This maxim of Coach John Wooden’s was a cornerstone of his approach to life. As with many of his principles, he learned it from his father, Joshua.
In his book My Personal Best with Steve Jamison, Coach described how his dad reacted when losing his farm:
“The end came suddenly. Bad vaccination serum killed the hogs, drought stunted the crops, and the bank took the farm. In those days, there was no insurance for this kind of trouble, so we lost everything. Those were very hard times for our family, and the Great Depression hadn’t even begun.