“It took me a long time to understand that even a stubborn mule responds to gentleness.”

The book’s opening passage, “Nothing is Stronger than Gentleness,” provides an anecdote from the author’s youth when he worked on his father’s farm. When his mule, Kate, quit plowing and laid down, his first response was to treat her roughly to prod her up. His father, however, got the mule up and working by responding with gentleness. The anecdote provides a glimpse of the author’s father, whom Wooden describes as a physically strong but gentle man who read poetry to his children. The story also sets the tone for many of the book’s philosophical assertions, especially those about leadership: Leaders don’t order others around or abuse their power; they foster cooperation, and they respect those whom they lead.

“Too often we get distracted by what is outside our control. You can’t do anything about yesterday. The door to the past has been shut and the key thrown away. You can do nothing about tomorrow. It is yet to come. However, tomorrow is in large part determined by what you do today. So make today a masterpiece. You have control over that.”

Wooden is referring to his philosophy of coaching, whereby he urged his players to try their hardest to improve every day. He argues that this philosophy also applies to life in general because “you can never make up for a lost day” (12). This sentiment—that one should value and focus on what they can control—directly mirrors the author’s later definition of success: Success relates to one’s efforts and innate potential, not external accolades. A person cannot control whether they are talented, but they can control their efforts.