Page 247 - How to Create a Winning Organization

Adversity Is Your Asset
you’ve got; play the cards you are dealt. Walt Disney once said, 229
“There is no education like adversity.” However, to gain this educa-
tion you must be tough enough to overcome adversity rather than
allowing adversity to overcome you.

Don’t Blame Failure on Fate.
You can stumble and fall, make errors and mistakes, but you are not
a failure until you start blaming others, including fate, for your re-
sults. Always believe there is a positive to be found in the negative.
Things usually happen for a reason, even when you are unable to dis-
cern the reason. Remember, “there is providence even in the fall of
a sparrow.”

ON WOODEN
Ken Washington: UCLA Varsity, 1964–1966;
two national championships

THE FICKLE FINGER OF FATE
The great lesson I take from Coach Wooden is this: The best
thing you can do in life is your best. You’re a winner when you
do that, even if you’re on the short end of the score.
Too many factors can affect the final results; the fickle finger
of fate can suddenly take over. The best talent doesn’t always
win, but the individual or team that goes out and does their
best is a winner. That’s his philosophy. It’s what he teaches.
We had a perfect season and won the national champi-
onship in 1964. We repeated as national champions in 1965.
There was no question in my mind that in 1966 we could be-