Leaders: Made, not Born. by Ryan

Leaders: Made, not Born. by Ryan - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

A book that I feel is a must-read for High School students is Wooden: On Leadership by John Wooden. I learned an incredible amount about leadership and the Pyramid to Success from, in my opinion, the greatest coach of all time. Wooden, the head basketball coach at UCLA for 41 years never changed his goals and philosophies. He always tried to get the best effort and maximum performance from each of his players, to help create a cohesive team.

Although he won a record amount of championships, building a dynasty was never the plan for Wooden. His sole task was trying to get his players to become their absolute best, on and off the court. “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

The world which we live in today needs great leaders, it is something I believe that we are severely lacking as a society. Students today and leaders tomorrow need to take notes from Coach Wooden and learn to “Lead by Example” and “Put the team before themselves.”

I am aspiring to become a great leader and business executive in my future career and feel that if I can emulate the example and love that John Wooden had towards others, I can accomplish anything.