Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 2 - Don't Whine, Don't Complain, Don't Make Excuses


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 1	Issue 2
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DON’T WHINE, DON’T COMPLAIN, DON’T MAKE EXCUSES Click here to watch Coach John Wooden video clip. Coach Wooden's Father, Joshua Wooden, gave his boys a very direct set of rules he hoped would guide their everyday behavior. These were referred to as the “Two Sets of Three.” As discussed in our first coaching module, the first set of three dealt with integrity: Never lie Never cheat Never steal The second set of three dealt with how to handle adversity: Don’t whine Don’t complain Don’t make excuses Joshua Wooden had purchased some pigs as an investment for the family farm. He also purchased vaccinations to keep them healthy, but it turned out that the vaccine was bad, and the entire herd died as a result. Later that same year, the crops were destroyed by a drought. Joshua Wooden ultimately lost his farm to the bank. Without any ill words for the man who had sold him the bad vaccine, Joshua moved the family to a nearby town where he took a job as a masseur. John Wooden knew that these events had devastated his father’s spirit and broken his heart, but Joshua would never blame others or dwell on mistakes. He lived by the same set of rules that he bestowed upon his sons: "Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses. Just do the best you can. Nobody can do more than that." His father’s example shaped John Wooden’s mindset for life. Coach had two great maxims to rekindle a positive attitude when the going gets tough. “Never make excuses. Your friends won't need them and your foes won't believe them.” “Things usually turn out the best for people who make the best out of the way things turn out.” Are you making the best out of the way things turn out? Click here for personal development exercise. Click here for Printable Poetry Issue Two If this was forwarded to you click here to get your own free 8 week subscription Yours in coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Twitter: @woodenswisdom	COACH'S Favorite Poems A Little Fellow Follows Me A careful man I want to be, A little fellow follows me; I do not dare to go astray, For fear he'll go the self-same way. I cannot once escape his eyes, Whate'er he sees me do, he tries; Like me he says he's going to be, The little chap who follows me. He thinks that I am good and fine, Believes in every word of mine; The base in me he must not see, The little chap who follows me. I must remember as I go, Through summer's sun and winter's snow; I am building for the years to be That little chap who follows me. ~Rev. Claude Wisdom White, Sr.
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