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January 25 - March 19, 2018
“Things aren’t always fair in this world,” Coach Wooden said calmly. “Things aren’t always going to go your way. That’s life. I see so much self-inflicted pain and stress caused by people who think they’re entitled to having everything go their way. They think everything should always be fair. But that’s not the way this world works.
We focused on ourselves, doing what we had to do, getting our team better. We let other teams worry about us while we only worried about ourselves.
“I sincerely believe that the difference was that I didn’t talk about winning and losing. I didn’t talk about beating opponents. I kept our focus on only what we could control: our effort and our attitude in the present moment.
that I should never try to be better than someone else. But, he also said that I should never stop trying to be the very best that
I could be. ‘You have control over that,’ he said. ‘You don’t have control
over ot...
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I taught my players that being successful had nothing to with the final score. Success could only be measured by whether you put in the maximum effort. You could lose on the scoreboard and still be successful if you gave your absolute best effort. You could also win on the scoreboard and be unsuccessful if you didn’t give your best. Regardless of what the final score says, only you can know if you’re successful because only you can know if you truly did your best.
“By focusing on only the things you can control, it also forces you to think, live, and act in the present moment.
But there’s nothing we can do about the past and the future is determined by what we choose to focus our thoughts and actions on right now. You have to focus on the present. That’s where your life is lived.
How can you give your best here if you’ve already got one foot out the door?”
“Once my players understood the power of focusing on what they could control right at this very moment, they learned to love the process of giving their best,”
They learned to love the process of competing with themselves instead of comparing themselves to others.
“It was the process we focused on, not the results. Why? Because we have total control over the process. The results, on the other hand, aren’t always in our control.”
“When you make a commitment to only focusing on the things you have total control over—the effort you give, the attitude you carry, and the process of improving yourself in the present moment—when you focus on only those things and let the results take care of themselves, it’s been my experience that results beyond your wildest dreams tend to follow.”
“Remember, when people get so engrossed in the things they have no control over, it negatively effects the things they do have control over.
Focus everything you’ve got on what you can control: your effort and attitude in the present moment.”
“Success is not something others can give you,” Wooden said. “True success can only be attained by knowing you did your very best to become the best you’re capable of becoming. That is how I define success.
If you give your best, you will be a success.”
focus on only the things I have total control over: MY EFFORT AND MY ATTITUDE. By focusing on only what I can control, my effort and my attitude in the present moment, I will have the peace of mind that comes from knowing the results will take care of themselves. I will not lose myself in the past or worry about the future. I will focus on the present. If I truly give my maximum effort to be the best that I can be today, I will be successful. NOTHING can take that from me.
It was freeing to let go of all the worries outside of my immediate control.
“Maximum effort, baby, maximum effort.” “Nothing but your absolute best.” “Effort and attitude, effort and attitude.”
If a person is so stressed out about what will happen if the results they achieve aren’t satisfactory, they can’t let loose and play their best.
I focus on only the things I have total control over.
made me realize that the world wasn’t going to hand me the life I wanted to live. I had to decide what I wanted out of life and then go get it myself!
Passion and optimism, these are things you have to give yourself. Nobody can give them to you.”
“There’s a big difference between ignoring those things and dwelling on them,”
“Sure, there’s negative stuff out there, always will be. But you’ve got to zap those negative thoughts and focus on the positive. You’ve got to keep your focus on the love of the game and the good things in your life. You’ve got to take the time to be thankful for all the wonderful things you have going for you.
“The world isn’t fair and it isn’t easy. You know this. But you have so much to be thankful for. You have so much going for you. Start counting your blessings and you’ll quickly realize they’re trouncing your curses.
“You can’t let negative outside forces take away the passion and joy from inside you. That’s what makes a man bitter. You focus so much on all the negatives that you forget to focus on all the positives you have going for you. Like a job you’re so lucky to have!
I believe there is an opportunity buried within every obstacle. Most people see a negative situation and write it off as another reason not to keep moving forward, but happy and successful people find the opportunity in that situation.
“If you love what you do, you find a way to turn every obstacle into an opportunity.
“But it all starts with loving what you do. You have to love what you do. That’s the only way to live your life. I don’t care what your job is, whether it’s prestigious or makes you a lot of money or any of that other stuff. You’ve got to love what you do!
if you don’t love what you do, you’re going to get beat by somebody who does!
“You’ve got to take pride in your vocation and find the joy in it every day. That doesn’t mean you have to be smiling ear-to-ear throughout the day. You can be intense and focused and still be living with joy and passion. The important thing is that you live the life you were born to live.
“What good does bitterness ever do anyone?” he asked. “Hatred does nothing but harden your heart. It only hurts you. I’d rather live by love. Loving others and loving what you do. That’s the only way worth living.”
‘Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. And don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.’
I LOVE WHAT I DO AND I ATTACK EACH DAY WITH JOY AND ENTHUSIASM. I am passionate about what I do for a living. I’m grateful for the talents and interests I’ve been uniquely blessed with; they lead me to my purpose in life. I am fully committed to doing something I love and something I was born to do. I do not wait for someone to hand me the life I want to live, I go out and create it on my own. My passion for what I do gives me a competitive advantage over those who don’t have the same level of passion. I zap negative thoughts and focus on the positive. I find opportunities in every obstacle.
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It’s easy to forget what an impact our own attitude has on those around us. Attitudes are contagious. Not only do we owe it to ourselves to be positive, but we owe it to those we love.
1. I focus on only the things I have total control over: my effort and my attitude. 2. I love what I do and I attack each day with joy and enthusiasm.
“You’re afraid and you’re hiding behind complacency.”
“You’re afraid of taking risks and dreaming big.
“Do you realize how many great things have never been accomplished because somebody decided he needed to be more realistic? Do you know how many businesses were never launched, books never written, relationships never started, diseases never cured, and dreams never followed because someone decided he had to be more logical?”
“Leading, on the other hand, is about creating something new. A leader must lead his people to new heights. A leader
moves forward, thinks bigger, and creates a new path—a path that wasn’t there before. A leader isn’t afraid to dream big even though he must face the unknown and the untried. A leader looks at what he has and asks how he can take it to a whole new level, a level that most people think is unrealistic or unreasonable.
“It’s not arrogant to dream big, it’s courageous,”
You lost because you put yourself before the people you were supposed to be leading. That’s what arrogance
don’t confuse setting bold goals and high expectations with being arrogant.
“The truth is, when you choose safety and security, you’re usually choosing complacency. And when you fall into complacency, you lower your expectations and you give up your biggest dreams. When you settle for mediocrity, you end up with even less. When your goal is to simply survive, you’ll never thrive.”
“At any given time, you’re either moving forward or you’re moving backward. There is no in-between. There’s no such thing as maintaining the status quo. It never works. As soon as you stop trying to move forward
You’re either playing to win or playing not to lose.”
