The Pyramid of Success
John Wooden
Block 1: Industriousness
"There is no substitute for work. Worthwhile results come from hard work and careful planning."
Working hard is very important. Although it may take awhile it will be completely worth it in the end. Working hard can lead you to man places.
Block 2: Enthusiasm
"It is the engine that powers all blocks of the Pyramid. It is why I chose Industriousness and Enthusiasm as the cornerstones of my Pyramid of Success. It is where everything begins."
Enthusiasm is intense enjoyment, interest, or approval. The word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by a god, or someone who exhibited intense piety. Being enthusiastic can really determine what kind of person you are. Leaders must exemplify integrity and earn the trust of their teams through their everyday actions. When you do this, you set high standards for everyone at your company. And when you do so with positive energy and enthusiasm for shared goals and purpose, you can deeply connect with your team and customers. Marillyn Hewson
Block 3: Friendship
"Comes from mutual esteem, respect and devotion. Like marriage it must not be taken for granted but requires a joint effort."
There is no such things as friends. It is very hard to find someone you can trust. If you are lucky you might find someone like this. Friendships are sometimes not forever but can be quiet useful. A friend can help with anything they can. Friendship is perhaps one of the deepest bonds in human life forged through mutual trust, unconditional support and selflessness. It is quite difficult to confine the true meaning of friendship within just a few words. Elisabeth Foley, writer, describes this relationship as something that "doubles your joy and divides your grief, and the most beautiful discovery that true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." Understanding the true essence of this much cherished bond remains difficult without patience and mutual respect. While this beautiful relationship has much to offer you in terms of joy, support, and emotional stability; it can test your patience at times as well. It is during these trying times that your commitment towards building an everlasting relationship with your friend is tested the most. There are times when you might your friend in a particularly irritable mood. There is quote by an artist that I have listened to before that can fit perfectly into this reflection. "Don't feel sad over someone who gave up on you, feel sorry them because they gave up on someone who would have never given up on them."
- Frank Ocean
Block 4: Loyalty
"To yourself and to all those depending upon you. Keep your self-respect."
Loyalty is part of our higher nature and it is also part of the nature of leaders who achieve higher goals. The power of Loyalty is the reason I placed it in the center of the Pyramid's foundation. A leader who has Loyalty is the leader whose team I wish to be a part of. This is true almost everywhere. Most people, the overwhelming majority of us, wish to be in an organization or part of a team whose leadership cares about them, provides fairness and respect, dignity and consideration. Loyalty from the top inspires Loyalty from below. It is a most precious and powerful commodity and it starts with the leader.The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.
- Michael Jordan
Block 5: Cooperation
"With all levels of your co-workers. Listen if you want to be heard. Be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way. "
Sharing ideas, information, responsibilities, creativity and tasks is a priority of good leadership and great teams. This is Cooperation. (The only thing that is not shared is blame. A strong self-confident leader gives credit to others, when deserved, and takes blame. A weak leader takes credit and gives blame.) You are not the only person with good ideas. Others too have brains. In order to reach your organization's full potential there must be Cooperation. Two strong field horses could not pull an empty baby carriage if they work at cross purposes. The carriage will not budge unless there is Cooperation.''Where the stakes are the highest, in the war on terror, we cannot possibly succeed without extraordinary international cooperation. Effective international police actions require the highest degree of intelligence sharing, planning and collaborative enforcement.''
-Barack Obama
Block 6: Ambition (For noble goals)
John Wooden defined ambition and its importance this way: “Ambition is a feeling or a desire to achieve a goal. Usually that goal revolves around a person’s definition of success or greatness. I believe we are most likely to succeed when ambition is focused on noble and worthy purposes and outcomes rather than on goals set out of selfishness. If our ambition is to be highly publicized, receive a lot of recognition, attain a position of power or prestige, or make a lot of money, we do not have noble goals. If we are focused away from ourselves and on the team and others, we possess noble goals.”Under each piece of mortar on the Pyramid, in parentheses, there is some brief application advice for that mortar. In the original Pyramid under ambition, the application advice said, “properly focused.” Later, Coach changed the application advice for ambition to say, “for noble goals.” Coach’s motivation for the change is clear: He wanted to make certain that we understand that our ambition is “properly focused” when it is for a “noble goal.”
"We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own''.
- Cesar Chavez
Block 7: Self-Control
"Practice self-discipline and keep emotions under control. Good judgement and common sense are essential."
Getting to the top and staying there (somewhat different tasks) present unique and formidable challenges. To do either requires great Self-Control. This characteristic within the Pyramid of Success addresses the importance of controlling yourself in all areas - avoiding temptations, avoiding emotionalism, avoiding peaks and valleys of effort. I viewed Self-Control, both personal and by our team, as a sixth Bruin on the court during my years at UCLA. That invisible sixth player was as important as any of the visible players. I like to remind those under my supervision: "Control yourself so others won't have to do it for you." Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know.
-Charles Kingsley
Block 8: Alertness
"Be observing constantly. Stay open-minded. Be eager to learn and improve."
My favorite American hero is Abraham Lincoln. Abe had Alertness. Mr. Lincoln once said that he never met a person from whom he did not learn something although most of the time it was something not to do. There is activity going on around us at all times from which we can acquire knowledge if we have Alertness. Too often we get tunnel vision and don't see the full picture which precludes learning things that are available. Basketball is played as much between the ears - Alertness - as between the lines on the court. This is true in life and business. Alertness is that asset that keeps you awake and perceptive and increases Skill. The driver who's asleep at the wheel will crash. The same happens to organizations lacking Alertness. "Remember, science fiction's always been the kind of first level alert to think about things to come. It's easier for an audience to take warnings from sci-fi without feeling that we're preaching to them. Every science fiction movie I have ever seen, any one that's worth its weight in celluloid, warns us about things that ultimately come true".
-Steven Spielberg
Block 9: Initiative
"Cultivate the ability to make decisions and think alone. Do not be afraid of failure, but learn from it."
Block 14: Skill
"A knowledge of and the ability to properly and quickly execute the fundamentals. Be prepared and cover every little detail."
At the very center of the Pyramid of Success is Skill. You have to know your stuff and that includes a mastery of details. This is true whether you're an athlete, a surgeon, or a CEO. You'd better be able to execute properly and quickly and that requires Skill. As much as I value experience, and I value it greatly, I'd rather have a lot of Skill and less experience that the other way around. Mastery of the skills you need in your job requires learning and it is why leaders and those who are high achievers are lifelong learners. I had this motto tacked on my office wall for many years: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." Skill is an ongoing and lifelong process.The secret to the movie business, or any business, is to get a good education in a subject besides film - whether it's history, psychology, economics, or architecture - so you have something to make a movie about. All the skill in the world isn't going to help you unless you have something to say.
-George Lucas
Block 15: Team Spirit
"A genuine consideration for others. An eagerness to sacrifice personal interests of glory for the welfare of all."
This block of the Pyramid addresses a most important characteristic: selflessness which is the opposite of selfishness. I mean by this that you are eager to sacrifice personal glory or gain for the greater good, namely, the welfare and success of your organization, your team, your group. For me it meant I was constantly searching for that player who would make our team 'great' rather than a someone who was just a 'great player'. There is a big difference and that difference is what constitutes Team Spirit. I did not want a person on our team who was reluctant to sacrifice for the good of the team. I prized the individual who was eager to sacrifice for our common good.“
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” -Michael Jordan
Block 16: Honesty (in thought and action)
"Honesty is the best policy." (Ben Franklin)
“Honesty is doing the things that we know are right and not giving in to the temptation to do the things that we know are wrong. Honesty must occur at all times, in both thought and action. Honest people stay on the narrow way, regardless of the consequences. If we are honest, our integrity will not allow us to compromise—ever. “A dishonest act is an attempt to deceive someone. It is possible to be so deceptive that we even deceive ourselves. We do this when we want to justify a lie because of circumstances or as payback when someone has been dishonest with us. Dishonesty—no matter the reason—destroys our credibility, ruins our reputation and costs us our self-respect.” Under each piece of mortar on the Pyramid, in parentheses, there is some brief application advice for that mortar. In the original Pyramid under honesty, the application advice is “in all ways.” Later, Coach changed the application advice for honesty to “in thought and action.” Coach had an important motivation for the change. He wanted to make certain that we understand that honesty starts with not giving in to the temptation of dishonest thoughts, which can ultimately lead to dishonest actions.
Block 17: Resourcefulness (proper judgment)
“Make the most out of what you have.” (Anonymous)
"If you have a dream, if you have something you've always wanted to do, look within yourself because that is where resourcefulness resides; and go for it. (Jennifer Witterick)
On the left side of the Pyramid of Success, below faith, there are four additional pieces of mortar: ambition, adaptability, resourcefulness and fight. These are qualities that encompass the resolve, ingenuity and resilience of the human spirit. In his book Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden defined resourcefulness and its importance in the following manner: “Resourcefulness is using our wits, proper judgment and common sense to solve problems and meet challenges. It is using initiative in difficult situations and involves inventing, creating, imagining, synthesizing, evaluating, classifying, observing and analyzing solutions to overcome the trials that life throws at us. Resourcefulness is dreaming up ways to meet our goals.”I've always been interested in how we survive and how resourceful we are as Americans. -
Steven Spielberg
Block 18: Poise
"Just being yourself. Being at ease in any situation."
Just be yourself. Don't pretend to be what you are not. Don't get rattled, thrown off or unbalanced regardless of the circumstance or situation. Leaders with Poise do not panic under pressure. Poise means holding fast to your principles and beliefs and acting in accordance with them regardless of how bad (or good) the situation may be. Know who you are and be true to yourself. Those with Poise have a brave heart in all circumstances. Poise is a powerful gift you give yourself when you acquire the qualities of the Pyramid in the supporting tiers beneath it. I think I could describe the perfect quarterback. Take a little piece of everybody. Take John Elway's arm, Dan Marino's release, maybe Troy Aikman's drop-back, Brett Favre's scrambling ability, Joe Montana's two-minute poise and, naturally, my speed.
-Peyton Manning
Block 19: Confidence
"Thorough preparation breeds confidence" Gerald Bell in
"The Carolina Way"
There is no stronger steel than well-founded belief in yourself; the knowledge that your preparation is fully complete and that you are ready for the competition. Confidence cannot be grafted on artificially. True abiding confidence is earned through tenaciously pursuing and attaining those assets that allow you to reach your own level of competency; that is, excellence. You must monitor Confidence because it can easily turn into arrogance which then can lead to the mistaken and destructive belief that previous achievement will be repeated without the same hard effort that brought it about in the first place . I've always believed that success for anyone is all about drive, dedication, and desire, but for me, it's also been about confidence and faith. -
Stephen Curry
Block 20: Reliability (creates respect)
He brought an entire community together, inspired them with championships, and taught them how to master the fundamental skills that turn any dream into reality. The gyms he coached in became chapels, the court a pulpit where he preached a different kind of success approach. Wooden spent decades identifying the characteristics and traits that help define a successful person and narrowed the list to 25 common behaviors. By 1948, he created the iconic triangular diagram and named it the “Pyramid of Success.”When Coach Wooden introduced the world to the Pyramid of Success, he offered us all a roadmap for individual and team excellence—the same roadmap he used to build a legacy unmatched in the game of basketball. The life principles summarized in the Pyramid of Success had no explicit reference to basketball or athletics. The coach’s diagram was simply a roadmap to being a better person. We often take for granted that our lights will come on when we flip the light switch, but the reality is that our reliability standards and the current state of the transmission grid leave us all vulnerable to blackouts.
-Richard Burr
Block 21: Fight (determined effort)
You must fight what you believe in. Do not let anybody take that away from you.
Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else's dreams?
-Tim Burton
Block 23: Integrity (purity of intention)
On the right side of the Pyramid of Success, below patience, there are four additional pieces of mortar: integrity, reliability, honesty and sincerity. These are qualities that, together, encompass the genuineness, strength and impact of human character. In his book Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden defined integrity and its importance in the following “Integrity in its simplest form is purity of intention. It’s keeping a clean conscience. But it is also a composite of some of the other mortar qualities in the pyramid. To some extent, integrity contains a bit of reliability, a healthy helping of honesty and a portion of sincerity. However, I believe that the component of purity of intention is important enough to give integrity the status of mortar in its own right.
Block 25: Patience (good things take time)
Coach Wooden explained the importance of patience this way: “From this last block, competitive greatness, leading up to the apex on which success rests (according to my definition), on one side I have patience and on the other side I have faith.” He viewed patience as a trait that is essential in achieving success. “Good things take time,” he explained.He was quick to acknowledge the reality of life, however, that we rarely want to wait for the necessary progress to reach the end result. This impatience is something that is often tempered by maturity and wisdom. On the other hand, there is often a complacency that comes with age that can stifle potential growth. Coach remarked that young people “seem to want things to happen too quickly. They think all change is progress, but sometimes, as we get older, many of us are satisfied with the status quo. We forget that there is no progress without change. There is an even spot there somewhere. We must realize both. There is no progress without change, but not all change is progress.”
Final Reflection: He brought an entire community together, inspired them with championships, and taught them how to master the fundamental skills that turn any dream into reality. The gyms he coached in became chapels, the court a pulpit where he preached a different kind of success approach. Wooden spent decades identifying the characteristics and traits that help define a successful person and narrowed the list to 25 common behaviors. By 1948, he created the iconic triangular diagram and named it the “Pyramid of Success.” When Coach Wooden introduced the world to the Pyramid of Success, he offered us all a roadmap for individual and team excellence—the same roadmap he used to build a legacy unmatched in the game of basketball. The life principles summarized in the Pyramid of Success had no explicit reference to basketball or athletics. The coach’s diagram was simply a roadmap to being a better person."SUCCESS IS PEACE OF MIND WHICH IS A DIRECT RESULT OF SELF SATISFACTION IN KNOWING YOU MADE THE EFFORT TO BECOME THE BEST YOU ARE CAPABLE OF BECOMING."
- John Wooden
Block 7: Self-Control
"Practice self-discipline and keep emotions under control. Good judgement and common sense are essential."
Getting to the top and staying there (somewhat different tasks) present unique and formidable challenges. To do either requires great Self-Control. This characteristic within the Pyramid of Success addresses the importance of controlling yourself in all areas - avoiding temptations, avoiding emotionalism, avoiding peaks and valleys of effort. I viewed Self-Control, both personal and by our team, as a sixth Bruin on the court during my years at UCLA. That invisible sixth player was as important as any of the visible players. I like to remind those under my supervision: "Control yourself so others won't have to do it for you." Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know.
-Charles Kingsley
Block 8: Alertness
"Be observing constantly. Stay open-minded. Be eager to learn and improve."
My favorite American hero is Abraham Lincoln. Abe had Alertness. Mr. Lincoln once said that he never met a person from whom he did not learn something although most of the time it was something not to do. There is activity going on around us at all times from which we can acquire knowledge if we have Alertness. Too often we get tunnel vision and don't see the full picture which precludes learning things that are available. Basketball is played as much between the ears - Alertness - as between the lines on the court. This is true in life and business. Alertness is that asset that keeps you awake and perceptive and increases Skill. The driver who's asleep at the wheel will crash. The same happens to organizations lacking Alertness. "Remember, science fiction's always been the kind of first level alert to think about things to come. It's easier for an audience to take warnings from sci-fi without feeling that we're preaching to them. Every science fiction movie I have ever seen, any one that's worth its weight in celluloid, warns us about things that ultimately come true".
-Steven Spielberg
Block 9: Initiative
"Cultivate the ability to make decisions and think alone. Do not be afraid of failure, but learn from it."
Failure to act is often the biggest failure of all. Initiative is the ability to act. Simple as that. You must prepare thoroughly in all ways. If you have done that you must then summon the wherewithal to apply Initiative. Failure happens. None of us is perfect but you must train yourself not to fear failure. Fear instead inaction when it is time to act. This is true in all areas of life. Proper preparation must be followed with Initiative. As I reminded myself and others often: "Be quick, but don't hurry." That's a good motto for Initiative. "I've always had confidence. It came because I have lots of initiative. I wanted to make something of myself".
- Eddie Murphy
Block 10: Intentness
"Set a realistic goal. Concentrate on its achievement by resisting all temptations and being determined and persistent."
This personal quality may be as important as any within the Pyramid. It is the ability to stay the course even when that course is most difficult and the obstacles seem insurmountable. You do not quit: Intentness. Be persistent. Be determined. Be tenacious. Be unrelenting. The road to achievement is rocky, hard, and long. Things easily achieved are rarely long-lasting or significant. If you have Intentness and your ability warrants it you will eventually reach the top of the Pyramid.The place became full of a watchful intentness now ; for when other things sank blooding to sleep the heath appeared slowly to awake and listen.
-Thomas Hardy
Block 11: Sincerity (keeps friends)
Block 12: Adaptability (to any situation)
You should be able to adapt to any situation. You should be able to think fast and come up with a solution. No matter what life throws at you, you will know what to do.
Block 13: Condition
"Mental-Moral-Physical. Rest, exercise and diet must be considered. Moderation must be practiced. Dissipation must be eliminated."
You must be in physical Condition, but you must also have mental and moral Condition. All three are components in this block of the Pyramid because you can't have one without the others. Weak mental or moral Condition precludes top physical Condition.
Some observers felt that our players had top physical Condition. That was only part of it. They also had top mental and moral Condition. I reminded them, the players, of their responsibility to achieve Condition with this little rhyme:"There is a choice you have to make, In everything you do.
So keep in mind that in the end, The choice you make makes you."If you make the right choices you will achieve Condition.
Block 10: Intentness
"Set a realistic goal. Concentrate on its achievement by resisting all temptations and being determined and persistent."
This personal quality may be as important as any within the Pyramid. It is the ability to stay the course even when that course is most difficult and the obstacles seem insurmountable. You do not quit: Intentness. Be persistent. Be determined. Be tenacious. Be unrelenting. The road to achievement is rocky, hard, and long. Things easily achieved are rarely long-lasting or significant. If you have Intentness and your ability warrants it you will eventually reach the top of the Pyramid.The place became full of a watchful intentness now ; for when other things sank blooding to sleep the heath appeared slowly to awake and listen.
-Thomas Hardy
Block 11: Sincerity (keeps friends)
Block 12: Adaptability (to any situation)
You should be able to adapt to any situation. You should be able to think fast and come up with a solution. No matter what life throws at you, you will know what to do.
Block 13: Condition
"Mental-Moral-Physical. Rest, exercise and diet must be considered. Moderation must be practiced. Dissipation must be eliminated."
You must be in physical Condition, but you must also have mental and moral Condition. All three are components in this block of the Pyramid because you can't have one without the others. Weak mental or moral Condition precludes top physical Condition.
Some observers felt that our players had top physical Condition. That was only part of it. They also had top mental and moral Condition. I reminded them, the players, of their responsibility to achieve Condition with this little rhyme:"There is a choice you have to make, In everything you do.
So keep in mind that in the end, The choice you make makes you."If you make the right choices you will achieve Condition.
Block 14: Skill
"A knowledge of and the ability to properly and quickly execute the fundamentals. Be prepared and cover every little detail."
At the very center of the Pyramid of Success is Skill. You have to know your stuff and that includes a mastery of details. This is true whether you're an athlete, a surgeon, or a CEO. You'd better be able to execute properly and quickly and that requires Skill. As much as I value experience, and I value it greatly, I'd rather have a lot of Skill and less experience that the other way around. Mastery of the skills you need in your job requires learning and it is why leaders and those who are high achievers are lifelong learners. I had this motto tacked on my office wall for many years: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." Skill is an ongoing and lifelong process.The secret to the movie business, or any business, is to get a good education in a subject besides film - whether it's history, psychology, economics, or architecture - so you have something to make a movie about. All the skill in the world isn't going to help you unless you have something to say.
-George Lucas
Block 15: Team Spirit
"A genuine consideration for others. An eagerness to sacrifice personal interests of glory for the welfare of all."
This block of the Pyramid addresses a most important characteristic: selflessness which is the opposite of selfishness. I mean by this that you are eager to sacrifice personal glory or gain for the greater good, namely, the welfare and success of your organization, your team, your group. For me it meant I was constantly searching for that player who would make our team 'great' rather than a someone who was just a 'great player'. There is a big difference and that difference is what constitutes Team Spirit. I did not want a person on our team who was reluctant to sacrifice for the good of the team. I prized the individual who was eager to sacrifice for our common good.“
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” -Michael Jordan
Block 16: Honesty (in thought and action)
"Honesty is the best policy." (Ben Franklin)
“Honesty is doing the things that we know are right and not giving in to the temptation to do the things that we know are wrong. Honesty must occur at all times, in both thought and action. Honest people stay on the narrow way, regardless of the consequences. If we are honest, our integrity will not allow us to compromise—ever. “A dishonest act is an attempt to deceive someone. It is possible to be so deceptive that we even deceive ourselves. We do this when we want to justify a lie because of circumstances or as payback when someone has been dishonest with us. Dishonesty—no matter the reason—destroys our credibility, ruins our reputation and costs us our self-respect.” Under each piece of mortar on the Pyramid, in parentheses, there is some brief application advice for that mortar. In the original Pyramid under honesty, the application advice is “in all ways.” Later, Coach changed the application advice for honesty to “in thought and action.” Coach had an important motivation for the change. He wanted to make certain that we understand that honesty starts with not giving in to the temptation of dishonest thoughts, which can ultimately lead to dishonest actions.
Block 17: Resourcefulness (proper judgment)
“Make the most out of what you have.” (Anonymous)
"If you have a dream, if you have something you've always wanted to do, look within yourself because that is where resourcefulness resides; and go for it. (Jennifer Witterick)
On the left side of the Pyramid of Success, below faith, there are four additional pieces of mortar: ambition, adaptability, resourcefulness and fight. These are qualities that encompass the resolve, ingenuity and resilience of the human spirit. In his book Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden defined resourcefulness and its importance in the following manner: “Resourcefulness is using our wits, proper judgment and common sense to solve problems and meet challenges. It is using initiative in difficult situations and involves inventing, creating, imagining, synthesizing, evaluating, classifying, observing and analyzing solutions to overcome the trials that life throws at us. Resourcefulness is dreaming up ways to meet our goals.”I've always been interested in how we survive and how resourceful we are as Americans. -
Steven Spielberg
Block 18: Poise
"Just being yourself. Being at ease in any situation."
Just be yourself. Don't pretend to be what you are not. Don't get rattled, thrown off or unbalanced regardless of the circumstance or situation. Leaders with Poise do not panic under pressure. Poise means holding fast to your principles and beliefs and acting in accordance with them regardless of how bad (or good) the situation may be. Know who you are and be true to yourself. Those with Poise have a brave heart in all circumstances. Poise is a powerful gift you give yourself when you acquire the qualities of the Pyramid in the supporting tiers beneath it. I think I could describe the perfect quarterback. Take a little piece of everybody. Take John Elway's arm, Dan Marino's release, maybe Troy Aikman's drop-back, Brett Favre's scrambling ability, Joe Montana's two-minute poise and, naturally, my speed.
-Peyton Manning
Block 19: Confidence
"Thorough preparation breeds confidence" Gerald Bell in
"The Carolina Way"
There is no stronger steel than well-founded belief in yourself; the knowledge that your preparation is fully complete and that you are ready for the competition. Confidence cannot be grafted on artificially. True abiding confidence is earned through tenaciously pursuing and attaining those assets that allow you to reach your own level of competency; that is, excellence. You must monitor Confidence because it can easily turn into arrogance which then can lead to the mistaken and destructive belief that previous achievement will be repeated without the same hard effort that brought it about in the first place . I've always believed that success for anyone is all about drive, dedication, and desire, but for me, it's also been about confidence and faith. -
Stephen Curry
Block 20: Reliability (creates respect)
He brought an entire community together, inspired them with championships, and taught them how to master the fundamental skills that turn any dream into reality. The gyms he coached in became chapels, the court a pulpit where he preached a different kind of success approach. Wooden spent decades identifying the characteristics and traits that help define a successful person and narrowed the list to 25 common behaviors. By 1948, he created the iconic triangular diagram and named it the “Pyramid of Success.”When Coach Wooden introduced the world to the Pyramid of Success, he offered us all a roadmap for individual and team excellence—the same roadmap he used to build a legacy unmatched in the game of basketball. The life principles summarized in the Pyramid of Success had no explicit reference to basketball or athletics. The coach’s diagram was simply a roadmap to being a better person. We often take for granted that our lights will come on when we flip the light switch, but the reality is that our reliability standards and the current state of the transmission grid leave us all vulnerable to blackouts.
-Richard Burr
Block 21: Fight (determined effort)
You must fight what you believe in. Do not let anybody take that away from you.
Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else's dreams?
-Tim Burton
Block 23: Integrity (purity of intention)
On the right side of the Pyramid of Success, below patience, there are four additional pieces of mortar: integrity, reliability, honesty and sincerity. These are qualities that, together, encompass the genuineness, strength and impact of human character. In his book Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden defined integrity and its importance in the following “Integrity in its simplest form is purity of intention. It’s keeping a clean conscience. But it is also a composite of some of the other mortar qualities in the pyramid. To some extent, integrity contains a bit of reliability, a healthy helping of honesty and a portion of sincerity. However, I believe that the component of purity of intention is important enough to give integrity the status of mortar in its own right.
Block 25: Patience (good things take time)
Coach Wooden explained the importance of patience this way: “From this last block, competitive greatness, leading up to the apex on which success rests (according to my definition), on one side I have patience and on the other side I have faith.” He viewed patience as a trait that is essential in achieving success. “Good things take time,” he explained.He was quick to acknowledge the reality of life, however, that we rarely want to wait for the necessary progress to reach the end result. This impatience is something that is often tempered by maturity and wisdom. On the other hand, there is often a complacency that comes with age that can stifle potential growth. Coach remarked that young people “seem to want things to happen too quickly. They think all change is progress, but sometimes, as we get older, many of us are satisfied with the status quo. We forget that there is no progress without change. There is an even spot there somewhere. We must realize both. There is no progress without change, but not all change is progress.”
Final Reflection: He brought an entire community together, inspired them with championships, and taught them how to master the fundamental skills that turn any dream into reality. The gyms he coached in became chapels, the court a pulpit where he preached a different kind of success approach. Wooden spent decades identifying the characteristics and traits that help define a successful person and narrowed the list to 25 common behaviors. By 1948, he created the iconic triangular diagram and named it the “Pyramid of Success.” When Coach Wooden introduced the world to the Pyramid of Success, he offered us all a roadmap for individual and team excellence—the same roadmap he used to build a legacy unmatched in the game of basketball. The life principles summarized in the Pyramid of Success had no explicit reference to basketball or athletics. The coach’s diagram was simply a roadmap to being a better person."SUCCESS IS PEACE OF MIND WHICH IS A DIRECT RESULT OF SELF SATISFACTION IN KNOWING YOU MADE THE EFFORT TO BECOME THE BEST YOU ARE CAPABLE OF BECOMING."
- John Wooden
