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From: TEDtalksDirector
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  • Coach Wooden what a gift to the world I could here him talk and teach all day...truly the best of what humanity can offer.

  • John Wooden reminds us of a time when sports took a back seat in our daily lives. A time when Joe Paterno no matter how successful on the Football field would be considered a disgrace for keeping his mouth shut and losing sight of the bigger picture. And that is what makes John Wooden much more then a sports legend, but a timeless fount of wisdom.

  • Coach Wooden is pure substance, and no matter how much of a the lovable goofball Bill Walton can be just remember he learned from plenty of substance from this guy to compliment his bugger then life style.

  • Wooden Coach. Awesome!

  • Coaching should be at the heart of all leadership development

  • I guess 29 people aren't going to be successful in life...

  • HE'S SO BADASS and everyone can take something from this

  • Everyone should watch this once a week.

    

  • After watching this I know when I think of the word wisdom I will think of this video and John Wooden.. Rest in peace.

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  • This talk really changed my practical life philosophy a few years ago. Nowadays when I get to real trouble I can always comfort my self with the definition of success given so eloquently here by the Coach John Wooden. This is wonderful talk.

  • @Piitsi Coach Wooden always had the demeanor and way with words to get his message across. Definitely a wonderful talk. Glad it impacted you that much.

  • LOL GREAT talk from a great man :)

  • I live 3 or 4 miles away from his childhood home. I often ride my bike out there and ponder on the idea that 80 years ago he was looking at the same fields and sky as I am at that very moment. He is an example that greatness can come from anywhere and anyone. Hard work is necessary no matter how easy something comes to you.

  • I am not religious but I found John Wooden's words of wisdom to be very worthwhile nonetheless. He was a great human being. I will take his words to heart.

  • @StanleyAdams he learned it from god not somthing that came in the back of his head

  • who the hell disliked this? seriously...

  • @westcoastg4life 29 USC students... ;)

  • @LoveeyyAnikaea448 well, it doesn't really, but it sucks for those who think it sucks.

  • @LoveeyyAnikaea448 Life sucks.

  • An inspiration, a man who walked his talk, if only we all had great teachers and coaches like him.

  • This is the one man, I wish I could have met in my life, and I can't imagine anything else I could have asked for.

  • I never get tired of listening to 10:49

  • What wisdom this awesome man shares, I just wish more people would listen to these words and strive to work at being the best that they can be.

  • the lord didn't create 26 peoples brain full capacity like the other 538

  • Brilliant! He makes being successful attainable for everyone.

  • those are some big ears

  • @57skeletonz you have a big head..with NO BRAIN in it..you idiot! your talking about a living legend, show some respect moron!

  • @MrSchanemassey you're mistaken, he's actually not a living legend anymore. And all I said was he had big ears, you can't disagree.

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  • @57skeletonz is a Turd but I forgive U!

  • i go to a christian school and i hear more about john wooden then jesus...

  • I have that Pyramid hanging in my office.

  • Really motivational.

  • It would be his 100 birthday on the 14th. Happy Birthday, John. Where ever you are!

  • no profanity is a measure of success ?

    i guess Veronica Grey and Jared Leto are screwed.

  • @asquiredanaher :

    In fact, I once suddenly teamed up with a total stranger who was being bullied on the bus, much to their pleasant surprise (and the relief of our fellow passengers).

    The reality under which people who bully can seem to operate on can turn on a dime.

    A longer time ago, one particular one had the shit kicked out of him by one of my friends.

    People who bully can have a hard time with people who can think/act for themselves (and others). :)

  • While Wooden's heart seems in the right place, and while doing one's best is all fine and nice, doing one's best exists in context with the world outside the mind.

    I imagine, for example, that if one is ignorant in how they are doing their best, they may find that they are doing their best making a mess of the world in which they live.

    That said, perhaps this is a qualification that Wooden's mentioned or at least would agree with.

  • @Glomerol To quote Wooden.

    "Do not mistake activity with achievement"

  • @GodModeGaming :

    I wouldn't mistake achievement with success, nor personal success with "external" success. I wouldn't also follow/quote someone like Wooden, Chomsky or anyone else too closely/much, either. For one thing, you can fall into a trap of being overly annoyed and losing some capacity for calm, rational thinking if someone challenges their POV's. ;)

    And of course, there's something to be said about thinking for yourself.

  • "Take the emphasis on professional sports. It sounds harmless but it really isn't. Professional sports are a way of building up jingoist fanatacism... This idea of cheering for your home team... that's a way of building into people irrational submissiveness to power... and I think it's one of the reasons it gets such a huge play... The indoctrination that's done by tv and so on, is not trying to pile up evidence and give arguments and so on, it's to inculcate attitudes..."

    -- Chomsky

  • @Glomerol Here is a ball of wool. Go off and play with it.

  • @asquiredanaher :

    How long did it take you to pull that one out of your ass? Something to make Wooden proud, yes?

    .

    BTW, someone sent me this vid by email; it's unlikely I'd have arrived here otherwise. I prefer Noam Chomsky.

  • @Glomerol Noam Chomsky, plankton for the hard of thinking.

    Were you bullied at school?

  • @asquiredanaher :

    Speaking of thinking, ya gotta luv those ass-pulling one-liners. ;)

  • @Glomerol I thought you were trying to be an intellectual.

    You Could'nt quite pull it off, could you?

    Not to worry, back to your Chumpsky. Keep repeating that mantra in your head, "I am not useless to society"

  • @asquiredanaher :

    This is too easy.

    Anytime you want to have an actual intelligent debate/discussion-- and you can find me elsewhere here on You Tube-- please feel free to let me know. You know how to reach me.

    Somehow I doubt I'll hear back from you with anything of substance, as this little exchange leads me to suspect.

    My previous responses to Wooden stand. :)

  • @Glomerol Poor baby. Taking the ball home with you.

    Sweetie pie, arts grads don't have intelligent discussions, they simply make noise and take up space.

    Was it a particular bully or was there more than one?

  • @asquiredanaher :

    By the way; your ad hominems ostensibly go against Wooden's own contentions, so you're subtly playing into the support of my own contentions by your replies.

    Talk about kicking yourself in the ass.

  • what a legend

    RIP my friend you are a true inspiration.......

  • Coach Wooden was the epitome of a leader in any profession, but especially education. His comments in this video demonstrate how he "nurtures and sustains a culture of collaboration, trust, learning, and high expectations" (ISLLC #2).

  • To call this man gifted would be an insult. This man was a gift.

  • Looks unkempt, what?Hair's still growing, that's for sure. Bill, Lew...if the hoosier homilies put you over on the Pyramid of Success, may you go off on another winning streak against the people at the bottom of the conference who make it a game for you. Red Klotz, Sam Gilbert, Jerry Tark...and the faceless ,unnumbered, drafted walk-ons of the Far East conference or in NCAA-sanctioned lockdown today --their lives made it a game.

  • haha

  • Value based athlete centered and coach led - John Wooden's ultimate legacy! With his passing on Friday June 4th, 2010 we have lost a unique and brave leader!

  • God I hope I can be this sharp at 90...RIP Coach Wooden

  • Greatest Coach in College Basketbal gone! Truly describes perhaps the worst year ever in my life! 2010 has been disasterous than 2001!

  • Truly inspirational. RIP Wooden

  • Great thinking and wisdom from a great man.

  • Coach Wooden is the real deal! Another great leader who could walk the talk is gone. Rest in Peace Coach! (David Hance, Founder, Quotivate)

  • i love u, "Papa"

  • What a sound mind. Very intelligent man. So glad he stayed in California and inspired many around the world. Thank you!

  • Great coach, great mind, great human being. RIP Coach.

  • The greatest coach of all time, yet still an even better person. RIP Coach Wooden

  • As a kid, I knew of John Wooden because of his tremendous UCLA NCAA dynasty in the '70s but I had never heard of all his tremendous motivational and character-building wisdom, insights, and "Woodenism's."

    If this was actually taped in 2001 when he was 90, it is truly remarkable - he is more lucid, literate, and wise than people half his age!

    We wouldn't have all the political, financial, and ethical crises we see all around us now if we had more people with his strong moral authority. RIP

  • he lived a great life, legendary coach, wise words :))

  • RIP John Wooden

  • I made a basketball video that took two months to edit dedicated to John R. Wooden R.I.P. Best man on the planet!

  • What a great human being.

  • John Wooden came the closest, any sports figure has ever become, to being, Christ-like...even people who aren't interested in basketball, should be inlflenced and live their lives according to his teachings...he was a modern day Buddha, a contemporary Christ, a truly great man, who touched the lives of all he shed his grace on...May God Bless You Coach, God needed a coach...

  • what a brilliant motivator

  • RIP Coach Wooden The world of basketball will miss you!

  • @redsox0717 fuk is wrong wit yu bitch

  • R.I.P Mr. John Wooden. The Wizard of Westwood.

  • @raiderwarrior24 The Wizard from Indiana! A magnificent job....RIP Coach!

  • John Wooden is one of the most influential and profound person of the last century. I think you can put him up there with the likes of Dr Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, & Ghandi. And if there is an eternity awaiting for each & everyone of us after we die, I hope he finds his peace wherever he may be now.

  • RIP Mr. Wodden - You were one hell of a coach and an even better man. It has been a pleasure to listen to you and learn from you. Go home to our Lord and to your beloved wife. You are an incredible inspiration to us all.

    Gary McDowell

  • RIP John Wooden. We'll never forget you. Only fitting that you would pass away on a Friday so you can reunite with Nelly on date night. I hope the two of you are having an amazing reunion in the yonder.

  • I love you coach. While you will be missed, it warms my heart to think that you have been reconnected with your wife in heaven.

  • He's 90 years old during this interview. Unbelievably articulate.

  • What if each of us inspired just one person in our entire lives to be the best they could at whatever they wanted to do? How amazing would this world be? John Wooden inspired 1,000's.

    Thanks Coach!

  • hes not paying my bills who cares

  • @getmethere same goes for you. Perhaps you and redsox should get together and share some hate.

  • @redsox I was ready to post a very angry and profane response to your comment. Then I realized that Coach wouldn't have like that at all. Good luck to you.

  • Pat Summitt on John Wooden:

    "Tonight, we have lost a true American icon."

    That pretty much sums it up. He was a great coach, an even better man, and the proverbial "yardstick" coaches after him try to measure up to.

    Rest peacefully, Coach. You will be missed.

  • @redsox0171. You r fucked up. I would like to see you do what this man did. Try it. I bet you couldn't even win a single dam game let alone 10 national championships.

  • Jah Bless the wizard of westwood. A good man! more than a basketball coach. Rest in Power Brother Wooden.

  • 99 years is a long time. He lived a good life, and was the greatest thing to leave Dayton Kentucky, which is about 10 miles from where i live. Rest in peace John, you were a great man

  • Coach Wooden was not only a great basketball coach but a great life coach. Even if you don't agree with his religious beliefs, you can certainly learn so much from the life of a simple, humble man who grew up in rural Indiana that rose to the levels he did. Yet, in the end, he was just a simple humble educator that taught until the very end.

  • At least he lived a long life and until he was 99 which a majority of us isn't going to make.

  • RIP John Wooden Not just a Legendary Coach but also a Humble Person who wanted more for his Players than just basketball. God definite blessed us with his presence in the world. We will never have the likes of such an Exordinary Person again.

  • The greatest coach/manager of all sports. I would have loved for him to turn 100 years old. But John knows when the Good Lord is calling him to meet him in Heaven and Coach Wooden isn't complaining. That's not being religious and being biased to Christianity in anyway. Wooden respected all faiths and supported Lew Alcindor's conversion in Islam as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I believe that John was a man of universal wisdom and loved everyone and everyone loved him. RIP

  • Rest in Peace, June 4, 2010

    Very sad day but not just for UCLA but for all of us.

  • RIP. You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten.

  • @redsox0717 you piece of shit i hope you die in a hole you fucking cunt how are you so disrespectful?? you fucking faggot john was an awesome man i hope you go to hell and burn till your skin comes off!!! you idiot asshole  RIP John Wooden i love you

  • RIP John Wooden

  • @redsox0717 ...and Mr. Wooden replied from his residence in heavenly glory, "Mr. Redsox, I certainly pray that you will not..."

    People like you, that get a rise out of being a buffoon, are not worth the time nor effort to put you back in your place. Jesus, Mr. Wooden, and I love you!!!

  • rip

  • rip. he just passed 20 min ago

  • thoughts and prayers out to his family. hearing a lot of things right now, don't know what to believe.

  • R.I.P. John Wooden. You were truely a great man

  • @Crede06 To my knowledge, while he is in critical condition, he is still with us. May our prayers be with him.

  • Unfortunately it looks as though we are about to lose this great man. What an inspiration he has been throughout his entire life. Calipari and the other dishonest coaches should sit down and learn something about how coaching is supposed to be done

  • I competed in two Olympics and I never heard this wisdom when competing. It is, for me, the strongest coaching on how to achieve success I have ever encountered. The base point of being the best you can be and his performance triangle - which if you haven't seen you should have a look - are core to how I now go at challenges. A great and humble man. N

  • What a sharp mind! What great values he leaves with and believes in! I wanted to have him as my coach, or my boss. Great man!

  • Amazing talk. I wish there were more men like him in the world.

  • What does the poem mean when it says

    "is the Fates themselves that miss."?????

    is it talking about our lack of efforts which creaate the fates?

  • it means the outcomes that we might disappointed in . But we cannot forget we are responsible for those outcomes

  • i think it comes from basketball. rather than a player missing the basket, it is uncontrollable circumstances that cause us to miss the basket.

    i think the coach is saying rather than consign ourselves to the outcome given to us by fate, we should give our all and then our actions will be the gates that open up fate.

  • well said sir! may God richly bless you! and thank you tedtalksdirector for this video!

  • a great man, I've already learned alot from this speech, an inspirational polymath, from sports to english. That's hard to find, and he's almost a century old. amazing

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  • Hahaha that geez is awesome!

  • He is a real gentle soul, delivering a simple explanation of whats important to him in his extraordinary life experience, through inspirational prose; what a delight!

  • critical thinking IS taught to kids...in the UK

  • That is true and sadly, there's not enough creative thinking taught (in school or home) to balance it and we have a generation who just critique, critique, critique their way to unhappiness with the world around them looking for people to blame rather than creat solutions and share the burden.

  • i think its ridiculous how people who don't even qualify to speak on TED is trying to tell us who they think qualify to be on TED , who doesn't. The point is this - whoever gets invited, has something to share, if you don't like it, then you just keep quiet and ignore it. I think I learnt something from this old man. That comment about nursing homes was really uncalled for.

  • so what if they don't qualify to be on it, how does it make anything ridiculous?

  • You have made two fallacies.

    For one, you don't need to have a TED invitation to judge the quality of a TED talk. You don't need to be a chef to know if food tastes good. Catch my drift?

    As well, the ability to write comments exists for a reason: to comment. No one should feel obligated whatsoever to "keep quiet" when they believe a video is sub-par. Would you prefer a YouTube comment system where only positive feedback is allowed? No thank you - I prefer open discussion.

  • good point ...the question is tho..open discussion is of value only when the participants have a point to share from personal knowledge & experience rather than info just vomited out from stuff they have heard rather than know from experience..tru u dont need to b quiet wen vid is sub par..question is what are u basing your so called superior opinion on as to whether its sub par..?

  • Open discussion is valuable because it is open discussion. It's a borderline tautology. Freedom of speech is of incalculable value; nothing less than sacred. As well, I'm not exactly sure what or who constitutes an opinion as superior.

    Nevertheless, I understand where you're going with this and I appreciate the feedback.

  • so wise... he is genius, and his memory is impressive, too..

  • Why all the thumbs down for GetMeThere1? Criticisms of his comments are ridiculous as well. He is entitled to his opinion, and i happen to agree.

    So he made a joke for his first comment and everyone gets bent out of shape. I realize Youtube is troll country, but geez people!

  • John Wooden is an amazing author

  • g e n i u s

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  • Its a real pity when you read some of the comments made. I hope some day people get over their labeling stereotyping and just learn to learn. I found this video in a reminding way I thought of my grand parents and began missing them all over again. And i believe if their were more educators in the world like this great man it would be a better place indeed

  • Wow, such an Intelligent

    and Wonderful Man!

  • To the guys who think John's a ignorant because of his beliefs. Grow up. There are many wise theists as well as idiot theist. That goes the same for atheists.

    His knowledge and and experience has proven he is wise beyond many of us, beliefs or not.

    So stop being ignorant, and put your beliefs about non belief aside. Just listen to what John has to say.

  • Amen!

  • @alcany Agreed. He has all of the old fashion values and beleifs that were good for nothing except WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS AND HEARTS!!!

  • @alcany Great post. Great man. Re the negative posts As the Chinese saying goes "Point to the stars the fool looks at the finger"

  • This guy jumps from topic to topic without any brakes a bit to quickly. Ashame he still believes in theistic magic. Invisible friends for adults. How sad.

  • Why is it sad? He can believe in what he wishes, it's sad that you think it's sad.

  • i think it's sad that it's sad that you think it's sad.

  • what are you on about, i'm as anti - theist as you can get, and when the video was about to start i read a few of the comments here on the first page and noticed some religious ones, figured he'd include a lot of stuff like that, i didn't notice very much and most of what he did mention was tangled up in the poetry he read, not sure who wrote that but i doubt it was he who did, he was reciting it because the essence of the poems was worthy of notice, and i agree.

  • I have a lot more respect for my school teachers now than I ever had when I was at school.

  • What a guy.

    How to live long and a vital life - talk fast.

  • minute in and the rambling is considered regurgitating a truth that has already been worked over time and time again.

  • 'Your reputation is what you are perceived to be...your character is what you really are'...brilliant. :)

  • exemplary man, in my old age I'd like to be just as sharp.

  • Because he's sharing his ideas, which is what TED is, a place to share ideas.

  • This is a great man, teacher and coach who inspires people to bring out the best in themselves. What a blessing! Thanks Coach Wooden.

  • its so great to see and hear him speak. he has been such a powerful influence on my and my family's life. his ideals and principles, while thought of as 'old-school,' are things that shouldn't be forgotten as we progress towards the future. if every one of my coaches and teachers had had his attitude, i think i might have actually enjoyed going to practice and school.

  • John Wooden, the personification of CLASS! If you could choose, and you can, he is the model of how to live your life!

  • Wow, if he was a professor in the 30s.... he must be.... wow.

    Such a kind gentleman :)

  • sport is just one side of the story, it is not everything, and it is universal I think, not American only. But hey, it is just a thought, what do I know. Seems that you've got everything figured out, so why bother.

  • .... What? Did you even listen to him?

  • haha what a sweet old men

  • Dont you just wish you were old and had earlobes like that.

  • the point of these TED talks is simply to share idea's... he's not preaching and trying tell you what is right and wrong.

    it's pretty funny how easily people get trolled these days... most of the comments on this video are laughable

  • GetMeThere is just trying to be edgy and "Unique" by going against what every thinks or what is blatant.

    You are only feeding the troll.

  • Best one I'v heard!

  • white rap?

  • and thats why your the guy making the comment on you tube and not giving the talk.

  • Well, that's good question: why is he the guy giving the talk? There's one simple answer: the basketball team he coached won a lot of games.

    If TED was aiming to have a talk about how to best get other people to toss balls through hoops, then this might be the guy to get.

    But does coaching a winning sports team give someone special province to tell people they should be "neat and clean" and....more or less....go to church and fear god and "no profanties" and....that crap? I don't think so.

  • he never mentioned "go to church" he's just talking about what worked for him in teaching and instilling self respect and discipline in his students.

  • In an experimental sociological sense, it would be very difficult to measure whether certain actions a teacher took instilled "self respect and discipline" in a student. It would be difficult to correlate changes in those attributes with the actions of a single teacher.

    Such claims are OFTEN made, and almost never supported. It's just....talk.

    The fact is, EVERYONE thinks that, if only they could make people more like them, they'd be "better people." That's....kinda funny.

  • Hey he more or less says the same thing, success is a hard thing to measure, all you can ask is that a person aims to be the best he can be. the guy has a proven track record but again it's like he says it's not reputation that's important but Character. quit being so pessimistic and take from this what you like, if you don't like it, jog on.

  • No...if i don't like it, I comment on it. That's what the comment section is for. It's NOT, incidentally, for commentors like you, to tell people who comment on the VIDEO that they should "jog on."

    I wonder though, do you think we need a TED talk telling us to "be the best we can be" and "reputation's not important?" Are there people over 8 who haven't heard those platitudes?

  • lol just another attention whore, I don't need TED telling me anything I'm just interested in what people bring to the table, not people who just criticize for the sake of it, what is your point exactly? and why do you care so much?

  • I don't care at all. I made ONE simple post. After that I've had to defend my position against a rising army of apparent sports acolytes and jesus lovers.

    I'll probably stop soon. But I DO find it amusing that people so eagerly adulate the meaningless and trivial and so ardently defend common platitudes. I suppose mediocrity needs a venue for expression, too.

  • we can't all be superior beings like you, if other people get something from it then I guess TED is still doing what it's setting out to do. who are you to judge?

  • Juanitotrucupey: ..."who are you to judge?"

    You're not too bright, are you? As I wrote in reply to your comment just a few minutes ago, I'm a viewer, commenting on a video. Confusing to you?

    Or....are you saying that because my opinion disagrees with yours that I have "no right to judge the video?" I think that's more likely the case.

  • no I'm just saying nobody really gives a shit what you or I have to say.

  • I don't play sports, but I believe he is a great and good man. If you actually listened to his talk, you would understand he was talking about life(something he as a LOT of experience in) in general, and using sports ( also something he has experience with) to help describe what he means. I hate it when people are to stupid to actually listen.