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Today’s Monday Morning Motivation with Mike is perfect for those of you battling with trusting the process of your endeavors with seeing little to no immediate results.

This is tougher now more than ever in our instant gratification society. If this ain’t you, think real hard, I promise you know someone struggling with this right now, so…

Keep reading and forward this email to them!

🏀Coach John Wooden🏀

If you’re unfamiliar, was an absolute legend in every sense of the word.

• He coached, arguably, the greatest center in the history of basketball, Kareem Abdul Jabbar (known then as Lew Alcindor).

  ^{From Kareem’s incredible book, “Coach Wooden and Me” (a must read), “He had taught us that academics were more important than basketball and that personal integrity was more important than both.”}

• His very fundamental, basic, and unorthodox (to many) coaching style lead the UCLA Men’s basketball team to a herculean feat of 10 NCAA national championships within a 12 year span.

• His teams also won a record setting seven ‘ships in a row and 88 consecutive games won— both records still stand today among men’s NCAA basketball.

• To understand the magnitude of this master stroke, no other men’s team has won more than TWO back-to-back championships, ever, in the history of college basketball.

• AND THEY STRUNG SEVEN IN A ROW TOGETHER!

Check this out though, many aren’t privy to this— prior to his legendary run beginning in 1964, Coach Wooden was still at the helm there at UCLA dating all the way back to 1948.

That’s 15 years without a championship. A decade plus a nickel! What was different In ‘64 compared to ‘48? How did his ‘just above average’ teams, all of the sudden, break through and become so dominant for so damn-record-shattering-long?

I’m about to pull some Quintin Tarantino sh*t on you— completely change the scene and story— but just like the film-making god is famous for, it’ll all tie back in, trust me!

Did you know that in only 5 weeks the Chinese bamboo tree can grow 90+ feet tall?!

Well, to the untrained eye, that’s what it looks like. But to the arborist, the “professional tree grower” it takes 5 years and 5 weeks.

What the rest of us don’t see is that they planted the seeds to that tree 5 years and five weeks prior. And every day, for those first 5 years that seed had to be watered, the soil had to be nurtured and tended to. Every single day.

For five long years, day in and day out, that arborist was putting in work with ZERO results. If not, the tree would never see the light of day.

And you KNOW passersby looked at him like he was crazy, doing all that work with nothing to show— FOR 5 YEARS STRAIGHT.

Then, all of the sudden, just as he knew, precisely why he never wavered and continued to trust the process no matter how many people doubted him, BOOM that bamboo tree shot up! (watch inspiring video edited by my kids and I)

Day in and day out, from 1948 to 1963, Coach Wooden had his players and staff water the dirt with little to no results.

His first lesson, to all his recruits, was how to put your socks and shoes on correctly (Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump clearly stole that lesson from Coach).

He had an undeniable, unshakable belief in himself, his values, and his methods. Coach Wooden KNEW it would all eventually pay off and that one day his intentional effort would shoot up through the soil for all to see.

That it did.

Ladies and gentlemen, you and I are not here just to survive. We’re here to thrive, in our own unique ways. Don’t let anyone or anything ever move you to doubt yourself or your vision. Just like Coach Wooden, trust yourself and never stumble away from your values.

There’s something bigger and greater for you but it’ll never see the light of day if you choose to succumb to negative doubts from yourself or others. _{“An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.” - Goi Nasu}

And if you happen to be lost, try this:

First, start with your values.

1. What do you stand for? What values and/or beliefs do you most identify with?

   “Stand for something or fall for anything” - Alexander Hamilton

2. What is your ‘why’? What sets your soul on fire?

   “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” - Simon Sinek

If your direction gets blurry, go back to your values. Those will always keep you on track and your why will always reinforce your purpose to strive to thrive.

Much love y’all,

- Mike O’Hara

PS

Don’t forget to vote! Real quick, apparently there seems to be some confusion so let me clear the air.

Monday Morning Motivation with Mike is the only newsletter you’ll see in your inbox from me all week. UNTIL another day is voted in. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday— you can find a description of each day here so you know exactly what you’re voting for.

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