At a formative time in my life, I had the great honor to work three consecutive summers for John Wooden. It was the first job I ever had. Each week, he would open camp with all of the campers on the gym floor and their parents in the bleachers and deliver his Pyramid of Success program. Powerful...I learned something new each time. I personally witnessed him give the talk probably 20 times. His definition of success was transformative and I even wrote about it in Teach Like a PIRATE.
It was what happened next that was truly surprising.
John Wooden, arguably the greatest basketball coach of all time, would deliver his first instructions to the campers. It would be the same lesson he taught to all of his Division I basketball players on the first day of practice, as well.
Every year.
Teams comprised of some of the greatest college basketball players of all time like Bill Walton and Lew Alcinder (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Teams that won an unprecedented TEN NCAA National Championships in a twelve year stretch.
He taught how to properly put on your socks.
And...he taught it in great and meticulous detail. Explaining every step of the way of how to best smooth the bottoms to avoid blisters and even how to properly put on your shoes to best avoid folds and wrinkles.
Possibly the greatest coach of all time, whether he was teaching a second grader or an elite college athlete, started with putting on socks.
Sure it was about not wanting athletes to miss time or not be at their best because of blisters and discomfort. But, it was really about something much deeper and more significant. It was about attention to detail. It was about a mindset that everything should be done with commitment and excellence. It said, “This is how we operate here.” Proper execution of the fundamentals matter...a lot. It showed the importance of directing the same intentionality towards the little stuff that we do towards the big stuff. Everything matters.
I often shared the following quote with my basketball players, “To be successful you don’t have to do extraordinary things, you just have to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.” - Jim Rohn
That’s it. That nails it right there. Proper and repeated execution of the fundamentals.
A misconception about me and TLAP is that I don’t care how students perform on tests. Untrue. I just don’t think it is the ultimate measurement of their..or my...success. I also feel the best way to prepare students for tests is to focus on creating powerful learning experiences.
What about motivating students to try their best on standardized tests when they see no upside to the effort?
Some try to sell all of the reasons, most of them unpersuasive or outright lies, why the test matters for them and their school.
Some use scare tactics and pressure.
Some use a personal plea to try for the sake of the teacher. They use the “it may not matter to you, but it matters a lot to me” ploy.
Even more use guilt trips.
Tons use wild incentives and prizes.
I approach it differently. The reason it matters is because YOU are doing it. It is a lifestyle. It’s a mindset. It’s a way of navigating the world. How you do one thing is a reflection on how you do everything. It is absolutely not about the score. It is about being the kind of person who shows up and does their best. It is about being the batter who always runs out every ground ball.It is about giving your all as a speaker whether there are 1,800 people in the audience...or 18. It is about committing to excellence in even the small things as a matter of personal discipline and integrity.
Tim Ferriss often mentions advice he received from the Hindu monk, Dandapani (and reiterated by Naval Admiral William McRaven in commencement speeches); make your bed every morning. Silly? No. It starts your day easily with a win. It sets the tone for the day. It says, “even though this seems small and insignificant, it is indicative of how I go through life.” Look...not to call anyone out...but, barring any health and/or physical challenges of course, some people leave their shopping cart wherever they want...and some people are intentional about returning it to the rack.
Return the cart.
Make your bed.
Put your socks on with excellence!
Oh! And when you are totally relaxing and unwinding...do that completely and intentionally, as well.
It is absolutely not the individual act or result of any of it that is important. It is the person you become as a matter of practice along the path.
Thanks for reading!!
Dave
PS: I spoke about my thoughts (including on socks!) on John Wooden, Teach Like a Pirate, social media promotion, and SO much more on the wonderful #Kindsight101 podcast of Morgane Michael. This blog is being published on #WorldKindnessDay so it is an awesome opportunity for you to check out Morgane’s work. Find her on INSTAGRAM and TWITTER. Please listen to our episode RIGHT HERE and let us know what you think!!
PSS: In THIS EPISODE with Morgane I reveal a TOP SECRET strategy for dealing with social media problems!! Shhh! Don’t tell anyone how easy the technique is!!
PSSS: Make your bed tomorrow morning!!