Wooden's Wisdom | Leadership Resource Center

Issue 195 - More Often Than we E'er Suspect, the Lives of Others We Do Affect


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 4	Issue 195
Craig Impelman Speaking \| Championship Coaches \| Champion's Leadership Library Login
MORE OFTEN THAN WE E'ER SUSPECT, THE LIVES OF OTHERS WE DO AFFECT Every day with our actions and words we are knowingly or unknowingly influencing others. Coach Wooden expanded on this idea: Like it or not, we have influence of many different kinds in many different places and should conduct ourselves in an appropriate manner. This verse is correct: More often than we e'er suspect, the lives of others we do affect. People who don't want the responsibility that comes with being part of a community don't have that choice. They are role models whether they like it or not; they cannot simply announce that they intend to shirk their responsibility. They are role models, either good or bad. In his book, Wooden, with Steve Jamison, Coach talked about the chance we all have to make a difference: Perhaps you fret and think you can’t make a difference in the way things are. Wrong. You can make the biggest difference of all. You can change yourself. And when you do that you become a very powerful and important force - namely, a good role model. I believe you can do more good by being good than in any other way. In a speech at Western Michigan, Coach recited one of his favorite poems, A Little Fellow Follows Me. The poem ends with: I must remember as I go, Thru summers' sun and winters' snow. I am building for the years to be, This little chap who follows me. Coach then added his own insight: And that’s just like all of you. You’re building somebody. There’s somebody watching you. Be careful. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Twitter: @woodenswisdom	COACH'S Favorite Poetry AND PROSE ARE YOU A WINNER OR A LOSER? (Part Two) A winner says, “I’m good, but not as good as I ought to be;” a loser says, “I’m not as bad as a lot of other people.” A winner listens; A loser just waits until it’s his turn to talk. A winner would rather be admired than liked, although he would prefer both; a loser would rather be liked than admired and is even willing to pay the price of mild contempt for it. A winner feels strong enough to be gentle; a loser is never gentle—he is either weak or pettily tyrannous by turns. A winner respects those who are superior to him and tries to learn something from them; a loser resents those who are superior to him and tries to find chinks in their amour. A winner explains; a loser explains away. A winner says, “There ought to be a better way to do it” a loser says, “That’s the way it’s always been done here.” A winner paces himself; a loser has only two speeds, hysterical and lethargic. Sydney Harris
For more information visit www.woodenswisdom.com