Customer Reviews

My Personal Best : Life Lessons from an All-American Journey

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A little background on John Wooden: he coached the UCLA Bruins to 10 national basketball titles in 12 years . . . even if you're not a hoops fan, imagine any team--high school, college or pro--ever doing that, and you'll realize that it's virtually an impossible task . . .yet Wooden managed to accomplish it, at times with such great players as Kareem Abdul Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and Bill Walton; at other times with guys you probably never even heard about.

So that's why I jumped at the chance to read MY PERSONAL BEST:
LIFE LESSONS FROM AN ALL-AMERICAN JOURNEY that Wooden wrote with Steve Jamison . . . it was excellent and a "must" read for any sports fan, coach or parent of an athlete . . . adding to my enjoyment were rare, never-before-seen pictures from Wooden's private collection.

You might not learn anything that you haven't heard before, but that's much of what made Wooden such a great coach--and man . . . he stuck to the basics, believing that if his players practiced them, they would succeed . . . no detail was considered insignificant; for example, he
planned practices down to the exact minute on three-by-five inch cards and in notebooks "so there was never any standing around waiting for something to happen."

He also was a big believer in the use of maxims and mottos, tacking them on the bulletin board . . . among them:

Discipline yourself and others won't have to,
Respect every opponent but fear none,
The best way to improve your team is to improve yourself,
Do not mistake activity for achievement,
It is amazing how much we can accomplish when non one cares
who gets the credit, and
Time spent getting even would be better spent getting ahead.

As Wooden notes, "Some might say these are corny expressions, but I believe the messages they contain are true and have a positive impact on those who read them."

Prior to living in southern California, I didn't really know who John Wooden was, except that he was a basketball coach. Now I know he was much more than that; he is a legend.

Coach Wooden discusses his life, from his early days playing basketball on an uneven dirt court with fruit baskets to shoot into, to the passing of his beloved wife. He talks about the great influence of his father and coaches who lovingly taught him to always do his best. He openly shares the mistakes he made, both as a player and a coach, and the lessons he learned from them. He also talks about some of the players he coached, the 12 NCAA championships at UCLA, and what made him most proud. Included are numerous photos from his life. And while basketball is a big focus of the book, it's not the only focus in the book or his life.

An inspirational book I can highly recommend to anyone. Coach Wooden is a great role model - something that is unfortunately uncommon among sports figures.

This book is thin, short, full of pictures, a simple days read, and yet, it is packed with content. This is a journey to the core of Wooden's life. It is simple but complex.
In this book you will read about the central concepts that goverened Wooden's life from childhood to his success(s) at UCLA. He skips the details and goes right for the meat in this book. He tells the reader what exactly he learned, at each point along the way, and then we move to the next item of business. There are some fun pictures, a few interesting stories, but tons of little life "philosophies" that make the read worth it.
If you are interested in cutting away the sometimes bulky biography-type text that can follow a wonderful coach and man, and get right to the core of his life's experience, this is the book for you. It is for all ages, all interests, and should take you no time to read.
This is not an extensive biography, but an extensive course in Wooden principles learned in his life.

My Pesonal Best was a joy to read. I'm 35 yrs. old and have been a Coach Wooden fan for as long as I can remember. Success leaves clues, and Coach Wooden has left all of us pure gold with his wisdom and insight for living a successful life. He is incredibly thoughtful and cares not about glory or accolades, but about the person. I wrote Coach Wooden a letter in 6th grade expressing my admiration for him and UCLA, he responded with a full page hand written note and copy of his Pyramid of Success that I cherish to this day! Who other than Coach Wooden would have taken the time to do such a thing? Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

While a student at UCLA in the '70s, I often stopped by the afternoon practices to watch Coach Wooden. To this day, he remains an inspiration. His coaching and teachings reach far beyond the basketball arena. His demeanor and style is one to admire.

Grab this book!~ Read it! Learn from it! It is the type of lifestyle you want to replicate, follow, and nurture to all.

My husband and I truly enjoyed reading "My Personal Best" and learning about the important people in Coach Wooden's life who inspired and taught him. He shares with us these lifelong lessons he learned from them. All of us can use this in our own lives.

We highly recommend this book to parents, coaches and teachers. What Coach Wooden teaches us in this book is exactly what we need to teach our children.

Inspirational! Great book! Really enjoyable! Coach Wooden's wisdom is invaluable!

John Wooden is one of my heroes. When I was growing up, his teams were dominant, but more importantly, they made the game beautiful to watch. After he retired at the peak of his game, he quietly stepped off the stage. With the rush of books on leadership in the 1990's through the present, it was inevitable, and overdue, that folks take time to examine Coach Wooden's approach to leadership. This has led to a cottage industry in Wooden books.

This book is short, personal and focuses on life lessons learned from the narrative of Coach's life. It doesn't attempt to be weighty, just a good read, that imparts wisdom without hitting you over the head with it. It touches on each chapter of Coach Wooden's life, and particularly shows the infuence of his father, his high school and college coaches and his growth thru experience

This is a fun, easy read that leaves the reader wiser. Highly recommend

Excellent book about John Wooden's life and his doing your personal best. I recommend you read this book before his others.

This isn't a book about basketball, but about the foundations of success; not just for a team of ball-players, but for a family, an organization, and even a nation. There is a great deal of wisdom contained in these few pages.

the pyramid of success attracted my attention the most. it has
everything on it!! enjoy......