Latest / Just For Today / 154. John Wooden
Transcript
- Cindy Marler: Good morning, listeners. John Wooden lived until he was almost 100 years old, and he's one of my favorite people to learn from. He was a winning UCLA basketball coach for 12 seasons, so many championships, but his faith and his wisdom were really what made him special. So when you got to his team, which was quite the effort to even make it to his team, he started by teaching all of his athletes how to tie their shoes. Some would be offended. Why do I need to learn to tie my shoes? I'm a high school basketball champion, national winner. And he'd said, everyone can learn to tie their shoes better. So he always focused more on preparation than winning. But one of the things I love that he says, one of his maxims, was earn the right to be proud and confident. Earn the right to be proud and confident. Because confidence is built, right? It's not declared. You become confident when you gain the experience to know I can do this. So now I'm confident. Preparation creates that confidence. When you keep promises to yourself, you build confidence. When you do things that are difficult, you build confidence. When you're proud of the result, I mean the process, not just the result. Let's not confuse pride with arrogance here either. Okay. Healthy pride will say, I worked hard for this. Arrogance says, I'm better than you because I can do this. And you don't need to wait for someone else to validate you. You don't need a trophy. You don't need to be called up on stage. And you don't need the social media post. You can earn the right to be proud and confident in that area. So where are you earning the right? Earning takes effort. Where are you earning the right to be proud and say, I'm a great friend? I'm a great sister. I'm a great parent. Earn that right to be proud and confident. And then that win. Feels so, so good. And then don't just tell yourself to be proud. Live today in that way that is going to make your future self proud of who you were today. John Wooden, thank you for your timeless principles and wisdom that you continue to pass on to us. You fought the good fight. Any of his books are worth reading. Any of his maxims are worth listening to. He was a treasure here on earth, and we appreciate you. So today I want you to think about earning the right to be proud and confident.