John Wooden is one of the greatest coaches of all time. He led the UCLA Bruins to 664 wins in 27 seasons and hung 10 championship banners. He retired from coaching in 1975, but his work has continued to this day as a world renowned and well respected author, speaker and mentor to many. Today is his 99th Birthday. In honor of his ongoing legacy, here are 9 of the best quotes from the Wizard of Westwood:
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
“You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”
“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”
“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
“Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.”
“There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer.”
“I always tried to make clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere.”
I really need to memorize these… and then live them.
Filed under: Finding God in the Ordinary | Tags: basketball, biola, Calvary, church, faith, Family, friends, Leslie, life, politics, prayer, work
Life is happening so fast. I’m struggling to keep up. This should really be seven different posts, but I want to catalog all my thoughts from this week in one place.
Sunday – Struggled as two of my main tech guys were late for sound check. Struggled as a couple of important media elements had to be adjusted at the last second before the first service started. Jumped in to help serve communion after an amazing message by Brent Dedmon during second service. Got to celebrate my brother’s birthday over a great lunch that afternoon.
Monday – Did devotionals for a group at Calvary called God’s Housecare. They are a group of retired guys who get together each week and help clean the Worship Center. After cleaning they gather around coffee and donuts and hear from one of the pastors on staff. I talked about the sovereignty of God in light of the then upcoming elections. It was fun getting into of God and politics with guys older than my dad. They were surprisingly balanced and wise.
Tuesday – Heard from Dr. JP Moreland and Dr Klaus Issler from Talbot School of Theology. They met with Calvary’s pastors and directors to talk about things like modern-day miracles, gifts of the Spirit, prophetic words, the voice of God, demonic activity, spiritual warfare and the power of prayer. How do we avoid the trap of having a rational, limited and contained view of God that fits so neatly within our modern, Western, linear worldview, and instead carry out a faith as “empowered evangelicals” willing to take risks and be open to how God is moving in miraculous ways not just around the world – but also within our own church? Followed that faith-stirring time on a completely different note with an amazing time of Pizza, Wii and Rock Band with the whole staff. Made it home in time for my friend Marty the plumber to fix my leaking toilet. He’s a really good guy. Then, watched history unfold that evening as the results of the election were announced.
Wednesday – Packed up our stuff so our home could be tented for termites. It was strange to wrap up our food in plastic, hand over our keys to strangers, and trust that everything would be okay while they killed the bugs lurking in our walls. Had a really long day at work, full of meetings. But, it was fun to celebrate my good friend Tammy’s birthday with my communications staff during our regular Wednesday meeting. Leslie and I were able to check in to a brand new hotel that night, Worldmark by Wyndham in Anaheim. It’s a timeshare resort that my dad has points for. It’s only been open for a week. Strange to feel like a tourist in your own backyard.
Thursday – Took advantage of hotel living and used the fitness room in the morning. Had the place all to myself for the most part. Had a great time later that night with my sister and parents at Cheesecake Factory, which was right across the street from the hotel. They have a new pumpkin cheesecake – good thing I had worked out that morning.
Friday – Checked out of the hotel and went with Leslie for a surgery she needed to have done. The surgery went well, but as she woke up from the anesthesia she was hit with a massive migraine. Was able to get her home just in time for the gas guy to come by and reconnect our gas. He was able to fix a leak in our furnace and discovered a problem with the ventilation of our dryer that I was able to fix on my own. Two hugely dangerous problems solved. Got to head out that night with my friend Michael to Westwood to watch some hoops with our alma mater, the BIOLA Eagles, take on the Bruins of UCLA. We lost by about 30, but it was still fun to see Biola represent at Pauley Pavillion.
Saturday - Was woken up by a ringing telephone – that’s almost never a good thing. Leslie’s mom was in the emergency room. Turns out she had three heart attacks this week because of a clogged artery, but didn’t realize they were heart attacks. On our way to the hospital in Whittier I was pulled over for speeding and despite the plea of a medical emergency – the officer still took about five minutes and still gave me a ticket. I’m still not over that. Leslie’s mom seems to be doing better now with a couple stints inserted. They’re keeping her there for a couple nights to monitor everything.
That’s the week that was. It feels like with every blessing, comes a trial. It feels like the closer I am to God, the harder life gets. Or, is it the other way around? I can’t tell. I know that He is at work in both the seemingly ordinary and in the obviously extraordinary moments of life. I’ll keep believing and trusting and praising Him through it all. And even as I feel like I’m constantly falling short, I know that God is constantly lifting me up. Life is happening so fast. I hope I can keep up.
There are rumors swirling about what the new nickname and uniforms for the recently relocated Seattle Supersonics will be now that they’ve moved to Oklahoma City. Part of their official agreement with the city is that they cannot take the team name or the colors with them to OKC.
The leading contenders (verified off of recent trademark and domain name registrations) are Thunder, Bison, Barons, Energy, Wind, and Marshalls.
I think the Barons would be ironic as the team was essentially stolen from Seattle like a real robber baron would have done back in the day. Energy and Wind are a direct tie in with minority owner Aubrey McClendon’s company Chesapeake Energy. I believe that equals lame product tie-in and thus equally lame nickname.
The WNBA team from Seattle was already named the Storm and I would assume they’re moving to OKC as well. Thunder and Storm obviously go well together and fit in really well with the area’s weather. However, any real team name should end with an S. They should make that an official rule. Think about it, are there any cool teams that don’t have an S on the end? They could fix that by going native american with the Thunderbirds or old-school cartoon with the Thundercats.
There are some names that didn’t make the cut according to the various news sources that I actually like the best - Outlaws or Bandits. Either of those names would lend themselves to great imagery and a ton of uniform sales; plus a built in rivalry against their Texas neighbors, the Mavericks. But, the nba has too many image issues with players past and present to green light one of those choices.
The Tornadoes and Cyclones would make a lot of sense too, but again they’re probably too loaded with the amount of tragedy with which they can be associated. Then there’s the worst one of all I’ve seen floating around – the boomers or even the bombers. Terrible, with a capital T.
What name would you choose?
I used to love watching Baron Davis when he played for UCLA back in the day. The LA Clippers have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with Baron for a 5 year deal worth $65 million.
I can’t believe that Baron is coming home to LA. I can’t believe the Clippers are willing to actually pay him. I can’t believe that the Clippers in one day became relevant. I can’t believe that I may want to watch a Clipper game this next season.
Of course, he can’t officially sign with the team until July 9. So, what I would believe is that it’s all too good to be true, that the Clippers haven’t really changed at all and the deal will fall apart before any ink can be put on paper. Does that make me a pessimist, a realist or a prophet?
I hope I’m wrong, because having two good teams in LA at the same time would be a lot of fun to watch.
I continue to be fascinated by all the trade movement in the NBA. It seems amplified this year. Jason Kidd back to the Mavericks for Harris, Kurt Thomas getting picked up by the Spurs, the Hornets got Mike James and Bonzi Wells and back East the Cavs now signed Ben Wallace and Wally Szerbiak. The great keep getting greater and a bunch of the teams who aren’t going to make the playoffs are positioning themselves to dump big contracts or rebuild for the future.
This season is shaping up to be the best one in a while with everyone looking to improve their line ups and stay competitive down the stretch. I love the bold moves teams are making and the risks that may, or may not, pay off in the end. I love that the status quo just isn’t good enough.
I want to have an attitude like that when it comes to life. Why settle with what’s familiar and comfortable, when you can make the big, bold move that could win it all?
Oh yeah, and Mitch Kupchak is one of my new heroes. He’s the one who has patiently put together an incredible team in LA despite serious opposition and harsh criticism. He knew when and what to hold onto because of untold potential. He also knew when and what to go after to improve his hand at just the right moments. I think the Lakers are now finally one of the teams to beat and could win it all (in spite of Kobe and his terrible attitude over the summer) To have that kind of wisdom and insight translated into areas like finances or relationships or even ministry would be lead to some extrordinary results.
