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Hold fast to those basic principles that are tried and true. L. Tom Perry, “Staying Power,” Ensign, July 2003, 40 Coach Wooden cited some
of the reasons for his “staying power”:
“I emphasized constant improvement and steady performance. I have often said,
‘The mark of a true champion is to always perform near your own level of
competency.’ ” The well-known coach
commented that he probably scouted opponents less than any other coach he
knew—less, in fact, than most high school coaches. Instead, he taught his
players the basics, because he recognized that sound offensive and defensive
principles would serve them well no matter what style of play they
encountered. He was as concerned with
a player’s character as he was with the player’s ability. “While it may be
possible to reach the top of one’s profession on sheer ability,” he said, “it
is impossible to stay there without hard work and character.” Wooden looked
for athletes who played a clean game and who were constantly trying to
improve themselves in order to strengthen the team. “Then, if their ability
warranted it,” he explained, “the championships would take care of
themselves.”
1 Coach Wooden identified
some important principles that were the bedrock of his championship teams.
Perhaps we can apply those same principles as we work to better ourselves as
a community of Saints. First, consistently do your best with the talents your
Father in Heaven has given you. Second, concentrate on the basics, because
they are appropriate in any situation or season of life. Third, worry more
about developing sound character than about building reputation. Consistently Do Your Best
One of my favorite
scriptures is found in the eighth chapter of Psalms: “O Lord our Lord, how
excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set
thy glory above the heavens. … “When I consider thy
heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast
ordained; “What is man, that thou
art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? “For thou hast made him a
little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour” (Ps. 8:1, 3-5). I like to think of myself
as a junior angel with the power and potential of an
eternal being. I am absolutely amazed as
I watch the growth and development of my grandchildren. I marvel at how
different they are in appearance and personality, even though they come from
a common heritage and similar environments. Let me describe the
oldest sons of each of my three children. The son of my eldest daughter was a
serious student. He has grown, progressed, and received a master’s degree in
engineering. All through his school experience, he has ranked in the top of
his class. He was a very disciplined child and is so
today, as he assumes the role of provider for a wife and a child. I remember baby-sitting
at his house when he and his sister were young. His discipline was a source
of my frustration. I would gather the children around me to read a story
before they retired to bed. Just as I would be getting to the good part of
the story, the clock would strike the appointed bedtime hour. My grandson
would announce that it was time to go to bed. He would not let me finish the
page or even a sentence. The established bedtime had arrived. End of story. My son’s eldest boy is
also a very excellent student. He is currently attending The son of my youngest
daughter is fascinated with anything mechanical. He is currently serving a
mission in the Massachusetts Boston Mission of the Church. He was able to
save for his mission by working after school in the computer businesses
around Three boys springing from
the same family tree—how different each of them is in appearance and talent! All of us are endowed
with abundant talent, beauty, and ability. Our lack of productivity can never
be blamed on a lack of raw material. Elder Richard L. Evans (1906-71) once
wrote: “We know of no one in
life who isn’t an Important Person. We know of no man on the street (or in
the gutter, for that matter) who isn’t a child of God with the same rights
and with the same relationship to his Father in heaven as all the rest of us
have. “We know of no one, young
or old, from infants to elderly individuals, whose past or whose potential we
would want to appraise as being unimportant. We know of no one we might see
in any public place—on subways or busses, or walking in shabby shoes—or any
boy selling papers … who doesn’t have an inestimable, unknown potential, here
and hereafter.”
2 Concentrate on the Basics
Coach Wooden taught basic
principles to his players, guidelines like “Never give the outside to any
forward who tries to drive around you.” The game of life is also governed by
some basic principles. Two of the more important principles we live by are
integrity and honesty. The Lord loves those who
have integrity. He said about the Prophet’s brother Hyrum Smith, “Blessed is
my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of
his heart, and because he loveth that which is
right before me, saith the Lord” (D&C
124:15). What is the meaning of integrity?
We can find several definitions in the dictionary: rigid adherence to a code
or standard of values; moral soundness, especially as it relates to
steadfastness to truth, purpose, responsibility, or trust; moral and ethical
strength; or the quality of being whole, complete, undivided. The Lord described Job as
a man who was perfect and upright. As Job was suffering untold trials and
tribulations, his wife said to him, “Dost thou still retain thine integrity?” (Job 2:9). Even with all his problems and
challenges, Job “sinned not” (Job 1:22). And the Lord said, “There is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil
… and still he holdeth fast his integrity” (Job 2:3). When Job’s friends
falsely accused him of sin, he said: “All the while my breath
is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; “My lips shall not speak
wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. “God forbid that I should
justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. “My righteousness I hold
fast, and will not let it go” (Job 27:3-6). Job invited judgment from
God so “that God may know mine integrity” (Job 31:6). Job’s conscience was clear, for
he knew he was honest and upright in all of his endeavors, and he would never
compromise his integrity. Many years ago when the
railroad was just beginning to cross the United States regularly, President
Brigham Young (1801-77) said to a group of Church members: “We want the
Saints to increase in goodness, until our mechanics, for instance, are so
honest and reliable that this Railroad Company will say, ‘Give us a “Mormon”
Elder for an engineer, then none need have the least fear to ride, for if he
knows there is danger he will take every measure necessary to preserve the
lives of those entrusted to his care.’ I want to see our Elders so full of
integrity that they will be preferred by this Company for their engine
builders, watchmen, engineers, clerks, and business managers.”
3 Abraham Lincoln said: “I
am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed,
but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”
4 The principle of honesty
is a close relation to that of integrity. Our thirteenth article of faith
begins with the statement “We believe in being honest.” [A of F 1:13] We do not believe in honesty
merely as a matter of policy. Honesty is a principle of salvation in the Moses gave us the
following counsel: “If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to
bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according
to all that proceedeth out of his mouth” (Num. 30:2). I learned early in my
business career that dishonesty is like a disease. It requires a strong
antidote to effect a cure. It seemed that every time
I was compassionate and gave a dishonest person a second chance, I lived to
regret it. It seemed that once they lost their honesty, they had to hit bottom
and suffer severe consequences before there was any hope for a permanent
cure. It was Brigham Young who
said, “Simple truth, simplicity, honesty, uprightness, justice, mercy, love,
kindness, do good to all and evil to none, how easy it is to live by such
principles! A thousand times easier than to practice deception!”
5 Develop Sound Character
President David O. McKay
(1873-1970) related the experience of standing in a sculptor’s yard in President McKay’s account
reminds us that it is our responsibility to carve out our own lives, to carve
out the character we would like to have. Our tools are our ideas and
thoughts. The English novelist
Charles Reade said: “Sow an act and you reap a
habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a
destiny.”
6 We become what we think
and do. Habits mold our character. Good habits are not acquired from good
intentions only; they are developed in the workshop of our daily lives. They
are fashioned in the often uneventful, commonplace routines of life and
strengthened by practice. This very day you are
forming habits that will be part of your life forever. The English author
Samuel Johnson wrote, “The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt
till they are too strong to be broken.”
7 Positive habits are as
difficult to make as negative habits are difficult to break. It takes desire,
repetition, and time to form them. The prophets through the
ages have counseled and encouraged each of us to develop a sound character.
Paul’s warning to the Galatians applies to all of us: “Be not deceived; God is
not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap. “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;
but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting. “And let us not be weary
in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:7-9). If we sow seeds of
decency and goodness, the fruits of our honest labors will be blessings in
heaven. Hold fast to those basic
principles that are tried and true. Consistently develop your talents,
protect and preserve your honesty and integrity, and build a sound character.
This is the secret of real staying power,
for these are principles that will not depreciate with time. Why? Because
they are God-given principles founded on eternal truths. Gospel topics: character,
honesty, talents [photos]
Photograph of John Wooden by Associated Press/Reed Saxon; photograph of
chalkboard by Christina Smith [illustration]
Painting by Dale Kilbourn [illustration]
Brother Hyrum, by David Lindsley |
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© 2004 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All
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