Raise the Bar

This month’s current events section is dedicated to coaching legend John Wooden who recently fell at his home breaking his wrist and collarbone. John Wooden is now 97 years old and is a true example of someone who has lived an inspired life and consistently raised his own personal bar.

John Wooden, former coach of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins, probably represents the greatest level of consistent success in sports history. He created a dynasty beyond description. In his last years with the Bruins, Coach Wooden won ten of twelve National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships, seven of them consecutively. There are only four teams since 1939 that have won two national championships in a row. Under Wooden, the Bruins won 88 consecutive games, had four seasons in which they didn’t lose a game, and had three seasons in which they lost only one game. How did Wooden coach his team to this level of consistent success? He lived by a philosophy of constant, continuous improvement. The man with the most wins in college basketball history never talked about winning to his players: he inspired them to improve their performance every day.

Every day each player had to make some minor improvement in a particular area of their game. Wooden kept a journal and tracked the improvement of each player at every practice and every game. He knew that the key to success was gradual, consistent improvement.

Never accept the idea that there’s a limit to how far you can go. It’s your responsibility to shatter this type of thinking, explore the realm of the untested, and discover breakthrough opportunities. Independent scholar and futurist Joel Barker, known around the world as the "Paradigm Man" for popularizing the concept of paradigm shifts, once said, "Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it."

You can’t focus on winning without focusing on what it’s going to take to get you there. The key is to commit yourself to excellence in everything you do. Excellence means to consistently excel, to seek constant improvement. Only then we will live a life that allows us to achieve all-star status. It doesn’t take huge leaps of improvement, only small incremental steps every day to succeed in all aspects of your life. All those incremental improvements come together and accumulate to create momentum in your life so you can experience true success.

So, make the commitment today that you will employ the same philosophy as John Wooden, the greatest basketball coach in college history, has lived his own life. Make the commitment that you will never settle for less than your very best. Decide now that you will raise your bar each and every day to highest levels you have never reached before.

Believe in Yourself…..Raise the Bar…..Move Mountains!