DON'T LEAVE IT UP TO LUCK

John Wooden wrote down every single one of his basketball practices, in detail, on 3 x 5 cards. He started this routine at South Bend Central College, continued it at Indiana State, all the way through his championship years at UCLA.

It was said that before each practice, Wooden and his staff would spend 1-2 hours preparing, in great detail, each and every practice drill. Each drill would be written on a 3 x 5 card, and after it's use was stored away as a reference for future practices.

One of Wooden's former players, All-American John Green said, "Coach used the same plays year after year. Everybody knew what we were going to do, but very few could stop us. That's because Coach had us do things over and over again until we did them right. We always knew where to go, where to be, and that we'd better be there."

Coach Wooden's practices were run like a well-oiled machine, packed with drills, and perfectly on schedule. Green went on to say, "If there was a drill we couldn't get right, he didn't dwell on it. We'd spend ten minutes on it and then go on to the next drill. But the following day, Coach would probably have us scheduled to work fifty minutes on that drill, until we were able to run it to perfection."

Why was Wooden so bent on this type of preparation and repetitive practice? He did not want to leave his team's success up to luck. He wanted to make sure, that which he could control, he controlled, and he did it through assiduous preparation and practice.

Wooden said, "We never took our eye off of the basketball and started gazing at the crystal ball."

Think about it. Most of our dreams and aspirations we have handed to luck. We may not do this on purpose, but if our daily actions are not matching up with what we are trying to achieve, we are simply chasing a pot of gold.

Author of the best selling book, The Encore Effect, said, "Preparation is most underrated piece of success." He goes on to say, "Most speakers succeed or fail before they get on the stage and most days are ruined or made remarkable before you leave the house for work."

How do you prepare each and everyday for greatness in your life? Do you take the time to prepare each day for those things you can control? Or do you leave it up to luck? If you need some help, here is a place to start: Your attitude, excellence in what you do, and your work ethic. All three of these are controllable factors that can begin to change your life right away.

I am a coach. I inspire others to become more of who they are. I like to say, "I'm here to pull the greatness out of people." To become better at who I am, each and everyday I spend planned time reading, listening, or watching something that inspires me. Each and everyday I spend planned time learning to become a better leader. I spend planned time on becoming a better performance coach. I spend planned time on becoming better at serving my clients and running my business. I try to make sure I purposefully encourage and inspire as many people as I can each day. To me, each and every day is an opportunity to "pull some greatness" out of somebody.

I committed to this plan about 6 years ago. The accumulative results of 10-30 minutes of this planned time per day, in each of these practices, has blessed my life in so more than I could have ever hoped for.

Like Coach Wooden, begin planning your actions for the day. Plan what you will practice on. Practice them over and over and over so that you become a master at what you do. It's time that you get rid of that four leaf clover, make a decision to go after what's in your heart, prepare for it each day, and go...go...go.

THIS WEEK, RE-TAKE YOUR DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS, LEAVING IT UP TO LUCK IS OVER. LETS GO...