Success Building Blocks: Loyalty

John Wooden was arguably the best coach in the history of college basketball. His contributions to success literature, though, possibly exceed his accomplishments on the court. He developed the Pyramid of Success, a wonderful tool to succeed BIGG in any endeavor you choose.

We’ve looked at four blocks of his Pyramid so far. We started with his two cornerstones –  Industriousness on the left and Enthusiasm on the right. Now we’re looking at the three stones that fill out the foundation. We began with Friendship, the block that sits next to Industriousness. Last time, we talked about Cooperation, which sits next to Enthusiasm.

This time we’ll look at the block in the middle of the foundation – Loyalty.

Loyalty

You have to start with a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong building. Building a successful life also requires a firm base.

When Wooden talks about loyalty, he first speaks of being loyal to yourself. You have to be true to your ideals … to your core values … in order to respect yourself when you look in the mirror.

If you’re not loyal to yourself, you won’t be loyal to others. So that’s the starting point of loyalty.

Loyalty to others earns you their trust, which means they will help you when you need it. If you don’t earn their trust, or perhaps more specifically if you earn their distrust, people will shy away from you.

If you put the interest of others equal with your own, you will build relationships. If you stay true to those relationships, you’ll build BIGG success!

Explore all of the success building blocks

Industriousness
Enthusiasm
Friendship
Cooperation
Loyalty
Self-control
Intentness
Alertness
Initiative
Condition
Team Spirit
Skill
Poise
Confidence
Competitive Greatness