improvement. Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher, was quoted as saying: “He who gains a victory over other men is strong; but he who gains a victory over himself is all powerful.” “He who knows others is wise. He who...
by Craig Impelman | Apr 15, 2020 | Blog
“The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” ―John Burroughs This quote reflects the way Coach Wooden approached life and leadership. He described the person he admired most, his father Joshua Wooden, as consistent in word and deed, a model of the...
by Craig Impelman | Apr 8, 2020 | Blog
The man who is not afraid of failure seldom has to face it. This a version of one of Coach Wooden’s favorite quotes: “The man who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success.” It was a reflection of the way he lived, coached, and the way his teams played:...
by Craig Impelman | Apr 1, 2020 | Blog
“Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.” Coach Wooden used this famous quote, most often attributed to Winston Churchill, as the epigraph to introduce Chapter 17 of his book They Call Me Coach. In that chapter, he discusses his years...
