120 Ways to Build a Better Person

This is isn’t an article on personal growth or self help (there are thousands of websites and Wayne Dyer YouTube videos out there), but every once in a while we need to review how we can be a better person.  Or Coach.  Or Spouse.  Or Parent.

I wrote a similar article based on my bartending experience decades ago.

Naturally, there is some sarcasm and witty humour in that article (especially if you’ve followed this Blog for a while), but at the end there are some good life lessons.  We constantly need a reminder every once in a while.

And yes, regarding the article, I still do tip in France and Italy restaurants and bars even though the tip is included (though not the standard 15%).

John Wooden’s Seven Point Creed

Confession.  I am a huge John Wooden fan.  Agreed, he would not survive in today’s NCAA and NBA as his methods are slightly outdated (i.e. no shot clock, no dunking, etc) but his overall coaching and leadership methodology is what I admired.

John Wooden’s Seven Point Creed was given to him by his father:

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible*.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

* For number 4, you can change the Bible to the religion of your choice.

Harry Schneider List Expanded

Coaching Cross Country Successfully (Coaching Successfully Series) by Joe Newton with Joe Henderson

So is 7 points (or 25 points) not enough for you?

Try 120.

Since it is Cross Country season, this is one of my highly recommended books.

I like this list, ESPECIALLY POINT #41 in Track and Field.  And Life.

The key to motivation is mutual respect. If you want the young athletes on your team to respect you, you must respect them. The only way this can happen is if you apply equal amounts of love and discipline. Then the motivation will naturally fall into place.

This list is adapted and expanded from one originally compiled by Harry Schneider, coach of the Middle Country cross country team at Centereach High School, New York.

1. Compliment three people every day.
2. Watch a sunrise at least once a year.
3. Have a firm handshake.
4. Look people in the eye.
5. Say "thank you" a lot; write thank-you notes promptly.
6. Take time to listen to your favorite music all alone once each week.
7. Sing along with songs that you like.
8. Stand at attention and put your hand over your heart when singing the National Anthem.
9. Learn to identify the music of Chopin, Mozart, and Beethoven.
10. Be the first to say "hello."
11. Return all things you borrow.
12. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated
13. Keep secrets.
14. Never give up on anyone.
15. Remember that miracles happen every day.
16. Show respect for teachers, for the police, and for your elders.
17. Don’t waste time learning the "tricks of the trade"; instead learn the trade.
18. Control your temper.
19. Put the cap back on the toothpaste.
20. Take out the garbage without being told.
21. Enjoy beautiful things; always have something beautiful in sight.
22. Smile a lot; smile at someone once each hour for one full day.
23. Take responsibility for everything that you do or fail to do.
24. Accept a compliment with a simple "thank you."
25. Live so that when others think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.
26. Use your sense of humor to amuse, not abuse.
27. Dot your "i’s" and cross your "t’s."
28. Be brave; even if you’re not, pretend to be, because no one can tell the difference.
29. Touch the ones you love.
30. Don’t take good health and your body for granted.
31. Don’t mess with drugs, alcohol, or smoking; enjoying life will give you everything the drugs could give you.
32. Avoid sarcastic remarks.
33. Earn trust, and learn to trust.
34. Slow dance.
35. Refill ice-cube trays.
36. Choose your friends carefully; you will influence each other greatly.    
37. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who’ll never find out.
38. Don’t miss class.
39. Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures.
40. Go for a walk alone at least once a week.
41. Never cheat.
42. Put a marshmallow in your hot chocolate.
43. Learn CPR.
44. Learn to listen; opportunity sometimes knocks very softly.
45. Know how to tie a tie.
46. Remember people’s names.
47. When people are relating an important event that happened to them, don’t try to top them with a story of your own; let them have the stage.
48. Be on time.
49. Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all they have.
50. Strive for excellence, not perfection.
51. Avoid negative people.
52. Be neat.
53. Realize that the person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.
54. Be kinder than necessary.
55. Give people a second chance, but not a third.
56. Never take action when you’re angry.
57. Battle against prejudice or discrimination wherever you find it.
58. Wear out, don’t rust out.
59. Let people know what you stand for, and what you won’t stand for.
60. Ask why.
61. Measure people by the size of their heart.
62. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
63. Have good posture.
64. Enter a room with purpose and confidence.
65. Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
66. Show respect for all living things.
67. Loosen up, relax.
68. Commit yourself to constant self-improvement.
69. Remember that being a good loser is different than not caring about losing.
70. Don’t major in minor things.
71. Praise in public, criticize in private.
72. When someone hugs you, let him or her be the first to let go.
73. Know that good manners matter.
74. Keep your promises; promise and deliver.
75. Save some money each week.
76. Recognize that you only have one chance to make a first impression.
77. Respect tradition.
78. Wave to children on a school bus.
79. Show respect for others’ time.
80. Hang out with people smarter than yourself.
81. Be modest; a lot was accomplished before you arrived.
82. Lie on your back and watch the clouds or the stars.
83. Remember that overnight success takes about three years.
84. Leave everything a little better than you found it.
85. Think of what you would change in yourself, then change it.
86. Realize how you affect others.
87. Practice empathy; try to see things from other people’s point of view.
88. Learn to say "no" politely.
89. Don’t expect life to be fair.
90. Never criticize others’ family.
91. Never underestimate the power of forgiveness.
92. Don’t say you don’t have enough time; you have exactly the same number of hours as the rest of us do.
93. If you think you have no time to work out, do push-ups.
94. Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do.
95. Check the smoke detector’s batteries.
96. Live your life with an exclamation, not an explanation.
97. Live so that when you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than those you did.
98. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
99. Keep a dictionary on your desk at home.
100. Never eat the last cookie.
101. Be grateful and acknowledge those who help you.
102. Take charge of your attitude; don’t let someone else choose it for you.
103. Pay attention to details.
104. Be a self-starter.
105. Pay your fair share.
106. Remain curious about your ability.
107. When attending meetings, sit up front.
108. Don’t litter.
109. Don’t flaunt your success, but don’t apologize for it either.
110. Don’t procrastinate; do it now.
111. Help out at the Special Olympics.
112. Always do more than the minimum, even if no one will know.
113. Waste no opportunities, because they can never be regained.
114. Ask yourself, "Will this help me become my very best?"
115. Become someone’s hero.
116. Adopt the motto, "If it is to be, it is up to me."
117. Remember that quitters never win and winners never quit.
118. Believe that the future belongs to those who prepare for it.
119. Assure success through persistence and determination.
120. Press on!

Coaching Cross Country Successfully (Coaching Successfully Series)