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Issue 287 - Moral Compass


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 6	Issue 287
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MORAL COMPASS Click here to watch Coach John Wooden video clip. Coach Wooden had a crystal clear moral compass. His ultra-strong belief system (moral compass) included not imposing his beliefs on others. Coach discussed this idea in his book with Steve Jamison, The Wisdom of Wooden: I told our players, "Have a faith, a religion, and know why you believe in it. Stand up for those beliefs, but respect the rights of others to believe in their own faith." Coach Wooden’s respect for other’s belief systems in no way diminished the intensity he had as a Christian. Coach made his strong feelings crystal clear in an essay he wrote in 1968 entitled A Life That Wins. Here are a few excerpts: There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of our Saviour. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere. "Seek ye first His Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well." We must remember that He also said, "For whoever would save his life must lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?" Material possession, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of our Lord and Master, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters. However, He is gracious and forgiving and it is never too late to find Him if we really seek His way. The life that wins is the one that follows the advice Jesus gave to the Pharisee lawyer when he said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." The challenge is to have a moral compass (belief system) so strong that it determines your actions, no matter what the circumstances are, and a heart so open and full of love that it respects the beliefs of others although they may be different than your own. What do you believe in? How strongly? How respectful are you of the beliefs of others? Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 287. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 287. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw, within the moonlight in his room, Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, An angel writing in a book of gold:— Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, And to the Presence in the room he said "What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head, And with a look made of all sweet accord, Answered "The names of those who love the Lord." "And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so," Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, But cheerly still, and said "I pray thee, then, Write me as one that loves his fellow men." The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night It came again with a great wakening light, And showed the names whom love of God had blessed, And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784 to 1859)
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