Simply G's Blog: John Maxwell: Why John Wooden’s Teams Won… By: John C. Maxwell-Part #2/2

John Maxwell: Why John Wooden's Teams Won And how to apply the coach's winning principles to your life

First, he achieved personal victories before he led his team to victory. When you look at John Wooden’s life, one of the things you come away with quickly is he was truly disciplined. Many people feel that a leader’s biggest challenge is leading other people. I don’t subscribe to this opinion. The biggest challenge as a leader is living the life of a leader. As I listened to Coach Wooden that day, I asked myself, how could he bring such success to the teams that he led? It was the victory he had over himself that allowed him to also help others become victorious.

Our standard of excellence and code of conduct can be summed up by Coach Wooden’s strategy to find happiness. He said happiness comes from making and keeping nine promises:

1. Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness and prosperity as often as possible.

2. Promise yourself to make all your friends know there is something in them that is special that you value.

3. Promise to think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best in yourself and others.

4. Promise to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

5. Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

6. Promise to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the future.

7. Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile.

8. Promise to give so much time improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

9. Promise to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit trouble to press on you.

As leaders, if we haven’t won our personal battles, we’ll never be able to lead other people to victories in their battles.

I truly believe that everything rises and falls on leadership. In my book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork , I explain that the difference between two equally talented teams is leadership. When two teams come together with all things being equal—talent, experience, desire—the team with the best leader will always win. Coach Wooden had some of the most talented individuals in the country playing for him, but talent will only get you so far. It was his superior leadership that molded this talent into some of the best teams of all time. This is the second thing that set him apart.

Coach Wooden was a master at selecting players, and he knew how to motivate each person to fulfill his role on the team. Coach Wooden told me he recruited a lot of average shooters. But he also knew each player had a spot on the floor where they shot the best. He would design plays to get these players into the areas where they shot the best. If any player shot outside of their designated area, they knew they would be joining Coach Wooden on the bench. Everyone had a role, and the majority of his players mastered their roles on the team. Wooden said, “Teamwork is not a preference; it’s a requirement.”

He took that mantra of teamwork to heart. One of Coach Wooden’s sayings was, “If you listen to them, they’ll listen to you.” He told me that was a lesson he learned early in his coaching career. As a new coach, Wooden says he thought coaching meant pointing and directing players where they needed to be on the court. Five or six years into his career, he realized he was leading by assumption. He assumed his players had the basics under their belt; he assumed they knew what was happening in a game. That’s when he learned the only way to close these gaps was to listen to his players. Once he found out where they were in their learning and basketball knowledge, he could lead and give them direction.

I learned so much from John Wooden that day in Los Angeles. The time we spent together will be etched forever on my mind. His words continue to touch lives the world over. And I don’t say this about a lot of people, but after I left his home I said to myself, “I want to be just like him.”

I hope you will take some of these nuggets of wisdom and look at yourself; hopefully they will have the same effect on you as they did on me.

Thanks, Coach. You are missed.

- See more at: http://www.success.com/article/john-maxwell-why-john-woodens-teams-won#sthash.VaFEXZO3.dpuf

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GJ Reynolds also known as “G” is a Passionate, Playful & Powerful Warrior Entrepreneur, Author, and Life Transformer. He is also a Visalus Founding Promoter, Ambassador, Co-Founder of the Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge, business developer, coach, mentor, trainer, public speaker and radio host. He teaches others how to have fun reclaiming their Life, Health & Prosperity! G is driven to assist others to reach their full potential and having their magnificence to shine. He loves to teach and work with like-minded entrepreneurs and professionals who choose to reclaim their personal power and transform their life, health and prosperity. He lives a life of purpose, on purpose and for purpose. He enjoys the process of his personal, spiritual, and professional journey, while assisting others to do the same. G is at his best when he is learning, teaching, inspiring, creating, organizing, and leading the way! He also enjoys communicating with others that are of like mind and is on a mission to assist millions of people to transform their lives! Need a little help?

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