the pyramid of success

The Pyramid of Success

John Wooden

25 blocks

Block 1: Industriousness

"There is no substitute for work. Worthwhile results come from hard work and careful planning."

    I have not heard of or read about any individual anywhere who achieved real success without working extremely hard. In fact, the great successes we all know about are individuals who almost always have greatly outworked their competition.

Block 2: Enthusiasm

"It is the engine that powers all blocks of the Pyramid. It is why I chose Industriousness and Enthusiasm as the cornerstones of my Pyramid of Success. It is where everything begins."


Block 3: Friendship
"Comes from mutual esteem, respect and devotion. Like marriage it must not be taken for granted but requires a joint effort."

Block 4: Loyalty: "To yourself and to all those depending upon you. Keep your self-respect."

To yourself and to all those depending upon you. Keep your self-respect.Loyalty something any good person needs weather it being for friendship or a relationship loyalty is always needed. Knowing that someone has loyalty to you is something great but one little mess up and you could lose it and once you loss someone's loyalty you can pretty much never get it back fully. So if someone had given their loyalty to you don't over do it because it's a great thing to have. Loyalty is a gift so enjoy it and don't overuse it because soon you won't be able to have it and people will have less self-respect for you. 

Block 5: Cooperation

"With all levels of your co-workers. Listen if you want to be heard. Be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way. "

Block 6: Ambition (For noble goals) 


Block 7: Self-Control

"Practice self-discipline and keep emotions under control. Good judgement and common sense are essential."

Block 8: Alertness

"Be observing constantly. Stay open-minded. Be eager to learn and improve.


Block 9: Initiative
"Cultivate the ability to make decisions and think alone. Do not be afraid of failure, but learn from it."
 For me, Wooden is an example of how someone you have never met or known personally can be a mentor to you through their words, their values, and their principles they lived by.Be persistent. Be determined. Be tenacious. Be unrelenting. The road to achievement is rocky, hard, and long. Things easily achieved are rarely long-lasting or significant.

Block 10: Intentness

"Set a realistic goal. Concentrate on its achievement by resisting all temptations and being determined and persistent."
Intentness is the thing that keeps a person reaching for the next achievement to make each possibility a reality.Realizing that the road to their achievement could be difficult and certain adversity may force you to change the method of attack. You may have to go around, under, over, back up, look the situation over.But you must not quit. Be intent persistent and determined to reach your realistic objective.



Block 11: Sincerity (keeps friends)

“Sincerity may not help us make friends, but it will help us keep them.”-John Wooden 

Block 12: Adaptability (to any situation) Adapting to change is a life skill and a leadership imperative. As a leader you need to be flexible and adaptable, steering change and responding to change. You also can help others face and adapt to change, too.

Block 13: Condition
"Mental-Moral-Physical. Rest, exercise and diet must be considered. Moderation must be practiced. Dissipation must be eliminated." 









Block 14: Skill
"A knowledge of and the ability to properly and quickly execute the fundamentals. Be prepared and cover every little detail."
Skill is the ability to do something well like expertise.The skill of the applicant was high had years of experience working. Soft skill are the skills that apply to every job. These are your people skills interpersonal skills, communication skills, and other qualities that enable you to be successful in the workplace.

Block 15:  Team Spirit

"A genuine consideration for others. An eagerness to sacrifice personal interests of glory for the welfare of all."
Team spirit is the block on the Pyramid of Success. Coach Wooden defines team spirit as “a genuine consideration for others. An eagerness to sacrifice personal interests of glory for the welfare of all. If you think of the human race as your team, having team spirit means helping your fellow man to succeed in life. Feelings of camaraderie among the members of a group, enabling them to cooperate and work well together.

Block 16: Honesty (in thought and action)
"Honesty is the best policy." (Ben Franklin)

Honesty is the quality of being honest.Honesty is going to take you places in life that you never could have dreamed and it’s the easiest thing you can practice in order to be happy, successful and fulfilled. Honesty is part of the foundation of my core values and principles. Honesty cuts through deception and knifes its way through deceit and lies. Honesty leads to a fulfilling, free life.Honesty is not just about telling the truth. It’s about being real with yourself and others about who you are, what you want and what you need to live your most authentic life. Honesty promotes openness, empowers us and enables us to develop consistency in how we present the facts. Honesty sharpens our perception and allows us to observe everything around us with clarity.

Block 17: Resourcefulness (proper judgment)
 “Make the most out of what you have.” (Anonymous)
"If you have a dream, if you have something you've always wanted to do, look within yourself because that is where resourcefulness resides; and go for it. (Jennifer Witterick)
Being resourceful is extremely important to making progress in life.The ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. Many like to complain and find fault rather than being resourceful with what they have.

Block 18: Poise
"Just being yourself. Being at ease in any situation."

















Block 19:Confidence 
"Thorough preparation breeds confidence" Gerald Bell in

 "The Carolina Way"





Block 20: Reliability (creates respect)
Being a honest man is to be true to yourself and others around you. Trust is gained through honesty for example telling the truth and not lying to yourself and others. When others trust you as a person you are now a reliable person who people can trust and respect. A reliable person holds a great responsibility and must accomplish what is necessary.




Block 21: Fight (determined effort)












Block 22: Competitive Greatness
" Be at your best when your best is needed. Enjoyment of a difficult challenge."









Block 23: Integrity (purity of intention) Integrity in its simplest form is purity of intention. Its keeping a clean conscience. But it is also a composite of some of the other mortar qualities in the pyramid. To some extent integrity contains a bit of reliability.A healthy helping of honesty and a portion of sincerity. I believe that the component of purity of intention is important enough to give integrity the status of mortar in its own right. 



Block 24: Faith (through prayer)
Believe and Achieve. Positive belief.

Faith is confidence or trust in a particular system of religious belief, in which faith may equate to confidence based on some perceived degree of warrant. 

Block 25: Patience (good things take time)
The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.