Was reading a “Daily Dad” that brought up the 7 rules that John Wooden’s father laid out for him on his 8th grade graduation day in Hall, Indiana…
Before reading Papa Wooden’s rules, a lightbulb went off and I decided to lay out 7 rules for my own kids and instruct them as Wooden’s father did to “Try to live up to this.”
- No Whiners – Whiners are the energy sucking bottom dwellers of the world. You could go on to accomplish great things in life yet if you complain about things, you will rob yourself and all those around you of the greatest joy in life… The appreciation present moment.
- Be Kind – The golden rule states ‘do unto others as you would want done to you’ – Don’t be an asshole.
- Work Hard – Get out what you put in… There is no substitute to work. If you want to be great, be obsessed.
- Stay PRESENT – The only way to truly live in the moment is to be immersed in whatever you are doing at all times. Feel the air pass through your nostrils to remind yourself THE TIME IS NOW.
- Educate & Experience – My Dad said there were only 2 things in life he could give me that nobody could ever take away: EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE… Never stop learning & never stop DOING.
- Be Humble – If ego is the enemy, humility is our savior… Respect and admiration is earned by living a life predicated on positive actions, not arrogant words.
- Be Grateful – Simply put, gratitude is fucking EVERYTHING. If we are able to live our lives with an attitude of gratitude we won’t ever whine and will always be kind because we will understand how lucky we are just to be in that very moment of LIFE…
Our appreciation of all things will motivate us to work our ass off while entrenching ourselves in the present moment of our ongoing education and experiences…
Being thankful for our successes AND our failures is what allows us to take bites of the bottomless humble pie that continues to fuel the beautiful adventure of life…
-EB