Thinking through some of the elements of the Pyramid of Success

[00:00:00] Well, hello. This is The Daily Five with Aurooba, that's me, where we reflect on creating our best lives a little bit every day. Here we go.

[00:00:15] So this episode is a fast follow to the last one on John Wooden's Pyramid of Success. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go listen to the previous episode first. There are a few items that stood out to me in that pyramid, and I want to talk through those a little bit today. This probably reflects a lot on who I am, and perhaps different items stood out to you, but let's do it anyway.

[00:00:45] In the base layer, so there's five layers in the pyramid, The bit that stood out to me was friendship. You know, I really like that it's in the base layer, this recognition of essential relationships outside of the familial and romantic ones. It feels pretty right to me. Pretty core.

[00:01:09] In the second layer, there was this alertness bit. And I think it stood out to me because it made me think of driving. When I was taking driving lessons, you know, way back in the day, I remember my instructor telling me all these things that I need to pay attention to. You know, pay attention to the road, make sure you're driving straight, look out for signs and signals and pedestrians, look at all your mirrors, look left and right, make sure you actually physically look left and right and just not with your eyes.

[00:01:40] And I remember being overwhelmed and thinking, what, really? All the drivers in the world are doing all of this all the time, consciously? Mm mm. And, you know, we're not, really. Some of these observations, they go on autopilot, and you learn to trust your instincts a lot.

[00:01:58] And the other one was intentness on this level, because I think for a lot of us, the eternal struggle is consistency and persistence.

[00:02:08] Sometimes it comes easy, and sometimes it's hard, but it's always a thing. Then, on the third level, team spirit caught my eye. This is probably because I think about teamwork a lot these days. A lot a lot. And how teamwork really is about caring for the greater cause rather than your own personal interests.

[00:02:31] It's a form of service. In a work context, it's definitely a form of service and a way to achieve our greater goals together. In a family, it might be a form of love. Then, the most interesting one for me is on the fourth level. And on this level, there's just two behaviors, poise and confidence. Both are great, but poise really caught my attention.

[00:02:59] It has stuck with me really hard. Now, I discovered this pyramid on the Ted Lasso show, and when I think about the character of Ted specifically, I think that's a person with poise. That's a person at ease in his own skin, comfortable with his own quirks, and He is able to take almost anything as it comes without twitching.

[00:03:27] He is relaxed and prepared in the most admirable way. And I think it stuck out to me, personally, because I would not describe myself as a relaxed person in most situations. However, I am absolutely at my best when I am relaxed and at ease. So, I don't know. There's a lot to unpack there. And then at the top, there's competitive greatness, and that's a really cool one.

[00:03:56] You know, there's an element of competing against your best self. It sounds super cliche, I know, but there you go. In the Pyramid, for this bit, it says, Be at your best when your best is needed. It's not just about being the best and competing against others and yourself to, to reach higher levels of greatness, but also owning your greatness when you have some.

[00:04:20] You can be great without being arrogant about it, but you can be great and own that you're great too. Again, a lot to unpack there. It's not about, Enjoying beating your opponent, or being better than them, for example. It's about enjoying the challenge and going at it with grit and determination. And I guess it's about the journey.

[00:04:42] Journey before destination, as the saying goes. So anyway, a lot to unpack once again.

[00:04:54] Thanks for listening. Same time tomorrow?