Rethinking Success: John Wooden's Pyramid
Coach Yourself, Part 1 - water polo, olympians, trophy moments
This is Part I of a four-part essay series called Coach Yourself – reflections on living life with an Athlete's Mindset and rethinking success.
Part I is my origin story. I will share Parts II-IV throughout January.
Let’s dive in 🤽🏽♀️
I've carried the same scrap of paper for 16 years.
My first water polo coach gave me the scrap when I was twelve. It's a photocopy of John Wooden's Pyramid of Success, hand-drawn by our goalie.
I tacked this scrap to my vision board, taped it on the walls of my dorm room, and slipped it into journals.
This scrap ignited my Athlete's Mindset. Before, I was just a young girl aimlessly enjoying after-school activities. Now I had the will to achieve and win with a team.
John Wooden is considered the greatest college basketball coach of all time. As the head coach of the UCLA Bruins, he won ten national championships in 12 years, including a record seven in a row. Simply put, he’s a legend.
Wooden's Pyramid doesn't just teach us how to become successful athletes. It's a roadmap for excellence that guides us toward becoming a better person and living our best life.
Build Your Foundation
The Foundation: Industriousness, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, enthusiasm
That summer, my life centered around water polo.
You can think of the game as a combination of swimming, basketball, and wrestling. Complete with underwater kicks and giving swimsuit wedgies to your opponent.
It's brutal, yet it hooked me.
I train for four hours a day on the weekdays. The best thing about being new? There's less pressure to fail and plenty of room to grow.
On weekends, I travel to tournaments with my team. We blast pump-up songs in the car, yell our chants in the pool gutters, and hit up In-N-Out after tough games.
Bonds are built through wins & losses.
I win a writing contest held by the USA Water Polo Association. I get to travel to the FINA World Championships and be the ball girl during the games. Meaning I'd retrieve the ball whenever it went out of play (best job ever for little Rach).
After the games, I meet the Women's National team, including the most decorated Olympian in women's water polo, Brenda Villa. I dream of following her path and playing in college.
When you're new to a sport, a job, or a creative endeavor, just dive in. Work your ass off, make friends, and surround yourself with the best in the game.
Fill Cracks in Your Pyramid
Rise to the Heart: Self-control, Alertness, Initiative, Intentness, Condition, Skill, Team Spirit
Flash forward to my first year in high school. I make the varsity team. Success achieved? In some aspects, yes, but now it's time to shift success to something bigger.
But Wooden's Triangle teaches us success is not just an end goal.
"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming."
Yet the only way we find what we're capable of is by continuing to do better things. How can we know our true best when the possibility of better lies before us?
*****
When you work tirelessly to improve, you're bound to get cracks in your Pyramid.
When the high school season ends, I try out for the Olympic Development Program, a competitive training program that identifies players for the US Regional & National teams.
At the tryout, I feel like a minnow amongst a swarm of sharks. The women are faster and stronger. As the coach lists off the names of the players who made the team, my silly dream of playing collegiate water polo slips through my fingers.
Then he calls the last name on the roster – my name.
I later learn from the coach that I am a "bubble girl." I would've been cut if it weren't for a drive I made during the evaluation game.
Although I was elated, humbling reality sank in and chipped cracks in my Pyramid.
Obviously, I wasn't the best. But I knew I still needed to figure out my best. So I sealed up the cracks of self-doubt with what Wooden called the mortar.
Mortar: Ambition, sincerity, adaptability, honesty, resourcefulness, reliability, fight, integrity, faith, and patience.
Mortar holds all the inner blocks firmly in place.
In my case, I was at the bottom of the Regional team's roster. Yet I knew I needed to be resourceful and make the most of the program. I could bring back what I learned to my high school team.
I keep playing and loving the game, earning high school MVP and Team Captain.
We live in a highly competitive world, but don't let competition stop you from doing what you love. Be adaptable and fill up the cracks in your Pyramid. Keep working at becoming your best.
Rethink Success
Nearing the Peak: Poise & Confidence
When choosing a college, I decided to base my decision entirely on academics. Water polo would no longer be at the center of my life.
I may have given up on the dream of playing collegiate water polo, but I wasn't ready to give up the sport I loved. So I joined a recreational team at UC Berkeley.
In one game, I swim across the pool to guard an opponent. As I press my hand onto her shoulder, I realize it's the one-and-only Brenda Villa. Girl, don't make a fool out of yourself in front of your water polo idol.
Years ago, I dreamed of becoming a professional athlete just like Brenda. I didn't become an Olympian, but here I was, playing against one.
You may follow a different path than you initially set for yourself—this doesn't make you a failure. Allow yourself to rethink your vision of success and embrace who you've become.
Greatest Version of You
The Pinnacle: Competitive Greatness
My favorite water polo memory is my last game, which was the first and only time I played alongside my little sister.
We had instant chemistry – I pass to her, and she scores (proud big sis, moment). Our dad nearly explodes with joy as he watches from the pool deck.
This moment is My Best. It’s the trophy I place at the top of my Success Pyramid.
Although I've since hung up my water polo cap, I still carry an Athlete's Mindset in all spheres of life.
John Wooden's Pyramid taught me that by focusing on our inputs and building our blocks, we can live a meaningful life. Our best life with the people we love.
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
If you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for reading! You can learn more about Wooden’s Pyramid and how to apply it to your life here.
Onward,
Rach
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." -- this is great, Rachael. Love the final version. :)
Great post Rachael! Even though I went to USC I revere Coach Wooden as the all-time greatest! Thanks for presenting, explaining and applying his Success Pyramid!