Follow your passion, and you will go far. This time-honored notion resonates with most of us one way or another. For a shining example of a man who achieved extraordinary heights by following his passion, look no further than John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach who passed away June 4. Considered one of the best coaches in any sport, Wooden won 10 championships at UCLA, while no other men’s college coach has won more than four.
Some of Wooden’s championship teams were built around star players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. Others were made up of players with more modest talent but who executed what Wooden was teaching. And make no mistake: He was good at teaching the Xs and Os of basketball. Yet coaching was just the outlet for his true passion: molding teenagers into upstanding individuals.
Wooden’s famous Pyramid of Success consisted of 15 qualities — such as loyalty, confidence and competitive greatness — that he believed were essential to maximizing potential. Walton, in particular, embraced these lessons, even writing some of his coach’s noted axioms on his kids’ school lunch bags. As Walton noted, “Everything he said turned out to be right. He didn’t teach basketball. He taught life.”
Top college coaches now make millions of dollars per year, but Wooden never made much money as a coach. His top salary was $35,000. He even turned down a lucrative offer to coach the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers. For Wooden, it was the fulfillment of his passion that gave his life meaning.
I am often asked “How are your services different?” We are committed to helping you establish the means to fulfill whatever you choose. Whether it’s something you’re currently doing, something you’ve wanted to try or something you haven’t yet discovered, our goal is to take the worries of your finances off your mind so you can focus on what’s important to you. That’s our passion.
