"Success is piece of mind which is a direct result in self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming." John Wooden is a legendary coach who dedicated his life to motivate individuals to achieve their goals. Wooden based his approach on instilling a sense of pride, respect for teamwork and cultural differences. His pyramid of success could be easily applied in any environment of business, management and leadership. The Pyramid of success consists of several major principals or skills: loyalty, enthusiasm, skills, industriousness, friendship, cooperation, enthusiasm, self-control, alertness, initiative, intentness, condition, team spirit, poise, confidence, competitive greatness. Although, all of the things are very important and worth talking about my favorite is self-control. Self-control is probably one of the most difficult characteristics that you as a leader have to deal with. Sometimes it is about making yourself work, sometimes it is about dealing with other people, but it is primarily about having control of your own emotions and thoughts. After all, you can always make other people believe you but you can’t full yourself. In the leadership position in any field it is important to learn how to make yourself to respect and push yourself. John Wooden came out with the strategy on the gradually increasing level of both intensity and achieves rather than trying to create artificial emotional highs. That way the training is really based on your results; in a way you make a goal, achieve it, and make a step toward the self-control. If the goal is too high you try several time; if it works you move one more step, if not you are staying at the same level. The important thing is to not have “valley” meaning that you should always maintain the level of success or failure at the same elevation; if you fell you know that there are ways to improve, if you succeed you know that there are things that you need to work on. Failing to control yourself is just that—a failure. A vicious cycle of failing to control oneself followed by feeling intense self-hatred and disgust is common in attempts at self-control. These emotions typically lead to over-indulging in the offending behavior. When you slip up, it is critical that you forgive yourself and move on. Don’t ignore how the mistake makes you feel; just don’t wallow in it. Instead, shift your attention to what you’re going to do to improve yourself in the future. John Wooden says “Control your “self” so other wont’ have to do it for you”. I think it is a brilliant phrase. It is very important for any leader or even not a leader to be able to foresee and establish a personal set of values with achieving goals. Self-control is a skill we all possess; yet we tend to give ourselves little credit for it. The important thing to remember is we have to give these strategies the opportunity to work. This means recognizing the moments where we are struggling with self-control and, rather than giving in to impulse, think about your own set of values before you give in. It takes time to increase your emotional intelligence, but the new habits you form with effort can last a lifetime.