17 minutes and 36 seconds. This isn’t the amount of time it will take you to read this blog entry, but the amount of time to get a glimpse into one of the most, if not THEE most, amazing fraternity man to live. I’ll prove it later…
John Wooden died on June 4th at the age of 99. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. As a renowned college basketball coach whom is often considered the greatest coach ever, he never stopped teaching. As I heard the news of him going into the hospital for dehydration, I couldn’t help but think that he would make it out to see another day and continue to teach us all not to fear death. However, in the late hours of Friday night, I received a text stating that he had passed. Death had finally taken Mr. Wooden and heaven would be waiting.
It’s hard to put into words what John Wooden did for this country, UCLA basketball, college basketball, and most of all the people he met. Yet, here I am trying to express what we as fraternity leaders can learn from Mr. Wooden. Here is a man who influenced so many people and changed so many lives, and I try to express his some of his teachings in one blog post. Well, I can only hope I scratch the surface of a truly brilliant fraternity man. With that being said, I pick out a few quotes of his and relate it to our profession:
“Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.”
I think too often as fraternity professionals as well as fraternal leaders, we measure success in the form of awards and recognition. While receiving awards and recognition is a wonderful accomplishment, I think we forget to acknowledge the small steps made toward success. Nobody explained that better than Mr. Wooden.
He eloquently explained that success should be trying your best and knowing that you put forth everything you had to make yourself or your organization better. Can you imagine if we as fraternity leaders put this into practice on a consistent basis? Imagine a world in which fraternities and sororities aren’t so concerned about winning Greek Weeks, Homecomings, etc but rather are about continuing to be better values-based organizations. Would it be easy? I don’t think so but as Mr. Wooden stated in his quote, it is the “self satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.” If we can openly accept that we, as fraternal organizations have fundamental flaws but yet try our best to live our Ritual, I think we could, and would obtain success by Mr. Wooden’s definition.
For the professionals that read this blog, remember that you are making a difference. I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to this advice but I am committed to reminding myself why I went into this profession. We are making a difference. Let me type that again, we are making a difference and it may not show everyday but in the end, you and I have changed a life for the better in some way.
Many times I get asked by current students why non-Greeks are so critical of current Greek members. Many undergraduate members will be full of anger and frustration as the media portrays Greek life in a negative light or that a student who isn’t Greek jokes about being in a fraternity or sorority. I think that issue relates to this quote by Mr. Wooden.
I think if you were to ask any Greek member how they are perceived on campus by non-Greeks, I would guess that a majority would say negatively. Yet, if you were to ask why, I think you would get a look of confusion or even a look back to say, “Was that a rhetorical question?” I mean, shouldn’t I know that Greeks are misinterpreted and misjudged by non-Greeks? Shouldn’t I know that we do __ number hours of service and raise ___ amounts of money for charity? Shouldn’t I know that Greeks have better grades than non-Greeks? Yes, I should know and I do know, but non-Greeks do not because we don’t show them. We don’t invite them to these events. We don’t illustrate this notion of “character” as Mr. Wooden stated. We don’t live our values on a daily basis. We don’t talk about Ritual. Most of all, we don’t take care of one another.
Now, there are some amazing Greek members and organizations out there but too often, the character of one member who wears the letters of your organization exemplifies everything that you are not as an organization. It is these members that build a negative reputation which amplifies the perception that non-Greeks already have of fraternities and sororities. This directly correlates to the struggles we face as professionals and as fraternity leaders on an everyday basis. In order to change this, we have to get back to the basics. We have to get back to living our values. We have to read our Ritual. We have to talk to one another…genuinely. We have to care for one another. We have to do the right thing when no one is watching. Most of all, we have to be 110% committed to being men and women of character. One mistake, one trashy T-shirt, one formal gone wrong, one fight with a non-Greek is all it takes for the negative reputation and perception to stay. If we can commit to being men and women of character or better yet, being better men and women period, I think we would see a greater perception of fraternities and sororities on our college campuses.
“What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.”
Put in the fraternal context, this is such a powerful quote. Restated in the realm of fraternities and sororities, “What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a fraternity/sorority member/professional.”
One day, your collegiate experience will end. It will be tough to let go and you will be convinced of living the Greek life for years to come. Yet as you get older, your lives will change. You may get married. You may start a family. Your careers will consume your life and before you know it, you will reflect on your collegiate experience as if it were years ago.
Recognizing that this time will come for you, remember to reflect on who you are as a person. Hopefully, your fraternal experience will have taken you on a self awareness journey that allows you to explore who you are as a new member, build on what you believe in as a sophomore and junior, and then continually hone and learn about the values you are now living as a senior and into your life after college. This is so important to learn as Mr. Wooden states in his quote because while you will always be a member of your fraternity and sorority, it won’t always define you as a person. When people ask you, “what do you stand for” or “what do you value” will you be able to answer? I’d like to think you will because you were part of a fraternal experience that made you a better man or woman. It challenged you in ways you have never been challenged so that you could walk away from college a better person…period. Try and remember this.
In conclusion, I started this blog with the line 17 minutes and 36 seconds and I said that in that time, you would be shown why John Wooden was such a great fraternity man. It just that short amount of time, I think you will see how much an impact one person can have on a life. How Mr. Wooden, truly lived the “Men of Principle.” How, we as fraternal leaders can be better. I hope you will watch the video.
RIP John Wooden.
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