Monday, February 20, 2012

Redefining Success


About 3 days ago I sat and watched a PBS program on someone I would never even consider being interested in...John Wooden.  Sports just ain't my thing...I'm more inclined to listen to Oprah then someone who coached collegiate basketball and I still, after watching the show, have no idea really what John did in his life and I have no clue how important the awards were that he earned, but I do know that I had a tremendous breakthrough listening to this man.

John defined success.  He defined it in 1934 and it remained the cornerstone of his coaching, his life, his program...it defined him as well as all of the men who looked up to him for guidance in his years of coaching. John's definition of success was coined as "Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming." 


Wow....when I heard him say tears swelled in my eyes and I sat there, remote in hand, kids running circles under me nodding my head in agreement.  It was one of those moments that the world snaps into place and suddenly you have clarity.  I have been chasing and looking for some purpose for so long and yet I was capable of success all a long right where I am.  I was looking for monetary and social stroking, accolades, important friends to define success.  I felt this life (being a stay at home) was fine for now there were elements I liked but all in all I wasn't very good at it and so when I started working again then THAT would be when my success came, THAT was when I would find my passion and define myself.  What a waste!  I have the opportunity for success each and every day!  


For the past three days when I laid my head down at night I asked myself 1 question, Are you proud of who you were today?   Yes!  Because I knew that question was coming at night so during the day when I was impatient with the kids I sucked it up and found ways to be patient.  I engaged, I created the ideal of what I thought was a good mom/wife/friend/Homekeeper/daughter.  All the different roles I played over the course of the weekend, I asked myself, Am I giving my all?  Am I doing my best?  The result...satisfaction at the end of the night.  Joyfulness which comes with peace of mind-success.

John Wooden may have completely changed my life in one simple statement. 






4 comments:

  1. hi brandi, just came over after i saw your post on our fb page. i enjoyed looking around your blog & loved this post! i'm going to write down john wooden's quote, it's so good. i'm glad you took the time to listen to that show then post about it. we've been blogging for just about 8 months now. we had so many kind folks who came to our site to encourage us & we try to pass it along as we find new bloggers. just became a new follower & i'm going to do a mention on our fb page about your blog. hope to keep in touch via blogland & fb. sharon

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE John Wooden and his Pyramid of Success! In fact, I've even written about it on my blog.

    In many ways, Coach Wooden reminds me of my grandfather and father. Just good old-fashioned wisdom without all of the bells and whistles.

    And he was filled with humility, too. In his early days of coaching at UCLA, he had to clean up the gym and locker room after practice. He always felt his primary job was as a teacher and his players were his students. He was teaching his players how to be successful men...not just great athletes. And because he focused on the old fashioned values, his teams were among the best in collegiate history.

    I remember watching basketball games that he was coaching when I was younger but it wasn't until I started working at UCLA that I discovered what a truly wise man he was and his influence on people's character is his lasting legacy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Common sense is really is the single main reason I love vintage living...just good old fashion morals and wisdom. It worked for generations I don't know why we're trying to complicate it all now.

      Delete