Coach John Wooden on Life, Coaching & Success - A Potential Game Changer

If you were to write the one book that should be considered the most important book of our time what would that book be? What would you title it? and what subjects would it cover?

Would it be about financial success and how to make millions in a hundred days or less?

Would it be about relationships and how to get along with others, especially your spouse and other loved ones?

Would it be about contentment and how to live a peaceful, but quietly productive life?

Or would it be how to optimize your life through a balanced mix of work and fun, friendship and solitude?

Just a few books among many that could be considered game changers in their time include:

The Bible

Perhaps, the most influential book in the history of Western civilization and maybe the whole world is the Bible. The Bible is a unique collection of writings written by over 40 different authors over a span of 1500 years (15th century BCE to 1st century CE). It is claimed by Judaism and Christianity as their Holy Scriptures which contains historical sketches of ancient Israel, the ministry of Jesus Christ, and teachings on faith and practice.

The teachings of the Bible have been the impetuous behind major movements in history including (a) the rise of Israelite Kingdom from the time of Moses in the 15th century BCE to the time of exile after King Josiah in the 6th century BCE and (b) the rise of the Christian movement during the Holy Roman Empire through the Middle Ages, the Reformation and to present day. It also played a major role in the rise of the British Empire and the emergence of the United States of America.

Muhammad - The Qur'an

The Qur' an is the main religious text of the Islamic faith. Faithful followers of Islam (called Muslims) believe the Qur'an to be the verbal divine guidance dictated by God (Allah) to the prophet Mohammed from 610 to 632 CE. Muhammad received the messages of God and recited the Qur’an to his followers, numbering tens of thousands, who recited after him, until they had memorized it. He also dictated it to his scribes (Muhammad was illiterate) who wrote down its verses during his life. Shortly after Muhammad's death the Qur’an was established textually into a single book form by the order of the first Caliph Abu Bakr.^[8] During the reign of Uthman, the third Caliph, the Qur'an was standardized: Uthman compiled Abu Bakr's copy of the Qur’anic text, set it in the standard Quraish dialect called Fus'ha (Modern Standard Arabic), made several copies of the now standardized text and burned the non-standard texts.^[9] Muslims hold the present form of the Qur’an as exactly the same as that revealed to Muhammad. Most scholars and historians accept the present day Qur'an is the original version compiled by Abu Bakr shortly after Muhammad's death. (Wikipedia).

By the impetuous of the prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an the Arab peoples were driven to great feats including the expansion of a vast empire that stretched from the Middle East eastward as far as Indonesia and westward along the Mediterranean sea across North Africa and up into Spain.

Sun Tzu - The Art of War

The Art of War is a Chinese military treatise written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century BCE. It is considered one of the most successful and highly regarded military books in the history of the world influencing both eastern military and western military strategy. Translated into French in 1772 and English in 1905, it is now taught in many business schools as well as military academies. The has been consulted by such men as Mao Zedong of China; Vo Nguyen Giap of Vietnam; French General Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini; and American General Douglas MacArthur.

The Origin of Species - Charles Darwin

Written by British naturalist Charles Darwin in 1859. the Origin of Species set in motion the science of evolution in biology. Through his studies of various species on the Galapagos Islands Darwin postulated the theory of natural selection and posited thatthe diversity of life evloved from common descent. By this theory and subsequent findings, microbiologists and other scientists began to call into question the Bible's claim of a literal seven day creation. Many years later some have even dismissed God altogether as an unnecessary fairy tale.

The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

Written in 1948 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the Communist Manifesto was a call for a classless society and made the following demands

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.

By this manifesto, revolutions and uprisings occured causing the overthrow of many long established empires and government regimes and new Communist governments were born. Unfortunately, the Communist movement resulted in more mass destruction of human life than any other governmental movement in history and also resulted in less freedom for its constituents.

 Relativity - The Special and General Theory - Albert Einstein

Proposed by Albert Einstein in the 1920s, the theory of relativity had a profound effect on many aspects of science and life in the late 20th century. For his influence on western culture, Einstein was named by Time Magazine as the most influential man of the 20th century. His theory has been used to reject the notion of absolute truth, preach tolerance and political correctness and was used by atheists and agnostics to further dampen the cultural impact of the Bible and God-based (Christian) values in Western society.

Integral System & The Theory of Everything - Ken Wilber

While it may not have yet had a profound impact on current society, Ken Wilber's Integral System and the theory of everything has the potential to be a game changing book. Unlike naturalists and other atheist philosophers, Wilber includes the spiritual realm in his theory of life and existence. From Buddhism and Hinduism thought he sees life as a single force with all things natural and supernatural part of the greater mass of existence. His push is for a fully integrated theory of existence that draws all theories into one overriding theory. Wilber's aim is to draw all people's from all walks of life to come together as one humanity in love and tolerance for the common good of all.

 

My choice for the most important book of our time written in our time is Coach John Wooden's book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court written by Wooden with Steve Jamison.

The book is separated into four sections

• Families, Values, Virtues
• Success, Achievement, Competition
• Coaching, Teaching, Leading
• Putting It All Together - My Pyramid of Success

Each of these four sections is filled with secret wisdom that applies far beyond the basketball court.

When Wooden was a young man and ready to graduate from grade school, his father gave him two gifts - a two dollar bill and a piece of paper with writing on each side. On one side of the paper was a poem by Reverend Henry Van Dyke; on the other side were seven principles for living. It was upon those seven principles that Coach Wooden developed his life and eventually set the foundation for his famed Pyramid of Success.

Those seven principles included:

1. Be true to yourself;
2. Help others;
3. Make each day your masterpiece;
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible;
5. Make friendship a fine art;
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day;
7. Pray for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessing every day.

Throught this inspiring little book, Wooden shares how he put these principles into action and how they made the difference for success both on and off the court.

While I believe the Bible is the most important book of all time; Wooden's book Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court is the most important book of our time. If we all lived by these principles the world would be a far better place.

You may scoff at this idea, but if you have never read it then you do not know, do you.