My friend Sam Courtney turns 21 tomorrow. I didn’t go to his celebration in Washington this weekend, but I sent some advice–from John Wooden. As I told Sam, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, who died on Friday at age 99, carried these words from his father wherever he went:
“Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day.”
I’m passing on Wooden’s words, as I did to Sam, just because. Because business is a lot like sports. And there are lots of lessons to be shared. If you don’t believe it, check out Coach Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success.” It’s an evergreen guide for Fortune 500 CEOs or entrepreneurs or anyone who wants to do well and endure.
My boss, Andy Serwer, is a Wooden fan too. He came to know the legend in his last years. He wrote about him here.
P.S. Sam’s dad, a stockbroker, just chimed in by email, saying about his son: “He has a fabulous internship with NVR Homes this summer. NVR is a NYSE company, and look at its stock price the last 10 years. The market is flat, and a homebuilder is up sevenfold! Amazing. Sam is available for a cover photo shoot in Fortune in the next few weeks!”