A Constructive Worldview on Values, Success & Competition

"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value." Albert Einstein

I'm currently reading "Wooden: A lifetime of observations and reflections on and off the court." A while back I was listening to an audio CD of a best-selling author, Orrin Woodward, in which he was teaching from personal experience the limiting beliefs that he had to overcome on his success/leadership journey. One of the limiting beliefs he mentioned was the way he viewed Competition, Winning and Losing. Growing up, he was programmed to believe that if someone else was winning, he was losing. This came from an unfair comparison wherein he compared the best of others with the worst of himself. As I listened and analyzed my own life, I realized that this was one of the reasons I would shrink from competition. I hate losing. I thought losing made you a loser and who wants that label. This is a very destructive belief because it keeps you from trying your hardest; and as John Wooden puts it, "Try your hardest in all ways and you are a success. Period. Do less than that and you have failed to one degree or another."

LUNG BUSTERS PART 1


LUNG BUSTERS PART 2


Joshua Wooden's Definition of Success:
"My dad, Joshua, had great influence on my own personal definition of success, and it had little to do with fortune and fame. Although I probably didn't really understand it at the time, one of the things he tried to get across to me was that I should never try to be better than someone else. Then he always added, `But Johnny, never cease trying to be the best you can be. That is under your control. The other isn't.`"

"You have little say over how big or how strong or how smart or rich someone else may be. You do have, at least you should have, control of yourself and the effort you give toward bringing out your best in whatever you're doing. This effort must be total, and when it is, I believe you have achieved personal success."

I took this to mean: run your own race, don't worry about the other guy, prepare day and night expecting to win, but if you lose, know that you left it all on the court, learn from it and don't make the same mistake twice.

I'm adding other lessons I've learned so far in the book as well, but take my word for it, it's all in there.

Wooden says, "Preparation is the prize. He quotes Cervantes saying, `The journey is better that the inn.`He is right and that is why I derived my greatest satisfaction out of the preparation - the journey - day after day, week after week, year after year."

Life is tough, and there will always be those who are winning and those who are losing. But if we understand that our focus should be 100% effort in everything we do, and that the blue ribbon, the gold medal or whatever the prize may be are just the by-products of that preparation and focus, then our victories and defeats will come with a piece of mind that brings joy and fulfillment, and as a result one step further towards Mastering the Context.

Keep Moving Forward.

Rusty Robson