Live and Learn

02 Nov Live and Learn

Growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina there were two things that I loved above everything else. I loved my family and I loved the University of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball. This was back in the days when players like “Big Game” James Worthy and Michael “GOAT” Jordan wore Carolina blue. Leading the team was hall of fame coach, Dean Smith assisted by longtime assistants Bill Guthridge and a future hall of fame coach Roy Williams. Now this was in a time when there were no DVR to record games and ESPN was a fledgling start up sports channel. If you wanted to watch the few games that came on TV you had to watch them live. All other games you huddled around your radio and listened to them on the local AM station. There are a probably a thousand reasons why I loved UNC. Who could resist their winning tradition, Michael Jordan’s gravity defying dunks, the fact that my grandfather went to school there. But the real reason I loved them was because of my deep admiration of Coach Smith. As a young girl, I fell in love with his philosophy for the game and for life. He revolutionized the game of basketball by bringing into the game his personal beliefs. He created the concept of thanking the passer (pointing to the person who passed you the ball right before you scored). Coach Smith was famous for telling freshman Michael Jordan “Michael, if you can’t pass, you can’t play.” He was all about teamwork. He was also famous for teaching his players about more than just the X’s and O’s of basketball, he taught them to be men and how to be successful in life. If you were one of his players, staff members or student assistants he was your mentor for life. Former point guard, Phil Ford, stated “I got a coach for four years but a friend for life”.

As a mentor and coach he shared his philosophy for how to live. I loved his concept for dealing with mistakes or failures. Coach Smith stated “”What to do with a mistake–recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” What a great lesson to learn when you are in middle school. If freed me from a fear of failure and it taught me that even in the middle of a mistake there are things I need to learn from it so that in the future I would not make that mistake again. As Maya Angelou said “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better”

Another of Coach Smith’s philosophy was that he presented his team with a daily inspirational quote at the beginning of practice every day. I have carried this practice over into my personal life by sticking inspirational quotes in my daughter’s lunch bag every day.  She tells me that it helps her feel good about herself and it also helps her stay positive during her school day. Thanks to Coach Smith for so freely sharing of his ideas that, to this day, has a positive impact on my family’s life. In honor of this practice, I have listed below some inspiring quotes about learning from your mistakes.

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying – Michael Jordan

It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure –Bill Gates

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rant with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.  – Theodore Roosevelt

Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war – Donald Trump

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default. – J.K. Rowling

Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again. – Richard Branson

My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. – Abraham Lincoln