John Wooden: the difference between winning and succeeding

Let’s get back to school, back to business and back on track.  As you prepare, check out this simply profound message.

“I had three rules, pretty much, that I stuck with practically all the time. I’d learned these prior to coming to UCLA, and I decided they were very important. One was — never be late. Never be late. Later on I said certain things –I had — players, if we’re leaving for somewhere, had to be neat and clean. There was a time when I made them wear jackets and shirts and ties. Then I saw our chancellor coming to school in denims and turtlenecks, and I thought, not right for me to keep this other. So I let them — just they had to be neat and clean. I had one of my greatest players that you probably heard of, Bill Walton. He came to catch the bus; we were leaving for somewhere to play. And he wasn’t clean and neat, so I wouldn’t let him go. He couldn’t get on the bus. He had to go home and get cleaned up to get to the airport. So I was a stickler for that. I believed in that. I believe in time — very important. I believe you should be on time. But I felt at practice, for example, we start on time, we close on time. The youngsters didn’t have to feel that we were going to keep them over.”