The Pyramid Principle: A Battle-Tested Hall-of-Famer Discovers UCLA Coach John Wooden's True Meaning of Success

by John Vallely, Paul Weissenstein

236 pages, Hardcover

Published September 27, 2024

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was initially reticent to read this book after reading the dedication and inferring that the author lost his daughter to cancer at 12 years old (it just seemed like a difficult topic as I start the year with a new babe). However, I love memoirs and I love college basketball so I decided to give the first chapter a chance, and I was hooked. I could tell right away I was hooked by John Vallely’s story and wanted to read the rest of it. John Wooden is revered, and it was so fun to read about someone who actually played for him and could share his personal encounters for the man. The Pyramid of Success (on which the title of this book is based) is one of the things Wooden is most known for.

Of course the parts about cancer (both John’s daughter and then his own battle) were difficult, but the book (i.e., the principles John Wooden instilled in John at UCLA!) had laid the foundation for persevering, having faith, and achieving success, and the book as a whole was both riveting and inspiring.

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” -John Wooden

[Shannon Sherrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the definition of “never judge a book by its cover!” I first picked up this book for hopefully learning more about John Wooden’s Principle of Success, but I quickly found out that this was even more than that! If anything it was completely different from what I had expected in a good way. This book has drama, faith, life, death, and love.

If there was one word that this book leaves you feeling, it would be hope. I am not particularly religious, but some of the scenes truly touched me. I didn’t feel uncomfortable with the religious themes in the book and feel like anyone can enjoy reading this book and take a lot from it.

I truly recommend this book to anyone and everyone to read at least once.