John Wooden: Life Lessons - Tony Robbins Podcast

During this two-part podcast episode, Tony Robbins, along with Mary Buckheit, discuss John Wooden. John Wooden is a well-known name in sports, as he both played basketball and coached the sport for the University of California, Los Angeles. In his last 12 years of coaching, coach Wooden’s team at UCLA won 10 national championships. In his 30-year career, his teams won over 80% of their games. His numerous successes both on and off the court have caused others to seek him out for insight into his effective leadership skills.

The impressive thing about John Wooden’s success is that he helped mold players into the best they could be. Tony considers John Wooden a mentor, and believes that John Wooden truly incorporated the principles he taught his team into his own life.

“Always be more concerned with your character than your reputation,” is one John Wooden quote that has inspired Tony. The quotation says something powerful — don’t feed into what others say about you, just be the best you you can be and honor your values. This sentiment reflects the type of leader John Wooden was, and reflects what it takes to become a great coach — whether you’re coaching on the basketball court or from inside the board room.

To coach Wooden, measuring success was simple; he said, “You’re not defined by a moment, it’s what you’re consistently like.” For John Wooden, and those who share his philosophies, like Tony, they believe that success is not about merely winning or losing. Success comes down to maximizing potential. Did you put in all the effort you could? Did you maintain your beliefs while pursuing progress?

As the podcast progresses, Tony Robbins plays a previous interview with John Wooden. Wooden is now deceased, but Tony was able to interview him years ago. The extensive interview dives into Wooden’s unmatched coaching lessons while Tony extracts what anyone can gain from these insights and apply to their own leadership role.

Wooden was a man who believed in precision and practice, and taking detailed notes of his players’ actions so they could be reflected upon later. In tough times, coach Wooden found that all good things come through adversity. However, you might never realize your potential to overcome adversity unless you give the task at hand your all.

Additionally, Wooden discusses that when leading a group, it’s of the utmost importance to keep in mind that your team deserves the best. The best way might not always be the way you would do something yourself. In addition to listing other pointers regarding competitive greatness, the pair discuss coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. The Pyramid of Success was a tool Wooden used with his team at the beginning of every year to ensure they were all on the same page. As a former English teacher, Wooden found that evaluating students with grades didn’t always adequately reflect their strengths. He created the Pyramid of Success as a tool to better display growth over time.

How are you evaluating success at your organization? Do you have the traits and drive needed to become a great leader? Find out more about how to succeed and lead by listening to the two-part podcast in its entirety.

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Tony Robbins is a #1 New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. For more than 37 years, millions of people have enjoyed the warmth, humor and dynamic presentation of Mr. Robbins' corporate and personal development events. As the nation's #1 life and business strategist, he¹s called upon to consult and coach some of the world¹s finest athletes, entertainers, Fortune 500 CEOs, and even presidents of nations.