Quotes from Coaches

For some reason, great coaches tend to give Stoic-like advice.  Here's a quote from the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, from Dr. Joe Vigil, running coach:

There are two goddesses in  your heart ... The Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Wealth.  Everyone things they need to get wealth first, and wisdom will come.  So they concern themselves with chasing money.  But they have it backwards.  You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom, give her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become jealous, and follow you.

Recently I also saw a few interesting Stoic-like quotes from UCLA basketball coach John Wooden:

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Some criticism will be honest, some won't.  Some praise you will deserve, some you won't.  You can't let praise or criticism get to you.  It's a weakness to get caught up in either one. 

It's quite interesting that coaches, who have jobs that are all about maximizing performance, encourage that laser-like focus on being good.  Not succeeding, just being the best you can be.  It must be more than just true, it must also be effective advice to focus on those things that are under our control.  Worrying about things that are out of our control is merely wasted effort.