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Issue 692 - "No Job Title Can Limit Greatness": Eleanor Roosevelt


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 13	Issue 692
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"NO JOB TITLE CAN LIMIT GREATNESS": ELEANOR ROOSEVELT John Wooden Video Clip (70 sec.): Coach Wooden shares his poem: "Don’t Look Back" Eleanor Roosevelt is regarded as the most influential woman in American History. She was born in New York City in 1884 and orphaned at the age of ten after losing both parents and a younger brother. As a youngster she struggled with loneliness and low self-esteem. Thanks to an inspiring mentor, Marie Souvestre, at the Allenswood Academy she gained confidence. In 1905 she married her distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt who would become President in 1933. As First Lady from 1933 to 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt transformed the role of First Lady from a ceremonial position into a powerful platform, becoming one of the most influential leaders on the world stage, cementing her legacy as the "First Lady of the World." Her astonishing accomplishments continued after President Roosevelt’s death in 1945 and continued until her death in 1962. 1933–1945: Held 348 press conferences, only allowing female reporters to attend, which pressured newspapers to hire more women journalists. 1939: Resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) after they denied African American Opera Singer Marian Anderson a concert hall; arranged Anderson’s historic performance at the Lincoln Memorial. 1942: Supported the Tuskegee Airmen, fighting for African American pilots to be recognized in the military. 1941-1943: Helped establish the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) to involve citizens in the war effort and traveled to war zones in the South Pacific and Europe, visiting soldiers and advocating for better conditions for women in the armed forces. 1948: As the U.S. delegate to the United Nations, she led the drafting and adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which became a cornerstone of international human rights law. 1950s: Opposed McCarthyism and advocated for civil liberties. She continued public speaking and humanitarian work despite health struggles. 1930–1962: Authored over 25 books and wrote a daily newspaper column, "My Day,” which ran for 26 years. 1968: (Posthumous) Awarded the United Nations Human Rights Prize for her contributions to global human rights. Eleanor Roosevelt did not let the limited job description of being the "First Lady", a ceremonial position when she took over, hold her back.. She created her own job description and became the most influential woman in American history. Are you letting a job description hold you back? Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 692. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 692. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE Ambition If you would rise above the throng And seek the crown of fame, You must do more than drift along And merely play the game. Whatever path your feet may tread, Whatever be your quest, The only way to get ahead Is striving for the best. 'Tis not enough to wish to do A day's toil fairly well; If you would rise to glory, you Must hunger to excel. The one who has the proper stuff Goes into every test, Not seeking to be 'good enough,' But eager to be 'best.' Aim high! And though you fail today And may tomorrow fail, Keep pounding steadily away, Some day you'll hit the nail. At no half-way mark ever pause And smug content to rest, Who would win honor and applause Must want to be the best. The best must be your aim in life, The best in sport or work, Success in any form of strife Falls never to the shirk. The crowns of leadership are few, The followers move in throngs, If you would be a leader, you Must shun the 'drift alongs.' Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959)
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