“Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” – John Wooden
We all have a vision for how we’d like things to work out, whether it’s a dream for our personal future, or the future of our business. The truth is, those visions rarely align with the reality we face every day. The only way to succeed, at least according to John Wooden, is to make the best of each day and not let the little things that get in the way, get you down. So keep your head up, make the most of every roadblock and stay the course. It might not look exactly how you’d planned, but once you reach the end all that matters is that you’re happy.
John Wooden emphasizes this point and many others about succeeding in his Ted Talk here. He emphasizes the differences between winning and succeeding, which, although you wouldn’t expect, applies much more to business than to the game of basketball.
“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” –John Wooden
This applies to business just as much as it does to basketball. You must adapt to be better than your competition as your competition attempts to be better than you. This constant process means constant change in order to succeed. Whether it’s in the industry or in your own business, change is necessary to evolve. Eventually, a business will outgrow its own practices and system of operations. It’s important to know when change must be made, because otherwise, your small business will always be just a small business.
John Wooden
Born in 1910, John Wooden is best known for being the basketball coach of UCLA, winning a record 10 national championships over 12 years. In his younger years, he was an All-American guard at Purdue University. He is also the first person to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a coach and a player.
Other quotes from John Wooden include:
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
“It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
If you found this interesting, you might also enjoy some of these posts:
