What Is Success Listen To Coach John Wooden

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers What is Success? Listen to Coach John Wooden When I was in college and law school, I hated UCLA’s basketball team because they were winning the NCAA every year. I remember being at a college party in 1968 and everyone cheered when Houston upset UCLA in the Astrodome before a record-setting  crowd of 52, 693 fans. It was the first regular season NCAA basketball game televised on national TV, and it was called the “Game of the Century.” Later that year UCLA routed Houston 101-69 in the NCAA tournament. (So much for the game of the century.) You can read about the game here. As fate would have it, my first assignment in the Air Force after law school was at a base in Southern California. Each night, I watched John Wooden being interviewed by the media. Within a very short time, I came to realize why he was not only the  greatest coach of any sport ever,  but also why he was a great leader and a great person. A few years ago, I was interviewed. See: 5 minute Interview with Cordell Parvin.    I was asked what man had been my role model. I answered my  father and Coach Wooden. John Wooden’s character and principles always showed through whether his team won, or when it infrequently lost. After leaving Southern California, I have read many books about him and listened to him speaking. I have been frequently inspired by his approach to life and building a team. Lawyers and law firms can learn a great deal from “The Wizard of Westwood.” Take a look at his website and his “Pyramid of Success.” On his website home page you will find one of my favorite Coach Wooden quotes: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” If you have time, watch this John Wooden TED Talk, or at least the first couple of minutes where he describes his definition of success. The reason that this quote was so important to me, and hopefully to you, was my realization that measuring my success based on what others achieved would either cause me to give up, thinking I could never achieve what some of them had achieved, or alternatively cause me to not reach as high as I might, thinking I had achieved more than some of them had achieved. Work each day to serve your clients and to become the best lawyer for your clients you are capable of becoming. That will bring you the peace of mind and satisfaction Coach Wooden speaks about. I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.