“Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

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“Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

– John Wooden, basketball coach

John Wooden is considered by many one of the most successful college-level coaches of all time. His record of championships and the number of superstar players coached by him are legendary.

Two of the primary gifts he imparted on his players were his great attitude and his work ethic. He always focused himself and his players on making the most of each situation – resulting in exemplary individual and team performances.

Exercise:

To what degree do you make the best of the way things turn out?

What adjustments can you make to your behavior and attitude, in order to win your own championships?

#116: “Most great men and women are not perfectly rounded in their personalities…”

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“…but are instead people whose one driving enthusiasm is so great it makes their faults seem insignificant.”

– Charles A. Cerami, author

Many years ago, I read an article in a magazine entitled “Life Balance is Bunk!”

When I work with clients, many indicate that living a balanced life is one of their primary objectives. But if you study the world of personal and professional high achievement, you’ll find two things.

First, high achievers lead very imbalanced lives. Second, they are very happy and have actually chosen this imbalance at this point in their lives.

Exercise:

Rebalance your life by adding more of some things and reducing – or even stopping – certain other activities. If you do this exercise often, you will find that you too will have a somewhat unbalanced but happier life.

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

Quote 120: “The environment you fashion out of your thoughts, your beliefs, your ideals, your philosophy is the only climate you will ever live in.”

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“The environment you fashion out of your thoughts, your beliefs, your ideals, your philosophy is the only climate you will ever live in.”

– Stephen Covey, author and professional speaker

What if we could control the weather? What if we could live in our own inner San Diego all the time?

We have all heard the phrase that so-and-so has a “sunny disposition,” or that this or that person is shrouded in a “dark and stormy cloud.”

Exercise:

How can you change your thoughts, beliefs and ideals, and live in a climate of your own creation?

How will doing so make each and every day a bit brighter?

For extra credit, share this ability with others, so that they too can fashion out their own more pleasant environments.

Quote 119: “Happiness is not a state to arrive at but, rather, a manner of traveling.”

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“Happiness is not a state to arrive at but, rather, a manner of traveling.”

– Samuel Johnson, author, literary critic and lexicographer

I truly enjoy some of the deep and probing discussions I have with my clients as they explore their own success journeys.

One simple and useful discussion relating to happiness involves these three words: be, do, have.

People often get this process backwards. They believe that when they have X they will do Y and be happier.

As a coach, I encourage them to begin with their state of being, that informs their doing, that in turn will help them have a life they desire.

Exercise:

Revisit your list of core values and fundamental beliefs from the exercise for Quote #32, to find the source of your being, so you can be happier.

You can find Quote #32 archived on The Quotable Coach website here:  https://www.thequotablecoach.com/purpose/a-man-should-conceive-of-a-legitimate-purpose

Quote #118: “The Only Limit To Our Realization of Tomorrow Will Be Our Doubts of Today”

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“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”

– Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States

When I work with my coaching clients, we always do various forms of questionnaires, and include their perspectives on the obstacles they face on their journey to personal success.

A number of personal character traits and habits often get revealed during these discussions. It’s clear that the most limiting, destructive belief of all is self-doubt: fear prevents us from making the effort in the first place.

A common question coaches ask is “If you knew you could not fail, what could you accomplish with your life?” We then follow this with a series of “what elses?” to help people explore the potential cost of this self-doubt.

Exercise:

How can you summon the courage to experience self-doubt and yet still take the actions needed to realize your brighter tomorrows?

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision

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“Teamwork is the ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

– Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist

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Let’s face it: when it comes down to it, we’re all a bit selfish. Who hasn’t thought “What’s in it for me?” from time to time? People rarely will do something if there’s little or no personal pay off.

It seems that all truly great teams understand this, and add this special factor of shared accomplishment to their own individual success. Even the acronym TEAM has been described as “Together, Everyone Achieves More.”

Exercise:

How can you tap into the individual and collective motives of your personal and professional communities to obtain the uncommon results you desire?

#114: “Success is a journey, not a destination.”

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– Arthur Ashe, professional tennis player

To reach the end of our lives, at the very least, is to leave our physical world and perhaps enter a new level of existence. To some, the end of our lives is a more definitive end – death, with nothing beyond.

Life is one game I am not in a big hurry to finish. Taking pleasure in each step along this journey seems like a very good strategy.

How many people do you know who wish their lives away, by skipping steps in their journeys, by looking forward to the end of the work week, the end of the school year, or the opportunity to retire from a dead-end job?

Exercise:

How can you either change the game of your life, or shift your perspective, to make the most of each moment?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#113: “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra.”

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“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra.”

– Jimmy Johnson, football coach and broadcaster

Image from news.com.au

Many years ago, I read a book called The Slight Edge, with the fundamental premise that the little extra makes a big difference in life.

In golf, it can be one stroke over the course of a four day tournament that wins the match. In a race, it can be a single step or fraction of a second that makes the difference. And in a horse race, we have all heard the phrase “winning by a nose.”

Exercise:

Where in your professional and personal life can you put forth that extra effort, to realize the extraordinary?

Choose this area now and tell someone close to you, so that you will receive the extra support you may need.

#112: “One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”

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– Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr, doctor and writer

Yesterday I attended a barbeque with friends and family. My father, at age 85, attended, as did a little three-and-a-half year old boy named Luka. Luka enrolled my dad and others into playing baseball.

I actually got to see Luka’s mind and abilities expand over the hours – resulting in significant pleasure and joy for everyone there.

Exercise:

How have you embraced the pleasure and joy of learning for yourself, and expanded your world?

What ideas do you have to share with others, to expand their worlds too?

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

#111: “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

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– Mark Twain, author

This quote reminds me of the one about climbing the ladders of life: we must be sure that the ladder is leaning against the correct wall.

As true as this may be, we must also be vigilant, placing one foot in front of the other to progress to our goals.

In my many years of coaching, I have seen some people continually set the same goals and objectives, putting in only modest effort and making minimal progress. In our rapidly moving world, an individual or organization that makes little or no progress often gets left behind by their competition.

Quotes are posted on The Quotable Coach a week after being sent out by email. To get the latest quotes straight to your inbox, pop your details in the sidebar to the right.

Exercise:

What booster rockets, high-test fuel and massive action would it take for you to reach your goals faster and amaze yourself?