Let me come straight to the point. John Wooden & Don Yaeger's book 'A Game Plan for Life. The Power, of Mentoring' is very simply a 'must read', not only because it adds to the knowledge that we have of a wonderful man and his guiding principles and values, but also because it is filled from cover to cover with wisdom, wisdom that you can take and embrace immediately. Wooden's father lived by a very simple rule 'Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses. Just do the best you can. Nobody can do more than that'; advice that he passed on to his sons and one senses that that is exactly how John Wooden has lived his life - no complaints, no excuses, just doing the best he can.
Do not approach this book simply as a guide for mentoring because you will miss out on the subtle nuances that are dotted throughout the book on values by which to live your life by. And at the same time, do not approach this book simply as a guide for living your life because you will miss out on the subtle messages on mentoring. The two themes are intertwined and my take out of the book is that unless you embrace both, you run the risk of not living your life to the full. Mentoring enables you to give back to society.
I was interested in Wooden's choice of his 7 mentors because I believe that says alot about the man. His father and his beloved wife, Nellie were included as were 3 coaches that signifcantly influenced his life. But, also included were Mother Teresa and Abraham Lincoln. As Wooden suggests 'We can all benefit from studying the lives of great men and women. Their courage, vision, and actions can serve to mentor us in a different kind of way - we can seek them out. A person cannot always choose who will surround him or her in life. We always can choose what biographies to pull from a shelf, or what studies to seek in the library. Sometimes we select the mentor for the lessons we want to learn. And the mentor doesn't have to be someone who is physically present in your life. It isn't necessary to have ever actually met an individual to have been mentored by him or her.' I have never met John Wooden but I have often imagined sitting with him and just spending hours listening to him talk about life in general. What an experience that must be.
When next you are at a bookstore, or on Amazon.com or even visiting your local library, pull 'A Game Plan for Life. The Power of Mentoring' from the shelf and study it. You will learn a great deal from a great mentor. Happy reading.
ian
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