John Wooden on Teaching

I have never really “heard” John Wooden. I’ve seen him on TV giving a quick sound bite.  I’ve read a book about him, and a book by him. I admire him greatly. But I’ve never really heard him talk long enough that I felt like I truly understood him.

Well, this speech he gives to the group “TED” is truly fantastic. It shows how John Wooden is not only a very  knowledgeable person, but a good human being as well. 

There are many lessons to be learned from John Wooden. My favorite point from this video is how he says he never really mentioned “winning.”  His idea is that you can lose when you outscore somebody in a game and that you can win while being outscored. 

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“When a game is over and you see somebody that didn’t see the game, I hope that they cannot tell by your actions whether you outscored the opponent or they outscored you.”

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He is making the point that winning is about making the effort to do the best you can.  If you do, the results will be what they should be, and you should be more proud of giving your best effort than winning.