Pyramid of Success

Pyramid of Success

John Wooden

Block 1:  Industriousness
"In plain and simple English this means hard work. Very hard work. There is no substitute for very hard work when it comes to success."

One thing everyone learns and something that everyone should know is that you should work hard to get what you want and you will get what you want. This not something to new to every in fact this should be a given and it would also help in just about anything school work, your job, you career and you will see a big improvement on things or maybe even yourself. There really is nothing else you can do other than hard work there's no way to go around it because in the end you might something or create something that will make the job easier for you or others just like how jobs are being done with more helpful machines and people are now able to do jobs safer there still is that downfall where people became more and more lazy over something and that there is that the reason the people complain about things that nothing is being done when those people aren't putting in the hard work and effort to what they are doing. Also when you get lazy on anything it just shows that you have given up on that maybe it was homework and if you show that you have given then you are showing to yourself that you are not capable of something much more greater.

Block 2: Enthusiasm

"It is the engine that powers all blocks of the Pyramid. It is why I chose Industriousness and Enthusiasm as the cornerstones of my Pyramid of Success. It is where everything begins."

With this building block could be another really important one because of how much one would need it to really get something done. The one thing I've told is that you need enthusiasm towards something or you'll never get it done fast. I know this was something that i needed in a few situations at a time because of the fact that I didn't want to do it also it can hurt others seeing how you really don't want to do something but this is mainly towards something outside of a job sometimes. enthusiasm is also a great thing to have for when applying for a job because it will show the person who is hiring that you will have that working spirit towards the job or position you want. If you have Enthusiasm you will be industrious because you have that will to work hard while will lead you to the success of your job.

Block 3: Friendship

"Comes from mutual esteem, respect and devotion. Like marriage it must not be taken for granted but requires a joint effort." 

Friendship is an important thing to have because how much it can help someone and how much you can gain from it. In friendship you must know never to take your friends for granted because of how much harm you can bring to them and others. You can also be the subject of being taken for granted and if you know what goes around comes around so just treat friends well. You wont always get those perfect friends but you will find those that make you glad to be with them and that they would help you out even during your tough times maybe by using jokes or something like it. Your friends can also maybe get a job when your looking for one or maybe vice versa and you'd be getting some good deeds done. One of the best things that that friendship has is the benefit of the help you'll get from your friends and maybe they can make your day that much better. 

Block 4: Loyalty

"To yourself and to all those depending upon you. Keep your self-respect."

Everyone should be loyal it gives someone else that sense of trust which helps others feel better and not as nervous. This is something people need to have cause it also shows your character and if have a good character then there are going to be a lot of people who want to be friends with you or just want to get to know you. This could be true for people who go to a job interview which is the most important part of a job because if determines whether you'll get hired or not because it is the first impression that anyone has and if could be good or bad which means it is up to you to make it how you want. You want others to be loyal you should also be doing the same because of you cant just expect something from someone and not give in return which is why both people need to be loyal and gain the trust of each other so both people can work together and it would be all that much better. Loyalty is something that people don't just gain but they earn the loyalty of others by their own loyalty. 

Block 5: Cooperation                                                                                               

"With all levels of your co-workers. Listen if you want to be heard. Be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way. "

Cooperation is really important if you want to achieve success. Without cooperation you wont get many things done. Cooperation is a big part in a team and since one person does not cooperate then the whole team could fall apart and not work anymore. Even schools they teach you to cooperate because we all know its a very important skill to have. We all know that sometimes we want things to be done the way we want them done but there might be someone with a better more efficient idea.  In a system of anything you need cooperation or else the system does not work there are many examples of this such as a school, a workplace, a movie studio and many more. All these places require cooperation in order to do what they do if not the nothing will get done or hold up the process. Even sometimes things get done much faster if everyone is working together which should not just show how important cooperation is but just how much better it is. 

Block 6: Ambition 

For Noble goals

Ambition is a strong skill to have cause it helps you get your work done with almost no problems at least with you. If you have ambition then you will be able to maybe do more than what you do. Ambition is just something you need to have to even be able to do most things. If someone Also when you get lazy on anything it just shows that you have no ambition on that maybe it was homework and if you show that you have given then you are showing to yourself that you are not capable of to do something.  Ambition might not be the most important but you should at at least show some ambition so that others can see how you are and maybe by showing that you have ambition you get greater things. There are even more things that get done much faster if everyone shows that they have ambition for it showing that they want to do a good job on the project that they were working on because of their ambition for it. Even when you don't want to do it put on a look of ambition and maybe you'll stick to it.

Block 7: Self control
"Practice self-discipline and keep emotions under control. Good judgement and common sense are essential."

Self-control is a important skill to have because if you don't have self control then you don't have much control over your life. There are many things that fall under self control there are things like wanting to be healthy you need the self control to do what you need to be healthy things like going to the gym eating healthier. There could be things like wanting to do good in school you have the have the self control to do your homework and study if you want to study. You have be able to stop doing the things you love and start doing something that you don't like doing like homework or reading etc. You should know that even though you don't have self control you can start learning some of it little by little and then you should be able to do whatever it is you want to do. If you cant learn self control one way try another way or get someone to help you out and in the long run you will be able to do what it is you wanted and see yourself improve. 

Block 8: Alertness

"Be observing constantly. Stay open-minded. Be eager to learn and improve." 

Block number 8 is a important one to have in your daily life because of how much it should be a standard thing in your life. You must always be observing to what goes around in your life because it isn't just something you wont be doing if you don't do it you wont know what goes on till it hits you in the face some people don't need to do this because they know what to do and some do. You always have to be open minded just don't say what you have to say very often around others don't you don't know very well because you could get in trouble for doing so. Eager to learn just depends on you on what you have want to learn you don't have to be eager about everything just somethings that you want to learn because if you arent then your just setting up for a time without anything new and thats a big difference from the people who do want to learn. You should also be wanting to improve because if you don't want to improve then what are you doing in your life your not really doing much well maybe. 

Block 9: Initiative 

"Cultivate the ability to make decisions and think alone. Do not be afraid of failure, but learn from it." 

Block 9 is a important one because of the of the reason that it is something that we face everyday and that is failure whether its something small or big you still face failure everyday. The thing that most learn from this is things like lessons that help us improve in something. You could be at a job and maybe you failed at something well you have now learned from that and you know how to either improve it or what not to do. There is also stuff like this at school where maybe many of them don't know what to do or maybe there's something they need help on well they could go get help from teachers or anyone else to help them improve in what they need help on. Though at the same time there are those people who think that they just fail and then stop trying but no one got anywhere without failure every person who was once weak became stronger because they didn't want to give up in what they were doing.  

Block 10: Intentness 

"Set a realistic goal. Concentrate on its achievement by resisting all temptations. Be determined and persistent."

Intentness is a important skill to have in your life. It isn't the easiest skill to have because of the reason that you have sorta become narrow minded towards your goal and it will help in what you want to achieve. Just about everywhere you go where you do some sort of work you need intentness because it will help you in what you want to achieve. Sometimes it is a hard skill to obtain because you kinda have to give up the things you want for the thing you want to do. People who do have this skill will want to strive for more in because they are leaving things that will hinder them in the long run of achieving their goal of course not forever but for a while or just a little bit because of the reason that they want to get to their goal and make it. Also when you set a goal it at least has to be a goal you can do there are somethings that are impossible to reach right now because of how it is but maybe later it is more reachable. You should also go for goals that will benefit you and you will see that those are the goals that will make you a better person overall and in the long run.  

Block 11: Sincerity

Keeps friends 

This block is a interesting block because its one about friends. It is true that you should keep your friends because if you those friends can help you do things you never thought you could sometimes it could be things like achieving a higher goal or finish your homework you had lots of trouble with. But you also have to be sincere to them because its like what goes around comes around and what you do could end up being that you could get a job that you didn't have and a friend helped you get one. friends could also be the most important thing in your life due the fact that friends help each other. You could also just be friendly to most people and you should have a great circle of people that would help you out this could be people such as neighbors or co-workers maybe even just people you meet at random and then becoming friends with. All this can go a long way to you and could be helping you in the long run and others. Sometimes it may seem that you being nice to others doesn't do much good for you will it will sometime soon just don't let the other person take advantage of you.   

Block 12: Adaptability

To any situation 

Adaptability is a really strong skill you can have because and for the most part everyone has the strength to be adaptable. When you can adapt to almost any situation you should be able to have a better understanding of what is to expect or do. You can use this in classes for example there may be teachers who teach in a different way or just have a different style of teaching. If you can adapt to these changes you should be able to follow with the class. There may also be times when you have different occasions that you have to attend and you have adapt to what you wear during the time and even how you act and speak. The biggest plus to being able to be adaptable is that if there is a problem you can have better understanding of the problem or maybe have more control over the problem and not have such a huge problem anymore and you'll be able to understand what to do to and have the better answer to the problem. If others can see that you are able to adapt they will see you have a great skill that you have mastered and more opportunity's will be opened up for you it would be a great skill to have in a job because depending on the situation of your job you can handle it and others will see it as a great thing and maybe you can move up in position.   

Block 13: Condition 

"Mental-Moral-Physical. Rest, exercise and diet must be considered. Moderation must be practiced. Dissipation must be eliminated." 

Block 13 is a important block because well its common sense of course to be successful you have to at least be in good condition to do so. Why would anyone think that just doing what they think is successful the only thing they'll need you have to watch what you do with your body. If a person doesn't at least take care of their own body you could end dying and all your "success" would have gone to waste because that person didn't want to consider the condition of their body. But at the same time its only your physical you also have to work on your mental health because if start to lose your mental health you wont do as well as before. Your mental health is the only thing that keeps you alive and well enough for you to even think about success. There are some people who don't have a very good physical body or really cant move much but their mental health is pretty high someone like Stephan Hawking who has one of the greatest minds in the world but his physical health is not as well as others . In your morals all you need to do is that as long as your morals are well and you don't let those morals block you and get in the way of ruining your success it is fine. Some as an example John D. Rockefeller was a christian but because he was one he created a horrible disaster because he let his morals of being a christian get in the way of what he was doing.   

Block 14: Skill

"A knowledge of and the ability to properly and quickly execute the fundamentals. Be prepared and cover every little detail." 

The block of skill is important because of the fact it is common to any person with almost any education. Skill such as math skills or things like history skill which almost anyone should know at least based here in America. If you don't have such skills it could ruin your chances to get a job well cause that's really whats it for. You could maybe also get screwed over in a scam or something similar because you didn't do the math or something. This could also do with things like maybe just simple task that maybe you don't have the skill to do that task and could get in trouble for that or maybe get a new skill. There are many reasons to why you should keep trying to gain new skills for yourself improving your work ethic. The rest of the others blocks can also be considered as a skill to yourself and helpful to you. You should also go for goals that will benefit you and you will see thethoseare the goals that will make you a better person overall and in the long run. Also when you get lazy on anything it just shows that you have given up on that maybe it was homework and if you show that you have given then you are showing to yourself that you are not capable of something much more greater.

Block 15: Team spirit

"A genuine consideration for others. An eagerness to sacrifice personal interests of glory for the welfare of all."

Team spirit is a important item to success because more than  likely you will be working in a team at some point in your life or for almost for the rest of your life. The biggest thing about team spirit is that you have to it or else team will be less cooperative with each other. As long there is one person who has the team spirit then it'll catch on to everyone else. Team spirit is can also be considered things like a company, a store, or maybe even a school all these can have team spirit. The team spirit someone has the better chance it is for the team to work together. Sometimes there are those people without school spirit and it can kind of ruin the how point of the team and it wont work but there will be more good than bad. The success to any company is team spirit and this is a pretty good standard because of how the team can be working. There arent just people who don't really care about team spirit there are also those who will try to bring you down and it'll be a real hassle but the work will still get regardless because someone there has team spirit. 

Block 16: Honesty

"In thought and action"

You know that saying honesty is the policy well it is kind of. Sometimes there are things you have to just lie about so you wont get into too much trouble or that you wont get hurt. There are just things you have to do it may not feel good or maybe it does sometimes it does. But also you have to be honest and you should know who you want to be honest to. There will be those people that you want to be honest because well because you either want to or have to. There are also those that you really don't want to be honest to. People you have to lie to are people like your kids because you don't want to tell them that Santa doesn't exist that would be really messed up. Sometimes lying can get you jobs things like a car sales men or maybe even a lawyer or president. So lying is all that bad nor is being honest. You would also have to be honest through somethings because if you aren't you could be in a position where you dont know what to do anymore because of the lie you told and because of the things that you said that could get you in bad trouble. 

Block 17: resourcefulness

Proper Judgment

It is important to be able to be have resourcefulness Resourcefulness is about optimizing what you have to work with. Innovation is not just about creating something new; it also applies to making old things work better. Resourcefulness is not a means of coping with deprivation; it can be a virtue that opens the door to greater accomplishment. An experienced mechanic can do wonders in car repair with a combination of after-market parts and his own resourcefulness. We see this same spirit in maintenance of large facilities, factories, buildings, even ships. Those who service them may not always follow a manual; they diagnose problems and figure out what tools and materials there are at hand to fix them. Call it resourceful innovation. Resourcefulness, while critical now, should not be reserved just for hard times. When prosperity returns, relying on one’s ability to do more with existing resources and lead people to do the same will be a virtuous behavior. Those who are resourceful need to be recognized and rewarded, and in turn, teach their lessons to others.

Block 18: Poise

"Just being yourself. Being at ease in any situation."

Graceful and elegant bearing in a person.

They always say that how you walk and how you stand says a lot about you as a person; so, what better way to leave a good impression than to strut with your shoulders back and your head held high! Very simply roll your shoulders back and drop it below your ears and hold your core in to achieve a better posture you’ve got poise and elegance in the bag already, take it out and use it. Go on, straighten that back and be confident!

When you slouch, it is an unnatural position for your spine and this can greatly affect your blood circulation to your entire body as well as the health of your vertebrae. This will also create a domino effect and has a possibility to affect the functions of your organs and your digestion. How does this work? Well, when you stand, walk or sit straight, it tends to open up your abdominal cavity allowing more room for your organs to function with ease and hence, improving your overall health.

Holding the right posture may not always seem important to most people some even view it as a part of themselves they can call their own but it does play a very important role in not just the way we appear to others but also the way we appear to ourselves. As much as health benefits go, a good posture determines a good and healthy mind as well. So, don’t be afraid to stand tall and keep your head held high!

Block 19: Confidence 

"Respect without fear. May come from being prepared and keeping all things in proper perspective."

Confidence can be described as a belief in one's ability to succeed. Striking a healthy balance can be challenging. Too much of it and you can come off as cocky and stumble into unforeseen obstacles, but having too little can prevent you from taking risks and seizing opportunities—in school, at work, in your social life, and beyond. Your level of self-confidence can show in many ways: your behavior, your body language, how you speak, what you say, and so on. Look at the following comparisons of common confident behavior with behavior associated with low self-confidence. Stay away from negativity and bring on the positivity. Don't accept failure and get rid of the negative voices in your head. "Low self-confidence isn't a life sentence. Self-confidence can be learned, practiced, and mastered--just like any other skill. Once you master it, everything in your life will change for the better." --Barrie Davenport. Be positive, even if you're not feeling it quite yet. Put some positive enthusiasm into your interactions with others and hit the ground running, excited to begin your next project. Stop focusing on the problems in your life and instead begin to focus on solutions and making positive changes.

Block 20: Reliability 

Creates respect 

Reliability is essential to employee performance. Reliability consists of the extent to which an individual or other entity may be counted on to do what is expected of him. For example, a reliable employee is one who shows up for work on time and is prepared to complete his work in a timely manner. A reliable worker does what he says he will do. While individual reliability is essential in the workplace, other forms of reliability also affect employee performance. Management reliability, as well as the reliability of the performance management process, are also crucial. The reliability of individual workers has a tremendous impact on the performance of the individual employee as well as those she works with. An unreliable employee is one who has proven consistently that she cannot be depended on to show up for work on time, meet deadlines or contribute an acceptable work product. The performance of a reliable worker may be degraded by the influence of an unreliable worker. For example, if one worker's performance relies on maintaining access to accurate and timely information that is provided by an unreliable worker, the first employee's performance will be impacted through no fault of her own.

Block 21: Fight 

Determined effort 

Determination is a key attribute sought after by recruiters of graduates and for many roles can be more important than sheer intelligence. It is sometimes referred to as drive: "the determination to get things done, to make things happen & constantly to look for better ways of doing things." It is assessed on application forms and at interview by asking you questions abut when you faced up to a challenge or a significant achievement in your life. Sometimes your interests can show evidence of this: mountain climbing, marathon running or major sporting achievements may strongly suggest the drive to succeed, but also learning to play a musical instrument to grade 8 or to reach black belt in a martial art could also be evidence for substantial determination. A vacation sales job in which you substantially exceeded your targets could also be seen as evidence. Determination is closely associated with resilience: the ability to bounce back from setbacks, rather than giving up. When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Perseverance and persistence are also highly related. "Those who believed that their performance was transformable through effort, not only persevered but actually improved in the teeth of difficulties, whereas those laboring under the talent myth regressed." Ordinary adults have a strong ability to change with practice, but if you have a fixed mind set, you don’t think you can improve your intelligence, you will probably not improve.

Block 22: Competitive Greatness

Be at your best when your best is needed. Enjoyment of a difficult challenge.

Competition is often looked at as outdoing the other guy. You look at competition as a way to be better than anyone else. That, though, is the flaw in the logic of competition. You do not have control over the person or organization you are competing against. You simply have control over your own abilities. Every day is a challenge and rising to that challenge is what makes individuals succeed in life and in their careers. There are days where things may not work out as expected and you won’t have the energy to react. If you wish to reach the highest levels of leadership, you need to be able to turn things on as soon as they are needed, no matter what. Essentially, the idea here is that you need to be able to rise to any challenge. There is no time like the present to be as great as you need to be. The other factor comes from relishing the challenge. You, or people you know, likely do better in stressful situations. That is basically why those that procrastinate can still get things done quickly. They live for the stress of a deadline or being overburdened. That is what brings out the best in what they are able to do. Competition is not something you should treat as a team sport. Instead, compete with yourself. When a huge project comes to you, and you really want nothing to do with it, you are competing with yourself to put your energy into it. This, essentially is what competitive greatness entails. You have to overcome your own objections to completing a task and overcome the barriers that are keeping you from giving that task everything you have.

Block 23: Integrity 

Purity of intention 

Leaders with integrity may not be the most famous or flashy of leaders, and they don’t care. Integrity means doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. And that’s what makes success. There should be no exceptions to honesty and integrity. Integrity is a state of mind and is not situational. If you compromise your integrity in small situations with little consequence, then it becomes very easy to compromise on the small situations.Honesty and integrity produce trust – trust in ourselves and in all those around us. Trust in turn produces confidence which we all need to conquer life’s problems and which also encourages us to take risks in order to fulfill our goals. You’ll have no doubt heard expressions such as “what goes around, comes around” and “you get back, what you give out in life” and that’s very true. If we don’t live our lives honestly, we become shrouded in mystery. People are very adept at sensing dishonesty in others even if they think they’re the best liars on earth and if you hide behind a dark mask of suspicion, you can be assured that the people you’ll attract will turn out to be very similar to you and it’s therefore inevitable that one day you’ll be on the receiving end of someone’s dishonest actions or words. 

Block 24: Faith

Believe and Achieve 

The power of faith and belief is real power. Believing that you can attain your goal is of great importance for its achievement. Without faith, there will be doubts and disbelief, which lead to non-doing and to non-achievement. Faith draws and attracts what you want into your life, whereas doubts, worries and disbelief push them away. If you read about the lives of people who have achieved success, you would discover that faith played a major role in their life. They believed they can achieve their goals and had no doubts about it. They visualized their goal as already achieved, as already a fact, and this is what you also need to do.

The faith and belief I am talking about is not the faith of religion, but faith in yourself, in your ability to achieve goals, faith that thoughts can turn into things, faith in your vision, and faith in the power that created and is creating and recreating the world, within which you exist. Faith in this sense equals belief and certainty that you can achieve your goal. This kind of belief and faith strengthen the motivation to act and do things, and helps you maintain the positive attitude necessary for success.

Block 25: Patience 

Good things take time

Patience is difficult especially when your co-workers are getting on your last nerve but biting your tongue has many benefits. As hard as it might be at first, if you practice being patient, others in your workplace might follow suit, improving collaboration and making your workplace fun or at least more tolerable. Impatience can make a bad situation worse. For example, suppose a looming deadline is stressing everyone in the workplace. Flaring out at others for mistakes won’t make the situation easier. If instead you patiently wait for things to calm down and then address the problems that arose, you avoid an explosive blowup that solves nothing. Patience gives you time to make the best choice. Suppose a colleague lashes out at you because of a mistake you’ve made. If you respond in kind, perhaps pointing out all the mistakes she has made, animosity might develop. But if you patiently collect your thoughts and allow the bad feelings to lessen, you can address her criticism objectively. At the very least, your calm response will make her anger seem unreasonable in contrast.

Final Reflection 

1) I guess the blocks can benefit a person by changing want they want to change through what they see they want see changed in their life maybe their patience or maybe something else. 

2) The thing is most of these here are things I've been doing because its just how. So I guess I've been applying them all but not numbers 11, 5, 24, and 18.

3) These blocks haven't make any difference in my life or anything really.

4) I wont really being incorporating these in my life planning because I don't feel that I need to change with how I do my life planning right now 

5) I wont be teaching these blocks to anyone or pass it forward other than through this blog or if they ask because I don"t feel any intention of really teaching this to anyone and most people I know wouldn't care.