Notes on the difference between winning and succeeding by John Wooden via TED
Source: TED
When I watched it: March 2020
Why I watched it: I was working on an article about the definition of success and found this TED talk. Coach Wooden's views on success versus winning really spoke to me. Succeeding is greater than winning just like character is greater than reputation.
Go to the video page for details and to watch or scroll down for my notes.
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My notes
About John Wooden
John Wooden (“Coach”) was a college basketball coach for UCLA from 1948 to 1975. He won 10 national championships and coached some of the NBA greats (e.g. Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). He also dabbled in poetry.
Definition of success
Wooden defined success as peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you're capable.
Success is like character. Winning is like reputation ⇒ Your reputation is what you're perceived to be; your character is what you really are.
Character > reputation : : success > winning.
Never mention winning ⇒ You can lose when you outscore somebody in a game, and you can win when you're outscored.
Related advice:
Don’t try to be better than someone else (instead, learn from others)
Always try to be the best you can be (this is under your control)
Don’t get too involved and concerned with things you don’t control (concern over these distract you from being the best you can be)
Three rules
Wooden had three core rules:
Never be late
No profanity
Never criticize a teammate
Note: Don't run practices (or meetings) late, because you'll go home in a bad mood, and that's not good for your family. Start on time and close on time.
The pyramid of success
Wooden built a pyramid model to provide a framework for how to achieve his definition of success.
Source. John Wooden
Whatever you're doing, you must be patient. You must have patience to make long term change. You must also have faith ⇒ you have to truly believe (not just hope) you will succeed.
Don't whine. Don't complain. Don't make excuses ⇒ just do your best (no one can do more than this).
If you try to be your best regularly, the results will be approximately what they should be (not what you want them to be, but what they should).
The score is a by-product of success (not the end itself).
Often when you “win”, there’s a let down ⇒ the journey is better (it’s the reward).
Wooden’s most satisfying players were those who reached their full potential.