March 7, 2010 at 11:18 pm
It is best not to drink too deeply from a cup full of fame. It can be very intoxicating, and intoxicated people often do foolish things.
Back when I was a TV sportscaster in small town Idaho, the local kids would occasionally come up to me and ask for an autograph when I was out covering some event. I politely declined to sign anything for them, telling them that I wasn’t famous and my autograph would never be worth anything. When I told this story not long ago to a couple friends, they said I was being a jerk. I don’t think so; I was just being realistic about fame and trying not to get intoxicated by the kids’ attention.
Last October at a U2 academic conference, I was asked to sign about 10 copies of my book. My wife told me in advance that I wasn’t allowed to say “no” to those requests. She was right – it would’ve been really bad form to do that. And I have to confess that I got a bit drunk on the attention. Thankfully, that was a short trip and coming back home put me right back where I belonged!
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
February 27, 2010 at 8:37 pm
If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier.
Tomorrow on this blog, I’m going to post about a very intense and recent disappointment we’ve faced at Casa McGee. So this quote is especially relevant tonight. My mom’s most oft-repeated quote to me as a child was, “Count your blessings.” That’s what I’m doing. Life’s too short and too good to dwell on negatives and disappointments.
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
February 22, 2010 at 5:05 pm
When you see a successful individual, a champion, a “winner,” you can be very sure that you are looking at an individual who pays great attention to the perfection of minor details.
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
February 12, 2010 at 12:35 am
You can make mistakes, but you aren’t a failure until you start blaming others for those mistakes.
No excuses. I used to struggle with this many, many years ago — especially when I worked in TV/radio sports. It was never my fault when a newscast or radio show went south, or when we missed a big story, or when the ratings weren’t very good. But that, of course, wasn’t true. I think I’m better now at not making excuses and blaming others. It doesn’t accomplish anything.
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
January 28, 2010 at 2:43 pm
I believe the greatest joy one can have is doing something for someone else without any thought of getting something in return.
I wish more people, me included, acted that way.
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
January 14, 2010 at 12:11 am
You should learn as if you were going to live forever, and live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
I love this. He’s talking about the need to always be learning and improving yourself, as if you were going to need this knowledge for the “long journey ahead.” But at the same time you should appreciate every moment and live with a sense of immediacy, and “not waste even a minute.”
That’s what I was talking about in this post when I said this:
“Realizing that your life is probably more than half over seems to refocus everything. I cherish the Good Things more than ever. I have less and less patience for pettiness, silliness, and stupidity.”
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
January 6, 2010 at 8:30 pm
The person you are is the person your child will become.
That is sooooooo true.
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
January 3, 2010 at 7:04 am
It only weakens those we want to help when we do things for them that they should do themselves.
As a parent, I need to remember this and live it more often. In the name of doing something the right way, or my way, or the fast way, I often do stuff for the kids that they should learn to do themselves. Need to stop doing that now.
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
December 29, 2009 at 9:37 pm
John Wooden’s father had rules about how he felt people should conduct themselves in life. He called these rules “two sets of threes.” The first set was about honesty:
Never lie.
Never cheat.
Never steal.
The second set was about handling tough times:
Don’t whine.
Don’t complaint.
Don’t make excuses.
Pretty good rules, if you ask me.
If you don’t know what this post/series is about, see the John Wooden tag and specifically the first quote I posted.
December 25, 2009 at 9:23 pm
“Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.”
For Christmas today, I received a copy of this book, simply called Wooden. It’s a collection of short stories and observations by a man whose wisdom I’ve cherished for more than 20 years. As I read along, I’ll be posting some of my favorite quotes from the book. You can see the full collection in the John Wooden tag for this blog.
