All great leaders, they have a growth mindset. They're people who are constantly trying to reach for their outer limits. I don't know of a great leader in the history of mankind who didn't have a vision. There's always this constant thirst to go and find the undiscovered and discover it. The better leaders are those who recognize that it's not about me but how can I serve the needs of others?
The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk
Episode #281: George Raveling - Eight Decades Of Wisdom: From Dr. Martin Luther King To Michael Jordan
Show Notes:
- Commonalities of sustaining excellence:
- Growth mindset
- Immense curiosity
- High level of self awareness -- "It starts within"
- Great vision
- Most important = "they execute"
- Relationship lessons learned over eight decades - "Be a giver, not a taker. Try to genuinely help people."
- Develop trust, respect, and care for others -- "It's all about love. Don't keep score. Do the right thing, be kind, but don't keep score or trade favors. That's not how it works."
- Standing next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr for the "I Have A Dream" speech
- Asking Dr. King for the speech after he finished (and getting it... still has it!)
- Why he won't sell of try to profit from the speech despite it being worth millions
- The power of "showing up early" and "asking for what you want"
- Why Coach reads so much -- "The slave owners used to hide money in books because they knew slaves would never look in the books because they couldn't read." -- "If someone can control my mind, they can control my body. I will not let that happen. Books are my mistress."
- Information = knowledge = wisdom = opportunity = growth = success
- The importance of his upbringing - His dad died when he was 9, his mom was institutionalized when he was 13. He was raised by his grandmother and nuns.
- "My grandmother taught me to be curious. She taught me to ask. She taught me good manners. She taught me humility. She taught me to help people. She was the #metoo movement before the #metoo movement"
- How basketball was the "greatest vehicle for transformation in my life."
- Earned scholarship to Villanova -- When George was first offered a scholarship, he didn't know what that meant.
- Going from player to coach and why he was suited to be a great coach
- Becoming the first African American head coach of the Pac 8 (Pac 12)
- The mindset of thinking of yourself as an educator/teacher
- George is a voracious reader and marks up each and every page of the books he likes (I saw first hand and it's amazing)
- The importance for older people to have 4-5 younger mentors in their life. Ryan Holiday plays this role for Coach.
- The importance of self leadership - "You must take care of yourself before trying to lead others"
- Working at Nike for Phil Knight -- Helping sign Michael Jordan away from Adidas
- Focus on being a great decision maker and seeking out growth opportunities
- Why you don't need a title to be an effective leader
- In order to be promoted, focus on being incredibly great at what you're doing right now
- The 10 realities of life Coach Raveling values most at age 81
- Pushing Coach to write a book about living a great life -- Tweet him to do this!
- Why joining The Learning Leader Circle is a good idea
- Use the "Get To Know You Document"
