3 Life Lessons from Dean Smith

ONE
Selfless
Dean Smith did not want to be praised for his accomplishments.  He was a very shy person and did not think it was fair for one person to receive all the recognition for a team's effort.  Former Tar Heel basketball players describe the way that Smith treated them like family, no matter how talented they were.  In 1986, Smith requested for the Dean E. Smith Center to honor the players as opposed to him.

Greek proverb states, "A society grows when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."  Dean Smith was selfless.  Throughout his life, he gave his best to the people he encountered therefore the best came back to him.  Do not expect to receive if you do not contribute.  Instead of asking yourself what you can get, ask yourself what you can give.  How do you treat people in your life that are not in a position to benefit you?



TWO
Stand
Stand for something or you will fall for anything.  Dean Smith had beliefs and was proud of them.  Charlie Scott was UNC's first African American scholarship basketball player.  Coach Smith recruited Charlie Scott.  Scott faced racism at UNC yet Coach Smith helped him see the bigger picture.  Smith taught Scott that there were people that were genuine and sincere.  Coach Smith stood up for what was right.

If you believe in something, stand up for it.  Even if you are standing alone, stand strong.  Be proud of who you are and what you believe in.  Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it.  Moreover, right is right, even if no one is doing it.  It would have been easy for Coach Smith to do what everyone else was doing, yet he decided to do what was right, not what was easy.



THREE
Discipline
Dean Smith began his coaching career at UNC in 1961.  Prior to Coach Smith, the Tar Heels faced numerous sanctions due to recruiting violations.  Coach Smith emphasized discipline in every aspect of his program in order to change the culture of UNC basketball.  Today's UNC basketball program continues to benefit from the discipline that Smith implemented.

Discipline means getting things done even if you do not want to do them.  Remember, no one wants to do them, instead individuals that are disciplined understand that they have to do certain things in order to achieve their goals.  Discipline is the bridge that connects the gap between dreams and reality.  According to Plato, "The first and best victory is to conquer self."

-Victory